Novena Walk-Up Boasts a Fresh Mid-Century Modern Look After Makeover

Rare house type, a fully-open-concept space, and a fresh mid-century modern look? Yes please!

When the homeowners of this walk-up apartment in Novena first approached Bowerman’s Ian, they were initially keen on a home with contemporary, Scandinavian, and mid-century modern influences. However, after taking a look at their furniture wishlist, Ian could immediately tell what they really wanted: a rustic mid-century modern look.

“Most of the [furniture] pieces [in their wishlist] had details like pencil legs and fluted glass, which are classic mid-century modern features,” explains Ian. “This became the starting point for the house’s design, and we came up with multiple moodboards to find a colour palette that complements the furniture.”

“After some back-and-forth, we finally settled on this earthy colour palette, with lots of dark green, walnut, and grey tones to help the furniture stand out.”

With a fully open-concept space that had been created by the previous owners, Ian was free to reconfigure the space the way his clients wanted it – although he was also careful to come up with ways to properly demarcate each space.

To find out more about the process of transforming this home, we sat down with Ian to have a chat!

About the homeowners and their home

Ian (I): Even though it was a major revamp, we still retained a few of the original fixtures at the owners’ request. For example, the solid oak strip flooring which was installed by the previous owners, was still in good condition – and as the owners liked how it fits into the mid-century modern look, we decided to weave it into the design.

Originally, this apartment was a 3-bedroom unit, but the previous owners chose to remodel it into a 1-bedroom unit. From the start, we had this big open communal area to work with; and as there were just two [homeowners], we were free to turn the entire area into an open-concept one.

WATCH: Ian and Yuki from Bowerman talk about the home’s transformation

About the dining and living room

I: In their brief, the owners originally wanted to use the area near the entrance as their study – I think it was because they wanted to take advantage of the natural light here. However, I advised against it as a study tends to be cluttered by wires and tools, which isn’t very welcoming to guests entering the home.

It took some convincing, but they eventually decided to use this area as a dining room instead, since it’s visually nicer than a study. This [visual appeal] was further emphasised after the owners selected this beautiful solid mango wood table that makes the area feel even more inviting.

Also, as the communal areas had very little separation, they tended to blend too much into one another, so they also asked for space dividers – especially in the elongated living room.

So, we created a display area using three sets of custom-built shelves built on a pole system, which separates the living room while still encouraging the open feel. To me, this was the most challenging part of the house, as we had to coordinate closely with the metalsmith and carpenter.

Due to the unique design, it wasn’t as simple as assembling everything off-site and bringing it over. We had to fabricate each individual part at their respective workshops first before welding and assembling everything onsite. But I think this turned out really well – in fact, I personally see this as the highlight of the house.

About the kitchen

I: I think the kitchen went through the most significant remodel. It originally had a galley-style layout, but we thought that an L-shaped kitchen would be more suitable for two reasons: firstly, the shape allows the kitchen to flow nicely into the dining room, and secondly, it acts as a space marker between the kitchen and study.

The owners were fine with this open layout, since they aren’t The kitchen itself was also intentionally structured so that the messy areas – like the sink and dish rack – are hidden from view. Then, we placed the hob in full view of the communal area, so that the owners and their guests can converse whenever they’re cooking.

Colour-wise, we wanted the kitchen to complement the wooden finishes in the dining area, while adding a pop of colour. We eventually chose this dark green laminate from Admira’s Extreme series, with walnut-coloured drawers, white countertops, and beige walls to complete the warm, earthy look.

About the master bedroom and walk-in wardrobe

I: Previously, the bedroom suite already comprised the bedroom and walk-in wardrobe – just that there was a solid partition wall separating them.

This time, the owners wanted to remove that wall to combine the two spaces together. Aside from that, we also proposed to put up a set of fluted glass sliding doors that acts as a space divider without compromising the spacious feel they wanted.

In their brief, the owners mentioned that they wanted a feature wall in their bedroom. Since there is a generous amount of natural light coming into this area, we encouraged the owners to go with a darker colour theme as it’s more relaxing.

We intentionally chose this dark grey cement-like paint from Wallhub for the feature wall as it not only complements the walnut furniture, but also adds texture to the space.

About the common and master bathroom

I: The common bathroom was actually left untouched during the renovation, since the owners liked how it looked and it was still in relatively good condition.

The master ensuite, however, went through a major revamp. Originally, there were only two small windows in the original bathroom, so we created a sort of fluted glass ‘window’ that draws in additional light from the master bedroom. At the same time, the fluted glass details obscure the bathroom’s interior, so there’s still some sort of privacy.

Unlike the rest of the house, this bathroom has a modern-luxe look. The owners were actually the ones who found these dark green marble-look tiles from Hafary, and wanted to use them as a feature wall in the bathroom.

So, we did just that, and complemented it with white and grey materials that not only allows the dark green tiles to shine, but also helps brighten up the space even more.

To sum up

I: As this is a walk-up apartment, there was no lift in the building, so there was some difficulty bringing the materials and tools to the house. To make things even more challenging, the staircase was quite narrow as well, so we had to be really careful and detailed while coordinating with our employees.

Overall, I think this was quite a unique project. It’s not everyday that you get to renovate a walk-up apartment, and despite having a strong vision of what they want, I’m grateful that the owners were open to ideas as well. I think this rapport and collaboration was what helped the house turn out so well!

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