At A Glance
- Kelvin and Wan Juen
- Location: Choa Chu Kang
- Area Size: 93 sqm / 1,000 sqft
- Cost of renovation: $49,000
- Interior Design Firm: Space Concepts Design
- Interior Designer: Joanne
Although they had very different interior design tastes, Wan Juen and Kelvin managed to reach a compromise – the design of the living area would fit Wan Juen’s preferences while the bedroom’s design would cater to Kelvin’s tastes.
We popped by for a chat with the couple and discover how their designer, Joanne from Space Concepts, was able to negotiate their differing tastes to come up with this modern monochrome home.
Qanvast: What was one challenge of designing your home?
Kelvin (K): I think Joanne had a hard time catering to both of our needs as we have very different tastes. In the end, we decided that my wife will get to decide on the design for the living room and the kitchen while I get to decide on the design of the bedroom.
Qanvast: Could you share more about your differing tastes?
Wan Juen (WJ): I prefer minimalistic designs and a monochrome colour palette.
K: In contrast, I like a moody theme with a lot of dark browns. While the design of the kitchen mostly caters to my wife’s taste, Joanne incorporated the black backsplash for me. Joanne toned down on the usage of white in the kitchen as she knew that I don’t really like the colour [laughs].
Qanvast: What made Joanne special from the other interior designers that you met?
K: We met quite a few interior designers who were quite pushy. Joanne was very different from them as she was nice and friendly. We could communicate well with her too.
Qanvast: What do you like about Joanne?
K: She is very meticulous and does her best to satisfy our wishes.
WJ: She makes it a point to understand our needs and come up with designs that meet our expectations. Joanne was also very prompt. Whenever we texted her for advice on purchasing furniture, she would reply promptly and advise us on the suitability of the furniture.
Qanvast: What were some practical suggestions Joanne gave?
WJ: She suggested that we install larger drawers in the kitchen to keep our bigger pots and pans. The drawers are also placed at a good height so that we don’t really need to bend down to get them.
She also advised us on the location of electrical points. She suggested relocating some of the electrical points so that our vacuum will be able to reach all corners of the house. As first-time homeowners, we found her practical advice quite useful and we really appreciate her suggestions.
Qanvast: Name us one part of the house which Joanne did a great job designing.
K: I asked Joanne to design a display showcase for my Lego collection which I was really impressed with. I gave her the dimensions of my Lego pieces and she had to redo the drawings about three or four times before I settled upon a design that I liked. The final design that we went with was this irregular design.
WJ: As the Lego blocks are multi-coloured, it is important to choose the right lighting and laminate to use in the display cabinet, and I think Joanne did a good job with it. She designed it in such a way that the light can illuminate the entire cabinet.
Qanvast: We heard that you’re quite well-versed in IT matters. What advice do you have for first-time homeowners?
K: It’s important to plan the positioning of your wallet sockets. Make sure you have enough sockets in the home to cater to your needs. Also, if you’re staying in a HDB home, there will be a LAN (Local Area Network) pod that is not configured in your DB box. Get your interior designer to configure that for you as it will boost your wireless network signal.
WJ: Homeowners should give some thought to the way they will be using their home and plan the location of their sockets accordingly. This is something that should be done before the renovation since it would incur a lot of trouble if the re-wiring is done post-renovation.
