After visiting their 4-room BTO in Saint George’s Lane (just a stone’s throw away from Boon Keng), couple Hanna and Imran wanted to give it a complete makeover.
“Our home’s overall look and feel was really centred on our accent walls in the bathrooms – the tiles found there were the first things I chose and wanted to incorporate into the design,” said Hanna.
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The monochromatic pattern on these tiles led the pair to use timeless shades such as black and white. Despite the home’s rather austere palette, it’s not lacking any warmth. Read on to find out how they achieved the perfect balance!
On their home’s concept
Hanna (H): Having created several mood boards, we had some inkling of where we wanted to take the BTO – something timeless with plenty of clean lines, streamlined furnishings, a simple with a black and white colour scheme to match the shower wall plus green accents. Since the home is quite small, we wanted as much storage as possible, even though we don’t have that many things [laughs]!
Imran (I): During the process, I was quite into the idea of home automation so I actually had some guys come down to make the house a little smarter – our home’s lock was updated and we even bought a clock from IKEA that lights up when you clap.
On changes made to their home
H: We didn’t really do much layout-wise but we did change up quite a few things like the flooring, for instance. It’s all warm wood vinyl except for the kitchen, where we decided to change things up with hexagon tiles. We were advised against choosing other flooring options by our designer, Clarice, since the wood helps to balance out our colour scheme.
H: Aside from the accent wall in the shower, we also updated the tiles there, swapped out the HDB fixtures for matte black options and changed the doors.
I: Actually, we changed every door, except the main one.
H: We painted over the woody door frames with black to get it to match everything else (like the matte black metal gate which was customised and cut with laser) and had a few items built in including our kitchen cabinets and our feature walls.
I: I personally didn’t really like the look of the bomb shelter or enjoy having wiring exposed, so we built two separate features in our living room with the purpose of concealing both of them.
H: We made sure to baby-proof the suspended TV console with edge guards, chose a small coffee table and decided on handle-less cabinetry in the kitchen since we have a young son that likes to roam around.
I: Originally, we wanted an open concept kitchen but that left us with very little space to store our dishware.
H: Since space was tight, we decided against the first idea and opted for cabinetry instead, using white to make it look bright and airy. To expand the kitchen a little more, we changed out the mesh detailing in the service yard for glass windows instead.
About getting to know Project Guru
H: I follow Qanvast on Instagram for interior ideas so I decided to get a quotation through it. I filled in the form, submitted it and was referred to 5 interior designers. Ultimately, we chose Project Guru because of Clarice. She understood our vision from the get-go, worked within our budget and timeframe.
On working with Clarice
H: What with both of us working full-time, we didn’t have much time to spare to oversee the process so our designer had to carry the bulk of the project. We were also rushing against time – we were staying with my father-in-law, who sold his house. Then we put up at our brother-in-law’s house but with two families it was quite cramped.
H: Despite the tight schedule, Clarice was extremely meticulous and kept us updated throughout the process very frequently. When she drew out the carpentry, she showed it to us, highlighting even the smallest of details such as dimensions. Though we didn’t really understand the technical aspects, she would still take the time to explain to us and even sent us videos! Our renovation was quite effortless.
I: It really wasn’t as daunting as other people made it out to be. Clarice was a great help.
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