What You Can (Realistically) Expect From Your BTO Renovation with $50K

A rough picture of what you can get with $50,000.

Planning your home renovation involves multiple things. Finding an interior designer, getting design inspiration… and, of course, researching your renovation budget to find out what you can get with the amount you’ve set aside.

This, obviously, will depend on your property type and size. So, to speed up your renovation research, we’ve taken a rough renovation budget of $50,000 – a reasonable average between BTO homeowners who are willing to splurge and those with a tighter budget – and singled out projects from 2-room Flexi BTO flats to 5-room units to show you what you can realistically expect.

Renovating your 2-room Flexi BTO flat with $50,000

With 2-room Flexi BTO flat sizes ranging from 36 sqm to 48 sqm, a $50,000 renovation budget gives you plenty of leeway in terms of renovation works.

As these homes only have one bedroom and bathroom each, you have fewer things to work on compared to other BTO homeowners. This frees up some budget for more complex works – which, given the small size, can really make a difference in creating some much-needed storage space and making it feel larger.

Fernvale Vines 2-room Flexi BTO flat (Renovation cost: $45,000)

Inspired by Japanese interior design, the homeowner of this 2-room Flexi BTO flat in Punggol chose to invest in carpentry to make her space functional.

Here, you’ll find tons of hidden storage, cleverly concealed in features like the bay window seat and bedroom platform, creating a seamless-looking space that feels larger than it really is.

But despite the extensive use of carpentry, the homeowner has still managed to keep costs manageable by opting in for the Optional Component Scheme that comes with vinyl strip flooring.

Woodlands Avenue 9 2-room Flexi BTO flat (Renovation cost: $52,000)

Similar to the previous home, this 2-room Flexi BTO flat also features heavy carpentry usage, with a platform in the bedroom as well as a feature wall-bench seating combination that serves to conceal the household shelter door.

Additionally, electrical rewiring works were required, and the bathroom was also given a small makeover, with wall and floor overlays, as well as cove lighting, bumping up the renovation cost further.

Renovating your 3-room BTO flat with $50,000

While a 3-room BTO flat grants homeowners additional flexibility to play around with the layout with the additional bedroom, doing so will translate into additional renovation costs – and that’s not even mentioning the increased labour and materials needed!

Clementi NorthArc 3-room BTO flat (Renovation cost: $50,000)

You may think that it’s impossible for the homeowners of this 3-room BTO flat in Clementi to keep to a budget of $50,000. After all, there are quite a number of built-ins and decorative features installed around the home, like the entryway storage, kitchen peninsula, and walk-in wardrobe.

But upon closer inspection, you’ll realise that they retained a few of the original features – like the flooring, and the wall tiles in the bathroom. There’s also no wall hacking involved, with all bedrooms left intact.

Woodleigh Link 3-room BTO flat (Renovation cost: $48,000)

By now, you’ve probably realised that if you want to keep under a budget of $50K and below, something has to give. In this case, the homeowners chose to minimise built-ins to keep within their budget. In fact, the only built-ins you’ll see are those deemed ‘necessary’ – like a wardrobe in the bedroom and cabinets in the kitchen.

As such, this frees up additional budget for aesthetic features that would typically drive up costs – such as the tiles used to overlay the original flooring and bathroom walls, as well as the limewash paint coating the walls of the living room.

Renovating your 4-room BTO flat with $50,000

Renovating within a $50,000 budget gets trickier with a 4-room BTO flat, as you have an extra 30+ sqm to take into account compared to a 3-room BTO flat. While others may choose to turn their spare bedroom into a walk-in wardrobe or study, it’ll be tough to do so while keeping to a budget.

As such, you’ll probably need to consider your priorities and whether it’s necessary for certain features so that you can keep to your budget.

Fernvale Vines 4-room BTO flat (Renovation budget: $48,000)

Decked out in a soothing Kinfolk aesthetic, this 4-room BTO flat in Punggol features a living room with limewash walls and a decorative arched niche that adds texture and softness to the space.

Such features typically tend to cost more, but thanks to the homeowners’ decision to rely heavily on loose furniture over built-ins – the latter of which is a more expensive choice to furnish your home with – they are able to comfortably keep within a renovation budget of $50,000.

Tengah Plantation Crescent 4-Room BTO flat (Renovation budget: $47,000)

If you’re on a tight budget, experimenting with colours and accent features are some ways to make your home stand out. This 4-room BTO flat in Tengah proves just that, with features coloured in hues that range from soothing neutrals to striking jewel tones.

Like most of the homes on the list, the homeowners chose to avoid relying too much on carpentry, mainly sticking to basics like the bedroom wardrobe and kitchen cabinets.

For those who don’t cook often or don’t require much kitchen storage, here’s a tip: you can cut carpentry costs by opting out of top-hung cabinets in the kitchen. Reduced fabrication costs aside, this also prevents your kitchen from feeling too cramped and overly boxed-in.

Renovating a 5-room BTO flat with $50,000

If you’re aiming to renovate your 5-room BTO flat within a tight budget, you’ve got a challenge on your hands. With an additional 20+ sqm to take into account, you’re going to need to plan everything to a T to make sure that you stay within your budget.

To give you a clearer idea of what you can realistically expect, here are a few 5-room BTO projects that cost $50,000:

Tengah Plantation Grange 5-room BTO flat (Renovation cost: $50,000)

Choosing to focus on the living room and kitchen, the homeowners of this 5-room BTO flat in Tengah opted for a Japanese-inspired feature area complete with a shoji-style sliding door to separate the bedrooms from the communal area.

Aside from functioning as a demarcation between the communal and private areas, this feature area also helps to conceal the aircon trunking that is prevalent in many homes in Tengah.

Inside, the junior bedrooms are pretty much left untouched, without any layout changes or extensive built-ins to drive the renovation cost up.

Tampines North Drive 5-room BTO flat (Renovation cost: $50,000)

Designing your home around OCS features like the porcelain flooring is a great way of keeping costs low while keeping the look cohesive – just take a look at this 5-room BTO flat, with an all-white home that feels bright and airy.

Another way is by opting for simple yet timeless materials such as vinyl, laminates, and ceramic tiles – all of which are on the more affordable side of the material cost spectrum.

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