Pine Close

Our renovation journey with Bowerman began on a high at our first meeting: we met with Chris and JT at their office. Despite my wife’s and my introverted-ness, Chris’ endless bound of enthusiasm managed to draw us into his creative world. At that point, he was either an excellent salesman or a sincere one (spoiler alert: he is the latter.) My wife and I did not have a specific theme or design in mind, though we knew what we didn’t want. Some designers might not relish wasting time shooting in the dark or would simply furnish us with a less-than-half-hearted proposal (which we did receive.) But Chris embraced this opportunity with glee to start on a clean slate and totally re-imagined what our new home could and should look like (bye bye, old floor plan!) Chris chatted with us to know us better (rather accurately), so that the design is personalised to suit who we are as a couple and as individuals, and not the other way round. Even the initial designs he conceived were bold to say the least, so we knew we got a winner in deciding who we wanted to engage. He never once pushed us to accept his ideas to fit his design philosophy or to simply avoid further iterations; it was always consultative and at suitable (or our clueless) moments, he offered suggestions that guided our decisions from a creativity and budgetary point of view. Discussions were always fun and never rushed, sustained by Chris’ ever positivity and energy. After numerous sleepless nights iterating (3am floor plans over Whatsapp!), Chris arrived at the aha moment where we just knew that that was it. He brought us on multiple visits to our flat and showrooms to have a look and feel of the design, so not everything was merely 3D walkthroughs or drawings. Even when renovation works began, Chris continued to propose many ideas to improve the design or overcome obstacles. JT is Chris’ formidable project manager, a steady and reliable pair of hands that guided us through the longer-than-expected gestation period for our flat (no thanks to COVID.) She helped to manage all the renovation works and pool of contractors to get the work done and resolve all teething issues. No flaws were left unturned, and JT and Chris made sure that all rectification works were followed up. The oohs and ahhs we get from family and friends on the final “product” are a testament to Bowerman’s excellent design, creative use of space and workmanship (they really adore our toilets.) COVID extended our journey with Chris and JT over a prolonged period of more than a year and with that, our relationship evolved beyond transactional. From a reliability perspective, they have more than proven to be trustworthy, sincere and being able to deliver (we were naturally worried about how COVID would affect their business.) On the creative front, their concept of space really opened our minds on how light, colour and materials can integrate coherently into a seamless flow of energy, peace and love.