Whirlwind love stories usually don’t last, but this one seems set for a lifetime. Only 12 hours had lapsed since this homeowner had first seen the resale flat listing on PropertyGuru and reached out to the agent involved, but he already knew this was the home he had been looking for. After a quick viewing via a Whatsapp video call, he confirmed the purchase.
It was far from an impulsive decision, however. The homeowner – a professor in his fifties – had been looking for a flat in Sin Ming for a while, as he wanted to be near his siblings who were living in the area. He was due to fly back from overseas, where he had been based for the last two decades, and the timing was just right to buy a home here in Singapore.
He also had his heart set on a maisonette. When this home became available, he bought it almost immediately because it checked all of the boxes – and the cherry on top was the open terrace that came with it, a very rare feature for a Housing Development Board (HDB) flat.
Buying the home at the start of the pandemic in 2020 meant that renovation had to be pushed back for four months. It was eventually completed in November, with a total of three months for the renovation and an overall cost of around $170,000.
For this project, the homeowner engaged Dess Chew of Three-D Conceptwerke. The brief included quite a few priorities: to house the homeowner’s collection of furniture and mementos, to create a peaceful atmosphere, to host friends from overseas, and to make it accessible after retirement.
Fulfilling all the aspects of the brief was a challenge, but the homeowner gave Dess plenty of creative space to develop a suitable design concept, while making suggestions along the way.
The result of the creative process is a home that is bright and serene, with communal areas and the master bedroom housed on the first floor, and the guest room on the second floor. The two floors are separated into East and West influences, a decision they made in order to house the homeowner’s sizable collection of mementos, furniture, and art. “I can’t part with [my collection] because they have been with me for many, many years,” he says. “It’s gotten quite eclectic, but it talks about my life.”
The first floor is light, bright, and peaceful – thanks to a major reconfiguration. Most of the internal walls were removed, save for a structural column. The natural light streams in from specially-fabricated arched doors that open out to a study and the terrace. Dess also put in gentle arches for an organic look. As a result, the central column resembles a stylised tree with branches spreading out – a happy coincidence that fits perfectly into the brief. “A lot of things evolved over time,” says the homeowner. “If there is a word to describe this flat, it’s organic.”
The concept for the first floor was in part inspired by the homeowner’s trips to spiritual retreats all over the world. He wanted his home to convey the same feeling of peace, joy, and love to his visitors.
As accessibility was a priority, the master bedroom was relocated to the first floor and everything was levelled out. The homeowner has everything he needs to live comfortably on the first floor, and particularly loves waking up to the view from the terrace that is now next to his bedroom and study.
The second floor has a warmer, intimate feel with chinoiserie elements. Much of his furniture collection resides here, including full-height shelves that hold his books and smaller mementoes. A set of old stools sit next to a vintage cabinet and a piece by his favourite artist Wu Guan Zhong, while the sofa bed is shielded from view by an antique screen that belonged to a family in Northern China more than a hundred years ago.
In fact, most of his furniture pieces have a story that he’s happy to tell. The tree-trunk base of his dining table, for instance, was something he fell in love with at first sight while in Hong Kong. A lamp on his desk reminds him of Sichuan, where he worked for twelve years. Yet other bits and pieces recall parts of his life that he has spent teaching and helping people in different parts of the world.
Although several items in his home are precious, the homeowner is adamant that they should not be purely ornamental – his home is to welcome loved ones, after all. “When people come in, they [should] feel relaxed. It must not be a home that is so artificial or unreal that if you come in you tiptoe around,” he says. “It’s important that [everything] has a purpose, or can be used.”
Article by: Melody Bay
Article source: https://www.homeanddecor.com.sg/gallery/house-tour-170k-reno-for-a-rare-hdb-maisonette-with-an-open-air-terrace/
View More Images: https://three-d-conceptwerke.com/portfolio/444-sin-ming-ave/
