SINGAPORE – Having lived in large HDB flats growing up, interior designer Samuel Lee and his wife, quantity surveyor Pearlynn Chia, needed time to adjust to the size of their new flat.

“We were willing to make compromises, but not lose the features that we grew up with. Wanting even more modern comforts while trying to make them all fit in was tough,” says Mr Lee, director and lead designer of local studio Atum Interior.

In renovating the 1,001 sq ft, four-room unit in Punggol Drive, Mr Lee – who is also a contractor – let himself be guided by what he has always practised: purposeful design that pays attention to ergonomics and spatial flow.

The couple, both 32, agreed on certain important criteria for the home: It should be low-maintenance, relaxing and timeless .

Almost every non-load-bearing wall was removed and all the finishes were replaced, except for the flooring in the living room and bedrooms. 

To the left of the main entrance, a new breakfast bar-cum-shoe cabinet demarcates the entrance foyer and separates it from the kitchen.

A sliding door at the end allows the entrance foyer to be closed off to prevent the couple’s two dogs from escaping. The same sliding door can also close off the kitchen. 

A breakfast bar-cum-shoe cabinet demarcates the entrance foyer and separates it from the kitchen. 

PHOTO: SPH MEDIA

The kitchen lies on the other side of the breakfast bar, and its reconfigured entrance faces the dining and living areas. It ha s been combined with the yard, and the galley-style layout lets in natural light from the window at one end of the laundry area.

The kitchen has a galley-style layout.

PHOTO: SPH MEDIA

Some of the thoughtfully designed features in this space include a vertical utensil cabinet, hide-away laundry sink, dedicated housing for the robot vacuum cleaner and a self-flushing dog toilet. 

A row of built-in carpentry occupies the back wall, including shelves and cabinets to house the wife’s collection of Sylvanian Families figures.

PHOTO: SPH MEDIA

The dining room is right beside the balcony, which is decked out with stained recycled chengal wood. A row of built-in carpentry occupies the back wall, including shelves and cabinets to house Mr Lee’s aquarium and Ms Chia’s collection of Sylvanian Families figures. These are collectible animal figurines who live in the fictional North American village of Sylvania.

The dining table, which is made of solid black walnut planks , is the couple’s pride and joy, as they built it themselves. It also doubles as Mr Lee’s workspace when he is aquascaping. 

The couple built their own dining table out of solid black walnut planks.

PHOTO: SPH MEDIA

One of the bedrooms has been converted into the new living room, with a simple design and cosy lighting.

Next to the living room, the walkway connecting the household shelter, common bathroom and master bedroom has been designed as a feature wall that conceals the three doors. Using a framing design, the resulting shadows cast by the frames hide the seams for the doors in plain sight. 

The walls between the master bedroom and adjacent bedroom were removed, then re-partitioned using new carpentry incorporating full-height, L-shaped wardrobes and a study nook with a dog door. A window above the study desk is roughly aligned with the external window of the bedroom next door. This creates a layering of spaces while offering a view out of, and allowing natural light into, the study area. 

The walls between the master bedroom and adjacent bedroom were removed, then re-partitioned, to create a larger suite with a study.

PHOTO: SPH MEDIA

The placement of the carpentry created a larger master bedroom and a smaller second bedroom which can be repurposed when the couple have a child. In the meantime, this spare room , which has a Murphy bed, serves as a space to exercise, play mahjong or accommodate guests.

Mr Lee fitted the master bathroom with large-format tiles, a wall-hung water closet, bathtub, concealed shower mixer and large twin basins.

For the common bathroom, he designed a double-faced wall incorporating niches on both sides. He went with a WPC (wood-plastic composite) material for the carpentry, as it is waterproof and easy to clean. 

The owner fitted the master bathroom with a wall-hung water closet, bathtub and large twin basins.

PHOTO: SPH MEDIA

The couple moved into their home in November 2023 after a 10-week renovation that cost about $80,000, excluding furnishings.

Being a designer himself, Mr Lee constantly tweaked the design during the renovation as he watched the space evolve.

“Working on my own home gives me the freedom to experiment with riskier ideas and features that I would never put in my clients’ homes,” he says.  

This article first appeared in Home & Decor Singapore. Go to

homeanddecor.com.sg

for more beautiful homes, space-saving ideas and interior inspiration.

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