A Designer Duo's Playful Twist On Their Unique Heritage Apartment

We were looking for a forever home but at the same time we wanted something configurable for future changes in lifestyle. We both really wanted a home that was both atmospherical and also functional at the same time. Hi, I'm Brian and I work in architecture. I'm Audrey and I work in interior design. This is a four-room HDB in Wampoa on the outskirts of the Toa Payoh area and it's approximately 1,001 square foot and we've been staying here for two months. The development is 23 years old and it's located in a quiet corner of this area. I grew up in the surrounding neighborhood and Audrey stayed around this area as well in the past. The flat itself was honestly in need of a complete overhaul from top to bottom as there were at least two homeowners previously. It wasn't really renovated when the owners changed it. It was very built up initially and it was pretty difficult to see the full extent of the actual space. For this project we titled it Bento due to the way we wanted certain things to come into play. So for one we wanted a large kitchen and secondly we wanted this variety and modularity that came with the house. Funny thing is we actually already started planning on the layout even before we viewed or offered for the unit so when we saw the listing we started sketching on the layout already because we saw the full potential of the place for multiple scenarios and other options as we went around to see that it was mostly more for confirmation bias. For the HDB flats during this period I find that for the layout plans they tend to be the most fun to work with based on past projects we've done with similar layouts. This is mostly due to the flexibility that it offers. One of the main draws of this HDB block is the corridor layout which in turn influences the layout of the flat itself which means that windows often flank both ends of the flat. This creates opportunity to create spaces that open to outside from both ends. Something that we like to do when we design a space is try to capture a continuous line of sight across it. In this case from the entrance you are able to see the end of the house so it makes the space feel a lot larger than it seems. Even if we were to enclose the study in the future as a third bedroom this line of sight is still something that is present in the space to help maintain its spaciousness. Due to the way the facade is like the columns don't eat into the living space and are not as disruptive as such you have this very nice wide to narrow to wide kind of space that changes as you move along. We kind of like this HDB block in terms of the color scheme and the color palettes. We noticed that there's a nice soft lilac color but also the main color is this warm white almost soft beige. What we decided to do is we painted the interior of the house matching to that soft beige warm white tone that brings nice warmth into the house as well. Something that we really liked about the place is also the level that we're at. It's just above the tree line so we have a nice mix of heights and also greenery. For the entry we wanted to create a warm and cozy atmosphere to enter into that's why we used terracotta tiles on the floor. The curved glass block serves as a way to create anticipation upon entry by partially obscuring the full view outside and the main space of the house reflecting the light and color from the surroundings outside. We really wanted the dining room and the kitchen to be the main heart and feature of the home. The dining room itself is quite large. It can sit 8 people up to 10 people in one big communal table. For the dining table itself we had it customized as there weren't many tables that's in this particular size that we wanted so that we can fit more people to sit into the space. One of our favorite features of this space is the Floss 265 wall lamp. It's been something I've been thinking about for a good 7 years now since I first saw it used in the house when I was interning back in university so it's something I immediately knew I wanted to fit into the space. We also love how the light floods into the space in the morning through the windows here and at night it captures the atmosphere of a late night diner but with the warmth of a home. For the breakfast table itself we designed it because Brian is a coffee enthusiast. Having a space for him to make coffee for us both in the morning having that as a nice morning ritual is something that I look forward to every day. Also while having breakfast while looking at the nice view of the neighborhood blocks around us. Plants are something Audrey loves so you'll see them across the space as little pockets of green contrast nicely with the warm tones. We added a curtain as one of the elements to separate the living space as well as the kitchen space. We wanted something that's not too solid so that's why we came about to this solution of the curtain and it also has a purpose to block off the smell when we're cooking in the kitchen as well as block off the air con flowing in and out from the space to the kitchen and the living space. We wanted an open kitchen due to the spaciousness and life it brought into the space compared to one that is sited at the corner. The long counter spaces flank both sides of the corridor and help to form a connection between both ends of the flat and it also provides a much larger working space for us while we meal prep. The excess counter space also compensates for taking out the usual top-hung cabinets in order to give us more headspace given the low ceiling height of HDB flats. In exchange we had an open shelf for us to display some of our handmade pottery pieces and to conceal a counter light. For the kitchen counter we chose to go for a stainless steel top as it was fuss-free maintenance-wise and if we had to it was possible to work directly off the space as well for example if you make like pasta dough and all that. A chamfer detail was done at the upturn at the backsplash to make the maintenance even more convenient. A flat bar detail also sits at the edge of the counter which doubles as a tower bar and hanging rack and also a little detail to prevent your clothes from soaking up water while leaning at the sink. The little stainless steel dots provide a playful indicator on the pulls of the doors and drawers. For the backsplash itself we used a very subtle but beautiful tile designed by a Spanish designer we liked for Mutina which had a fine lace-like detail which hints itself in daylight but shows its intricacy across the backsplash at night under the glow of the counter light. By bringing the kitchen out into the main area one this gives us the opportunity to shift the common room to the other end of the house. By doing this we create a kind of privacy for both common room and master bedroom. It's quite suitable for multi-generational living should we like have kids in the future for example. We kept the living room and the study room opened and filled with more loose furniture in order to maintain the flexibility in case in future if you want to expand it to a second common bedroom but at the same time this allows for a flow of air throughout the house. In these two spaces we decided to fill it with objects rather than buildings. Like a memory palace it's a place that we use to keep things that we hold close to us both precious and odd. Something like the prototype for one of Office Off's first few projects, a stool from a lucky draw at an industry event we both went to, also our shared collection of books and other bits and pieces of our lives. So the circular object here is actually a tabletop one of the few selected installations for the Singapore Pavilion for the Venice Biennale back in 2021. The theme was together and we decided to gather and encase the smells across Singapore and Resin. So what you see in it are elements of different smells across the islands from the smell of chocolate you encounter at Boon Lay for example or the salted and preserved goods in Victoria You also have like incense sticks which is from Chinatown as well. Unfortunately we couldn't go to Italy due to Covid but I guess the tabletop went there. We planned our study room for flexibility in the future in case if we want to convert this into a second common room for kids. We like to display some of our hobbies and memorabilia as art displays on the walls like Brian's paddle from his canoeing days, his paintings and my batik and loom work. The master is actually planned out in a very practical way to conceal a lot of pipework and cabling behind the carpentry but even then we tried to introduce elements to make it a closiness at night. Oddly in the bathrooms are like a very key component of the house itself and helps to get it to function. The floor is an extremely rough textured tile to mimic the sand and stone of a riverbed while overhead. A soft and translucent ceiling reminiscent of a soft sky changes from a bright white in the morning to a very warm and dim orange light at night playing with the circadian rhythm of our bodies to either set an atmosphere of crisp freshness or oozing warmth. Home to me should be something like a space that is molded and formed by the activities of the people living in it. I really like our home because it's like a form of expression of who we are both in function and also in aesthetics. For myself the home is a subconscious expression of a person living in it. It's something that I hope to bring out when I design for others as well.