AEN is a designer and engineer who contacted us a while back about the renovation he was doing on his new HDB flat. From the photos, you’ll see it’s more of a redesign than an HDB renovation. And it’s nothing like we’ve ever featured before. We were pretty wowed by the minimalist design and are happy it’s completed so we can show you!
Aen and Pei Tsyr bought the four-room build-to-order flat and have been living there for over a year. They’ve lived in Yishun for most of their lives and this time chose a more peaceful part of the neighbourhood, near the Lower Seletar Reservoir, to be closer to nature.
Tell us about your HDB renovation.
We wanted our space to feel like it’s been around longer than we have – like we had found a cave and settled in it. Visually, we wanted it to be raw and simple so it doesn’t feel all man-made. But also to recreate the security and permanence of a cave.
We found inspiration in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern houses that were simply carved out of rocks. And we stuck to a single colour and limited textures throughout the space. The more homogenous it is, the more it will feel like a cave.
There is almost no entryway – there is immediate access to the large living space as soon as we enter. There’s no special rituals we had to design around, so the whole space is large and flexible to allow for spontaneity. We removed all the existing walls to reallocate space.
Describe how the minimalist design extends to your home décor.
We put off getting bulky furniture to allow the living space to adapt to any purpose. It can be a workout space, or easily host friends and movie nights, without things getting in the way.
We chose the biggest TV we can sensibly fit on the wall without sacrificing aesthetics and viewing distance. A 75-inch screen made the most sense. It’s hung on a curved wall where all the cables are hidden within. The TV is connected by these cables to electronics like streaming devices and game consoles hidden in the carpentry.
The TV floats above a console that appears to have been carved out of the wall. All storage is built into the walls, which maintains the openness and emptiness of the living room.
The kitchen looks cool too!
There’s no wall carpentry, so we could keep the part of the kitchen visible from the living room as open as possible and increase the use of space towards the end of the kitchen, where the service yard used to be.
We chose to keep the boundary between the kitchen and living room ambiguous and open so anyone working in the kitchen can still feel they are part of the activity in the living room area. The sink and faucet are all off-white to avoid the harshness of chrome and stainless steel.
Talk us through the bedrooms.
The second bedroom was combined into the original master bedroom to create a more open room with a seamless dressing area. Instead of a walk-in wardrobe, we have a walk-over dressing area with a boutique style clothing rack that complements our collection of apparel, bags and accessories.
Our bed is a raised platform integrated with a long work table for when we work from home, which spans the whole length of the window. We can work with a full view of the weather outside. Cloudless perfect blue skies and rainy days are especially nice.
The hotel-grade mattress nests within a deep recess in the platform, with its top almost flush with the platform surface. It feels like you’re sleeping on a big slab of rock, and there’s no feeling of falling off the side of the bed!
What bathroom choices did you make for your HDB flat?
In the master bathroom, both the toilet bowl and sink are wall-hung and pebble shaped. The white faucets are the same as the kitchen sink faucets, to avoid the harsh feel of chrome and stainless steel.
We have no shelves or storage, and just leave toiletries around the floor, as if it was a real cave and we had no way to organise the stuff. We chose a rain and shower kit from INAX as the Japanese aesthetic matched the rest of the space.
It’s quite a feat; how do you feel now it’s completed?
We’ve achieved most of what we’ve set out to create – a calm and open cave. It definitely provides the respite for our tired minds after a long day. We’re still getting used to not having furniture, and we’re determined to keep it this way.
We’re still exploring ways to increase physical comfort while spending time in the living room, so we can hang out more as a family.
There are small flaws here and there as we start to form habits and establish our routines. But we will continue to work on this space as an ongoing project.
We’re pretty impressed with what they’ve done – there aren’t many HDB renovations around like this. Congratulations to them! If you’ve created something you’d like to show us, do get in touch at info@expatliving.sg.
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This minimalist design HDB flat first appeared in the April 2024 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe, so you never miss a copy!
