Houzz Tour: A Broken-plan Layout Creates a Light, Sociable Home
Scandinavian style and clean lines show off beautiful design details that add character to this reconfigured flat
Chiquit Brammall
14 April 2020
Design journalist and freelance editor. Dollhouse architect. Serial renter.
This three-bed flat, home to an IT professional, is cosy and quietly characterful. Bold black lines slice through the white living-dining area to draw the eye to a seating niche framed by handleless cabinets. The soft grey, white and blue palette creates a cool yet hygge (the Danish word for the ‘art of cosiness’) ambience, while luxurious details, such as snakeskin backrest straps, add a stylish and surprising flourish, all thanks to the expert hand of designer Eric Chua of Sync Interior.
House at a Glance
Who lives here? An IT professional in his early forties
Location Bishan, Singapore
Property An HDB (Housing Development Board) flat
Size Three bedrooms and two bathrooms; 904 sq ft
Project duration Two months
Designer Eric Chua of Sync Interior
Who lives here? An IT professional in his early forties
Location Bishan, Singapore
Property An HDB (Housing Development Board) flat
Size Three bedrooms and two bathrooms; 904 sq ft
Project duration Two months
Designer Eric Chua of Sync Interior
The owner entrusted Chua with creating his “simple, clean and Scandinavian concept” home, from adjusting the living-dining-kitchen layout, to make it breezy and light-filled, to picking out the right furniture. Chua carefully matched store-bought pieces with the custom-made Indonesian white wood dining table.
“We demolished a storage space to bring more light and ventilation from the kitchen window into the living room,” Chua says.
To keep this communal space uncluttered, Chua designed an L-shaped dining bench set into a bank of cabinetry. This niche demarcates the dining area from the living area in the limited space without too much bulk.
Glass doors framed in black provide visibility through to the kitchen, while allowing the cookspace to be enclosed when necessary.
To keep this communal space uncluttered, Chua designed an L-shaped dining bench set into a bank of cabinetry. This niche demarcates the dining area from the living area in the limited space without too much bulk.
Glass doors framed in black provide visibility through to the kitchen, while allowing the cookspace to be enclosed when necessary.
The kitchen sink is ceramic, the worktop is quartz and the splashback is marble tiles.
Feeling inspired? Find a local interior designer on Houzz and start planning your own renovation project.
Merging the kitchen with the service yard resulted in a more spacious cookspace and gives the homeowner a view of the outdoors when he has breakfast. Chua curated the collection of greenery that enlivens this space.
Thoughtfully paired materials, such as the marble tiled-splashback with the timber-and-metal bar table and stools, give off a luxurious-yet-laid-back vibe.
8 of the best ways to arrange indoor plants.
Thoughtfully paired materials, such as the marble tiled-splashback with the timber-and-metal bar table and stools, give off a luxurious-yet-laid-back vibe.
8 of the best ways to arrange indoor plants.
A wall of glass blocks is used as a divider between the entrance to the master bedroom and the sleep space itself. Here, too, the colour scheme of pale grey, white and blue creates a cool-yet-cosy ambience.
Tell us…
What do you like about this home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, save the story, and join in the conversation.
What do you like about this home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, save the story, and join in the conversation.
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Love the window between dining area and kitchen; a banquette is always a winner for me. And somehow the white and black aren't too cold in this light - they're also softened by wood accents. I wouldn't mind living here!
The banquette is a winner for me. I like the restrained use of black as it elevates the finish to make it look high end
So beautiful