Scrupulous space planning was key to transforming this awkwardly shaped space into a chic urban retreat.
Who: A couple in their early 30s and their dog
Home: Three-bedroom condominium apartment in the east
Size: 1,300sqf
Finance industry professionals Alex and Faye Goldie, with their designer Ho Wai Keong from Amber, pulled off what other homeowners spend years doing: they created the perfect urban oasis that's cosmopolitan without being pretentious, and stripped-down without being nondescript, all on their first attempt.
With its neutral hues and curated furnishings, everything feels right where it should be in this three-bedroom home.
It is remarkably functional, too - there's plenty of storage room, and the spaces now work for its occupants' lifestyle.
Faye said: "We were looking for something for us to grow into as a family; an apartment that we could hack and redo."
To achieve the couple's clean, contemporary vision, Wai Keong redrew the original layout, while retaining all the bedrooms and incorporating the couple's existing furnishings.
Here's how he did it:
1. Work around tight spots
The layout, which included uncomfortably petite and odd-shaped spaces, was reconfigured to meet Alex and Faye's needs.
The size of the original kitchen, for instance, was comfortable only for one person to prepare meals.
So, the designer replaced the wall between the living area and kitchen with a bar counter angled towards the former to carve out more food preparation space. "I thought the living area and kitchen should be a single space to allow communication," he says.
2. Tailor the space for the user
Rather than going for big flourishes, Wai Keong sought to conceptualise an intuitive, user friendly apartment. "The idea is to keep things a bit simpler, a bit easier. Design doesn't always have to stand out," he explains.
He installed windows above the kitchen's bar counter to keep in cooking fumes without obstructing the flow of space and light.
Although the kitchen is now bigger, appliances and fittings are placed so that they are no more than two steps from each other.
To accommodate the working couple's hectic lifestyle, Wai Keong incorporated two washbasins in the master bathroom by removing the tub and repositioning the shower.
3. Make it easy on the eye
Similar materials - for instance, laminates that clad the storage walls - are used for a seamless look. In the master bedroom, wood-lookalike laminate is applied on both rows of wardrobes and the bathroom door, concealing the latter while creating a neat, cocooning vibe.
In the kitchen, light bounces off the cabinets' white laminate, while its exterior walls are covered in timber panelling.
"The kitchen should look like it's carved from a single block, when viewed from outside," says Wai Keong. So, builtin appliances were used, while solid surface was chosen for the counter as it can be applied on the angled countertop without leaving joint lines.
WHERE TO GO: Amber
TEL: 9238-9529
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