2 idiot Sinkies 1st time buyers spend $85K to reno their 99 year lease flat

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

SOmeone forgot to tell these 2 idiots they don't own their flat? And that likely, they will have to move out way before 99 years due to SERS or some other such shit?


Who lives here: A young couple Home: Four-room HDB apartment in Sengkang Size: 970sqf Max and Dessy are a young couple who are well-acquainted with the art of compromising with each other. It did not take them long to agree on what they absolutely needed for their first marital home, a four-room HDB apartment in Sengkang. "We mainly wanted necessities such as storage, as well as to avoid clutter and keep things clean and simple," says Dessy. Where they differed was on how to transform those shared dreams into concrete reality. Max, a relationship manager, favoured an industrial theme, while Dessy fancied a contemporary-resort look. Their solution was to combine the best bits of these disparate decor styles, with help from designer Kelvin Teo of Space Sense. Kelvin had no qualms juxtaposing screed walls with wood floors, or a rustic red-brick feature alongside a magazine rack custom-designed to resemble a "punk dog". The apartment's allure, following a four-month renovation, lies in how its various raw, homespun, and edgy elements are fused to create a space that is both eminently habitable and easy-on-the-eyes.

It was function, not aesthetics, that initially preoccupied Max and Dessy, who were worried about the flat's size. "New flats are generally small, and when we first walked in, the space felt very narrow," says Dessy. To enhance the sense of space, Kelvin knocked down the walls dividing the kitchen from the entrance and living area, and installed an island unit that subtly demarcates each zone. Instead of a standalone shoe cabinet that would have made the entrance feel more cramped, Kelvin took his cue from a superstition held by Max's mother that shoe storage should be no higher than chest level, and divided storage below the island into two halves - the part facing the kitchen stores the crockery and the outer half, footwear. By keeping the furniture low and ensuring ample pockets of empty space, Kelvin ensured that the living area, awash in a neutral palette of white, grey and wood, felt roomy enough for design to take the spotlight. The concrete screed and red brick wall, trunk coffee table and asymmetrical electrical cabling that runs the length of the room lend an industrial edge to the space, but as Kelvin explains, the trick was not to overdo it. Instead, the designer played up the couple's passion for entertainment and karaoke. He gave the furnishings a music theme, with a customised wood-and-metal dining table that resembles a cassette tape. BEST OF BOTH WORLDS The industrial theme is more muted in the master bedroom, which Kelvin enlarged by combining two rooms. The sleeping area is tranquil with a customised wood bed frame and wall-mounted extendable bedside lights. The other end, however, keeps to the raw look, with full-height cabinetry clad in concrete-looking laminate. One panel among this wall of cabinets in fact leads to the master bathroom, which has a distinct contemporary-resort vibe, save for the screed walls in the dry area. Of the unusual pairing of decor styles, Dessy jokes: "We thought it turned out very industrial, though the wood floors and bathrooms are resort-like!" But she doesn't mind. The couple love the results of their renovation, which cost about $80,000 to $85,000, with Max professing a particular affection for the living area that, incidentally, sports the strongest dose of the industrial look he loves.


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