Inside a 1990s HDB flat in Tampines

Home Type: 4-room HDB flat

Floor Area: 1,050sqft

Text by Janice Seow

What began as a typical four-room resale in Tampines became an exercise in flow and attitude. The owners — one Taiwanese, one Malaysian — wanted a welcoming entry gesture, an open kitchen that stays connected to daily life, and personality expressed through colour rather than clutter. Indoor Art Studio’s Vanessa Song and Carolyn Koh took the brief and re-plotted the flat around movement: openness where it matters, definition where it helps.

The heavy lift was spatial. The 1990s flat was fully gutted, keeping only the bedroom positions for practicality while removing the wall between kitchen and living. In its place sits a custom dining table-meets-island — anchored exactly where the partition once stood — so cooking, eating and lounging now read as one continuous rhythm instead of three separate zones. The dining table is custom made in Formica FENIX material, a finish that is both matte and durable, while a stainless-steel worktop by Baremetal adds an industrial polish.

In the living area, a mosaic-tiled TV console runs long and low — a textured strip that doubles as display ledge and occasional perch when guests drop by. It sets the tone for a home that values craft as much as convenience, and it acknowledges the couple’s preference for tactile finishes over trend-chasing decor.

Because openness can feel too exposed once the walls are gone, the designers used built-ins to define spaces without reinstating partitions. A bright blue settee bench with shoe storage adjacent grounds the entry so the first view from the main door feels calm, not chaotic.

In the master bedroom, the original doorway would have placed the bed directly facing the entrance — a layout that goes against feng shui principles and spatial intuition alike. The team’s fix was simple but smart: replace the swing door with a concealed one that blends seamlessly into the wall. It keeps the room’s energy balanced, the visual line uninterrupted, and the overall layout calm and intuitive — design you feel before you notice.

Look closer and the home reveals a subtle dialogue of contrasts — rounded cut-outs against clean lines, cool metal beside warm timber, colour used sparingly but with intent. The design carries a Taiwanese sensibility and enjoys clear circulation with social spaces that stay connected, and storage that works hard in the background. It’s still a 1990s flat at heart, but one fully reimagined for how this couple lives now — light-filled, unpretentious and distinctly theirs.