Ascend Design reimagines a once-gloomy apartment as a warm, timber-wrapped retreat shaped around daily rituals, a dedicated coffee corner and the quiet calm of Amayadori.
Home Type: 1-bedroom apartment
Floor Area: 650sqft
Text by Janice Seow
This compact 650-square-foot apartment sits just opposite New Bahru, one of Singapore’s emerging lifestyle clusters — yet step inside and the mood flips entirely. Where the neighbourhood is social (especially on weekends), the home feels deliberately inward-looking: warm, quiet and made for slow living. The designers call it Amayadori — a Japanese expression for taking shelter from the rain — an apt nod to the home’s role as a personal refuge. Its owner, an accountant with a creative streak and a full-blown love affair with coffee brewing, wanted exactly that: a place for calm daily rituals and, when the moment calls for it, intimate speakeasy-style nights with friends.
The team at Ascend Design approached the brief with a strategic, almost meditative clarity. Because the apartment draws daylight from only one side, the long, deep floor plan was originally dark and boxed in by walls that trapped what little light it had. Their solution was deceptively simple yet transformative: integrated glass openings set high into new timber-lined walls. These act like internal clerestories, pulling natural light deep into the plan and giving the home its signature soft glow.
Materiality does the rest of the heavy lifting. Walnut-toned timber wraps the home with a quiet warmth, balanced by brushed stainless steel surfaces in the kitchen and an exposed concrete beam that was intentionally kept for contrast. The space feels crafted but not precious, atmospheric without drifting into theme-park “speakeasy” territory.
Storage dissolves into the architecture, keeping the apartment visually calm — a must for a home built around ritual and rhythm. Low, minimal furniture pieces keep sightlines open, while personal objects — sake bottles, coffee tools, books — are thoughtfully displayed, giving the apartment a curated but lived-in feel.
The kitchen is where the homeowner’s personality shines brightest. The stainless-steel counter offers the practicality and bar-like discipline required for serious brewing, while open shelving gives his ceramics and equipment the quiet stage they deserve. The dining area, anchored by a round timber table, shifts easily between a breakfast spot and an after-hours counter for intimate conversations long into the night.
The same clarity continues into the bedroom and bathroom, where timber panels, concealed storage and soft lighting maintain the home’s restful, tactile character.
What emerges is a home tuned to the owner’s rituals, moods and the gentle pleasure of taking things slowly.
Ascend Design
www.ascenddesign.sg
www.facebook.com/ascenddesigns
www.instagram.com/ascend.design
Photography by Justin @ Studio Stacked
We think you may also like 4 tiny homes in Singapore that make “less” feel like luxury
