Less is more in a modern minimalist flat

Home Type: 5-room HDB flat

Floor Area: 1,100sqft

Text by Disa Tan

Big on entertaining, the owners of this flat gravitated towards a spacious setting ideal for regular gatherings. OVON’s creative director Raymond Soh says: “They always have people over, so having a large island counter and ample space for movement made sense for their lifestyle needs.”

The brief also called for a modern minimalist aesthetic and Raymond adhered to that with a monochromatic colour scheme and a design that was clean and simple.

The homeowners also wanted a layout that was guest-friendly. The designer shifted the living area nearer to the front entrance and added a partition at the foyer for privacy.

Besides greater ease of movement, especially when entertaining, the couple preferred an open-concept kitchen that would enable them to keep an eye on their young son while cooking. Therefore, the orientation of the kitchen takes on an L-shaped layout where the wet kitchen has been relegated at the back to minimise heavy cooking smells.

The new open kitchen features a generous island counter positioned for easy entertaining, and the countertop has child-friendly curved edges that also help soften the look of this minimalist space.

Serving as a full-fledged pantry with a compact sink and open shelves for storage and display, the dry kitchen is fully set up as an efficient food-prep zone.

Lending dimension to the strategic design are two rows of shelves connecting the dry kitchen to the wet area. That offers plenty of storage to showcase beautiful serving pieces.

The back of the kitchen is outfitted with closed storage to keep clutter well-concealed, while the cabinets’ seamless and handle-free design adds to the minimalist look.

A large floor-to-ceiling unit demarcates the living area from the foyer and to reduce its visual volume, Raymond inserted open niches to serve as display shelving.

A two-tone treatment of hexagon-shaped tiles for the flooring visually separates the foyer from the other zones. The colour scheme for the vinyl flooring is decidedly warmer to temper the coolness of the modern minimalist interior.

One of the common bedroom walls has been hacked in order to accommodate a new sliding wardrobe in the master bedroom.

Everything is kept seamless with the vanity and bag display cabinet flush neatly with the walls. A painted wall accent outlines the sleeping area and aligns with the thickened framework of the frosted glass door leading to the master bathroom.

Forming a posh setting in the master bathroom is the lavish overlay of wall and floor tiles in a marble-inspired design. The integrated sink blends smoothly with the countertop and its pristine white surface stands out beautifully against the dark walls.