Located in Clementi, this 5-room HDB flat home has been designed for entertaining, and features a modern industrial look.
29 August 2017
Home Type: 5-room HDB flat
Floor Area: 1,200 sqft
Text by Lookbox Living
This jet-setting couple wanted a home that was not only easy to clean, but also conducive to hosting great parties whenever they are in town.
And the home’s design all started with a table from Crate & Barrel. “We saw this table very early on, even before we got our house keys,” says homeowner Dave Lua. “I liked it from the get-go. So when Tommy (the designer) said okay, we bought it!” With the table measuring 2.3 metres long, Dave and his wife Ai Ling had to get “permission” from their interior designer before they purchased it for their five-room HDB flat. “Because it’s really huge, Tommy had to think of ways to accommodate this furniture piece. If you don’t cater for this right at the start, you may not be able to fit it in,” Dave explains.
This gigantic table now takes pride of place in the middle of the couple’s new home.
Defined by unique holes and knots, it is made using upcycled wood that was reclaimed from telephone poles, tells the couple. Matched with five Barro Negro (black clay in Spanish) pendant lamps directly imported from Mexico, it is the key furniture piece that sees Dave and Ai Ling entertaining friends regularly.
Since a large portion of the open-concept living space is allocated as the dining area, Tommy had work with what remains to fit in a sofa and TV, as well as a whisky bar. “I have a large collection of wine and whisky, and wanted a place to store and display them,” Dave says on their pastime of having friends over for drinks.
To create a bar where Dave’s collection could be easily accessed, Tommy designed a pair of wall-mounted shelving units. Backdropping the dining area, and made of black powder-coated stainless steel, the bar complements the rustic feel of the dining table. Part of the wall separating the kitchen was also hacked to open up the space, giving the homeowners and their guests more room to move about and mingle.
The whisky bar is topped with gold-tone aluminium, varnished to make it a hardwearing surface for bottles and glassware.
As for the living room, it has been arranged such that the sofa faces the windows. Explaining this rather unconventional layout, Tommy says, “This flat has a fantastic view. It’d be such a waste to face the TV instead!” The flat is located on the 29th floor and enjoys an unblocked view that stretches for kilometres.
The master bedroom is now larger, as it now amalgamates one of the other bedrooms.
Besides a bigger dressing area, Dave and Ai Ling also requested that Tommy design the bedroom to be suited for working from home. A row of desks offers sufficient space for the couple to get work done in the comfort of their room.
Ai Ling’s desk is further personalised with a tabletop that lifts up to turn it into a vanity.
Designer Tommy Lai worked with Derrick Low from renovation firm Reimage Decor to create this stylish home.
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