See how black and white makes this 3-room HDB look much bigger than it actually is

---

The design team from Home Journal took on the challenge of designing a 3-room HDB flat and proposed to give it an all-white interior with black accents that would accentuate the space.

The monochromatic colour scheme works wonderfully in such a small space, but the well-positioned strips of black help to make the home feel even larger. Home Journal started with a white base – on the walls, floors and ceiling – and accentuated the corners and edges of the rooms with strips of glossy black. The darker colour draws the eyes and adds to the illusion that the edges of the room are further away from one another than they actually are.

Home Journal also proposed to have an open concept kitchen. Not only will the kitchen appear larger, it also makes the other rooms brighter and airier. As with other small homes, storage is a priority and the designers managed to squeeze in a considerable amount of storage despite the small kitchen. By placing the stove, oven, washbasin and refrigerator next to one another, the designers managed to create a compact yet efficient kitchen workspace.

The built-in carpentry on the walls of the dining room is a smart use of space, as it doesn’t take up a lot of floor space. The bottom row houses storage cabinets, while the upper portion is where open alcoves and cubbyholes act as display shelves. The designers also demonstrated that shared spaces don’t need to be demarcated by building up walls and partitions. In the case of this shared living and dining space, the design team positioned furniture to naturally dictate the purpose of each space. The dining table (with a space saving built-in settee) sits under a mini chandelier that clearly anchors the boundary of the dining room. Similarly, the living room is left clean and unfettered.

---

---