From Resale to Refined: Our $90K Functional Aesthetic HDB Makeover
878
- Minimalist
- HDB (Resale)
- ~1,200 sqft
- 3 br
- Couple Living
Hi, we’re @ourcarousellhome! We're excited to share how we transformed our 5-room resale HDB into a cosy, functional space. 🏡 Our 1184 sqft flat blends simplicity and warmth, and we spent $90K on a full renovation. The previous owner had added two partition walls and built-ins in every room, so a significant cost also went into removing these. The only original feature we kept was the HDB door frames, which we repainted to match our new doors. 
Our home boasts a spacious, squarish living room—ideal for both relaxing and entertaining. Though the kitchen is small and lacks a service yard, we’ve made it work (more on that later). One of our favorite features is the floor-length windows, which flood the living room with natural light, creating a bright and airy atmosphere. We stuck to the original floor plan with one exception—thinning the thick wall at the kitchen entrance to free up space. We also chose not to add built-ins in the guest rooms, keeping the layout flexible for future plans, like kids. 
This is our entryway, where you'll notice the first two curves in our home—on the shoe cabinet and settee. Since I tend to bump into corners often, we decided to soften all sharp edges for safety. This design choice not only improves the flow of the space but also future-proofs our home. Many friends with young kids have already commented on how kid-friendly our place is. 😅 
Although compact, our kitchen is equipped with everything we need. Without a service yard, we’ve optimised every inch for storage and functionality. Our parents affectionately refer to our appliances as the 'three monsters'—the dishwasher, washer, and dryer. It may be small, but it’s incredibly efficient, and with large windows for ventilation, we’ve truly enjoyed cooking meals here. You can head over to our profile to read more about our kitchen in a separate post. Continuing from the settee is the longest built-in carpentry piece, designed to keep things flexible. Instead of a typical feature wall for the TV console, we created a large aesthetic storage area that doubles as our dry pantry and coffee setup. We love making coffee here every morning, and it offers ample storage within. This multi-purpose unit is visually pleasing and highly functional with deep storage (more on that in another post!). Ideally, we would have placed our Wells water dispenser here, but it’s too far from the kitchen water source. We wanted to avoid potential slow water flow issues from a long pipe. On the flip side of the long built-in carpentry is our dining area, which features a unique curved wall. If you examine the floor plan closely, you'll notice a small indentation on this large wall. We initially asked our interior designer to smooth it out with a partition, and instead, our ID proposed the brilliant idea of curving the wall. Till today, we’re still amazed at how the contractors executed it so beautifully. We love how this design element ties together all the curves in the house, creating the illusion of an even more spacious dining area. 
You’ve probably read about our living area in a previous post (if not, head over to our profile to check it out). We kept the design minimal with no built-ins in the main space. We love lounging on the sofa and armchair throughout the day—it’s definitely the area where we spend most of our time. Here’s our common bathroom, which we love for its cosy feel. We’ve curved all the carpentry, including the vanity cabinet, and kept the overall design simple. The final significant curve element is in our master bedroom. As an older flat, one drawback of the layout was that the AC ledge access comes from the MBR instead of the more modern access through the MBR toilet. This posed a challenge during carpentry installation, as we needed to maintain access. Our ID cleverly curved the cabinetry to avoid a bulky feel, and instead of a costly arched glass door, they proposed an arched carpentry design that accommodates a standard rectangular glass door. This also allowed for a more aesthetically pleasing arched entryway to the MBR toilet. One of my favourite parts of the house: the MBR toilet. We love how our ID proposed a long mirror instead of the typical wall-to-wall option, giving the space a hotel bathroom vibe. Plus, there’s bonus storage behind the mirror (more on that later)! 
That wraps up our quick virtual house tour! In upcoming posts, we’ll dive into the details of each room, sharing design tips, renovation insights, and what we’ve learned along the way. If you’re planning your home transformation or just love interior design, stay tuned!
- 20 October
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