Living Room with No Built-ins | Modern Minimalist in the East <$40K

856

Minimalist
HDB (BTO)
~1,000 sqft
3 br
Couple Living with Kids

Hi everyone! Welcome to our cozy corner in the East! You might know us as @chanceuponchanshome on Instagram. We’re stoked to share our home with you in Season 7! Our style? It’s all about timeless elegance—nothing too specific, just what feels right. We’re a family of three, plus our three adorable hamsters, living in a 4-room BTO. Our space came with the "mandatory" optional component scheme (LOL), and we had to get creative with the original vinyl flooring and tiles. Can we also add on that there’s no service yard for our estate?! Luckily, the Mrs. has always loved vinyl, so we simply designed around the original colours. Can’t wait to take you on this journey with us!
Our estate offered several layouts for 4-room flats, and we opted for one that provides a bit more privacy. For us, that means having the living space situated further from the door, which gives us a lovely long living room! As soon as you step inside, you'll be greeted by our dining table—it's the first thing you’ll see in the living area.
- #hello
After which you’ll have access to our sofa, coffee table and TV.
When you’re lounging on our sofa, you can see the whole living room—something we definitely thought about when setting up our space. This way, the man of the house can relax and keep an eye on things. They say it’s better for feng shui, so we’ll see how it goes!
We kept our renovation budget in check by skipping built-ins in the living room, which gives us the flexibility to change our furniture and layout whenever we want. (You might notice that from our obvious lack of proper TV console—more on that later! 😂) With a young child around, we also focused on getting curved furniture for safety (and let’s be honest, aesthetics too). Our dining table, coffee table, and kitchen island all feature curved designs, including our soon-to-be TV console! Curved designs can be pricier, but they really help soften sharp edges around the house and make it easier to move around—beneficial for both young kids and adults! Do consider this when planning for your new home :)
The little one helping with simple chores at home.
Speaking of the TV console, we asked our ID to keep this area flexible. We didn’t want to hide the wires since we plan to change things up in the future. We originally got a black track socket for this spot but ended up using it in the kitchen instead, swapping it out for a white one here. It’s just 40cm long but can accommodate 3-4 plugs, which works perfectly since we’re keeping the original HDB sockets too! (Cheers to future karaoke sessions! 🤭🤭🤭)
We impulsively purchased a matching coffee table and dining table that we absolutely love! The Mrs. initially wanted a sintered stone dining table for its practicality—anti-scratch and budget-friendly. But when we saw the labradorite lookalike stone table, it was love at first sight! No regrets! They’ve become the centerpieces of our space with their dark brown fluted bases and a beautifully muted blue-green-brown top. Plus, they’re rounded!
The heart of our home; where our living room, dining area, kitchen and bedrooms connect.
As the sun sets, the little one spends some time in the living room watching TV or doing handicrafts, while waiting for the Mrs. to make dinner. And as we speak, our girl is checking on Golden Boy, one of the three hamsters that we have, making sure he's awake! We originally had them in our Study Room, but moving them out was a great choice. They’re our little sources of entertainment as they go about their day!
They’re placed here--not too near to the home entrance and away from dining area. We don’t think it’s everyone’s cup of tea to have animals near their dining area so they’re here!
The extra space behind our sofa is now dedicated to our cute air purifier.
The dream of having a boucle sofa is finally a reality at chanceuponchanshome! 😍 Unlike many of our peers, we had specific requirements for our dream sofa: • Boucle • Curved Even though we couldn’t test it out before buying, it ended up being super comfortable for three people! We initially went for a 2.4m version but worried about having to carry it up 17 floors if it didn’t fit in the lift. 😅
Winding down some evenings means it’s movie night with snacks! With just the dining lights on, the living room takes on a cozy, inviting vibe. And once our daughter is asleep, the adults occasionally indulge in some horror movies. 🙈