Minimalist Home Reno for S$37K in Tampines

583

Virtual House Tour

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

Hi and welcome to our long-awaited house tour. We knew having a theme would simplify our renovation process but still ended up not having a theme because: 1. Mr. preferred dark spaces 2. Mrs. preferred bright airy ones Even our ID had issue aligning us LOL, but luckily we are on the top floor unit with extra ceiling height, so the space is naturally brighter! Our theme revolves around neutral colours (so yay to minimalism renovation!) because of our original BTO tiles and floorings (light brown vinyl and grey tiles). We didn't want to burn our pockets renovating so we kept whatever we could while still achieving our first dream home! We also paid off our renovation fully without taking a renovation loan and would like it to be financially manageable.
Our 4 room BTO layout - We didn't change much other than hacking the kitchen wall to create a gallery view (crossed out in red). Some transformative changes you will see in this post are: - Concealment of bomb shelter - Hacking of kitchen wall into half wall half glass - Extension of kitchen countertop into the living room (with a curve and fluted base) - Full overlay of master toilet We will be sharing the renovation cost for these transformation as well! Read on for more on how to create a modern and minimalist home :)
The view from our main door during renovation. We hated the whole bomb shelter look, so we decided to conceal it. The length of carpentry is over 2 metres here so we incorporated a small settee, shoe cabinet and a niche to add some functionality and personality to our entryway.
- #Entryniche
- #carpentryentryway
Very happy to announce that we are still very in love with our entryway after staying for over 3 months because all laminates and fittings were carefully chosen by both of us, to create texture and colour alignment right at our door. Take a look at the beige, green and brown downlight! We think it matches perfectly with our flooring and our bomb shelter/shoe cabinet laminate. This laminate was indeed our hardest decision because a textured laminate might come off as messy; but everyone who visited us complimented this. **Tip** Request 2-5 laminate samples from your ID prior renovation. Sometimes renderings are not as accurate and having a larger piece of laminate sample can help you visualise so much better. We requested laminate samples directly from Lamintak (4.5" x 8.5") but our ID was able to source something even larger for us. We made a decision immediately during our meet-up.
We can't really separate writing about our entryway with our kitchen but here's the view the moment you enter our house! (After hacking wall)
- #Galleryview
Ash White paint for this part of our house to create seamlessness with the kitchen and living room, as our kitchen top cabinet in White can be seen through the half glass. Do you know? Most IDs would provide greenish glass during renovation, and upgrading to crystal glass means extra cost? We were afraid as we saw some homeowners sharing about this, but our ID upgraded all our glass to crystal clear glass on his own initiative! Tbh, we are very touched till this day. * Labour to hack half wall for gallery view $750 * Labour to make good after hacking $1,100 * Supply & install 6mm tempered glass panel $750 = Total damage for our gallery view $2,600
Our bare, clean living room prior renovation. We really love the extra ceiling height!!
Zero built-ins here with only furnitures that spark joy. The whole living room was designed by both yours truly, down to placement and paint colours. We kept the long wall on the right plain, because we are considering decorating it in the future, or even limewashing it!
Our kitchen prior renovation. We wanted to plaster the walls and beams to make it white, but our ID suggested to save the money and keep the tiles. In his words, "nicer than a lot of other BTOs liao". Our friend who came over during this period said, "keep the extra tiles for me". I guess we heed all the advice in this case? LOL (Our tile is no longer available for purchase but they’re all from City Surfer)
The tiles worked out really well with our monochrome laminates. NO REGRETS.
Our entryway and living room have a warmer vibe than our kitchen due to vinyl flooring as compared to tiles. So if you're looking to create a cosier space, vinyl might be for you? You can see the contrast here!
For a more convenient manoveur around this area, we opted for curved countertop. We also installed fluted panel base even though many advised against it as it is more difficult to clean. But it is dam chio leh, how to resist? We also requested the base to be thin so that this space doubles up as a table and not just a countertop. We can have chairs around and tuck our legs nicely beneath. * Curved countertop $675 * Curved kitchen island with laminated fluted panel base $1,535 = Total damage $2,210. Ouch
We use this area A LOT. It’s truly maximising a small space for big uses. Groceries dump, breakfast counter, hotpot, parcels unboxing etc. Gotta make the money worth.
Walking forward you will see our common toilet! We kept all original tiles and made use of it to create a fifty shades of grey toilet. Grey is a very versatile colour in renovation; it can create both warm and cool vibes easily. It also matches well with white, black, gold or silver fittings. Upon seeing our big corner window toilet, I customised a 1.4m L-shaped vanity from Taobao instead of getting it from our ID. A sintered stone countertop this length could easily cost up to a grand. The only regret is we couldn't spend more money to have it connect seamlessly to our half wall but we are satisfied, given the amount we spent here!
We think it looks exceptionally inviting and airy here, adding an odd-shaped mirror to enhance novelty as well. Mrs. still considering installing blinds here even though it's very extra la.
Those who follows us on IG knows that we have too many Hooga reed diffusers in our house. Changing up the diffusers can totally jazz up the bathroom vibes!
Right after the common toilet is our master bedroom entrance. We wanted a cosy and inviting vibes for the main bedroom, thus the warm laminate selection. We initially planned for a mini walk-in wardrobe to separate the sleeping and wardrobe area, but after collecting our keys, Mr. decided that he prefers a more spacious and airy environment. We re-oriented the wardrobe and we’re glad we made the change!
A very solid headboard with storage behind. For days that we want to watch dramas on our handheld devices, this fluffy headboard comes in very handy!
It's about 30cm thick! We couldn’t find the link to share the mattress and bed frame as we bought it during the JB furniture sale.
A pair of bedside lights that we overuse as well.
Here's a glorious view of our Queen-sized bed. Forgot to mention that we have been trying our best not to collect Craftholic soft toys. >.<
Entering from the left of our master bedroom is our master toilet. Our initial plan was to have non-grey-glossy wall tiles (since we didn't have to consider slip resistance rating), but the first rendering did not work out for us. We visited Hafary again to select again after seeing our first rendering! In summary, we overlaid the whole master toilet, designs incorporating a not-so-dark mancave vibes. To date, Mr. is very proud that he designed the full wall from scratch, but the Mrs. would like to argue that she coordinated the niche's measurements with the tiler. Teamwork makes the dream work, right??
The best thing about our toilet is the LED mirror that comes with anti-fogging, sensor lights, and bluetooth function. I've always had music on while showering, so it was a need... Truthfully! Also, an ID-customised vanity cabinet is so much more convenient than buying from Taobao, but that's because our ID gave us complimentary cabinet in the master toilet, so we only paid for the sintered stone here.
This full height wall is more than just a wall as it houses a niche for toilet rolls and another one for soap bottles. It's definitely a good investment. If you are still wondering whether to create wall niches, I think you should just do it! Anyway, a cost breakdown for those who are thinking to overlay their toilets: * Screeding of whole toilet $900 * Supply tiles & labour for floor tiles $720 * Supply tiles and labour for wall tiles $2,414 * Mitre joints $650 = Total damage $4,684. Meh. If you ask me, I would definitely do this for my next toilet (if I have the chance again). Adios and see you guys again very soon!