Houzz Tour: An Apartment That Feels Like a Bungalow
Vast open, modifiable spaces with lots of light and plants turn this apartment into a retreat from urban living
When married Singapore architects Liting Lee and Khoon Toong Chow of Nitton Architects decided to create their own home, they chose to redesign a typical 5-room unit to create a space that feels more like a house than an apartment. Here’s how they did it.
The couple reconfigured the plan of the former three-bedroom apartment, hacking open as many walls as structurally allowed and rejigging room sizes to their preference.
Lee explains that creating the open-plan layout was important to ensure that the flat felt like a “welcome retreat from the crowdedness of urban living,” which would be “emotionally uplifting,” as she puts it.
Potted plants and built-in planters create the effect of a relaxing indoor garden in the main space.
“The plants thrive within integrated planter stands next to windows, and mobile self-watering pots sit within the planter stands, [so] plants are easily moved around for regular misting and repotting,” Lee says.
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Lee explains that creating the open-plan layout was important to ensure that the flat felt like a “welcome retreat from the crowdedness of urban living,” which would be “emotionally uplifting,” as she puts it.
Potted plants and built-in planters create the effect of a relaxing indoor garden in the main space.
“The plants thrive within integrated planter stands next to windows, and mobile self-watering pots sit within the planter stands, [so] plants are easily moved around for regular misting and repotting,” Lee says.
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The kitchen was created to be a “backdrop or visual extension of the main living space.”
“The ambient lighting is enhanced in the evenings by diffused lighting coming from the openness of the kitchen,” Lee says.
“The ambient lighting is enhanced in the evenings by diffused lighting coming from the openness of the kitchen,” Lee says.
Sliding partitions and a full-height glass wall allow two bedrooms to become “independent spatial units” yet also remain part of the main living area.
See more living room images
See more living room images
The partitions can be opened to naturally ventilate the space through the main living area, or closed off if air-conditioning is needed.
A continuous feature wall integrating two concealed doors visually extends one end of the guest room. One of the doors camouflages the entrance to the common bathroom, while the other leads to a walk-in wardrobe serving the guest room.
A continuous feature wall integrating two concealed doors visually extends one end of the guest room. One of the doors camouflages the entrance to the common bathroom, while the other leads to a walk-in wardrobe serving the guest room.
“This feature wall continues, albeit across a glass wall, into the master bedroom where it morphs into the vanity counter,” Lee says.
Rocce Anthracite homogeneous tiles: Rice
Rocce Anthracite homogeneous tiles: Rice
Hidden beds allow one of the rooms to be used as a guest room: There is a pullout bed under the raised wooden deck of the indoor garden, as well as a Murphy bed that folds down from a wall cavity.
“The space starts to breathe and come alive, changing throughout the day and adjusting to different routine needs,” Lee says. “This fluidity is especially stimulating for children, who are thrilled by the interactivity and scale of available play area.”
There are dedicated zones in the master bedroom that include a vanity area and a sleeping area with enough room for a king-size bed. A closet is used as a room divider.
“The wardrobe is lifted from the floor by a bottom steel frame, allowing natural light to filter through to the vanity area,” Lee says.
“The re-zoning is made possible by relocating the wash basin within the master bath to the external face of the bathroom enclosure. Space within the master bath is also freed up to accommodate both a bathtub and a separate shower stall, enabling indulgent bath routines.”
“The re-zoning is made possible by relocating the wash basin within the master bath to the external face of the bathroom enclosure. Space within the master bath is also freed up to accommodate both a bathtub and a separate shower stall, enabling indulgent bath routines.”
As for whether or not the project ran smoothly, Lee says precision was important from the outset to ensure there weren’t any problems with the renovation.
“Components like the large sliding panels and glass wall also had to be the right size for the workers to successfully transport all the materials up the fire escape staircase in the high-rise block,” Lee says.
“[And] Industrial-grade hardware such as the sliders for the pullout bed concealed beneath wood decking had to be imported.”
“[And] Industrial-grade hardware such as the sliders for the pullout bed concealed beneath wood decking had to be imported.”
7-foot-10-inch [2.4-meter-long] wood dining table with steel legs, sofa and chaise lounge: Commune
Read more:
Houzz Tour: Before and After Photos Show a Dingy Flat Transformed
Houzz Tour: A Two-Bedroom Flat Gets a Dramatic Makeover
Tell us:
What did you think of this home?
Read more:
Houzz Tour: Before and After Photos Show a Dingy Flat Transformed
Houzz Tour: A Two-Bedroom Flat Gets a Dramatic Makeover
Tell us:
What did you think of this home?
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Liting Lee and Khoon Toong Chow of Nitton Architects
Location: Singapore
Size: About 1,184 square feet (110 square metres), five rooms
Project duration: 3 months
Approximately 80% of Singapore’s residents live in Housing Development Board (HDB) public housing apartments, which are sold on 99-year leases. HDB purchases are also often heavily subsidised by the government, meaning that 90% of HDB residents own their home.
Lee and Chow’s design was about pushing the boundaries of what is possible in these somewhat standardised housing units. The concept behind the redesign was “to emulate the ambience of a landed house, unencumbered by the standardised framework of high-density high-rise housing,” Lee says. “We wanted to explore the true potential of space within an HDB flat. The project is a genuine design experiment that opens up bold perspectives on urban living.”