Peek into an eclectic and stylish home of a fashion insider

Most of the original surface finishes were retained. The bedrooms were reduced from three to one to make space for a dining room and a walk-in wardrobe. The furnishings are an exciting mix of vintage, handmade, custom and heirloom pieces.

“We are not the most practical people,” admits Hong. By that, he means they went the extra mile to fill the home with items they love – and each has a story to tell.

The dining area was converted from a common bedroom. With a teal wall and vintage and classic pieces juxtaposed with pop art, it connects to the living space via an oversized arch.

The curvy, dark-stained dining table is from Hock Siong, and the vintage wall sconces were salvaged from Raffles Hotel. The dining chairs were from Second Charm, while the 10kg typewriter came from Mexico.

“It went through three connecting flights to get to Singapore,” says the homeowner.

A photograph by Australian artist Kane Skennar, Pink Wheels, which the couple spotted at an exhibition in the Slow Hotel in Bali, hangs on the wall. They use this room not only for meals and entertaining, but also for work.

In the living room, an iconic chair from MoMA’s permanent collection, the Paulistano cantilever leather chair, coexists harmoniously with vintage onyx floor lamps (another Hock Siong find), a leather sofa from Prestige Affairs, and Turkish and Indian carpets from Hong’s parents.

Old elements like the wall tiles, mosaic archway and terrazzo floor coexist with new ones like the Opus XXXVI tapestry art by Mira Sohlen and the Synergy painting by local artist Inkten.

Also inherited from the old flat is the mosaic-inlaid archway to the kitchen.

Featuring a beige, grey, and terracotta red colour scheme, the kitchen cabinets are new. “We didn’t try to match everything,” says Hong.

The kitchen coffee counter‘s open shelves are filled with plants and small vessels, and so does the shelves in the living room. Some of the vessels were made by Hong’s partner in his pottery class.

The wall tiles on the living room used to cover the entire wall. He kept only half to simplify the look.

The yard features a sink area articulated with floating shelves, a round mirror and glossy subway tiles from Hafary, which also adorn the bathroom.

The remaining two bedrooms were combined to create a master suite with a walk-in wardrobe and a bedroom separated by a fluted glass sliding door. Both are minimalist to create a conducive ambience for rest.

The bed’s custom retro-inspired scalloped headboard takes centre stage in the bedroom. The circular rug is deliberately placed off-centre to break the monotony.

To evoke lightness, the cabinets are mounted to the wall. The couple can replace them with full-height cabinets when they need more storage in the future.

“We knew we’d run out of closet space soon, so we added these Ikea cabinets as extra storage,” he says. He hand-painted these himself.

The walk-in wardrobe comes trimmed with peach-toned neutrals, whereas the bedroom is awash with deep green and navy blue hues. The arched mirror visually enlarges the walk-in wardrobe area.

Photography Phyllicia Wang Art Direction Nonie Chen

This article was first published in Home & Decor.

Read Next

10 tips we picked up from Netflix's Get Organized With The Home Edit

Here's what $1.5 million worth of renovation looks like

This HDB flat looks as sleek as a luxe service apartment