ALL IN GOOD TIME

This homeowner waited 18 years to renovate her flat, but as they say, better late than never. LYNN TAN checks out her bachelorette pad.

- LYNN TAN

Social worker, Miss Chew, has been living in this four-room flat since 2004. She decided to do a major renovation as the 40-year-old flat was starting to show its age and timed it with HDB's Home Improvement Programme.

Ovon Design came highly-recommended by her brother and a good friend, whose homes were also designed by the home-grown practice. "There was actually no need to look any further for an interior designer, but just to satisfy myself, I scouted around for a bit and still ended up deciding to engage them," she shares.

Creative director, Raymond Soh, and interior architect, Max, approached the project by understanding the client's lifestyle and preferences. As she lives with her SPCA rescue dog, they only require one bedroom, so a decision had to be made about what to do with the remaining two bedrooms. "Rather than keeping the rooms intact and underutilised, we proposed that she combine two bedrooms into one large master bedroom and open up the third bedroom as part of the living area," says Max. Ms Chew did contemplate having a spare bedroom for when her parents come to visit, but as this occurs only occasionally, she decided that the space that is freed up would be better served in some other way.

The flat was gutted and completely overhauled, starting with part of the common area that she had purchased from HDB. This usually comprises an elongated corridor space leading directly to the main entrance of the flat, but in this case, it also includes a fairly sizeable area beside the existing corridor. As an avid potter, she requested Raymond and Max to design the space as a pottery nook, which can also double up as a relaxation corner or for additional storage.