Zen out with shoji screens in this couple’s Japanese-inspired 4-room HDB flat
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Zen out with shoji screens in this couple's Japanese-inspired four-room HDB flat
CNA Lifestyle's Making Room series returns to look at small-scale homes with big transformations. This week, Zen out in a 4-room HDB resale apartment with a creative have on a traditional Japanese pattern element.
From colour tones to the employ of shoji screens, this Japanese-themed HDB flat is the perfect place to unwind. (Photograph: The Moving Visuals Co)
05 Jun 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 05 Jun 2022 06:28AM)
Even though Kwang Wei Long and Yong Si Yun consider Nippon to be their favourite holiday spot, the recently-married pair take never actually holidayed there together earlier.
"I accept ever liked Japanese culture and I also studied the language when I was in school," said Si Yun, who works in marketing.
"We were planning to keep our honeymoon, but didn't manage to because of the pandemic," explained Wei Long, who works as an Information technology sales executive.
And then when the couple purchased a ane,249 sq ft four-room resale HDB flat in Bishan, they decided to bring Japan into their home instead.
READ: Transforming a 990 sq ft HDB flat into a 'footling Japan' – complete with an onsen
"The idea was that our home should be a quiet space for us to unwind subsequently a long mean solar day," Si Yun said. Her brief to interior pattern firm Chalk Architects was to keep in heed "the Zen-ness of the spaces you discover (in Nihon), for example, the little quiet courtyard or garden in a temple expanse, and how the Japanese juxtapose the modern and the historic together".
While they loved the dusty-pink tones of the original broken marble floor the flat came with and decided to preserve it, they felt the flat'due south layout left much to be desired.
"It was very odd, with a balcony in front end, also equally an Fifty-shaped living room setup," Wei Long recalled. "The previous owner had boxed up role of the living room to create an boosted bedroom for their family, and it made the whole environment very dim."
To bring a sense of light and airiness into the space, the old report room was sacrificed to create a larger living room. A raised blond forest platform was congenital most the entrance of the apartment, with a matching born study desk-bound facing the window.
Bated from providing a space to piece of work from home, the surface area, which also features a wall-to-ceiling mirrored wall, doubles upwards as a home yoga studio.
The walls that separated the dining room from the kitchen on one side, and the 3rd chamber on the other side, were removed. So was the wall that separated the master bedroom from the bordering bedroom.
READ: A couple's stylish one,000 sq ft BTO flat with a DIY whisky bar and teak wood touches
These alterations allowed the couple to incorporate a key design element, shoji screens, throughout their dwelling – not only considering they liked the look of the traditional Japanese latticed wooden screen doors, but too considering they offer lots of ease and flexibility in the mode indoor spaces are opened upward, or segregated.
As traditional shoji screens feature panels covered in white paper, Wei Long and Si Yun were understandably concerned that the material would not be able to withstand Singapore'south humid climate.
To get around that issue, their interior designer used drinking glass-panelled lattice sliding doors between the dining, kitchen and third bedroom to segregate the 3 spaces while assuasive light in. When these doors are slid open, the three areas become a generously-proportioned living/dining surface area.
The wooden sliding doors separating the primary chamber and the adjoining bedroom, as well as the chief sleeping accommodation'due south wardrobe doors, are likewise designed to resemble shoji screens, except that white wood is used in place of white paper.
"Once you lot close information technology upward from the wardrobe perspective, information technology's a very quiet and meditative space, which can also double up as an boosted area for working, noted Wei Long. "And it gives a very overnice properties when you appear on Zoom," he quipped.
"The tracks for the shoji screen doors are on height as we didn't desire to risk damaging the floor in the procedure of building the sliding tracks," added Si Yun.
READ: Transforming a 775 sq ft HDB flat into a garden paradise – in the balcony and bathroom
Even the accent wall of the living room is done upward to resemble a series of shoji screen panels. During the day, natural sunlight filters through the sheer gauze curtains. After dark, a mix of cove lighting and recessed spotlights and pendant lamps make the place glow invitingly.
The subdued color palette used throughout the flat – the blond wood-and-white tones of the article of furniture and built-in cabinetry, the stake gray of soft furnishings such as the bedlinens and upholstery of the L-shaped sofa – create a soothing, calm environment, while the dusty-pink hues of the flooring add a touch of modernity and softness.
Each item Wei Long and Si Yun selected for their home exudes the minimalist sensibilities of the Japandi (Japanese-meets-Scandinavian) aesthetic, from a spare Japanese-inspired artwork of the sun over a mountain range placed in a corner of their dwelling house, to the rustic stone-hued Japanese-style earthenware plates and cups they consume from, to the rounded curves and muted tones of the L-shaped sofa, coffee table and rug in the living room.
"We bought the items from many different places, when we saw something that we liked and needed and was affordable," explained Wei Long.
"The artwork was bought from an creative person on Etsy, who sent usa the digital copy that we and so got printed. We similar that it gives that corner a sense of Zen and tranquillity, and the reminder that every day is a new day, and that brings a renewed sense of hope. For the larger pieces of furniture, nosotros would send pictures of the items along with the dimensions to our ID and seek their input on whether it would fit the overall aesthetic, and whether the size suited the space."
READ: A geeky couple's 1,001 sq ft BTO apartment with a gaming room and toys on brandish
To keep the space looking make clean and uncluttered, the pair opted for furniture pieces such as a queen-sized platform bed in their master chamber, a flip-top desk in the written report, and an L-shaped sofa in the living room, that offering hidden storage.
The couple likewise loves entertaining at home, and wanted to exist able to accommodate big or small gatherings.
When they have more guests come over, their large white rectangular kitchen isle, which is fitted with castors, and which unremarkably sits right smack in the middle of their kitchen, can be wheeled out and placed right beside their dining table.
This creates an extra-long dining tabular array and finer doubles the seating chapters from five to x.
"It's the whole concept of having everybody in i place," said Wei Long.
While the couple are still eager for travel channels to open up so they tin can finally visit Japan together, "it's been pretty squeamish having our ain space to work and live in."
Wei Long added: "Our friends and family say they like the infinite, and the pattern. Visitors we've managed to accept over relish the clean, warm and bright aesthetics of our home. Some other comment we frequently receive is on the corporeality of storage space that we have catered for, and they will accept some of these in consideration when planning spaces for their homes in hereafter."
READ: How grandma's Peranakan dresser inspired a 731 sq ft BTO flat that's also a smart dwelling house
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/entertainment/singapore-home-renovation-tips-hdb-bto-shoji-screen-248616
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