Meet Huiqing and Dylan: Parents to two boys, aged 3 and 5, who recently moved into their five-room BTO flat in Northshore.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hello everyone, we’re Huiqing and Dylan, parents to two boys, aged 3 and 5. We moved into our five-room BTO flat in Northshore in March 2023.
How did you both decide on the style and theme for your flat?
I enjoy interior styling, so I was responsible for creating the moodboard, designing the concept, and sourcing the furnishings. Thankfully, Dylan’s sense of aesthetics is quite similar to mine, which made it easier to decide on the style and theme.
Since we live near the sea, we wanted a modern coastal and villa-inspired theme with plenty of crisp whites and warm earthy tones. Some may find this neutral palette too common or boring, but it makes styling much simpler. Ultimately, we just wanted our space to be bright, cosy, and inviting.
Who or what are your major design inspirations?
We drew plenty of inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram, especially from accounts that focus on coastal and villa interior styling.
How do you keep up with the latest home decor trends and incorporate them into your space?
Instead of following trends that may feel outdated after a while, we choose furnishings that are both aesthetic and practical. For example, our living room has many curved pieces, like our dining table, coffee table, and sideboard. We selected these not only because the curves give the space a softer, more welcoming look, but also because they are safer for our kids, who enjoy running around.
How do you decide what tips and hacks to share with your followers?
We exchange ideas to ensure our content creates value for our followers; we don’t want to post just for the sake of posting. Every tip or hack should serve a purpose, whether it’s to make a household chore easier, improve our lifestyle, or make a space look more aesthetic.
What is your favourite room or area in the flat?
The living room is definitely our favourite place to hang out every day. We put the most thought into styling this space and also spent the most on it. Most of the furnishings you see are from Taobao, and I’m quite proud that we managed to find so many aesthetic pieces there.
What challenges have you encountered while designing and styling your home?
At first, we were worried that having so many white walls and cabinets might not be practical with two young kids, as they could get dirty easily. However, we really wanted them because they visually brighten and open up the space, so we took a leap of faith and went for it. We explained to our kids that they can only draw on the whiteboard or on paper, and fortunately, they’ve listened and haven’t dirtied any of the white surfaces yet!
What advice would you give to others who want to start designing their home?
Before designing your home, it’s important to understand your own needs and lifestyle. Don’t blindly follow what you see on Instagram or Pinterest; some designs may look aesthetic but might be difficult to maintain, and you could end up regretting it.
Trust your own judgement and don’t feel pressured by others into making a decision, because you know what’s best for yourself.
How has creating and sharing your home transformation impacted your relationship and personal growth?
Although creating content isn’t easy, I’ve realised that it’s something I enjoy. It makes me happy when people say they like my content or that the products I recommend have made their lives easier. This motivates me to develop more content that people will find useful.
We don’t want our lives to revolve solely around the kids and work, so having this platform to create content makes life more interesting and meaningful. I’m grateful to have found this space where I can share my honest thoughts with such a supportive community, and even more so, that I get to interact with others and learn something new every day.
Follow their journey on Instagram @northshoreloft
This post was adapted from an article originally published in the idealhomes 2024 issue of SquareRooms.
