Not every homeowner can name their vision. The occupant of this four-room resale HDB in Bedok North couldn’t at first, but he knew it when he saw it. An IT industry recruiter who spends most of his free time at his 990 sq ft home, either stretched out in front of the television or hosting friends for drinks, came to Christine Thet, senior designer at Loft.9 Design Studio, with a mood rather than a moodboard. The direction was industrial at its core, tempered by Bauhaus discipline — structured, considered, and never too heavy.
“He was always into the industrial and brutalist theme, but didn’t want it too extreme.”
“He still wanted the space to feel spacious,” says Christine. “A Bauhaus kind of look, clean lines, minimalist. And there are elements of space throughout, from the Milky Way Lego set to all the chrome and stainless steel décor.”
That brief required a gut renovation to realise. The original master bedroom was hacked open to create a proper dining space. In contrast, the second bedroom was converted into the new master bedroom with direct access to a walk-in wardrobe and vanity area. The result is a home reconfigured around how one person actually lives: generously in the social spaces, privately in the personal zones.
Turning Constraints Into Character
The first thing you notice upon entering is how much the space exhales. A mounted shoe cabinet sits near the door, while a curved false ceiling draws the eye gently toward the living area. It is a subtle compositional move, but an intentional one. “The soft curve was planned to balance the design with the highlighted TV feature wall so that it wouldn’t feel too overbearing,” Christine explains.
That TV wall is the undisputed centrepiece of the living room: a large panel with a curved edge, backlit with LED strip lighting that glows warmly when everything else is switched off. It was conceived as much for atmosphere as for function, concealing electrical casing that ran across from the study while creating the kind of ambient wash that renders harsh overhead lighting unnecessary.
“The homeowner loves chilling in the living room without switching on too many generic lights.”
“The LED lighting alone, when switched on, can help to elevate the cosiness of the space,” says Christine. Beside it, metallic laminate shelving purely for display holds the chrome and sculptural objects that speak to his collector’s sensibility.
The Beam as Feature, Not Flaw
In the dining area, the existing structural beam traversing the ceiling has been painted dark and left deliberately exposed. It functions both as an industrial design statement and a spatial divider between the living and dining zones. Texture-painted beams frame the dining space further, giving the room a layered, almost theatrical quality.
“Instead of hiding the structural beam across the rooms, we highlighted it to reflect the industrial design,” says Christine. “It helps to segregate both spaces within the same room.” The dining table and chairs, sourced online from Taobao based on the designer’s recommendation, sit cleanly within this framework.
The kitchen continues the home’s commitment to restraint. Sintered stone runs across both the countertop and backsplash, chosen for its easy maintenance and seamless appearance, while open shelves replace overhead cabinets entirely.
LED lighting along the kitchen pelmet lets the homeowner work or pour a late-night drink without flooding the space with overhead light. It is a kitchen designed for someone who cooks simply and entertains well.
Private Worlds
The master bedroom sits beside a walk-in wardrobe and separate vanity basin area, all connected for private, seamless use. A neutral palette keeps the room light and airy, a deliberate contrast to the moodier public spaces.
The bathroom vanity has been installed outside the shower room itself, freeing up the wet area and adding a considered sequence to the daily ritual of getting ready. Finished in sintered stone with a downturn edge design, the vanity countertop is flanked by blue ceramic tiles for an unexpected flash of colour.
Over three months, Christine and her Loft.9 team solved problems as much as they designed spaces. When the original beams sat too low for air-conditioning trunking, they boxed it neatly within a partition invisible to the eye and effortless to service. From the Milky Way Lego set on the shelf to the warm LED glow of the TV wall, every choice in this home is deliberate, personal, and quietly assured.
Words by Disa Tan.
