This family’s cafe-inspired HDB maisonette has a huge home library for their books
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This family's cafe-inspired HDB maisonette has a huge domicile library for their books
For this week's CNA Lifestyle'southward Making Room series, we check out a Hougang home that's bigger than usual – and how its homeowners embraced an bad-mannered space to show off hundreds of books.
This HDB executive maisonette's bad-mannered double-volume airwell was transformed into a home library. (Photograph: The Local INN.terior)
26 Jun 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 26 Jun 2022 12:57PM)
Inspired by some of their favourite cosy cafes, married couple Kamal and Sri wanted to recreate the same kind of chill-out atmosphere for themselves and their three kids, Ayumi, Tiara and Kazril.
"Nosotros wanted a habitation with space for a lot of family unit time. All of us, fifty-fifty the kids, love to get to cafes. Hence, we decided nosotros'd bring into our abode the whole vibe of the cafe," said Sri, a civil retainer.
But at that place was 1 other architectural quirk that they had to factor in get-go: The i,593 sq ft resale HDB executive maisonette that they had bought in Hougang came with a double-volume airwell with curved walls, tucked away in the corner of the living room, next to the balustrade.
Instead of being put off by it, it was love at kickoff sight.
"The offset time we set our optics on this particular unit, we barbarous in dearest immediately with the excess recess surface area," Sri recalled.
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So much and then that she decided to brand information technology the focal indicate of their new family domicile – by turning it into a home library.
An imposingly massive book tower soars 5.5m skywards, its customised arc-shaped class melding perfectly with the curvature of the wall. Deep, open wooden shelves provide a neutral base of operations confronting which the colourful spines of several hundred books pop.
A choice of toys and artwork, placed in between rows of books, adds a sense of whimsy and playfulness. Enclosed cabinets on the bottom row help footing the argument piece of built-in article of furniture, while providing hidden storage for knickknacks.
A display of colourful vintage motorcycle helmets takes pride of identify on the topmost shelf – their smooth, glossy, rounded shapes contrasting beautifully against the matte rawness and angularity of the exposed brickwork overhead.
"The showtime brief we gave our interior designer (from pattern firm The Local Inn-terior) was the bookshelf because I have a massive collection of books from my childhood, such as the Peter And Jane series, fairy tales, girls' school stories like Enid Blyton's Malory Towers, my English Literature books, as well as my K-pop Super Junior collection," said Sri.
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"To throw them away, or sell them off to secondhand stores would have been too emotionally painful for me. (The bookshelf is) perfect to store all these things in one identify."
In club to create lots of room on the footing floor for the family to hang out together, the utility room, and the walls enclosing the original kitchen were all demolished, resulting in an expansive, gratuitous-flowing space.
A colour palette of mainly white, grayness, blackness, and brown was chosen to achieve the desired rustic-industrial artful. They used materials such as black powder-coated steel, glass, concrete, wood and exposed brickwork.
The walls, which were previously in an array of dated pastel colours, were given a glaze of fresh white paint, while the floor was redone in concrete-look tiles.
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New window frames and balcony doors with black steel frames were installed. Exposed metallic pipes, track-mounted spotlights and wire-cage pendant lamps, also in black, farther heighten the industrial-chic feel.
Stepping into the apartment, the centre is immediately fatigued to the exposed red brick of the kitchen wall, and a sleek breakfast counter fronted by iii steel-and-forest bar stools.
Aside from beingness a perfect perch from which one can bask a freshly brewed cup of coffee (they own not one but 2 coffee machines), it'south also where the kids play mobile games or do homework.
Black countertops, clean-lined bottom-hung cabinets in medium-toned wood laminate, and sleek black-and-stainless steel appliances, industrial-looking hardware and a retro laundry-mode porcelain sink give the kitchen a timeless, commonsensical experience.
Vibrant pops of orange from cast fe pots and silicone cooking utensils liven up the identify, while potted plants, and a pale grey Oriental rug underfoot soften things up.
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A glassed-in half-height wall was built to create a separate laundry/shop expanse without blocking off light or air apportionment.
On the other side of the kitchen, a black dining table, with matching leather-upholstered dining chairs, provides a setting for family meals.
The living area, demarcated by a characteristic wall in exposed grey brick, is furnished with two generously-sized Chesterfield sofas in tan PVC leather, while the remaining furniture pieces – the java tables, Television set console and display cabinet – are in matching wood and black metallic. Every bit in the kitchen, potted plants and Oriental rugs are used to bring a touch of softness and colour to the space.
Right behind the sofa, and side by side to the library, is a rectangular table which seats six.
"This is my favourite identify of the firm. This is where I play board games with my family and friends," said Kamal, a technical officer at a utilities company, who enjoys sci-fi, fantasy and war-themed tabletop miniature games such as Warhammer and DreadBall.
Sri added: "This is where the whole family congregates together. That's where our family unit time is. Even though we might be doing different things at the same time, everyone is somewhat bonded invisibly."
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She even managed to observe a use for the awkward one-half-top space nether the staircase – by calculation a rug, it became a cosy reading nook and play area for her son Kazril and his friends, when they have guests over.
Meanwhile, the staircase leads upstairs to three bedrooms. Kazril's bedroom was made a little smaller by moving a wall in, in order to create infinite at the landing for an external shared sink outside the mutual bathroom, thus alleviating blitz hour "traffic jams".
Colourful hexagonal tiles in a mix of dissimilar patterns add an chemical element of fun to the common bath.
Ayumi and Tiara's shared bedroom is simply furnished with 2 identical retro-style beds with black curlicued metallic frames that channel industrial-chic yet feminine vibes.
As for the principal bedroom, a custom-built wardrobe divides the room into 2 sections: A narrow alleyway which serves as a walk-in-wardrobe and dressing area, with a small, minimalist sleeping area on the other side.
"We want a place to just chill and nosotros realised that when we take this dwelling, we spend less time at cafes that nosotros used to haunt, because whatever in those cafes, we have hither," Sri concluded.
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/entertainment/singapore-home-renovation-tips-hdb-bto-condo-maisonette-library-249276
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