00:03This particular one-bedroom apartment is home to Jackie, an illustrator and her
00:09partner Toby who is a jiu-jitsu instructor When I first met Jackie and
00:17Toby they gave me a small Swiss army knife. This right here is the perfect
00:22analogy of what we're looking for. It's compact, functional and also well-designed.
00:32It really inspired me to create a space that was just as versatile. It allows the apartment
00:41to transform effortlessly from a cosy place for two to an inviting space for friends and
00:46family. I'm Jade, an interior designer at Knock Knock Studio. And I'm Jackie, an illustrator
00:53at Elight Spud. I live here with my partner and together we designed this space.
01:05The apartment is in the Fernvale neighbourhood, located in Sengkang, which is in the north-east
01:11part of Singapore. Fernvale is one of the newest neighbourhoods
01:17in Sengkang town. It's a lively and peaceful residential district with a couple of supermarkets
01:23nearby and many food options. This is a public housing project built by Singapore's Housing
01:30Development Board and was completed in April 2023. The building is 25 storeys tall and we live
01:42on the 13th floor. The apartment was brand new and came with basic fixtures such as flooring,
01:51tiles and doors. This is the usual layout of a one-bedroom public housing in Singapore. Every
01:57apartment also comes with a household shelter which is often used as a storage space.
02:02We kept the original floor plan but made a couple of changes. We pushed up one of the
02:07kitchen walls by 20 centimetres to add the laundry trolley and installed a bifold door.
02:13The original bifold door in the bathroom was replaced by the swing door and we built a half
02:18wall for the shower. The wall that hid the original bedroom door was knocked down and replaced
02:24with half glass sliding door. We also built a cabinet in front of the household shelter
02:29to provide more storage.
02:36When we enter the apartment, we see our first piece of side hustle furniture that I custom
02:41made to fit this corner. It's a shoe rack that also doubles up as a bench for putting
02:46on shoes. We named them side hustle furniture because they don't just say space but add a lot
02:52of personality to the home.
02:56We picked this shade of green for the foyer because it reminds us of the calmness of being
03:01in nature and is a respite from the busyness of the city.
03:08The original storeroom door is concealed behind a full height cabinet. It features a curved corner
03:14with a built-in nook for keys and knickknacks. There's also plenty of storage space on the top
03:20and on the sides. As the storage space is accessed often, we use the fingerprint resistant laminate
03:26for easy maintenance. We added storage shelves in our storeroom to fit the bicycle and a couple
03:33of our luggages.
03:37In Singapore, it is common that a kitchen in a one-bedroom apartment is a shared space for
03:43cooking and doing the laundry. But we make sure that these tasks do not happen at the same time.
03:48We replaced the original drying rack that came with the apartment with an electric drying
03:54system to ensure that the clothes will be dried in a couple of hours and kept away before any
03:59cooking starts.
04:02On one side of the galley-style kitchen, we added floating shelves to make the space look
04:07larger and feel more open. The switches for all the appliances are hidden behind the cabinetry
04:12above the oven. The pull-out serving trolley is another piece of side hustle furniture that
04:19we designed. It doubles as storage for unwashed laundry and when it's not being used, it is
04:24tucked away in the cabinet. On the other side, there is a wall-hung top cabinet for storing
04:33pantry items and a dish drying rack is also concealed within. We also make sure that every item in the
04:39kitchen had a designated space to be stored.
04:45We added a bifold door with clear glass as its safe space. It also separates the kitchen from
04:50the main area to contain the smells.
04:56Before stepping into the combined living and dining area, you will find a cabinet with a distribution
05:01board. We replaced the original door of the cabinet with a full-length mirror to bring light into the
05:07dark corridor. Above the dining table is the blue display shelf where I put my books and cameras.
05:16The pivoting wall lamp above the dining table can be swung into position.
05:26We knew we wanted a pull-up bar but we didn't want our house to look like a gym so
05:30we made it
05:31look a bit more inconspicuous by adding it below the shelf.
05:38The dining table extends to accommodate up to eight guests and features a single chair that Toby and I made.
05:45Additional seats can easily be pulled together from pieces around the house.
05:51The long bench that extends from the dining area to the window is made of plywood with a veneer finish.
05:57It serves as seating, storage, a pull-out bench and a tv console.
06:06The pull-out bench is not only handy in providing an extra seat for guests but also hides our gym
06:12equipment.
06:16In the living room, we have a second-hand IKEA sofa bed that unfolds to a queen-size bed.
06:22Having this gives us the flexibility to turn our living room into a guest room.
06:28Our rug is from Etsy and is custom-made to fit the length of the sofa.
06:32It also provides a distinction between the living and dining areas.
06:39The gallery wall is our favourite part of the house. As an illustrator, I wanted to display some
06:44of my artworks and pieces from artist friends and our travels over the years. Like the one I made out
06:49of my partner's jujitsu belts that have been worn over the years. The convex mirror was found in a bargain
06:54bin in IKEA. We like that it encapsulates the cosiness of the living room every time you look into it.
07:03The original wooden sliding door was replaced with a steel and glass one to introduce natural light
07:09into the bedroom. A curtain was added for privacy and to minimize light and noise disturbances from
07:16the living room. A narrow open cabinet was built at the entrance to provide more space to move around.
07:25Clothes that are worn often are hung facing outwards and don't require as much depth as a typical wardrobe.
07:34The main wardrobe uses sliding doors to maximize the space between the queen-size bed
07:39and the wardrobe. This also allowed us to add two side tables and a floor lamp.
07:46We couldn't find a side table that I like so we made one out of recycled plastic and plywood.
07:53We used vernier with matte varnish finishing for most of the cabinets in our apartment.
07:58It adds warmth to the space and makes it feel more effortless and refined.
08:07For the bathroom, we chose medium-sized glossy maroon towels because they are easy to maintain
08:12and the glossy surface makes the bathroom appear bigger.
08:17A vanity cabinet with a mirror was installed to keep the counter free from clutter.
08:22We also included both tars and ambient lighting within the space.
08:27Inside the shower, we added nooks on both sides to hide toiletries.
08:31To maximize the floor space, we designed a hexagon-shaped shower screen.
08:36So when the door opens, it doesn't take up much space of the bathroom as compared to the L-shaped
08:41shower screen.
08:45When I was young, I grew up in a small home with my parents.
08:49The space was very limited to every part of the house to serve a practical purpose.
08:54Even then, I still found ways to add touches of beauty.
08:59Once you understand how the person lives, many design decisions are already made for you.
09:04Their needs become the foundation of their home and everything that comes after,
09:08from material choice to color palette, is a way to express who they are.
09:12Each object, every piece of art, and every single piece of furniture in this home
09:17is here because we made a conscious decision for it to be here.
09:21With good design, a small space isn't a bad thing.
09:24It can be something desirable and it can also be a space you are proud to call home.
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