To some, the idea of an all-white home might sound sterile and boring. But to us, an all-white home is simply a space filled with immense possibility.
A white-based palette means that your home can serve as a plain canvas for changes and loads of colour. We’ve found several homes in Singapore that prove that an all-white home isn’t boring and show you tips on how to decorate it well.
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Text: Eliza H and Domenica Tan/Home & Decor
Having designed his client’s previous HDB home, Kelvin Teo of Space Sense Studio was in touch with homeowner Er Cheep Hong when she was eyeing a new condominium apartment. Cheep Hong consulted Kelvin before purchasing the unit, as she wanted to ensure that the design and structure could accommodate the aesthetic preferences she wanted for this new space.
The interiors were previously dark, gloomy and cramped, but the unit’s particularly high ceiling gave rise to the idea of taking advantage of the vertical space available.
Kelvin decided to adopt an all-white palette to brighten up the look while modifying the layout significantly to maximise the use of the space. This resulted in walls being broken down to allow a reconfiguration of the bedrooms and bathrooms. What was formerly a one-bedroom apartment has now become a home with two bedrooms.
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A false ceiling was removed to obtain even more overhead space. This enabled the construction of a mezzanine level where the guest bedroom is now sited.
For added tactility, Kelvin and Cheep Hong embraced the raw finish of exposed brick walls on this newly constructed level, and incorporated customised steel open shelves for an unpretentious overall look.
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As for the main bedroom on the ground floor, Kelvin created a loft-like look by adding artificial ceiling beams. To keep the area from feeling claustrophobic, swing doors for the room and bathroom were replaced with glass to ensure a sense of openness and allow natural light to fill these spaces.
Cheep Hong also brought over some furniture from her previous apartment, including Kartell Victoria Ghost chairs for the dining area, and a Marc Newson lounge chair, which fit perfectly with the clean, minimalistic design of her new home.
An all-white home can be cosy and warm, too, and this project by Ukranian interior designer Victoria Yakusha shows you how. Victoria says “creating a game of shades and shapes on different surfaces” to add some character to the space is an important part in achieving the look.
Take the diagonal lines on the living room’s feature wall. Based on natural clay, the effect of the special plaster help to visually widen and add depth to the space.
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“My favorite room is the kitchen. Its central element is a dining table with a massive clay foot (it has a similar pattern to the feature wall in the living room) as well as the metal chairs which we have accessorised with faux fur,” says Victoria.
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Clean, spacious and light, this apartment is able to exude an inviting atmosphere thanks to the nature-inspired elements, from the wood-look doors in the kitchen to the wooden stumps in the living room — albeit in a whitewashed effect.
In the master bedroom there are many surfaces with different textures, such as bare concrete, solid wood, and textiles. These work together harmoniously, as they are of a single color scheme.
This tiny one-bedroom studio apartment at Handy Road has a collection of designer furnishings to give it a luxe appeal. The living room is dressed up with chic furnishings like Pop Art prints and funky lighting from Moooi (above the plant).
With renovation and furnishings costing $48,000, the compact space had an efficient and practical layout. The sunlit open-plan interiors are complemented with white walls that lift the space visually from its sombre, dark-stained wood floors. The seemingly random-sized boxes here were in fact carefully designed for the right proportions.
The homeowner hung up artworks, and used the same wallpaper over cabinets to help disguise them.
Doing away with dining and study areas gave the owner more space for entertaining friends. The floor lamp and coffee table were ordered directly from Bristish design firm Established & Sons.
Visitors can loop around the home through the bathroom, which connects to the bedroom and kitchen.
The bedroom and bathroom were kept simple and pared down. Only sliding doors will work in a space as tight as this.
This condominium apartment is full of whites! Under the guidance of Caff Ong, senior home stylist at Pure Interiors, the home eventually revealed a its more luxurious side via different textures and shades.
Besides the single-colour scheme, the deisgner also had to be mindful of the owner’s preference for an open-concept kitchen and a walk-in wardrobe in the bedroom – all of which he successfully pulled off.
At first glance, the entire apartment looks like a pristine snowscape. Closer inspection, however, reveals subtle differences in the textures of the furnishings and feature walls.
Other light hues, like the soft cream of the leather upholstery on the dining chairs, imbue the space with warmth.
Applying brighter whites in areas like the kitchen and toilet helps reflect light to keep the spaces looking well-lit and clean.
Using white as a base colour in the bedroom makes the black decorative details stand out even more. The black and white-striped wall covering behind the bed, for instance, is another bold yet simple and elegant choice.
This home defines a new modern luxury through the colour of modernity itself – white – with some help from the melange of plush textures and classic forms.
The homeowners of this three-bedroom executive condominium in Yishun wanted a cosy, homely Scandi-style home, says Ming from interior design firm Eightytwo. As with many first-time homeowners, they also requested for lots of storage for their growing collection of items.
The solution is a full-height cabinet that runs the full length of the wall, from foyer to balcony. It serves as a shoe cabinet, a place to keep the TV & AV equipment concealed, as well as a display case. The open-shelving in dark umber breaks the linearity of the cabinet, while allowing colours from the decoration and accessories to come through.
The seamless cabinetry was clad in white laminate with black linear detailing. “This was inspired by white tiles on walls, creating visual impact and texture. And while the couple came to us with a wood-and-grey palette in mind, we instead suggested a more luxurious look comprising white, dark wood, dark umber, and touches of gold,” says Ming.
With storage concerns out of the way, the young couple can focus on accessorising with chic and contemporary-style pieces. The blue rug, for instance, anchors the light and bright home. The renovation set the couple back $50,000. They spent another $30,000 on furnishings.
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Ming used the same few hues in the master bedroom, though the darker shades are more dominant in this restful space. Here, there is a concealed storage in the form of a low settee (it wraps the side of the bed) and the headboard was cladded in fabric. The latter also concealed an existing awkwardly placed window.