A Look Into A Dark-Themed HDB In Pasir Ris
Designed by local-based interior design firm 5th Avenue Interior, this 5-Room HDB flat in Pasir Ris exudes dark bold vibes accentuated by an afterglow at every corner.
If you were to think of popular home decor styles in Singapore, what would probably come to mind are themes like Scandinavian, Minimalistic or Modern designs. And with good reason - these styles are popular with many homeowners because they are simple and light, which gives off a calming mood and also a sense of being uncluttered and free. And so, the usual colour scheme that you would probably find in Singaporean homes would be in varying shades of white, brown or grey. Nothing wrong with that of course!
That being said, there are those who dare to go against the grain, and make a bold statement.
This leads us to a 5-room HDB flat in Pasir Ris, home to a young couple in their 20s. Instead of the typical Minimalistic or Scandinavian design, they opted for something completely different, in what can only be described as being bold, dark, and somewhat mysterious. Join us as we take a dive into the unknown and explore what makes this dark-themed home so unique and alluring in its own way.
When you first step inside, what you’ll notice immediately is the ‘hollow’ feature wall divider that separates the living room from the front entrance foyer. Featuring uniformly-spaced panels that allows visitors to have a relatively unobstructed view of the living room, this creates a sense of continuity and welcomeness right off the bat, while subtly functioning as a clear demarcation of the front foyer from the rest of the apartment.
Adopting various shades of grey and dark brown with accompanying accents, the overall design theme deviates from the usual palettes of white and light brown found in most homes. This results in an interior that gives off the vibe of being mysterious, bold, and also cosy for its occupants.
One of the dangers of having a dark interior is that you run the risk of creating a claustrophobic environment, just because of how everything appears to be void and endless and ridding you of your spatial awareness, just like how you would feel in a dark room. As such, it’s important to have pops of light to break the monotony of a monochrome theme. For this home, that involved having white sheer curtains to contrast against the darker privacy curtains, as well as having light fittings along the wall edges and also varying the shade of colours.
Standing in between the living and dining rooms, you can clearly see the juxtaposition of two moods; on the right, the coolness of the living room for rest and relaxation, and on the right, the dining area bathed in warm light to promote a welcoming atmosphere to facilitate food and fellowship.
Similar to what we’ve described earlier for the living room, the kitchen/pantry area is also accentuated by warm light fittings lined up along the edges of the various furnishings, to create that ‘break’ in the monotony. In addition, by having warm light contrast with the dark surroundings, what results is an appealing glow that radiates around, reminiscent of how stars and other celestial bodies look like in the night sky.
Moving to the master bedroom, the couple opted for a simple no-frills layout, with a queen-sized bed accompanied by two wall-mounted light fittings on either side.
One of the main highlights (pun intended) of the home is the vanity mirror, which is located in their walk-in wardrobe.
Instead of a conventional rectangular mirror, the couple decided to go for a pill-shaped one, accompanied by lights hidden behind the mirror to give it an elevated and almost ethereal look. In addition, the space is outlined by more lights on both sides of the seating area as well as from the top, which in totality gives the space a warm, comforting mood for the homeowners. Remember how we mentioned that pockets of warm light contrasted against a dark backdrop made it look like a glowing body in the night sky? Well, this space certainly is the embodiment of such a concept.
The lack of sharp edges also contributes to an overall softer look of the space, and this is complemented by having a simple pop of green in the form of a plant just to add some variation and life into the otherwise two-tone hue.
Because limited floor space in HDB flats can be a bit of a challenge especially for smaller units, one simple solution to circumvent this problem is to place furnishings and fittings more compactly, but in a measured and balanced way. This is so that there would be efficient use of the available space, but also not too closely put together where homeowners would struggle to navigate around the room.
In the case of their bathroom, the couple decided to go for a more compact layout where the shower area, sink and toilet bowl are side by side. While this means they won’t have the luxury of space to manoeuvre around more freely, it nonetheless fits the bill of what exactly a bathroom should feature, which they are content with.
Lastly, we have to talk about what is probably the pièce de résistance of the home - their specially-customised light feature of the word 黄, which is also similarly illuminated by warm light against the dark backdrop of the interior. Here, the word exemplifies everything about the home - not just the couple’s family name, but also the overall design concept of their home, being one that is dark, bold and mysterious, yet with a warm, yellow glow shining out of the darkness.
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