Loft Style @ Joo Chiat
Joo Chiat (Walk-up apartment 4-room Apartment)
Design areas: Living Room, Dining Area, Kitchen, Master Suite with en-suite, Common Bathroom, Study | Project completed: 2016 | Renovation budget: SGD89,000
Mixing traditional elements with industrial features, this walk up apartment in Joo Chiat boosts a loft style interior with striking elements. By enlarging the kitchen to give up one bedroom, transformed the space into a large open plan living space not often seen in Singapore. Since we were limited by a structural column while hacking the walls, we decided to keep the finish of the wall in the raw concrete. We further enhanced this industrial loft feel by removing the plaster of one wall to expose the red bricks. The scars of the hacking adds to the overall charm and patina of the home.
In stark contrast to the raw finishes, the floors were kept polished with elegant detail. In the living room, we opted for a wood tile flooring – laying a parameter border first, while the insert was laid in a herringbone pattern. These little sophisticated details help to soften the overall look. For the kitchen, the flooring is a cement tile in a repetitive pattern. A simple black parameter border helps to frame this tile and keep the pattern aligned. Since cement tiles are porous and easily scratched, we buffed and waxed it to create a more polished finish.
The statement in the kitchen is the large island. Finished in a stark shaker style – this piece offers storage on either side, while allowing ample seating. The island is the nerve center of the kitchen, featuring appliances like microwave, dishwasher and wine fridge. On the opposite side, a traditional range hood is the focal point, which is offset with the marble slab backsplash. The traditional Ogee edge quartz counter again helps to soften the stark contrast colours and sharp lines.
In the master bathroom, the feature wall is in laid with a mixed colour hexagon tile, while the rest of the walls and floors use the same tile in a normal 300 x 600 size. Adding some wood elements help to create a cozy ambiance. For the common bathroom an irregular subway tile is used and finished with a contrast border tile. By not tiling all the way to the ceiling, it helps to break up the space. The owners’ personality comes through with the artworks and other detailing in the home.
While we kept to a very simple colour palette – pops of colour were added through the artwork, the soft furnishings and other accessories.