hands-on home

Instead of engaging an interior designer, this couple took their home renovation into their own hands. Here’s how they planned a modular, flexible space for the day they’d eventually have their baby daughter.

While BTO flats are often the go-to pick for newlyweds, Jacquelyn and Jayden were set on moving into a new home right after their wedding. As the couple started looking for a house just a year before getting married, a BTO flat would have taken much too long to complete, and they began viewing resale flats instead.

Strangely enough, it was the layout of the common bathroom that sold them on their current unit. Originally a SERS flat targeted at elderly residents, the bathroom came with two separate entrances, connecting the service yard at the back to the living area through the common bathroom. While unusual, this layout lends the home a studio vibe that the couple was instantly enamoured with.

Having found their dream home, the newlyweds took matters into their own hands for the renovation. “We went to a few designers for quotes but most of them did minimal designing and cost quite a bit,” Jacquelyn shares. “My mum then asked me if I wanted to try to get a quote from a contractor just to compare prices since I already had a pretty good idea of how I wanted to design the house.”

Once the contractor revealed which walls could be hacked, the couple got started planning their desired layout and implementing a look they were both happy with. Jacquelyn’s background as a UX designer certainly helped, resulting in a solid redesign of the house even without a professional ID.

“Every other week, we were on-site to meet the contractor, often making decisions on the spot,” the couple reveals. “Since we had no prior experience, it was a lot to take in at the beginning, but we really enjoyed the whole process because it gave us so much freedom.”