Very few homeowners try to emulate their hobbies into their home interiors, but that is certainly not the case with Kamal and Mashita – a married couple with a teenaged daughter. From the beginning, both of them had a vision for their 1500 sqft resale executive apartment. Mashita’s love of country style home décor was instantly apparent in her large collection of vintage and rustic collectable accessories, so they wanted to build an entire ambiance around this theme.
They’d previously researched and consulted several interior designers, but none of them had been able to articulate what they had in mind for their home. The couple got to know about Monoloft through word of mouth – a friend’s recommendation specifically. They liked the way that Monoloft professionals were transparent with their pricing, and even more impressed with many of the ideas and practical solutions discussed with the team.
Size of Home: 1500 sqft Resale Executive Apartment
Renovation Period: 2.5 Months
Location: 874A Tampines Street 84
Home to: A Married Couple with a teenaged daughter
They loved the suggestion of blending some of the existing furnishings left behind by the previous homeowner with the newer ideas. This way, the Monoloft team was able to work around their budget and provided clever solutions to avoid unnecessary dismantling. Kamal and Mashita wanted to prioritize functionality throughout their home, but not at the expense of aesthetics. Monoloft achieved their desired visuals with clever built-ins, smart space planning, warm lighting, and gorgeous color-material articulation. Let’s take a closer look at each part of the home.
A stylishly cozy entryway
The entrance design always manifests the first impression on anyone who enters a home, and this particular entryway foyer makes an instant impact thanks to Mashita’s massive collection of country style décor. The classic wrought-iron style door sets an artsy, stylistic tone that carries throughout the rest of the home interior. Featuring a plethora of cottage-chic decorations, the space immediately feels less formal and more homely. Upon entering the house, guests are welcomed with a lovely flower stand and a customized initial plate reading “@KLMM❤HOME.”
Everything feels extremely cozy and inviting, belying the typical modern rigidity of most homes these days. All the small personal touches and accessorizing are a great way to make the ambiance feel comfortable, intimate, and congenial.
Blending style and practicality in the kitchen
Interior designer Joseph has cleverly converted the existing glass block wall that previously acted as a separator into a rustic and fully functional kitchen island. This converts the whole layout into an open-floor plan, which in turn makes the overall home feel more spacious and inviting.
The wood-textured countertops used throughout the kitchen are actually KompacTop, which has the same wood finish, but is definitely more durable because unlike solid wood, this material is water and stain resistant. Moreover, solid wood countertops (even the butcher block tops) tend to accumulate a lot of water and food stains over the course of their life, and that’s certainly something you can avoid with KompacTop. Another reason was that it’s less costly and matched well with the client’s budget. However, the KompacTop only comes in a thickness of 6mm. Therefore, in order to imitate an authentic solid wood aesthetic, the Monoloft team decided to create the thickness manually by adding a downturn of 50mm.
The warm aesthetic of the countertops is complemented by the mint-green cabinets and storage. Since the kitchen is mostly Mashita’s domain, she wanted a mint-green theme for a relaxing ambiance, but none of the green laminate swatches in the market matched her expectations. At last, the designer proposed painting the wood, and the results were astonishingly pleasant. Coupled with the country-chic filigree at the bottom, under and over cabinet lights, and the small space at the top where decorative accessories from Mashita’s collection are featured, this part of the kitchen ended up looking gorgeous.
Mashita spends most of her time in the kitchen, so having an organized storage was a total renovation essential for her as well. Therefore, easy access pull-out storage for snacks, cereals, instant noodles, spices, crockery, and more was installed within the lower cabinets. The patterned floor tiles complete the whole look by adding contrast to the whole ambiance.
We love the way Monoloft has reinvented our kitchen. The color scheme is natural and bright, but we love the fine details of the storage space the most. It’s both beautiful and functional – exactly how we wanted!
Mashita, Homeowner
An eclectic living area
The layout of the living room emulates a very vintage kitsch vibe. Featuring a collection of eclectic furniture and gorgeous pattern contrast, the open floor concept and large windows help realize spaciousness within the area.
The glass-block kitchen island oversees the entire living room while wood finished vinyl flooring effuses a warm, cozy feel within the ambiance. Conjoined with the dining space, the vintage furniture and mismatched accessories make the space feel lived-in, welcoming, and perfect for a family gathering. The stunning oriental rug anchors the whole aesthetic with its unique and colorful patterns while complementing the overall country style theme really well.
The work-space area
While the open-concept home allows the family to spend time together, they also needed to strike a balance between privacy and openness. Therefore, the work-space has been designed in a solitary fashion. A swing door opens to this area and is followed by the entrance to the bedrooms. It’s a shared space where Mashita and her daughter can alternate between their activities.
Mashita is a freelance artist who specializes in bridal headpieces, accessories, and décor. Her work requires handling a lot of small objects and fabrics, so designer Joseph designed built-in cabinets with plenty of storage for her materials. One of the best features is the pull-out countertop for her sewing machine. Everything has been designed specifically to conceal all the clutter that such intrinsic work entails.
Artsy master bedroom
The master bedroom carries through on the country chic theme featured in the rest of the home. Featuring the same color scheme as the work area, the full height built-in wardrobe with integrated LED lights brightens up the closet space and adds a hidden ‘surprise’ element to the overall aesthetic. Floral prints and classy textile patterns are another common theme in this bedroom that has been articulated through the roller blinds and oriental area rugs. There’s also a feature-length cabinet for more storage that runs to the edge of the window. A collapsible ironing board has been integrated in the cabinet as well to keep the room more organized.
Master bathroom
A warm vintage aesthetic has been translated in the design of the master bathroom. The shower stall has been accented with textured tiles in darker shades, while the rest of the space is clad in plain tiles in a lighter finish. A classic wooden cabinet has been installed above the commode, while sleek white fixtures complement the whole look with a modern edge.
Common (daughter’s) bedroom
The common bedroom belongs to Kamal and Mashita’s daughter, who’s still a student. The ambiance has been kept simple so as to not impact her concentration during studies. The feature-length wardrobe with its shuttered doors adds a country chic aura to the ambiance, while the warm wooden floors, simple bookshelf, and kitschy roller blinds add an eclectic beauty to the room.
Common bathroom
The common toilet has been dressed in a darker color scheme. It’s edgy and industrial; plain charcoal-hued tiles clad the majority of the space while the shower stall has been accented with tiles featuring an exposed brick pattern. Vintage accessories and sleek fixtures create beautiful contrast within the whole ambiance.
