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An all-white home may seem like a challenge to maintain, but that was exactly what Ashik and Fizuanie had in mind when it came to designing their perfect home.
Revolving around a modern farmhouse theme, your apartment strikes a balance between country minimalism and intricate rustic details. With the curtains open and the apartment bathed in light, it looks almost as sophisticated as the designs you see on interior magazine covers, but cozier.
Their first home in 2015 had similarly sported the all-white theme, and the couple loved it so much that they decided to keep the theme when they landed their resale condo this year in Tampines East.
“White is clean, spacious,” shares Fizuanie. “We love white, anything white.”
Creating your modern farm
Creating a completely white house is not just about painting the house in color.
While the main look is white (pure white, not off-white, Ashik emphasized), the overall design is accented with hints of gray and gold from her sofa, faucets, cabinet handles, and even the patterns on the carpet.
That is not to say that the white portions are not plain either. Wall trims are spread across the living room, while the kitchen space features a beach-style wall effect. The wide expanse of your floor that extends from your living room to the kitchen is also divided by organic marble lines.
And for an extra touch of life, potted plants dot various corners of your floor.
For graphic designer Ashik, “What really matters are the details. The texture gives us another layer, another depth, which really enhances the house.”
One of the highlights of the family home is its fully custom kitchen – a bright open space with windows on both sides, a large folding glass door, and an island table.
The couple modified the storage space that originally took up a third of the kitchen area, before building their countertops, tables and island to suit their tall rooms: the 1.9m Ashik Towers, while Fizuanie is only half a head more. short.
Another important aspect of the kitchen is the window that overlooks the entrance of the house. Not only does he allow more light into the room, Ashik reveals with a smile that allows him to see Fizuanie the very moment he comes home after a long day at work.
The vault
While the entire house is bathed in white, the verbal command “Alexa, let’s go” activates your smart home system to open a set of curtains behind a pair of double doors in the living room, instantly revealing a private wrapped shoe vault. in black.
The bonus room was already built when the family bought the 5-room flat and adjustments were made to change the direction of the entrance. Inside, impressive rows of sneakers line the rear wall, which is illuminated by ceiling-mounted lights. And yes, all the shoes belong to Ashik.
When asked how many pairs of sneakers the 33-year-old has, he smiles sheepishly.
“Maybe a hundred pairs? I started collecting them since I was 18.”
His favorite Air Jordan 1s take center stage on display, with his Nike, Adidas and other sneaker brands flanking his treasured collection.
The dichotomy between the black vault and the white house is interesting, but there’s a reason for it: shoes, and especially sneakers, require a cool storage environment to last longer.
For Ashik, the vault is his “world of Narnia”, a different dimension within his own home where he is “king”, he jokes. His love for sneakers is shared by his wife, and it has also leaked to their 2-year-old daughter Audreena.
It shows a smaller cabinet within the vault, filled with miniature sneakers the size of Audreena that they had bought over the years, even before she was born.
“We have matching sneakers, but my wife really doesn’t like to match me,” Ashik shares. “At least Audreena will.”
Find the perfect match
With a clear vision of the design of his home, Ashik went to work immediately after finding his apartment, sketching out the design and possible placement of the furniture and accessories. He even went the extra mile, prepared a PDF document of his designs as well as mood boards, and sent them to the interior design companies he wanted to work with.
Of all the companies he contacted, only five or six responded.
“I think they confused me with another interior designer (ID) who was trying to smoke them,” laughs Ashik, revealing that from a young age, he had learned the ins and outs of the business from his father, who ran his own renovation company. .
He eventually met up with a few IDs for a face-to-face consultation, but found that most were quite insistent on changing certain parts of their designs. It wasn’t until he learned of the Fifth Avenue Interior IDs that he found someone he clicked with.
Working against the clock
Once they decided on their identification, the next challenge was the deadline to complete the renovation works. The couple had little time to complete their renovation after receiving the keys to their resale apartment.
There were hiccups along the way like when kitchen cabinets were fitted with wrong size doors, resulting in a delay. As their renewal period coincided with the Chinese New Year, the couple also had to deal with another wait while the identification firm took a two-week break.
The day they held a photoshoot at their finished dream house, it turned out to be the same day that the national circuit breaker was announced due to COVID-19.
Dear Tampines
There has been no question in the couple’s mind that Tampines is the city for them.
Their conjugal home had been in Tampines West, while Ashik grew up with his parents in Tampines North. Given her memories of the city, she resists the suggestion of living elsewhere.
He laughs: “When we were waiting for our first apartment, we lived with my in-laws in Simei. That’s the furthest I would move, and it’s only five minutes from Tampines.”
The proximity to their parents’ home also meant the couple were eligible for HDB’s Proximity Housing Grant, which helped them save $ 20,000 on their apartment.
With Our Tampines Hub located a short drive away, the family spends time there dining, swimming, visiting the library, and shopping for groceries, the mention of which makes young Audreena perk up and babble with enthusiasm.
Tips for budgeting
Even with all the extra work that went into redesigning and personalizing her apartment, even turning it into a smart home, everything was still within budget.
It comes down to discipline, Ashik emphasizes, which means setting a budget and sticking to it.
When it came to looking for furniture, there were many instances where they had to decide not to buy what they thought were “the best options” to stay on budget. It also taught the two of them to keep their eyes peeled for more affordable alternatives.
If setting a realistic budget is difficult, especially for first-time homeowners, she recommends doing a great deal of research to get a good estimate of item costs and looking at more home and design shows to see how others have remodeled your home with yours tips to save costs.
This article is presented to you in association with the Housing and Development Board. Visit the MyNiceHome website for tips on renovating your HDB apartment and get inspired by more home tours.
