HDB flat on English Countryside

Bachelor Ian Fong’s flat is a comfortable, two-storey dwelling that looks like a house found in the English countryside. However, it is situated in a housing estate in Whampoa.

The flat also resembles a terrace house when it is really an HDB property. This is one of 285 landed homes that were constructed during the 1970s by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), the Housing and Development Board (HDB)’s predecessor.

Besides Whampoa, similar two-storey dwellings can be found along the Stirling Road in Queenstown.

Mr. Fong, the managing director of public relations and design firm Sirius Art, purchased the 1,300 square feet property for $418,000 and transferred last April. The place is a flat with three rooms, two bedrooms on the second floor, a kitchen and a living room on the first floor.

He took the idea from the colonial appeal of the Raffles Hotel when he decorated his HDB home. This 35-year-old property has a similarity to that of an English cottage with a British-style look. He said, "I wanted the interior and exterior of the place to be in sync.”

“In British homes, every room is a surprise,” Ian explained. He imagined this for his own residence as well, which is a lovely mix of modernistic English eclecticism, and Oriental and Indian accessories.

Mr. Fong’s bedroom is packed with Oriental furnishings painted with white colourings. It is less uninteresting this way and provides the furniture with an alternative appearance, he said. Dominating the area is an Oriental shelf full of photos, figurines, and toys, all contributing to the eclectic appearance.

The other room intended for the guests, is simply decorated with light-green wallpaper and light-brown sofa bed.

For a luxury touch, the walls in the living room were all lined up and kitchen designed with wallpaper, though only its upper half, ”to give the room more dimension and make the ceiling look higher”.

Mr. Fong explained about his choice of the brown wallpaper decoration, ”Florals would make it too girly. I wanted something more masculine.”

Since he is a person who loves to cook and enjoys entertaining people, his favourite area is his kitchen painted all-white, which instantly gets a clean up every time he sees any stains. “All my guests prefer hanging around the island in the kitchen, rather than in the living room.” He also described his house as modern, English, and eclectic, as well as with a bit of Orientalism.

Eclecticism is challenging, he added, because "everything has to look different, yet still match”. It also provides him “more leeway as I can buy anything without worrying about it not fitting in”.

He has no doubts about combining affordable and expensive pieces for his house. For instance, the living room consist of a Natuzzi leather sofa worth $6,000 and several vases from Ikea, each worth less than $20.

He simply admires his backyard, because of its neatness and attractiveness. It is fashionable and it does not need a large space to decorate beautifully. It was really the price that enticed him, according to the 40-year-old, who thought of purchasing landed property in other places.

With this abode, he gets to stay in a landed residence at a fraction of the cost. It has left 65 years on its 99-year rental.

Mr. Fong worked with a designer and spent approximately $150,000 on restoration, which also included a bathroom installation on the second storey and expanding the area of the living room by almost one metre into the front garden.