Threehaus Works opened up a 4-room HDB resale flat, focusing on light and texture. Gladys and Amoz wanted a space that felt calm and warm without being too minimal. They are a product designer and a digital marketer who wanted to share meals and host friends. They also planned to fill the home with trinkets, posters, and magnets from their travels.
A Material-Led Approach
Joshua Wee, co-founder of Threehaus Works, broke the brief down to a few themes: warmth, simplicity, and quiet contrast. He translated that into a material-led approach. The colour palette stays light and neutral. Warm wood accents bring depth to the room. Everything else follows from that foundation.
The renovation took four months and cost close to $70,000. Joshua’s first move was to hack down the third bedroom. This allowed natural light to flood through the centre of the flat. What had been a closed-off room became a secondary living zone. The original living and dining area gained the space it needed to breathe.
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The goal of tearing it down was to allow more natural light to flow through the home. Having the living area there instead allowed the original living and dining to feel more spacious. The bomb shelter sits at the junction of the two spaces, worked into the layout as best it can be.
Texture in the Foyer and Kitchen
The standout feature is the checkered tiles running from the foyer through the kitchen. They trace the flat’s elongated footprint and serve double duty as a textural contrast to the warm vinyl wood flooring from Wood Culture. The home stretches long-ish in that direction, and the tiles highlight the layout.
The walls are off-white from Nippon Paint rather than stark white. This was a deliberate choice. Knowing the couple would layer in colour through objects and furniture, Joshua kept the backdrop muted. Circular glass blocks at the entrance pull off something clever. They offer a partial screen from the main door while adding a retro, textural note to the foyer.
For older types of HDB resale flats, I like to introduce a service yard or laundry area if possible. They allow homeowners to separate the laundry from the cooking, and I can at least camouflage the ceiling-mounted rack while I’m at it, said Joshua. The ribbed panels diffuse light softly into the main kitchen while keeping hanging clothes discreetly out of sight.
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Since the couple lean towards light cooking, the semi-open layout poses no ventilation concerns. The main kitchen keeps the same warm palette. Cabinetry is finished in laminates from EDL, the backsplash in vertical tiles from Hafary, and the countertops in quartz from Caesarstone.
The bedroom doors are one of the quieter details that reward a second look. Wrapped in wood-look laminates from floor to ceiling, they read from the sofa as a textural wall rather than a row of doors. The original frames were torn out entirely and rebuilt. The master bedroom, which looks out towards the living area, benefits most from the framing.
Older resale flats rarely come with a dedicated laundry zone. Joshua’s solution was a ribbed glass sliding door that divides the kitchen into a cooking area in front and a laundry zone at the back.