Many interior designers work in their own houses at some point, but for Dominic Leong, director of Homely Matters, it happened the other way around. While he worked in a non -profit organization, he decided to personally take over the interior design of his own house and to work directly with various subcontractors.
The 38-year-old Dominic, his wife Tay Wei Ling, who is 36 years old and works as a manager in a non-profit organization, and her four-year-old son moved to her new home in March 2023 after a three and a half monthly renovation in the period of a three and a half month. When their friends came to visit, they were all amazed at the results and even more impressed when they found that it was achieved with a budget of just more than 70,000 US dollars. They asked Dominic if he could help design their houses, and so everything started.
He collected 3D sign capabilities with his skills that the principles of the interior designer experienced, including the establishment of an interior design company by Ula Burgiel, a luxury interior architect based in London. “I did my first project in December 2023 and have completed 15 projects so far,” he says.
Who lives here: A couple and her little son
Home: A 5-room HDB rehabilitation apartment in the Haig Road
Size: 1.238 m²
Interior designer: Dominic Leong, cozy affairs
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
Haig Road HDB
As the second owner of this 45-year-old HDB apartment in Haig Road, which was still in its original condition, the homeowners Dominic and Wei Ling agreed that an overhaul was long overdue in order to transform the old apartment into a lively family house that was tailored to their needs and which is aimed at their love for the hosting of family and friends. The walls were chopped, the layout was reconfigured and the floor coverings, windows, doors and carpentry were all replaced. Nothing from the existing interior was retained.
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
$ 70,000 renovation budget
“We set a budget of 70,000 US dollars and wanted a timeless design that did not follow the trends that every house in Singapore wore,” he emphasizes.
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
Living room design
The previous owner had bought the corridor area right in front of the main door, which enables a small foyer room. With the chopping of the existing kitchen walls and the leveling of the balcony floor to become part of the living room, Dominic was able to create a long, straight-line dining and living space. These three areas – the entrance foyer, the food and the living room should be a large open space within the house, which can be recorded at large meetings.
Off-white linen shows prominently in the living room, from the sofa to the Scanteak tag bed. The couple deliberately designed the living room without a television, as it wanted to concentrate on the quality of the family time about meaningful conversations. The LG Stanbyme TV is practical because you can move the device around the house. “This flexible solution is seamlessly with our dynamic needs, be it to maintain our son during meals, as a cozy cinematic experience in the main bedroom or a joint viewing session with family and friends in the living room,” he says.
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
Dining room design
The dining room is surrounded by two sides of white cupboards, a white fridge and a white pantry with which you can fit into the walls and go back into the background. A 2.6 -meter -wood -sideboard from Soul & Tables takes the third wall and complements the wooden dining table and the chairs.
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
“I learned from Ula Burgiel about the 'rule from a' that is about keeping a kind of wood, fabric or metal in the interior. I like oak wood, as far as possible, I tried to stick to an oak tone for all wooden colors in the house,” he explains.
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
Kitchen design
The kitchen may have been reduced due to the new configuration, but at first the old kitchen was also larger than the family of three threes. Move the refrigerator and the pantry next to the dining room not only the room in the wet kitchen, but also let the smell of coffee penetrate the whole house. The new kitchen may be smaller, but has a functional layout and a built -in cupboards at the top and below the kitchen counter.
A new storage room was added where the old dining area was located. This was essential because the house had no existing storage room. The family lovingly refers to this as their “mini garage”, since the spacious room is almost as large as a standard bedroom and strollers, car seats, toys, clothes and much more.
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
Reading room
The room outside the bedroom was transformed into a “quiet oasis for reading and playing musical instruments”. A sofa and a bookshelf in a corner offer a convenient reading corner.
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
A high table and a stool in front of the window offers a different backdrop for reading, drinking coffee or working from home, accompanied by a look at the Joo -Chiat district.
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
Photography by Clement Goh, art movement by Kristy Quah
Homely Matter's interior design
Dominic called his design practice Homely, because every house is important for him. “We not only wanted to build a good looking house. We wanted to create a home that works for our family in terms of our habits, our daily use and our river.” And this philosophy of personalizing the habitats in order to reflect the developing needs and lifestyle of the client is used for every project.