Even if you live in a small HDB flat, you can still make the most of the available space.
To accomplish the goal, you have to carry out thorough space planning when considering a home renovation project.
Singapore interior design professionals put space planning in the heart of their work. When the right solution is chosen, even the tiniest of living spaces can appear roomy and functional.
A few principles of space planning apply to the interior design work, regardless of the size of the apartment and the nature of the floor plan.
Always Measure before Choosing the Right Solution
The tape measure plays an important role in home renovation projects.
You may feel that a certain room has a specific size that could support a bulkier piece of furniture. This isn’t necessarily the case.
When doing any kind of shopping, you have to understand the dimensions you’re working with.
Putting an overstuffed sofa in a tiny living room is going to make that part of the HDB apartment appear even smaller. A tiny couch in a massive living room will look lonely, out of proportion and generally – not meant to be there.
If you already have a floor plan with measures, use that with your guide. If not, you may want to create one on your own.
Know Where to Put the Bigger Items
Even if your HDB apartment is smaller, you’ll still need to have a couple of larger items inside.
To do effective space planning, start with the correct placement of these large items in each room. When you’re done, you can begin considering the distribution of smaller pieces of furniture, appliances and accessories.
For some items, correct placement plays a functional as well as an aesthetic role. The TV and the sofa are two such items.
A larger television screen needs to be put a certain distance away from the people who will be looking at it. This is why you will first need to choose where the sofa and the TV are going to be in the living room. When you have these two items positioned, you will find it a whole lot easier to determine how to decorate the rest of the living room.
The same applies to the kitchen. You want to have easy and unobstructed access to the fridge. Hence, you cannot put something bulky in front of it and you cannot position a nearby object that will keep the door from opening.
Make Use of the Nooks and the Crannies
No matter how smart you are with space planning, there will be nooks and crannies that will remain either under-used or completely un-utilised.
These are the golden spots for storage or for the creation of a specific space without needing an entire room for it.
A home office, for example, could easily be created in the living room. For the purpose, you may want to go for streamlined and modern furniture. It will leave a lot of empty space, allowing you to take away a portion of the living room without reducing comfort.
These spaces can also be fitted with storage units. The solution is a great one for HDB flats that are already lacking in available space.
When space is limited, think vertical rather than horizontal. Shelves, custom cabinets and storage boxes can be placed in the posts you do not utilise in any other way. You can even have a few such units hanging from the ceiling – fill them with the items that you don’t really need to take out that often.
Shrink Whatever Could Be Shrunk
Even if your apartment isn’t that small, shrinking some types of furniture and accessories will leave a lot more room for the functional pieces.
The coffee table, for example, does not need to be ginormous in order to be functional. The same applies to the dining room chairs. Choose pieces that are narrower and that have fine lines. When you opt for such furniture, you can also install comfort pieces that are bulkier and that would be used much more often.
Once again, remember that proportion is everything. You can’t buy a tiny coffee table and place it next to a five-person bulky leather sofa. Your table will look even smaller this way and the sofa will completely overshadow the rest of the interior design.
Before buying a new piece of furniture, an artwork or an accessory, ask yourself one important question: do I really need it?
This question will contribute to a lot of space planning effectiveness.
Excited during a home renovation project, we often go out and buy things that we don’t really need or that don’t fit the renovation concept.
Always edit down and take away a thing or a few. You’re not going to compromise the integrity of the room and you can put a lot more attention on several well-chosen, quality pieces.
If you lack the knowledge, the time and the experience to make such choices on your own, partner up with an interior design company in Singapore.
A reputable Singapore interior design company will guide you through space planning, the selection of the right furniture and the placement of such items. Interior designers pay attention to the big picture. They know how the different pieces interact and how they affect the ambiance inside the home.
Home Guide has extensive experience in residential interior design and home renovation projects. We stick to HDB-prescribed practices, following the guidelines and the regulations that the board has put in place.
Contact Home Guide today to begin improving your living space or enhancing the design of a brand new HDB flat. We will do our best to understand the concept you’re hoping for, refine it and take it to the next level.
