House tour: A Tiong Bahru flat with patterned tiles and a nostalgic style

The Tiong Bahru neighbourhood was this homeowner's childhood haunt, and it's where his residence is located today.

His father ran a food stall at the old Seng Poh Road Market there, and still does so, at the renamed Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre.

So it wasn't surprising that the banker eventually moved into a two-bedroom SIT flat (it was originally a three-room unit) with his partner, a lawyer.

"The place oozes nostalgia, but we also love the uniqueness, feel and character of the SIT flat," says the homeowners.

The original retro inlaid marble flooring in the living room was also too precious to hack, so they decided to retain it and had it repolished.

Both also fell in love with the longer window panels not found in standard HDB flats.

"The windows give us a sense of space of the surroundings and a good view of the beautiful heritage trees," elaborates the homeowner.

"We wanted a modern retro design, something that also blends with the history and heritage of Tiong Bahru." 

The living area is also a bold display of different tiles, which helps to delineate the different sections of the home.

Kitchen cabinets are in a vibrant pop of blue ("it's our favourite colour") for a contrasting look with the retro feel that permeates the rest of the home.

Their home is decked with treasured furniture pieces from their previous house.

They kept their four-poster bed and study table from John Erdos, which have been with them for seven years.

They also bought new furniture that have a midcentury, modern retro feel from Commune to complement the existing furniture.  

The bedroom makes a statement in different shades of grey and a partition wall was created to separate the master bedroom from the bathroom.

They wanted the wall to stand out as a feature piece and chose to clad it in floral wallpaper.

They did a complete overhaul and reconfigured the three-bedroom apartment into a two-bedder, which also resulted in a bigger en-suite master bedroom with built-in wardrobes.

This article was first published in Home & Decor.