NEVER TOO SMALL: Clever Spaces in an Illustrator’s Vibrant Apartment, Singapore 47sqm/506sqft

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Once a standard HDB flat with basic finishes and fixtures, the colourful and quirky 401e has been transformed into a practical and adaptable home, seamlessly transitioning from an intimate space for two to an inviting setting for friends and family. Designed by Jade Cham of knock knock studio, alongside owners Jackie, an illustrator, and Tobbie, a jiu jitsu instructor. Key design interventions included integrating storage solutions, custom furniture and cool colour schemes. A standout addition is a full length built-in storage bench in the open plan dining and living space, which includes a pull-out bench for additional dining seating and discreetly stowing away sporting gear. A curated gallery wall in the space displays art pieces by both Jackie and the couple’s friends, along with cherished mementos from their travels. By taking every little lifestyle detail taken into account, this design truly illustrates how there is always room for playfulness and personal touches

#smallapartment #architecture #interiordesign

Ep. 169
Project Name: 401e
Designer: www.knockknockstudio.com

Produced by New Mac Video Agency
Creator: Colin Chee
Director: Nam Tran
Cinematographer: Kevin Siyuan
Producer: Lindsay Barnard
Editor: Jessica Ruasol
Music: Bluebell by Woolfson & Cute Fluffy Clouds by Less Gravity

This particular one bedroom apartment is home to Jackie, an illustrator and her partner, Tobbie, who is a jiu-jitsu instructor. When I first met Jackie and Tobbie, they gave me a small Swiss army knife. This right here is the perfect analogy of what we’re looking for. It’s compact, functional, and also well-designed.

It really inspired me to create a space that was just as versatile. It allows the apartment to transform effortlessly from a cozy place for two to an inviting space for friends and family. I’m Jade, an interior designer at Knock Knock Studio. And I’m Jackie, an illustrator at 8EyedSpud.

I live here with my partner and together we designed this space. The apartment is in the Fernvale neighborhood located in Sengkang, which is in the northeast part of Singapore. Fernvale is one of the newest neighborhoods in Sengkang Town. It’s a lively and peaceful residential district with a couple of supermarkets nearby

And many food options. This is a public housing project built by Singapore’s Housing Development Board and was completed in April 2023. The building is 25 stories tall and we live on the 13th floor. The apartment was brand new and came with basic fixtures such as flooring, tiles and doors.

This is the usual layout of a one bedroom public housing in Singapore. Every apartment also comes with a household shelter, which is often used as a storage space. We kept the original floor plan, but made a couple of changes. We pushed out one of the kitchen walls by 20 centimeters

To add the laundry trolley and install the bi-fold door. The original bi-fold door in the bathroom was replaced by the swing door And we built a half wall for the shower. The wall that hid the original bedroom door was knocked down and replaced with a half glass sliding door.

We also built a cabinet in front of the household shelter to provide more storage. When we enter the apartment, we see our first piece of side hustle furniture that I custom made to fit this corner. It’s a shoe rack that also doubles up as a bench for putting on shoes.

We named them “side hustle furniture” because they don’t just save space, but add a lot personality to the home. shade of green for the foyer because it reminds us of the calmness of being in nature and is a respite from the busyness of the city.

The original storeroom door is concealed behind a full height cabinet. It features a curved corner with a built in nook for keys and knick knacks. There’s also plenty of storage space on the top and on the sides. As this storage space is accessed

Often we use a fingerprint resistant laminate for easy maintenance. We added storage shelves in our store room to fit the bicycle, and a couple of our luggages. In Singapore, it is common that a kitchen in a one bedroom apartment is a shared space for cooking and doing the laundry.

But we made sure that these tasks do not happen at the same time. We replaced the original drying rack that came with the apartment with an electric drying system to ensure that the clothes will be dry in a couple of hours and kept away before any cooking starts.

On one side of the galley style kitchen, we added floating shelves to make the space look larger and feel more open. The switches for all the appliances are hidden behind the cabinetry above the oven. The pullout serving trolley is another piece of side hustle furniture that we designed.

It doubles as storage for unwashed laundry. And when it’s not being used, it is tucked away in the cabinet. On the other side, there is a wall hung top cabinet for storing pantry items and a dish drying is also concealed within. We also made sure

That every item in the kitchen had a designated space to be stored. We added a bi-fold door with clear glass as it saves space. It also separates the kitchen from the main area to contain the smells. Before stepping into the combined living and dining area,

You will find a cabinet with a distribution board. We replaced the original door of the cabinet with a full length mirror to bring light into the corridor. Above the dining table is a blue display shelf where I put my books and cameras

The pivoting wall lamp above the dining table can be swung into position. We knew we wanted a pull up bar, but we didn’t want our house to look like a gym, so we made it look a bit more inconspicuous by adding it below the shelf. The dining table extends to accommodate up

To eight guests and features a single chair that Tobbie and I made. Additional seats can easily be pulled together from pieces around the house. The long bench that extends from the dining area to the window is made of plywood with a veneer finish. It serves as seating, storage, a pull out bench

And a TV console. The pull out bench is not only handy in providing an extra seat for guests, but also hides our gym equipment. In the living room, we have a secondhand IKEA sofa bed that unfolds to a queen sized bed.

Having this gives us the flexibility to turn our living room into a guestroom Our rug is from Etsy and it’s custom made to fit the length of the sofa. It also provides a distinction between the living and dining areas. The gallery wall is our favorite part of the house.

As an illustrator, I wanted to display some of my artworks and pieces from artist friends, and our travels over the years like the one I made out of my partner’s jiu-jitsu belts that have been worn over the years.

The convex mirror was found in a bargain bin in IKEA. We like that it encapsulates the coziness of the living room every time you look into it. The original wooden sliding door was replaced with a steel and glass one to introduce natural light into the bedroom. A curtain was added for privacy

And to minimize light and noise disturbances from the living room. A narrow open cabinet was built at the entrance to provide more space to move around. Clothes that are worn often are hung facing outwards and don’t require as much depth as a typical wardrobe.

The main wardrobe uses sliding doors to maximize the space between the queen sized bed and the wardrobe. This also allowed us to add two side tables and a floor lamp. We couldn’t find a side table that I liked, so we made one out of recycled plastic and plywood.

We used veneer with matte varnish finishing for most of the cabinets in the apartment. It adds warmth to the space and makes it feel more effortless and refined. For the bathroom we chose medium sized, glossy maroon tiles because they’re easy to maintain, and the glossy surface makes the bathroom appear bigger.

A vanity cabinet with a mirror was installed to keep the counter free from clutter. We also included both task and ambient lighting within the space. Inside the shower we added nooks on both sides to hide toiletries. To maximize the floor space. we designed a hexagon shaped shower screen.

So when the door opens, it doesn’t take up much space of the bathroom as compared to the L-shaped shower screen. When I was young, I grew up in a small home with my parents. Space was very limited to every part of the house to serve a practical purpose.

Even then, I still found ways to add touches of beauty. Once you understand how the person lives, many design decisions are already made for you. Their needs become the foundation of their home and everything that comes after from material choice to color palette is a way to express who they are.

Each object, every piece of art, and every single piece of furniture in this home is here because we made a conscious decision for it to be here With good design, a small space isn’t a bad thing. It can be something desirable and it can also be a space

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