See inside an interior designer’s black home

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Text by Janice Seow
Photography by Wong Weiliang
Art Direction by Betty Wong & Siti Nurfaizah

Reno cost: $100,000

Most people would baulk at the idea of an all-black home, but not so the young married couple living in this 5-room flat; for them, going with such an unapologetically dark colour scheme was a most natural move. “I like black,” says wife Sherlynn with a laugh. “I wanted the space to be very studio-like, and a bit like a bachelor’s pad with a masculine vibe.” Thankfully, her husband Brandon shares very similar tastes. “I’m a monochrome guy myself!” he chimes in.

Making that transition from the bright outdoors to the dark, enveloping coolness of this HDB flat quite takes one’s breath away. The eyes require a little time to adjust, but the experience is an entirely pleasant one – like entering a hushed, chill-out zone.

The fact that Sherlynn runs her own interior design outfit Millimeters Studio, and had previously worked for a large design firm where she dealt with hospitality projects overseas probably also played a part in helping her enforce the moody scheme with such confidence.

The entire communal zone (kitchen, and living and dining area) is wrapped primarily in black. Complementing shades come in the form of ash brown HERF flooring, grey accent walls, and an array of stylish home accessories, artwork, and personal paraphernalia in green, white, silver, gold, and even neon.

It’s evident that black is the canvas on which the couple imprint their personal style. For example, the custom pegboard wall located near the main entrance not only hides the door of the bomb shelter, but also allows the couple to display objects and move them around as they like. “I wanted to be able to personalise this area, and especially at Christmas or special occasions, I’ll take the opportunity to change things around,” says Sherlynn.

The walls of the kitchen and service yard have been removed to create a spacious, open-concept kitchen that transitions seamless into the dining and living area. “My husband loves to cook, and we both also love to host,” says Sherlynn, explaining the move. By opening up the space, Sherlynn was also able to design a cooking-dining island counter where the couple and their family and friends could gather for meals or simply hang out while food is being prepared.

Further in, the living area sits on a framed, elevated platform, and from its vantage point on the 25^th floor, enjoys panoramic views of the city skyline. Sherlynn shares that the idea of ‘framing’ the view essentially served as the starting point for her design, and adds, “I decided to raise up this space because I wanted to highlight the entire scene.”

Sherlynn custom designed many of the furniture pieces herself, such as the bar counter and liquor display unit, the island table, and the shelving unit in the reading corner. All these pieces display a consistent design language with their sleek black framing and metal details fitting in beautifully with the flat’s modern, urban vibes. Many of these designs are also loose pieces that can be moved around should the couple have a desire to rearrange their space.

The dark palette continues all the way through to the master bedroom, which has been merged with another common bedroom to create a larger room that’s now able to comfortably accommodate a king-sized bed and a study cum wardrobe area.

The work and rest zones are separated by a clear glass divider which maintains the sense of spaciousness whilst also ensuring privacy. And demonstrating once again the idea of ‘framing’ the views, Sherlynn has designed the bed to sit directly facing the stretch of bedroom windows. She adds, “We also like the idea of having an ‘island bed’ so that the dogs can roam freely around us!”

Millimeters Studio
www.millimeters.com.sg

 

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