Tapping on our years of experience working with many homeowners, let us share with you some of the concerns we’ve heard over the years, and share with you some things you should take note of when choosing an interior designer.

#1. BUDGET CONTROL

Doing renovations for your new home is one of the high-ticketed purchases you’ll ever do in your life. 

When getting your quotations from various interior designers, factor in their ability to conceptualise something beautiful and practical within your budget, you wouldn’t want to save costs but live in a space falling apart, you wouldn’t want to also burn a hole in your pocket building a dreamy and extravagant home full of extra things you don’t actually need.

Remember that on top of renovations, you will still need to spend money buying appliances and other home living products. 

#2. DESIGN

The home that you’ll be living in, probably for the rest of your life, should be a space you enjoy looking at.

Take a look at the design proposed by different interior designers, and narrow down to a design that is functional, and one that you really like. Remember that design sketches can always be changed, so if there are certain elements of a certain concept you don’t fancy, you can always voice out to your designer and have those things changed. 

Also take note that while a beautiful home would be nice, you should always prioritise the functionality of it. A home should complement your lifestyle and not complicate it for you.

#3. COMMUNICATION AND COMPATIBILITY

Factor in the timeliness of the designers’ replies and how well can you work with this person. While the designers are the ones proposing concepts, doing up designs and handling the project for you, it is important that they can easily grasp what you want and communicate with you and the contractors effectively.

Being able to ‘vibe with’ your designer will ensure you have a pleasant time working with them.

#4. REPUTATION AND EXPERIENCE

This is pretty straightforward and should be something most people will do when sourcing out people to work with, take a look at the reviews of a company and how many years of experience they have.

When looking at reviews, take note of some of the things the company or designer has done for their clients, what are some of the factors important to you?

Sometimes having many years of experience might not necessarily mean that they are the best out there.  

#5. COMPANY POLICY AND WORK PROCESSES

If it’s possible, find out through reviews of the company’s website and social media platforms on their work processes, how do they handle their staff and projects?

Are they an ethical business? Do they keep a close eye on the renovation process and provide updates regularly? What are some details they take note of when working with their clients to ensure that you get the best and things are done according to your liking? 

Renovation work could be daunting and complicated, but with the right designer, they can guide and help you achieve a seamless and comfortable journey to getting your dream home built. 

At Design Story, we listen to your needs and come up with design concepts based on your lifestyle habits and preferences, all while making sure you don’t have to lift a finger during the entire process. Contact us for a free consultation and let us turn your dream home into a reality. 

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The versatility and overall vibe of the highly popular Scandinavian design style makes Scandinavian furniture and home living products easily found all around Singapore.

The number 1 furniture store that many Singaporeans go to is none other than Ikea, and if you didn’t already know, Ikea is the go-to place for all your Scandinavian interior needs. However, if you’d like your home to be furnished with unique pieces you can’t find in your friends’ homes, then keep reading to find out where else you can get your furnishing and home living products from! 

#1. Hooga

Photo Credit: https://findinghooga.com

The brand name Hooga (pronounced Hue-guh) is a way of life derived from the Danish word Hygge which is defined as a quality of cosiness, comfortable friendliness that encompasses a feeling of contentment or well-being.

Just like its name, you can find cosy and beautiful Scandinavian furniture and other home living products like decorative frames, cutleries, storage items and many more.

Some items we recommend you getting:

HOOGA Reverin Hammock Chair

HOOGA Hauke Wall Art

HOOGA Cora Side Table

Head down to any of their physical stores or shop online to snag your favourite Hooga products.

#2. Namu Wood Furniture

Photo Credit: https://www.facebook.com/namuwoodfurniture/posts/1223515204676020

Namu is the Korean word for wood, and at Namu Wood Furniture, you’ll be able to find uniquely designed solid wood products sold at affordable prices. Products are a blend of Korean, Scandinavian and Japanese design styles making them uniquely beautiful and practical.

Some items we recommend you getting:

Hexagonia Coffee/Side Table

Albero Bookshelf

Kumi Floor Lamp

Shop online or visit their showroom to purchase.

#3. Noden 

Photo Credit: https://www.nodenhome.com

If you’re a fan of vintage items and a Scandinavian lifestyle, you’ll be thrilled to know that you can find some vintage Scandinavian furniture from Noden where many products are produced and designed by various famous designers from the 1940s to 1960s.

At Noden, you can also find Modern Abstract art and frames and other beautiful Scandinavian home living items. 

Some items we recommend you getting:

Danish Chest of Drawers

Danish Armchair

Hans J. Wegner GE 290 Sofa

*Items are available during time of posting

Shop their home living items online or visit their showroom to pick out a few statement pieces to decorate your new home with. 

#4. Danish Design Co

Photo Credit: https://danishdesignco.com.sg/shop/furniture/scandinavian/luxury/modern/sofa/4-seater/

Shop from a wide selection of iconic furniture pieces at Danish Design Co., where all products are meticulously produced in Europe, many designed by legendary Scandinavian designers.

Danish Design Co. brings in products that are made from ethically sourced and sustainable raw materials and free of toxins – great for the environment and your health.

Some items we recommend you getting:

Graceful Dining Table

#92 Dining Chair

Kile Sofa

Shop online or visit their showroom to take a look at their collections.

#5. IUIGA

Photo Credit: https://www.iuiga.com

Snag minimalistic Scandinavian furniture and home living products from IUIGA at an affordable price. As IUIGA’s products boast clean and minimalistic designs, they are suitable for not only Scandinavian homes but also suit other homes with different interior design styles.

Some items we recommend you getting:

Vintage Tetra Lounger Bean Bag

Sachi Vanity Stool

Minimalist Ladder Towel Rack

Shop online or visit their physical stores to get your hands on your favourite IUIGA products.

Does this make you want to achieve a beautiful Scandinavian home of your own? Let us help you build the dream home of yours today!

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#1. Living Room

The owners shared with us that they would like to have lots of storage space, so we made use of the huge wall in the living room to create a feature wall. Instead of leaving the air space around the TV empty, we filled these spaces up with storage units, to not only mount up the television, but to also design storage spaces around it for them to store all their necessities.

The feature wall is made with wooden laminates coupled with strong solid colours to bring out the beauty of the natural wood grain details.

#2. Household Shelter

Also commonly known as the bomb shelter, the household shelter in this home has its door directly facing towards the living room, it honestly wasn’t the best sight, hence we created a full-height feature panelling to hide the unsightly metal door behind it.

The same panelling was used across the entire living room where necessary, to save the space from looking too complicated or messy. 

#3. Religious Altar

In order to create a dedicated area that the homeowner wanted for his religious prayers – one that was serene, grand, yet not too loud, we used panels to cover up the entire wall and ceiling to mimic the look that many temples had – but with a modern twist. 

Dark wood panels were used alongside a marbled feature wall, coupled with white strip lines and black detailing. LED strip lights were installed across the ceiling to give the space a unique personality, a religious altar you can’t find anywhere else.

Behind these panels are also more storage spaces for the owners to store their prayer essentials. 

#4. Kitchen

Just like everyone else, the homeowners requested for an easy-to-clean kitchen and lots of space to accommodate all the cooking essentials they have. To fulfil that, we designed a functional kitchen by utilising every inch of the kitchen to include storage compartments. 

Seamless black tempered glass were used for the kitchen backing, and the countertop was made of quartz for easy cleaning and maintenance – a simple wipe down with a damp cloth would be sufficient to ensure that their kitchen is spick and span.

#5. Master Bedroom

We all love to take a long and nice bath after a long day of hard work, hence we designed the master bathroom in a spa concept, with darker materials for the cosy and soothing atmosphere – perfect for you to ‘wash the stress away’. 

The homeowners also wake up at different timings due to the difference in work schedules, so they requested for a space where they could get ready without disturbing the other.

We created this mini walk-in wardrobe that separates the sleeping area from the built-in dresser, for them to be able to switch on the lights on one side without it affecting one another’s sleep. 

#6. Common Bathroom

We designed both bathrooms in two different themes because why stick to just one theme when you can have two choices? As mentioned previously, we created a spa themed bathroom in the master bedroom, while the common bathroom features a lighter theme with earth tones as the focus. We achieved this look by laying wood-like tiles horizontally on one wall, this also elongates the bathroom, making your space look bigger. 

Renovating your home is one of the most interesting things to do in life, it is important you design it in the way that would fit your lifestyle best for it to bring more convenience into your life, and enhance your standard of living.

If you like how we work, contact us for a free non-obligated consultation and we’ll work with you to design the dream home of yours!

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We share with you the renovation journey people usually go through from getting your keys to the completion of your home to help you get a better idea of what you need to do and what to take note of.

#1. Requirements & Needs

Assuming that any liaising with the interior design firm happens only after getting your keys, the interior designer will usually sit down with you for a quick consultation to find out more on the needs you have – number of people moving in (are there any old folks, children or pets), your lifestyle, how much storage you need, what do you need each room for? 

This will help the designer to plan and propose a design that best suits you, your lifestyle and your needs.

Before you get to this stage, it’s best for you to have a few design inspirations in mind, including some of the details you wish to include in each part of your home, or certain considerations you have, e.g. I want lots of wardrobe space within my master bedroom, but still have space to place a kind sized bed.

#2. Proposal

After the consultation, the designers will head back to do space planning.

This is when they do up a floorplan to give you a rough idea of what they will be doing to the space to suit your needs (e.g. extension of bathroom walls, hacking of walls, adding of feature walls, furniture placement).

You don’t have to worry about much at this stage unless you’d like to make any changes to the layout they proposed, such as not hacking a certain wall, or placing a certain furniture in a different spot.

#3. 3D Drawing and video walk-through

For better visualization of how your new house will turn out, the designers will do up a 3D drawing to show you exactly how each corner of your new house will look like.

At this stage, you are able to give comments to change anything you don’t like about the design. From there, the 3D design will be able to help you understand what the designers are quoting you for. You will be given an exact and detailed quotation based on the things that will be done to your house. No hidden costs!

If you have any changes or comments about the design, it is best to voice them out now to ensure you get exactly what you want. Designs, colours, basically everything can be changed now, but not when the work is done.

We are also one of the few interior design firms that offer a 360-degree video walkthrough of the designs. This will allow you to get an even clearer idea of how your new place will look like, schedule a quick consultation with us and we will help you to achieve your dream home!

#4. Material Selection

After signing the contract, the designers will recommend the materials that best suits you and your lifestyle based on your needs and budget.

You can either go with what your designer suggested, or select something else you fancy, a variety of materials will be shown to you, so get ready to take pictures and notes to bring home to consider.

A little tip: get your designer to bring you to the supplier’s factory or store to look at the larger piece of material. Your kitchen countertop is going to be 10 times bigger than the sample piece you’re looking at, the actual block of material will be much accurate than a tiny sample piece.

#5. Renovation work commences

At this stage, any tiling, wiring, hacking, fabrication works and all renovation work will take place. You can choose to head down to the site to check on the work done occasionally, but at Design Story, we provide a hassle-free service by regularly updating you with photos of the work progress, so that you can sit back and relax at home with no worries.

All carpentry work is also done in-house, this will allow us to ensure that all raw materials are of high quality and work is done properly before installation.

#6. Inspection

You’ll be asked to head down to inspect your new house when all renovation work has been concluded. This is when you can do a thorough check to ensure that there are no defects before the house is handed over to you.

#7. Handover

Your new home is done! Now you can start getting your furniture delivered, by then, you should have already gotten most of your household items purchased and your things packed and ready for you to move! 

Worried about all the things you need to take note of and not sure if you have the time to oversee everything? Schedule a quick consultation with our professional designers and we’ll help you handle most of the work throughout the journey to getting your dream home!

Check out our home tour video below:

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Maybe a few of us are able to spot the difference between both styles, but if you’re not attentive enough to the details, you could get confused as both of these styles spot similar characteristics and could give off the same vibes and confuse many homeowners.

In order to help you achieve the style that you really want, we share with you more on the characteristics of each style and what you can do to achieve each look. You can even play things up a little to achieve a minimalist-contemporary home for yourself!

What is the Minimalist interior design style? 

The minimalist way of life has been in trend for quite a while and many of us would roughly know what it means to be a minimalist.

Defined as a deliberate lack of decoration or adornment in style or design, Minimalism is an exercise in restraint, where space, lighting, and other furnishings play equally important roles and contribute to the entire flow and feel of the house.

Sounds complicated?

Let me break it down for you:

• Clean designs
• Lots of white space
• Cut down furnishings to the bare essentials
• A simple, clean and uncluttered space, a comfortable atmosphere for you to rest and relax in while delivering maximum impact

Colours used in a Minimalist home

Many of us assume that a minimalist home means having to paint the entire house white, cream or beige, if you like that colour scheme, go ahead, but we would suggest going for other colours as well to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere as a monochromatic home with only whites could make your home look more cold than comfortable. 

When selecting colours for your Minimalist home, go for soft and neutral shades that you like, if yellow is your favourite colour, then pick different soft shades of yellow. 

Furniture used in a Minimalist home

Take into consideration form and functionality when picking out furniture and the kind of carpentry work you want done for your minimalist home. 

You want to keep all your furniture sleek and simple while ensuring that they serve their purpose. If an item doesn’t serve its purpose, then eliminate it and make space for something that’s worth the space. 

The lines, form and shapes of each furniture should also flow well and blend in with one another, selecting furniture with clean and defined lines or curves and flat surfaces, cabinets without handles will also contribute to an even cleaner and soothing look.

What is the Contemporary Interior Design Style? 

Contemporary style homes are influenced by the modern interior design style, it focuses on the architectural elements, decorative details and makes use of a concise colour palette, achieving a calm and serene atmosphere similar to a minimalist home.

Here are its characteristics:

• Use of mirrors
• Clean lines
• Glossy and bright furnishings
• Large windows for lots of natural lighting
• Simple, comfortable, cozy and sophisticated

One thing to note is that most HDB flats and Condominiums do not allow the replacement of windows to larger ones, so you’ll have to make do with what you have.

Colours used in Contemporary Design

There is a wider range of colours and flexibility for contemporary designs – they spot very neutral background (wall) colours while the furniture and furnishing they use can be bright and earthy colours that complement well with each other. 

The style also usually includes the use of metals, leather and other monochromatic colours.

Instead of matching black, white and gray together like what they do for modern style homes, or the whites and creams in minimalist homes, go for bolder colours to brighten and liven up your home.

Furniture used in Contemporary Design

Contemporary style homes incorporate whimsicality by including the use of a few interesting pieces of furniture, too many extraordinary furniture could turn your space into a mess though, so do try to pick out only a few items to add novelty into your home. 

The style also pays attention to furniture and decorative objects made of leathers, steel, chrome or glass and other furniture with polished and glossy surfaces.

To make things simpler for you, here is a list of differences between both styles:

If you’re still confused, click here to discuss with one of our experienced designers on creating your dream home!

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An interior design style similar to the Muji style is the Scandinavian interior design style. It gives off the same clean and airy vibe, and is also very aesthetically pleasing.

Both Muji and Scandinavian style homes are so similar that we do get new homeowners coming to us with Scandinavian home photos telling us they want a Muji design for their new home. Do you know the difference between these two designs? Read on to find out!

Muji VS Scandinavian

A Muji style home, inspired by the famous Japanese lifestyle brand that retails practical, functional and quality household goods is often elegant, minimalistic, yet cosy and zen. 

Unlike popular beliefs, a Muji style home isn’t all about minimalism. The idea of a Muji home is also about creating a cosy and comfortable space with neat, high quality and well-crafted furniture that brings out the true essence of Japanese zen living. 

Trying too hard to create a minimalistic home while trying to be ‘Muji’ could make your home look empty, dull and boring.

The Scandinavian interior design represents a design philosophy that is characterised by functionality, simplicity and clean lines. Like the Muji style, we have the Scandinavian style which favours minimalism and functionalism as well, greeting you with simple and clean designs, and an airy vibe the moment you step in.

A Scandinavian home emphasises on the need for one to be in harmony with his/her environment, and long lasting furniture that doesn’t need frequent replacement.

Here are some characteristics included in both styles: 

• Simplicity
• Minimalistic
• Clean, uncluttered designs
• Cosy and comfortable environment

Colour Differences

The colours used in a Muji home are often neutral, temperate and modest colours – think brown, creams, beige, and natural materials – woods, metals, cotton and linen. A touch of greenery is added through the use of potted plants that are subtle and have small leaves.

On the other hand, the colours used in a Scandinavian home are often bright and colourful, against a neutral – white or cream background. The colours should blend and complement one another while keeping the atmosphere calm and cosy. Scandinavian homes also add in a touch of greenery occasionally, but with the use of potted plants that have larger and immense green leaves.

Furniture Used

When selecting furniture for your Muji home, take into consideration the function and quality of products.

The Muji philosophy prioritises quality and practical furniture – usually made out of wood, cotton or plastic. These furniture often have very uniformed designs, of linear shapes, and are easily adaptable of flexible to suit changing needs.

Most of us think that Scandinavian homes use wooden furniture too, but the truth is, furniture in Scandinavian homes can be made out of various different materials, as long as they keep to the same simple, highly practical principles.

Remember to pick pieces that blend well and suit the overall outlook of your home.

Another difference to note is that the traditional Muji home usually uses more whitish flooring and wooden furniture, while the Scandinavian home boasts a full wood-ish looking vinyl flooring, and furniture made of other materials. 

Muji and Scandinavian styles have many similarities and it’s understandable if you’re confused, below is a summary of both styles for easy reference!

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For those who are not quite sure what the Scandinavian home encompass and would like to find out more before deciding on whether to go for the look, read on and we’ll explain the key characteristics of a Scandinavian home to you.

#1. Less is More

A Scandinavian home is clean and airy because simplicity is an important element. Furniture and other decorative pieces have clean designs and serve their purpose, instead of filling your home with lots of things you don’t need, choose what’s necessary and keep the space clean and uncluttered.

#2. Modern Furniture

Keeping in mind the less is more concept, Scandinavian homes used modern furniture as they are often sleek and have gentle lines and subtle curves, unlike Industrial or Rustic interior design styles where rough finishes are often used.

#3. Light, Muted Colours

Colours chosen are usually white or light colours to keep the space looking bright, uniformed and cohesive. The use of warm earth tones or an occasional bold colour also keeps the house cosy and helps to prevent the place from looking cold.

#4. Wood

Light wooden furniture made of beech or pine are often chosen, decorative pieces or home living products such as rattan is also often used in a Scandinavian home.

#5. Greenery

Potted plants or even dried flowers and other dried plants are added to bring in some life and add a splash of colour and greenery into Scandinavian homes.

We hope this helped you to get a better understanding of how a Scandinavian home is like. If you’d like to achieve your own Scandinavian home but not sure how you should go about doing it, contact us and let us help you bring your dream home to life. 

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