Tips to make your HDB apartment feel bigger

Feature, Style

We are all used to the relatively small size of our Singapore HDB apartment, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want them to feel bigger, right? Here are some great tips on how to make your HDB apartment not only feel bigger, but to look super stylish as well. 


Floor to ceiling shelves

Floor to ceiling shelving can help make your HDB apartment feel larger by not only creating more storage, but by creating the visual illusion that your ceiling is higher than it is.

The stylish timber set of built-in floor to ceiling shelving in this Edgedale Plains apartment is great for storage, and makes the ceiling feel higher.


Image Credit: Free Space Intent

Choosing to paint your shelving the same colour as the walls and ceiling will make it appear to disappear into the wall, like the version in this Sumang Lane apartment.

Image Credit: Adroit Interior Design

Even a narrow space, like the one in this Skyterrace Dawson apartment, can be made to feel larger using floor to ceiling shelves.

Image Credit: Dyel Design

Another clever way to use built-in shelving is to create a ‘reading nook’ space like the one in this Lorong Liew Lian apartment, to make the room feel larger. 

Image Credit: The Interior Lab


Platform beds for storage

Get rid of clutter, hide away things you don’t need to use every day, and make your bedroom floor space seem larger with a platform bed.

This stylish Matilda Court apartment bedroom has a sleeping platform that includes lots of extra storage, and keeps the bedroom floor clear of clutter, making it feel larger.

Image Credit: Areana Creation

Even if your bedroom is relatively small, a platform bed or sleeping platform will work if you stick to a pale colour, like the one in this Canberra apartment.

Image Credit: The Minimalist Society

The simplest form of a platform bed - basically a storage bed frame - can also give the impression of more space, since all your stuff can be stored away. The storage bed in this Bukit Batok apartment bedroom is a great example. 

Image Credit: Starry Homestead


Glass dividers and glass walls

Walls, half walls and room dividers made partially, or fully of framed glass are a great way to create the impression of more space in your HDB apartments. The glass panels allow more light into your apartment, but also offers clear sight lines from one side of an apartment to the other.

The large glassed in opening in this Bukit Batok West apartment gives the impression that the living space is twice as large as it really is.


Image Credit: Adroit Interior Design

In this Pasir Ris apartment has large glass walls that creates the illusion that the dinning area is set outdoors.


Image Credit: The Design Practice

A half-glass wall is another great way to give the impression that a room is larger than it really is. The use of glass and white walls in this Waterway Sunray apartment makes the living area appear twice as large.

Image Credit: The Minimalist Society


Mirrors

Everyone knows that mirrors reflect more light into and around your living spaces, so obviously adding more mirrors in your home will definitely help your HDB apartment feel bigger.

Go big, or go home! One entire wall in this Upper Boon Keng apartment’s living space has been mirrored to create a light and airy feel.

Image Credit: Briey Interior

If an entire mirrored wall is too much, choose the narrowest place in your living area - like the dining area of this Telok Blangah apartment - to use large mirrors and give the feeling of more space.

Image Credit: Design 4 Space


Use light colours on your walls 

We all know that using white on our walls, floors and ceilings will help any space look larger than it really is, right? White is great, but you don’t always need to stick to it. Try light pastel colours, or light gray. 

You can go with a soft cream or beige colour for your interior decor rather than white, like this Tribeca apartment.

Image Credit: The Interior Lab

Instead of all-white-everything, try mixing in soft gray to add more depth to your home interior. This Harbour View Towers apartment has used gray-veined marble, the reflective quality of marble also makes the room feel much larger.

Image Credit: The Interior Lab

Touches of soft pastel colours and gray ensure that the mostly all-white interior in this Yung Kuang Road apartment doesn’t feel too cold, but also the lightness makes it feel much larger. Note the use of a large mirror as well.

Image Credit: Fifth Avenue Interior

When creating a light and bright home interior scheme, think about using pale timber as an accent like the furniture and built-ins in this Ang Mo Kio apartment.

Image Credit: Dots 'N' Tots Interior Group

Looking for more useful interior design tips? Read our story about the luckiest colours for our homes in 2020, learn how to make the most of every space in your home, or discover some of the most amazing home interiors in Singapore.



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