3 Proven Space Saving Designs For Your 4-Room BTO Renovation

Multi-functional Design is your secret weapon

The 4-Room HDB and larger flats built after 2000 generally have 10% lesser floor areas than their older counterparts. However, they come with better planning and designs, such as a dedicated air-con compressor area or a corridor for quieter bedrooms.

If this is your first BTO flat, be prepared for a smaller space. This is especially the case for a 4-Room BTO, as it misses out on the larger living room compared with a 5-Room flat. This additional space can potentially be used as a small study or other storage functions.

The quest for more space is a constant struggle filled with compromises. Furthermore, there will be a need to plan for even more space as your family grow.

Fret not. Let us explore a commonly forgotten secret weapon to space-saving—The Multi-Functional Space.

The Idea Of A Multi-Functional Space

Whenever we enter a space in our home, we use the space according to our needs.

Imagine taking a shower in the bathroom, stepping out to retrieve our clothes from the wardrobe and getting dressed. Getting into the living room to relax or to head off to the study desk for work.

Now, regarding these occasions as different scenes that happen at different times throughout the day. The magic here is that we do not use all these spaces simultaneously!

This is the basic idea behind building a Multi-Functional Space. We can set up the same space to be used for different activities as long as they are not happening at the same time.

Try looking out for the following types of activities:

• Sequential – Such as getting dressed after showering
• Infrequent – Infrequently accessed space like bulk storage or corner storage
• Exclusive – Something like having a meal versus working out. You can’t do both at the same time

All these settings would potentially serve as good candidates.

We have advised and created many such Multi-Functional Spaces for our clients throughout these years. Here are three recent examples that we would like to share with you today:

The Elegant Open Kitchen

“The kitchen triangle” is a concept interior designers use when designing the kitchen space. Ideally, the flow of preparing a meal starts from the refrigerator. This is followed by preparing the food, cooking the meal, and washing the dishes.

Food preparation and serving dishes are almost exclusive from one another, but they both require a clear surface. This surface will therefore be an excellent candidate to be Multi-Functioning.

Traditionally, the kitchen is likely adjacent to the dining room but usually separated by a wall. Many homeowners knocked down this wall and erected a half-wall as a replacement in a bid for the “open kitchen concept”.

Why not tear down the wall entirely and replace it with a fully functional “kitchen island” instead? We can then allow this “kitchen island” to extend from the side wall, better known as a peninsula.

The peninsula serves as the main preparation surface before cooking the meal, doubling up as the holding and serving space during meal time.

During non-meal hours, part of the peninsula can also “triples-up” as a classy snack area for your coffee machine or as a bar counter.

Design Considerations

For an open-kitchen design, it is important to have a common design theme spanning across the dining and kitchen area. This is to prevent the two spaces from looking disjointed.

Ideally, join any other adjacent area, such as the living space, with at least one similar element for a seamless look.

For example, LED lights can be run along the edges between each area to make entire living and dining areas look cohesive.

Consider adding task lighting over the peninsula or island, where detailed work such as cutting vegetables is often performed. Ensure that the task lighting is separately controlled so that it can be switched off during meal times to maintain the ambience of the dining area.

To further extend the open feel of the living area, a reflective gloss finish for design elements within the space can make the entire space brighter. For example, opt for reflective glass doors and windows to allow natural light to enter or a glossy backsplash with matching countertops.

The Tatami Bedroom

The bedrooms (Both the Common bedroom and Master bedroom) for your BTO flat are pretty restrictive. If a queen-sized bed is required, there is just enough space left for a wardrobe and walking space on both sides of the bed.

In the Tatami Bedroom concept, we use both dimensions of the space available.

First, the bed is “raised” by fitting half the room with a step-up platform. This is inspired by the typical Japanese home where the rooms are raised above the ground and then covered the entire space with Tatami.

Borrowing the concept, we eliminate the need for a bed frame, which function is only to raise the bed. While at the same time, we have created a highly sought-after storage space.

As this storage space is considered significant, it can potentially store oversized or odd-sized items. Effectively, the room is being doubled-up as a bulk storage area. The need to access this area is therefore, relatively infrequent.

The other dimensions would be to bring the bed closer to the far wall. This allows the “two walking spaces on both sides of the bed” to be effectively merged.

In our case, a study table is designed to run along one side of the bed. The study table also doubles up as a nightstand during bedtime.

With the chair pushed in when the study table is not being used, the area in front of the desk immediately transformed into the dressing area.

This simple design created two instances of a Multi-Functional Space at the same time!

Design Considerations

If the steps of the Tatami storage are too steep for you, consider having another in-between step to make getting onto the platform easier.

Using thin-framed glass doors for the wardrobe can help to make the room brighter. This can give an overall clean finish to the space as well.

Make sure to keep walking space before the bottom flank of the bed free, as this is the only side with no obstructions. This will ensure ample accessibility should the need arises.

For example, during the changing of bed linen, the bed can be slid “downwards” to allow access to the “top side” of the bed for laying new bed sheets.

The Kids’ Haven

Alright, the kids’ room. The place where it constantly gets messy. A place where the most storage is needed.

In this example, the homeowners have two kids. They were aged 2 and 4. Having two kids’ beds in a bedroom almost always means the study table or the wardrobe must go. Storage space? Probably a far-fetched dream.

What we did here was to incorporate the concept from the Tatami room and take it to another level (literally)! Where one of the kids’ beds consists of a bunk bed on top of a storage cabinet, accessible by a short slides-ladder. This created an interesting playground haven for the kids to have fun. While at the same time, ample storage space is available right under the “slides”.

At the other end of the room, a study table and storage cabinet complete the kid’s room. In this space, the children get to have fun, rest, and study while not sacrificing the need for ample storage. A true Multi-Functional Space indeed.

Design Considerations

Did you notice that there are minimal sharp edges and features clean lines in this room? Be extra careful when designing your kid’s bedroom. Avoid furniture or design element that has pointed edges.

Make sure that the height of the bunk bed is not too high. Some kids may be scared of heights or worse, injured if they fall from a great height. The age of your kid as well as his or her temperament, will serve as an important consideration for the suitability of adopting this design for your kids’ bedroom.

No knobs or handles are used in the design of this room! This features an urban-modern industrial style and helps prevent avoidable injury to younger kids.

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4-room BTO Renovation Common Questions

How much does it cost to renovate a 4-room BTO?

The renovation cost for a 4-room HDB BTO flat depends on the project’s size, budget and complexity. Generally, you can expect to spend between SGD$40,000 – $50,000. However, prices may vary depending on the materials and services you choose.

How long does a 4-room HDB BTO flat renovation take?

Generally, it takes about 8-10 weeks to complete a 4-room HDB BTO flat renovation.

Can you knock down walls in a BTO?

Structure walls can’t be knocked down, but partition walls can. However, you should always seek approval from the HDB before demolition.

When should I start planning the BTO renovation?

You should start planning your 4-room HDB BTO flat renovation as soon as possible to ensure that all the necessary approvals are obtained before work begins. You should contact a professional interior designer or contractor 8-12 weeks in advance.