BT : Always a way to do up a micro unit

Business Times - 25 Mar 2010

Always a way to do up a micro unit

Space planning is paramount, Axis ID boss William Ong tells KALPANA RASHIWALA

'A LOT of people don't understand that you can still make a small apartment feel comfortable if you do not put in the wrong things. Space planning to me is the most important part of interior design; it is not about decoration first,' says William Ong, executive chairman of Axis ID.

Micro apartments and shoebox units have gained currency in the past year or so as some developers have shrunk apartment sizes to keep lumpsum unit prices within reach of lower-budget investors.

However, there has been concern about the challenges that buyers will face in fitting out their units when they take possession of their properties.

Mr Ong argues that while such units are small, they can still be practical and liveable if designed and laid out correctly. And one can always count on some clever interior design tricks to help make them appear bigger than they are.

'In terms of space, you have to first see the space; then see how to lay out the furniture so that it is usable, it doesn't clutter up (the room); and thirdly, the scale of the items and the furniture you put inside must complement the space.

'So you can't put in super-large sofas; or if you can only put in a two-seater, you should not force in a three-seater, for instance . . . If you put in the right scale, things will turn out right.'

No matter how small an apartment is, there is a way to lay out the bed so that it sits nicely and still gives occupants space to move around, to have access to the wardrobes without having to climb over the bed.

'If you put your bed against the wall, you have a lot more space to walk in a small room. But if you want to put your bed as an island by itself, then you need space around it, and it (the room) will look a lot smaller.'

Design tricks

Besides careful space planning and the use of correctly scaled furniture, one can employ mirrors and lighter colours to make small apartments appear bigger.

'Another issue that a lot of people find with a small apartment is they don't have enough storage space. But there are so many ways to cleverly design and build storage areas without having to clutter up the whole apartment.' An example would be to have a full-height storage cabinet that forms part of a wall.

In any case, size is just one factor. The configuration of the apartments, how they are laid out by the architects, is also important, says Mr Ong, who also co-founded Axis' architectural business.

'Sometimes layouts are very odd because of site constraints. In such a case, even if you have a bigger apartment, it would be quite useless. There would be a lot of wasted space with long corridors, for instance, or a lot of odd-shaped rooms. Instead, if you have a nice regular-shaped apartment, then even if it's small, you can do quite a lot with it.'

Practical necessity

The phenomenon of tiny apartments is neither new nor unique to Singapore. Studio apartments have been around for ages, Mr Ong points out. 'When the cost of real estate is very high, people can only afford to buy smaller units, especially in prime areas,' says Mr Ong.

Small apartments may serve the needs of a single person or even a couple, and are also suitable for leasing to expats who just want to have a pad when they are in town. 'I see a trend where these small apartments may also be bought by companies for housing their foreign staff,' Mr Ong says.

A major part of Axis ID's business is designing and building showflats for residential projects of Singapore developers such as City Developments, Ho Bee, Allgreen and Wing Tai.

Singaporean home owners increasingly want their homes to look like showflats and boast a wow factor, according to Mr Ong.

'A home used to be something comfortable to come back to, and live in. It didn't have to be glamorous and eye-catching. But increasingly, owners want their homes to be more like showflats, a place they can show off to their friends. The wow factor must be there.'

As a result, the interior design gap between real apartments and showflats is closing, says Mr Ong.

While Axis ID's staple business is showflats for residential project launches, the firm also does interior design for homes of individuals - but only selectively and usually when its sister company, Axis Architects Planners, also provides the architectural design services to these clients.

Growing affluence has spawned several trends on the Singapore ID scene. For one, home owners are acquiring a feel for luxury and quality. 'It has nothing to do with the style. Luxury can be very modern, can be very traditional, can be very eclectic. It has to do with versatility of people travelling, living in beautiful hotels all over the world.'

The affluent and well-travelled are also expressing their own personal style when it comes to their homes - instead of following the crowd. 'Nowadays, I don't think there is a definite design style that people will follow, not like before when there was a certain design direction, for example, minimalist or Asian.'

Another thing that Singaporeans have picked up as they've acquired greater wealth is a penchant for collecting - antiques, artworks, furniture.

Their budgets for doing up their homes have also grown.

'You can see the trend. When housing was cheaper than what it is now, people did not want to spend a lot on interior design. But now when they spend millions for an apartment, they wouldn't want the interiors to be fitted up cheaply. Probably the norm is within the range of $400,000 to $600,000 for a new homeowner with an average-sized three-bedroom apartment in the prime districts, as many would prefer their homes to be fitted with imported designer furniture. '

It's worth investing in more expensive furniture as it is of better quality and lasts longer, argues Mr Ong.

'Somehow, when you custom-make something locally, it will never match the quality of something you buy from a furniture maker because they specialise in designing and making the furniture; how could a contractor here do something comparable?'

Axis ID also has clients in the hospitality industry - resorts, hotels and serviced residences - here and in the region. It opened a Shanghai branch in early 2004.

The 56-year-old Mr Ong says: 'I don't take my job as work, I take it as a hobby. I enjoy what I'm doing. I think that's very important.'

He also lists travelling overseas as a hobby. 'Every trip, I make it a point to visit new places, hotels, new developments, visit other people's showflats and see how they do things. I can tell you Singapore showflats are some of the best I have seen. I am talking not just about the ones done by us but also some of the other firms.

'I was very happy when I was in Bangkok recently. I spoke to one of the big developers there and he said to me: 'You know how we improve our standards? We go to Singapore and study the showflats there. They have become our benchmark'.'

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