We have given quite a few shoutouts to our amazing renovation IDs from Urban Home Design on our social media – totally unpaid! We really appreciate their work and enjoyed our reno journey with them. Hence, we thought we would do a review on why we picked Urban Home Design and how our HDB resale reno journey with them was like.
P.S. if you’re keen to engage Urban Home Design after reading this, drop us a message on Instagram and we’ll share our ID’s names with you!
We didn’t have any recommendations for Singapore ID firms, so we used Qanvast to find IDs based on our design preferences (Scandi theme) and their previous portfolios.
For context, our total renovation cost came up to $78k. But do note that this includes windows, which was a separate charge as we used our own vendor.
Why did we shortlist & proceed with Urban Home Design?
Urban Home Design (二本設計家) was one of the top few renovation ID firms in Singapore that caught our attention. This in part due to their gorgeous portfolio, and also the multiple 5-star reviews they have received.
They specialise in Scandinavian and Wabi-sabi themes, with a strong emphasis on light earthy colours and lots of carpentry.
This was in line with what we had envisioned for our own home, hence we immediately shortlisted and contacted them.
It didn’t take long before our assigned IDs sent across a detailed living habits questionnaire for us to fill up. They were the only IDs among the 5 ID firms we contacted who took the effort to understand us better even before the first consult.
If that was not impressive enough, our IDs from Urban Home Design actually shared a suggested floor plan during the FIRST meeting. This is simply based on the floor plan and the living habits questionnaire we sent across!
The tofus were also impressed that the IDs were able to edit drawings quickly on the spot. They took this as a sign that the IDs were very hands-on and knew their stuff. This is in contrast to other firms in Singapore that employ IDs with not much technical know-how. They usually rely on third-party labour to do the drawings, and work more as salespeople and coordinators, rather than designers.
Renovating with Urban Home Design: what impressed us
Vibed well with us
Good communication is extremely important during this months-long project so it mattered that the IDs vibed well with us.
We had spoken to some other IDs who didn’t seem to understand our design preferences no matter how detailed we were. We would share an idea that we had, but they would’t understand what we were going for and kept suggesting other ideas that were completely unrelated.
Positively counter-proposes with useful suggestions
The IDs from Urban Home Design were able to pick up areas for improvement and give better suggestions.
For instance, Tofu V initially wanted a bay window for reading, but our IDs from Urban Home Design ran with the idea and suggested building a platform storage for better utility!
They were also the ones who came up with the ingenious idea of concealing the storeroom and toilet doors with a feature wall for a seamless look.
Both ideas have earned praise from visitors, and the tofus have to thank Urban Home Design for this.
Can capture Tofu V’s love for Scandinavian theme
Urban Home Design nailed the theme down to every laminate and tile!
Tofu V’s initial idea of Scandinavian theme was really all just white and light wood. However, Urban Home Design also made other design suggestions that were unique and still fit the theme to a T. This included the use of grey, black, and white in the bathrooms, as well as marbled KompacPlus for the kitchen countertops.
Mindful integration of ergonomics & aesthetics
This point really won Tofu G over!
Our IDs from Urban Home Design understood that it made no sense to propose aesthetic designs that would only cause problems in daily life. This was not something all other IDs had fully considered when we were discussing layout ideas with them, which was disappointing.
Detailed measurements & calculations
The IDs frequently whipped out measuring tapes like the noodle dance in Hai Di Lao (Tofu G’s words) even during their discussions in office.
This both impressed & tickled Tofu G, who is the more detail-oriented one between us.
We also realised that their detail to attention for measurements ensured that we could avoid a lot of unnecessary regrets. This includes poor placement of fixed items, especially our extensive carpentry!
Cheapest rates for Electrical & Carpentry works
When we first reached out to Urban Home Design, they told us that they offer one of the cheapest rates for electrical and carpentry works in Singapore. We compared quotes among those IDs who got back to us and they found that this was true.
It was especially important to us that these rates were kept low because we did extensive carpentry work. Electrical works is also difficult to get an exact quotation from before beginning works. However, Urban Home Design was very confident and gave us a good estimate so that we could plan our budget.
If you’re wondering whether the low cost = poor work, not to worry. Our carpentry looks amazing and has been holding up well, especially with the constant usage and high humidity conditions!
Guidance on accessory & furniture placement
Other than making sure everything looked good, the IDs took time to guide us on planning the kitchen & toilet accessories for optimal usage. This included booking time on weekends for us to go down to our house to measure the optimal heights to install our mirrors, shower fittings, etc.
We would also sometimes randomly message our IDs during our shopping trips to ask their opinions on colours and textures. They always reply very promptly!
We initially thought that this was quite common, but upon speaking to other homeowners we realised that this was not the case with other ID firms!
Renovating with Urban Home Design: the result
All in all, we were very happy that we engaged Urban Home Design for our HDB flat renovation.
In a time where renovation horror stories in Singapore abound, we are lucky to have IDs who made the process less of a headache than what we had initially worried about (:
Looking to renovate your home soon and are in the midst of shortlisting IDs? We’re happy to share that we have partnered with Qanvast to bring you additional perks for your upcoming renovation!
Get $50 cash when you request for FREE interior firm recommendations on Qanvast, which includes top-quality firms like Urban Home Design.
All you have to do is fill up this form and use our referral code QV-thetofuhouse!
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