Eclectic home with a pink kitchen: Quiet observations
- Blend by ImC
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
It's not often we are tasked to design a pink kitchen, or a 2-room flexi BTO, so when both came together, it was an opportunity to think outside the box. Having a smaller space to work with made us realise, even for ourselves, that we don't need more square footage to live better, just smarter planning.
Some of us on the team have a thing for mismatched chairs, eclectic interiors, and rooms that tell stories audible to the ones who lean in.
As such, when we asked the homeowner for a tour of her newly completed home, she graciously let us into her world. May the following account inspire those who've been hesitant about unconventional choices - we're here when you're ready to take the leap.
Meanwhile, enjoy the look inside.
The pink kitchen
"When I first started looking for inspiration, I realised that almost every kitchen I came across looked the same - lots of wood tones, white cabinets, black accents. They were beautiful, but I kept feeling drawn to spaces that felt a little more unexpected and atmospheric. I wanted my kitchen to feel almost ethereal, like stepping into a different mood within the apartment.
Ironically, the earliest inspiration actually came from the pink kitchens and bathrooms of the ’80s and ’90s. I liked how unapologetic those spaces were. But because my apartment is quite small, I knew a very saturated pink could easily overwhelm the space. So I started exploring softer, dustier shades instead - something gentler and calmer, but still distinct enough to give the kitchen its own personality.
In Singapore, we tend to play it safe, because we’re always conscious that we may sell the flat one day. I definitely thought about that too. I remember wondering, 'How many people would actually want a pink kitchen?' So it wasn’t a decision I took lightly.
But eventually I realised I wanted this home to reflect the way I wanted to live now, not just what might appeal to a future buyer years later.
Two different layouts to consider
Since I was quite clear about the overall look and feel from the start, the process was more about refining the layout of the living space. In the first layout, the bed was closer to the kitchen and the wardrobe sat against the wall.
But I knew I wanted the sleeping area to feel more private and tucked away, rather than being the first thing you see from the entrance. I also liked the idea of placing the bed near the window, so I could look out at night and have that quieter corner of the home feel like a proper resting space. That was why we moved the wardrobe out to act like a partition.
It gave the bedroom more privacy, but without fully closing up the space. I originally liked the idea of an open layout, but I also realised that in a small home, it helps to create different zones so the space doesn’t feel like one big room. The revised layout gave me that - a sleeping area, a kitchen, and this little nook that feels separate enough for reading or working.
Material-wise, I was quite sure of the direction I wanted. Once the mood board was clear, Joven was able to source materials that matched it well. It felt like an ongoing conversation, where we explored what would work best for the space while keeping close to the original vision. Now, I’m glad we made those layout changes because they gave the flat more layers and made it feel much more intentional.
Dancing around the flat
I see the flat as a space that can keep shifting with me. Because apart from the kitchen, only the wardrobe and bed platform are built in, there’s still a lot of freedom to move the loose furniture around and create different moods within the space. I like that the flat doesn’t feel too fixed or overly planned. I imagine spending a lot of time in the bedroom/living area, just unwinding, watching movies, or moving things aside so I have enough space to dance around.
I don’t have a proper work table at the moment, but I quite like the idea of working from a cosy nook instead. Since my work involves a lot of reading, writing and coming up with ideas, I hope being in a more relaxed setting will make work feel less serious and help with creativity.
I like the whole flat, but I think my favourite moment might be lying in bed with the divider curtain slightly open, looking out at the pink kitchen and the rest of the home. There’s something nice about being tucked away, but still being able to take in the different corners of the flat from where I am. That’s also why I wanted the wardrobe to have a see-through cutout looking into the nook.
Observing beauty and beyond
I’ve always been interested in interiors, so I had been collecting inspiration for quite a while before this. When I travelled, I would take photos of Airbnbs or little design details that stayed with me. I also follow interior design and architecture sites, so I wasn’t starting from a blank slate when it came time to brief Joven.
The bigger challenge was not finding inspiration, but making all these different references work together. I didn’t want the flat to feel like it belonged to one fixed “theme”. I remember telling Joven that I wanted it to feel like a home that had been renovated over different periods - as if different parts of the flat had their own history and personality.
A lot of that came from apartments I had stayed in or seen in Europe, where old and new details often sit together quite naturally. The spaces don’t always match perfectly, but they still feel considered. That was the feeling I wanted: cohesive enough to feel intentional, but not so cohesive that it felt like a showroom.
I wasn’t designing a space that I’d only return to at the end of the day, but somewhere I genuinely wanted to live, work, rest and spend time in."
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