So you’ve finally made it. You’ve successfully navigated through the labyrinth of paperwork to apply for the flat. You’ve paid your dues waiting for it.

If you’re a first-time home applicant, you may even be eligible and have received up to $80,000 in CPF housing grants. Which frees you up to complete the next thing after collecting your flat keys -- design your home sweet home.

In our parents’ era, interior design wasn’t a thing, so many of us grew up in HDB flats that looked (and perhaps still do look) like this:

The image we associate with the HDB flat is one that’s a jumble of colours, perhaps slightly cluttered and very much utilitarian.

But now, Singaporeans are redefining the idea of the HDB flat, turning it into their little slice of heaven. No need for a staycation anymore if you have a home that looks like a resort, right?

And we just can’t deal with how gorg the flats can be. Sick. 

So if you’re still not sure whether to buy a HDB flat or simply like to look at pretty stuff -- we hope this article will help motivate you to get a partner/ get married/ get your own place at 35.

2-room flats

Just because it’s small, doesn’t mean it’s doomed to a cramped and messy existence.

All you gotta do is avoid clutter and optimise the space – take a leaf from the Japanese who are known to be super efficient in this; a bit of Marie Kondo here and there helps too.

3-room flats

3-room BTO flats can go for as low as $100,000. With that price and more space than a 2-room flat to play around with, you’ll never want to step out of your little cozy pad if you decorate like these guys do. Perfect for when you’re just starting your family.

4-room flats

4-room flats are just perfect for newlyweds and maybe one or two of the lil’ ones. But the fact that you may or are going to have a family might make you hesitant to splurge on your flat. Here’s the thing: a 4-room flat can go as low as $200,000 in a non-mature estate. In fact, there have been instances where purchases were made below $200,000.

So you do have the choice spending a bit more to make your home look like these:

5-room flats

Ahh, so much space to play with, the possibilities are endless. Compared to a 2-, 3-, and 4-room flat, this is no doubt the more costly of the lot. But hey, if you can afford a 5-room flat, sprucing up your place shouldn’t be a problem.

If it is a problem, you definitely should not be getting a 5-room flat. Always buy within your means, okay.

To further help you achieve these gorg designs, there’s the HDB’s Optional Component Scheme (OCS) which will give you doors and tiles at 20-30% cheaper than market rate.

If you opt for the OCS, the cost is added to the purchase price of the flat -- which means you might be eligible to pay for the components with your CPF savings as well.

What this means is that you don’t need to exhaust your savings at one shot (think about all the good things you can put them to use for).  Do some basic renovations, move in and take some time to save up for the chio fittings, one step at a time.

After all, life’s about the journey and not the destination. Amirite?

Top image via akiHAUS

This sponsored post helps us afford our own super pretty HDB apartment as well. We weren’t kidding when we said we also want.

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