Yishun BTO owner shares 'interior designer horror story' after renovation gets delayed & plagued with issues

Editor's note: We have updated this story with Wayne Huang's response.

In a series of videos on Instagram, Singaporean homeowner Nicole Chen, also known as Nicole Liel on social media, shared her experience with Studio Siris, a local boutique interior design studio.

The recent "home tour" video shared on Aug. 18 showed the current status of various parts of her house. The video went viral, hitting over 500,000 views on Instagram, at the time of writing.

Chen revealed that she collected her keys to her Built-to-Order (BTO) flat in Yishun in March, and her interior designer, Wayne Huang, the lead designer at Studio Siris, started renovations on her house in April.

Speaking to Mothership, Chen said that she had given Studio Siris a "firm deadline of 1.5 months to complete the project".

However, renovations have yet to be completed, four months later.

In her response to Mothership, Chen also added that besides hoping to recover the cost of rectifications, what struck her the most was the number of people resonating with her experience, as they reached out to share their home renovation nightmares with her.

"Beyond my own case, what struck me most after sharing my experience is how many Singaporean homeowners reached out with similar stories — people who also had to spend thousands more to fix mistakes, or who felt helpless when things went wrong."

What went wrong with her renovation?

#1 Wrong measurement for kitchen cabinet

Having moved into the flat for a month, the renovation in Chen's kitchen is still incomplete.

She had planned for a cabinet to be built beside her kitchen counter but the measurement was wrong, leaving a gap between her kitchen backsplash and the cabinet.

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A post shared by yishun bto reno-ing from now till june ‘25 (@yishunroyalty)

#2 Kitchen counter also faces issues

Chen added they were supposed to install an oven below the kitchen counter.

However, the cabinet that was installed had no air vent for the oven.

Upon reaching out to the installers, they claimed that they were not informed of this by Huang, and added that the drawings they were provided did not include the air vent either.

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A post shared by yishun bto reno-ing from now till june ‘25 (@yishunroyalty)

Additionally, Chen shared that the measurements previously recommended to her for her kitchen counter were wrong.

Her kitchen hob currently has barely a 2cm allowance at the edge of the counter.

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A post shared by yishun bto reno-ing from now till june ‘25 (@yishunroyalty)

#3 Cabinet can't be closed properly

The concealed cabinet that Huang had hired a carpenter to build was unsatisfactory as well.

The cabinet was supposed to close by applying pressure to any part of the cabinet surface.

However, after it was built, Chen realised that it could only be closed by applying pressure at a specific part of the cabinet surface.

She further added that Huang had installed hidden switches inside the cabinet which would turn on lights in a different part of the house.

#4 Installed a switch in the middle of the wall where she planned to put a mural

In the hallway near the concealed cabinet where Chen planned to put up a mural that she designed, with the help of ChatGPT, Huang had installed a switch in the middle of the wall.

#5 Toilet was not tiled properly

Chen further added that her toilet was supposed to have sintered stone walls installed but Huang failed to do so.

As a result, she had to paint some boxes black.

#6 Room lighting

Lastly, Chen also highlighted the light placement in her bedroom which was poorly thought out.

One of the lights was installed right in front of the air-conditioner, another three were placed around the ceiling fan, and the last one was placed further from the fan.

Not given proper explanations regarding the problems mentioned

Chen told Mothership that though she was given most of the plans, they were not executed properly due to wrong measurements.

"In some cases, work was directed and carried out on the spot when I wasn't around, without my prior agreement," she shared.

She added that the explanations given by the designer were inconsistent and the blame was shifted onto different parties, rather than taking accountability.

When asked what she wanted at this point, Chen told Mothership:

"At this point, what I want is very straightforward: to recover the cost of rectifications and to be able to move forward with my home.

This whole experience has been extremely stressful, both financially and emotionally."

In a post on Aug. 18, Chen shared screenshots of conversation with Huang, including her asking for a S$25,000 deposit from Huang to cover any rectification costs incurred.

Chen explained that she could not trust Huang's verbal assurances anymore and hence, she proposed this idea but promised to return any unused balance to Huang.

Design studio reached out for barter trade but no sponsored content put out due to bad experience

When asked about any sponsored arrangement was made, Chen shared with Mothership that the design studio had initially reached out to her for a "barter trade".

According to Chen, Studio Siris said they would handle design/project management and source sponsored vendors for parts of the renovation, in exchange for content created by her.

While she did post some Instagram stories at first, she did not complete the content or publish any sponsored posts because the renovation was "constantly delayed" and "not progressing properly".

She added:

"In the end, I didn’t receive any meaningful benefit, while still being left with a house full of mistakes and additional costs."

Studio Siris' response

In response to Mothership's queries, the studio stated that they are "currently preparing a detailed timeline of events" and hoped members of the public can hear their side of story as well.

"We ask that the public withhold judgement until our side has been fairly heard, as only one perspective has been presented so far.

There are many behind-the scenes factors that have not yet been made public, and we hope for a fair chance to release them once we get the facts right."

On Aug. 27, Huang took to social media to explain the events that happened from his point of view in a series of videos.

He also uploaded a detailed timeline of the renovations, including chat logs and related documents.

Top photos via @yishunroyalty/Instagram