Yahoo Finance House Tour: Boon Hee and Gerlyn’s Princess-Themed HDB Home
“Happy wife is happy life,” beams Boon Hee. “Always follow her preference or ideas because she knows best and she will be spending most of her time in the house.”
Those who know Boon Hee and wife Gerlyn are amazed at how fancy and fit for a princess their home is—a dedicated princess room for Gerlyn, a tufted pink-and-purple bed and Disney-themed beddings, posh furnishings, and more.
“These are the considerations when we designed the house: princessy, cosy, pink, white, spacious, unique, and within our budget. I believe we achieved it,” says Gerlyn, who narrated their renovation journey on her blog. “We wanted to be out of the box to have a unique and special home. It’s better not to have cookie-cutter design.”
Boon Hee and Gerlyn have been calling this 68-square-metre HDB flat in Choa Chu Kang their “royal castle” for the past eight months. The location is convenient as most of their friends live in the area.
The couple engaged Paul Lawrence Tan of Senz of White for the design and renovation of their home. “He was introduced by a colleague and we visited a few IDs prior to meeting him but none was able to fit our budget based on our criteria. When we met him, he was able to sell a concept and design based on his observation of my wife's Melody-themed handphone cover. Also, he was able to meet our budget with a surplus!”
Take a look at Boon Hee and Gerlyn’s HDB home:
Entryway and Living Room
A suspended shoe cabinet with LED lights is placed by the entryway to house the couple’s shoe collections. Guests are also greeted with a photo wall of Boon Hee and Gerlyn’s pre-wedding snaps framed in different sizes.
The living room is simple with a few luxurious touches: a neutral-hued sofa from Novena in Sungei Kadut, storage settee that also serves as a TV console customised by their ID, floating shelves carrying some more photos of the couple and retro-style clock from SSF Home in Johor, wallpaper on one side from WallAffairs in Ubi, and a crystal chandelier from Houses Lightings in Selangor.
Boon Hee’s cello is also a focal point in the living room. “It’s a hobby of mine since I picked up the skill set from Ngee Ann Polytechnic Strings and Chinese Orchestra.”
Princess Room
Boon Hee is the poster boy of a loving husband, a husband willing to give anything to the love of his life. In fact, he agreed to convert the common room into a “Princess Room” for Gerlyn, who’s definitely a “Disney kid” at heart.
“I’ve been watching the Disney Channel since I was a kid. I watched Cinderella and Peter Pan a million times! I played it on the DVD player over and over again. I’ve always dreamed of being a princess,” Gerlyn excitedly shares.
She furthers that during Boon Hee’s marriage proposal, he promised to treat her like a princess and even got her a Cinderella’s tiara-style ring.
Gerlyn’s Princess Room features a mirror cabinet and houses her collection of flowers, stuff toys, and her wedding gown handmade by her grandmother Alice who’s living in Perth. Gerlyn also has medals from runDisney marathons she joined and a piano where she practices every now and then.
The couple wrapped the room in pretty wallpaper from Korean Wallpaper in Johor Bahru.
Master Bedroom
There are so many pretty stuff in this bedroom that you don't know which one to compliment first: the pink-and-purple bed with tufted velvet headboard from Novena in Sungei Kadut, the super cute Cinderella bedding, the elaborate chandelier from Houses Lightings in Selangor, or the vanity area prettified by a wallpaper.
"Our home is a place you'll be very happy to come home to after a day of work," says Boon Hee. We couldn't agree more.
Kitchen and Bathroom
“Initially, I only wanted a simple, plain kitchen and maybe with no top cabinets if it would exceed the budget. Our ID, however, was able to meet our budget and gave me a full-fledged pink kitchen,” explains Boon Hee.
He furthers: “My wife is a lover of bathtubs and she loves snorkelling, the beach, and the sea. So our ID suggested a pink seashell mosaic for her to cover the bathtub hence it would not be a plain one and it shows her personality.”
Renovation Details
Type of property: HDB BTO 3room
Total space: 68 square metres (including service yard)
Interior designer: Paul Lawrence Tan of Senz of White
Budget: Less than $20,000
Time to complete works: 1 month
Boon Hee and Gerlyn’s tips for fellow homeowners
1. Spend within your budget. Make sure you don't exceed your designated budget
2. Engage an ID who is able to click with you and you feel comfortable with but do not forget to check for reputable reviews by people you know. If no one you know used them before, check for online reviews.
This story first appeared on Cromly
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