Downsizing is always a challenge, more so if it involves moving five people from a four-room Housing Board flat to a two-bedroom condominium.

This is exactly what pilot Steven Eu did together with his wife, Ms Gelene Lim, who is a cabin crew member, their two daughters aged seven and four, and a domestic helper.

They enlisted the help of Mr Lawrence Puah, design director of home-grown boutique interior design consultancy akiHAUS Design Studio, after coming across one of his projects at The Sorrento in West Coast Road, which was featured in Home & Decor.

"The home is small like ours and we like its monochromatic palette and the use of space," says Mr Eu of the inspiration.

The Sorrento home had a bedroom wall replaced with sliding-folding panels so that the room could be opened up to create more space or closed off when desired.

Mr Eu and Ms Lim wanted a similar movable wall concept for their 550 sq ft condominium apartment in Bartley, but Mr Puah advised against it. He says: "Unlike The Sorrento, which is home to a bachelorette, the design considerations for a family home are entirely different. The site conditions are also dissimilar. One fewer wall also means one fewer vertical surface for storage or other fixtures."

Instead, he proposed to relocate the existing kitchen to free up space in the centre of the home, both physically and visually.

The new kitchen is now directly beyond the main entrance, separated by a full-height wall that not only screens off the area and defines the entrance foyer, but also provides a backdrop for the kitchen on the other side. More importantly, it incorporates valuable built-in storage cabinets.

The open-concept kitchen is small but packed with drawers and cabinets below and above the kitchen counter. Ms Lim says: "The kitchen counter is very versatile. It not only doubles as a dining table, but my elder daughter also does her homework on it, while Steven and I sometimes use it as a work desk."

As with the rest of the home, every conceivable surface of the living area has been designed to maximise the usable space.

The television set and more storage have been built into the feature wall. A sofa with an integrated side table allows the home owners to do away with a coffee table, so that there is room in the living area for the girls to play.

The master bedroom's clean design mirrors the rest of the apartment, with a queen-size storage bed helping to keep the area clutter-free.

The attached bathroom is also the common bathroom, which can be accessed via a second door along the corridor. "We have a bathroom-sharing roster, but since Steven and I are travelling for work half the time, it really isn't that much of an issue," says Ms Lim.

The girls share a room with the helper and it has been designed to be practical yet fun. The original built-in wardrobe was replaced with one that wraps around the sleeping area like a portal frame. "This not only maximises the built-in storage, but also creates a cosy sleeping nook," says Mr Puah.

Bunk beds with a pull-out bed at the bottom would have been the obvious choice, but his rationale is that the bed occupies space even when not in use. This was why he convinced the clients to go with futons instead.

"This frees up space within the room as the futons are rolled out only at bedtime," he says.

The design and renovation took about four to five months and cost $70,000. Since moving in in September 2019, the family has gotten accustomed to living in a small space.

"It has taught us to be more disciplined and organised. The girls have also learnt to return their toys to their original storage cabinet when they are done playing," says Ms Lim.

Mr Eu adds with a chuckle: "It's like being inside an aircraft. Everything has to be stowed away before landing."

• This article first appeared in the July 2020 issue of Home & Decor, which is published by SPH Magazines.

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