10 BTOs that Went Rogue with Changed-Up Layouts

Congratulations on getting your BTO—just like the 500,000 people before you. But who says your home needs to look like the rest of ‘em? Instead of settling for HDB’s stock and standard suggested layouts, switch things up like these BTOs here, and get a home that’s yours, truly.

1. Prioritising the Home Office

In this 2-room BTO, a two-person home office takes up the original space intended for the living room. The study table was built against the window, making use of a space that would otherwise not be used.

Design: Ecasa Studio

2. For Spa Days

The common bathroom in this 4-room BTO changed things up in order to include a built-in bathtub. They got rid of the WC, changed up the sink location to be near the entrance and dropped in a sleek tub. Sure, they’ll have to sacrifice a toilet bowl, but what they got in return was spa day, every day.

Design: Arche Interior

3. Flexible Living

Rather than settle for a conventional living room layout, this 4-room BTO in Jurong East knocked down the walls to an extra room and converted the entire area into a communal one. The extended zone is now open concept and flexible. Part of it is fitted with a bay window seat that doubles as a cosy corner and dining bench, while the other comes with a storage platform and serves as a nook for their furry pal and regular music practice sessions.

Design: Weiken

4. Multipurpose Zone

Designed by two design-trained friends, this 5-room BTO with a gorgeous waterfront view comes with a central axis that helps to lengthen the depth perception of the entire flat. The highlight of the home is at the previous living room, which now fits in a concrete table that fills the full length of the space. The table is a multipurpose one, where it serves as a workstation, a dining table and a place for hosting guests.

Design: Salt Interior

5. Placing the Living Room in the Middle

In another Punggol BTO, the living room is now centred in the middle of apartment, taking up the area of what used to be one of the bedrooms. The bedroom and dining area flank both sides of this entertaining zone, with the former located behind bi-fold doors and the latter accessible through an archway.

Design: Lemonfridge Studio

6. Party Folks

As the homeowners often entertain large groups, the kitchen counter was designed so that it can be connected to the island using a flip-up table. This forms an extended L-shaped table to seat more people. Rather than go with the standard living room setting, the sofa faces this open-concept kitchen, so that the guests that are seated there can feel included in the party.

Design: Goy Architects

7. A Bigger Bedroom

As the homeowners like spending most of their time together in the bedroom, two bedrooms in this BTO were combined together to form a large master suite. Because of this expansion, the bed now ‘floats’ in the middle of the room, with a two-person workstation functioning as a visual anchor and headboard for the bed.

Design: Arche Interior

8. Unconventional Platform

An L-shaped platform clad in rustic wood laminates takes up residence in this unusual Japanese-industrial themed 5-room BTO. Because the family didn’t need a TV, they decided to incorporate onto the platform a Japanese tea table, a lounge area and a study desk that can be folded up against the wall when not in use.

Design: AP Concept

9. Kitchen Expansion

Going beyond the original confines of the kitchen defined by HDB, this BTO build up an extra kitchen counter in the space fronting the DB box to lengthen their kitchen and maximise countertop space. Because it’s located near the entrance, the counter also serves as a shoe cabinet and bench.

Design: Collate

10. Combining the Bathrooms

As there was no need for two bathrooms, the homeowners decided to combine both the bathrooms together to form a large, open-concept en-suite in this 3-room BTO, which was designed to look like a one-bedder studio apartment. There is a three-year restriction period in place by HDB for the removal of wall and floor finishes in the bathrooms, so you may want to hold out on this renovation till after this period.

Design: Aart Boxx