The New Industrial Style: 7 Homes in Singapore that Underwent an Industrial Revolution

Back in 2018, we started a poll to ask you guys if the industrial style was still in or it was out. Dominating our shores for a rather large number of years with a peak around 2015-16, the once-popular style gradually saw a slow decline. Predictably, a whopping 70 percent of you (last we checked) voted then to say that the industrial style’s reign in Singapore homes was officially over. But interestingly, beginning in the middle of 2019, we are seeing a slow but steady resurgence of the industrial style here. But there’s a difference between the previous trend and the one this time around. It seems that this “new industrial style”—what we’ve deemed this new look—is less tacky and more natural, with the use of materials such as woodgrain laminates and faux brick walls that feel and look more authentic.

Here's an example: The “old” (left) versus “new” (right) industrial style.

Designs: The Interior Lab The new industrial style is also more timeless. The previous look had been overwhelmingly trendy at that time, but the fad couldn’t stand the test of time. This time around, the industrial style homes we’ve seen feel like they could stick around for a while. It’s partially thanks to the fact that they’ve meshed elements from more timeless designs like Scandinavian, contemporary or modern. If you are looking to get inspired, we collated homes in Singapore we think fit the bill of adopting a new form of the industrial design. It would seem a new era of the industrial revolution has begun.

1. Masculine Vibes

The centrepiece of this industrial style executive maisonette is the open kitchen. Lined with dark wood cabinets, a herringbone backsplash using slate-like tiles and a gorgeous black marble-topped island, it’s the epitome of masculine design and class. In the rest of the apartment, sleek black electrical conduit pipes line the walls of the flat, serving a practical function as much as a design feature. Some of the walls were given a brush of cement screed, although most are whitewashed for a more modern look while also allowing the warm wood furnishings and carpentry to stand out. [gallery columns="2" link="none" size="full" ids="118769,118773"] [gallery columns="2" link="none" size="full" ids="118766,118768"] Design: The Interior Lab See more of this home here

2. The Bachelor Pad

There is a lot about this industrial style home that is unusual, most notably the flooring, which was given an epoxy paint treatment and painted in a glossy black. Notice also the metal cable trays hanging from the ceiling, a design intended to support the cables running across the apartment. As the homeowner—a bachelor—isn’t a TV person, the designers also did away with the conventional living room with a standard sofa and TV. In its place is a reading lounge, to cater to the owner’s love for reading, complete with an entire wall decked out in his collection of books and a black leather lounge chair. While most of the home feature a black-and-white scheme, the common bathroom is seen in a bright cheery yellow, adding to the quirkiness of this bachelor pad. Design: Three-d Conceptwerke See more of this home here

3. Open Plan

Most industrial designs tend to go with a dark and moody colour scheme, but not so in this bright and open two-storey home. It has a predominantly white palette and an all open concept with every area of the home, including the upstairs bedroom, visible from the entrance. Surfaces were kept pared back with little details—check out the concrete screed flooring and the stainless steel beams—to allude to the industrial theme. Plants and soft furnishings help to soften the look to avoid the space from looking too sterile. Design: Sync Interior See more of this home here

4. Personal Touches

Many of the elements in this industrial style home can also be found in the industrial style homes commonly seen in the past, like the brick wall, the conduit black pipes running across the ceiling, the black-framed glass divider and the metal furniture. But this design still manages to retain its timelessness because of several reasons, the most notable of which is the neutral colour scheme. Save for the brick wall in the living room, the other walls are kept white which helps to balance off the visually heavy design elements of the industrial style. Elsewhere, a mixing of furnishing styles and the addition of personal touches help to create a warm and cosy space. The choice of thinner pipes and frames as well as the addition of classic elements like the white subway tiles in the bathroom and the shaker style kitchen cabinets offer up a more modern appearance. Design: Three-d Conceptwerke See more of this home here

5. Upper Class

One of the first things you will notice in this beautiful space is the stunning mezzanine level in the living room, made possible thanks to the penthouse unit’s 4.5-metre tall ceiling. Custom made using mild steel as a reference to the home’s modern industrial scheme and decked out in faux greenery for a softer touch, the structure functions as the homeowners' study. A rustic dark wood TV wall runs up the entire length of the apartment, while a light, warmer wood laminate clads part of the ceiling. The rest of the home is kept sleeker and more modern to balance things out. You see clean lines, a neutral palette and fluted feature walls in the bedroom and hobby room. Design: Black N White Haus See more of this home here

6. Primary Interest

This resale HDB flat feels like sunshine, with its bright pops of colours in a clean, white backdrop. At the same time, it is swathed in characteristics of the industrial style, which you can see even from the outside, the façade of which is covered in bricks, a prelude of things to come. Inside, conduit lines stand in stark contrast against the crisp white walls, with pops of primary hues bringing cheer to the space. From the yellow bar stools and the patterned floor tiles that demarcate where the kitchen island is to the red armchair in the living room and the red towel ladder rack in the bathroom. Furnishings feel eclectic, with a mix of styles from vintage to oriental to Peranakan. Otherwise, the space is mainly kept pared back with a clean monochrome scheme with wood and concrete—common materials in the industrial style—less frequently employed. [gallery columns="2" link="none" size="full" ids="83728,83736"] Design: The Local Inn.terior See more of this home here

7. Zany Prints

This BTO flat similarly embraces colours. But instead of a white backdrop, a grey, cement screed base forms the colour foundation of this home, giving the space a more rustic feel, in line with the industrial style. Prints and patterns also feature prominently in this flat. We are most taken by the kitchen flooring, as well as the chevron stripes and hexagon tiles—laid out in a quirky, uneven manner—in the bathroom. [gallery columns="2" link="none" size="full" ids="107568,107569"] In the bedroom, an open wardrobe adds a softness and visual interest to the industrial themed space, marked by walls painted in different shades of grey and carpentry lined with two different types of woodgrain laminates. Design: In-Expat See more of this home here