Interior designers transformed a standard 2-room flexi BTO flat into a retreat that resembles a boutique hotel. Homeowners Noelle and Gnelle hired the team behind @hellohomebodies to achieve this look, resulting in a space that often confuses visitors about its true nature.
Designing for the ‘Hotel Feel’
Homeowners wanted a home that functioned as a true escape from work. The brief to the designers was to create a sense of stepping into a different world every time the owners returned. This required a departure from typical housing aesthetics.
Designers Ruby and Kenny developed a style they call “warm postmodernism meets 70s retro-futurism.” The goal was to use playful elements from classic postmodernism while pairing them with an organic, tactile material palette. This approach balances restraint with expression throughout the unit.
The layout of the original flat was challenging. To solve this, designers used undulating lines to soften the boxy shape of the room. These curves guide human movement rather than serving as pure decoration. The space feels like a cocoon, but the curves are kept to a minimum to avoid making the unit feel bulkier.
Merging Spaces and Materials
An open wardrobe plan runs the length of the unit, dissolving the boundaries between the living room, dining area, and kitchen. These areas merge into a single space anchored by a built-in settee and peninsula. The design includes squiggles that reference Memphis design popularised in the 1980s.
Timber veneer covers every appliance and fitting in the kitchen, including the sink. This hides visual clutter and maintains a cabin-like atmosphere. The visual discipline also allowed the designers to remove the wall between the kitchen and bedroom. Only an open clothes rack remains in its place, letting natural light reach the sleeping area.
The bedroom is defined by a transition to a custom built-in bedhead with bedside shelvings. The designers avoided breaking up the wood theme to keep the transition subtle. The bathroom features an angled door frame that creates a recessed, pocket-like effect within the timber-clad walls. French doors carry a mauve laminate used on the peninsula, with circular glass inserts as a nod to Postmodern classicism.