Dream Home: A Luxury Boutique Lifestyle - Jason & Priscilla's Renovation Journey

Jason Lim and Priscilla Koh work hard running their regional F&B business, Old Street Bak Kut Teh, and didn’t want to skimp on their renovation. They entrusted their home to industry veteran Gary Wee of One Design Werkz Pte Ltd. The stunning results exceeded their admittedly high expectations.

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Jason Lim and Priscilla Koh
House Type: Semi-detached private property
Size of Home: 350sq m
Duration of Renovation: 4 weeks
Cost of Renovation: $600,000
Interior Design Firm: One Design Werkz Pte Ltd
Name(s) of Designer(s): Gary Wee

Founder and boss of Old Street BakKutTeh and his lovely wife Priscilla Koh in their ultra-luxury home

HomeRenoGuru: How and why did you choose your interior design firm?

Jason:We chose One Design Werkz because we knew Gary and we trusted that the quality of his work is very good. Basically, Gary is very much focused on quality, which is the way that Old Street Bak Kut Teh also works. If you see Old Street Bak Kut Teh, the way we present ourselves, it’s also the same kind of mindset that I can see in Gary from One Design Werkz.

The generous use of expensive materials such as marble, alabaster and black stainless steel evoke the feel of a high-end luxury boutique

HomeRenoGuru: What was your design brief?

Jason:I always believe that I work very hard, so I want to come home to a very luxurious boutique living environment.

The bespoke luxe furnishings were sourced with the help of Gary from One Design Werkz

Priscilla: If you look around you’ll see many expensive materials, like marble, alabaster and black stainless steel. This is very similar to what you see in luxury brand boutiques.

HomeRenoGuru: How did you find the renovation process?

Jason: The whole house was very well planned. We completed everything in a very fast 4-week period. Gary came here to plan every day. He met his contractors on the spot. I saw him here, he was very hands-on, and he drew a lot of sketches on he spot with a lot of people when he met up. Very demanding. I noticed also that he phone-called to his contractor to tell him precisely when he wanted this thing to be done. Impressive, because he knows that it was very important for us to finish the project on time.

Priscilla: Amazingly, we stayed in our home during the renovations. Gary did his best to minimise the disruptions to our lives.

A customised cupboard houses Jason’s son’s ceremonial sword

HomeRenoGuru: What do you love most about your home?

Jason: If you asked me about what is the best part of the house I like, I can tell you – I like everything! From this entrance part, the shoe rackings to the living hall, even to the toilets to the paintings, even to the cupboards for my son’s soldier’s sword.

The sumptuous master bedroom

The ingenious invention of Gary Wee – a ‘flying TV’ panel that slides back and forth to allow access to the built-in wardrobes behind it

Jason: As for my bedroom, the TV is like an aeroplane – first in the world! Because I’ve never seen this invention, I was so surprised when he told me he could do this. I said – are you sure? So when I saw the whole thing was being done, I was amazed. Because it was so convenient that I can save the space while I still can use my cupboard and also see the TV.

My toilet was even more impressive, because it was so nice – the marble, the colour, even the flushing system was impressive.

The opulent en suite bathroom in the master bedroom

Priscilla:I love my dressing table. It has compartments and display shelving and I can display all my bags.

Jason and Priscilla’s three children, aged from 13 to 21 years old, love their bedrooms so much that they love to stay at home and chill

Jason:All my children now actually love their rooms, so much that they actually want to spend a lot of time in their rooms. Everything was designed and in place, well-planned, where to put the iPhone chargers, where to sit down at their tables to study.

The renovation costs did not climb beyond the budget, though the results exceeded Jason’s expectations.

HomeRenoGuru: Was your renovation completed within budget?

Jason: We didn’t want to do a cheap design, so for the whole thing we spent about $600,000. It was real value for money. In fact, I got a lot more than I expected.

HomeRenoGuru: Would you recommend your interior design firm and your designer to other homeowners?

Jason:I know a lot of designers, but I would not hesitate to recommend One Design Werkz’ MrGary because I fully trust that he can deliver the kind of quality my friends would want to have.