The ID who designed six homes on the same street
Ten years after completing their first home, his clients called again — proof that senior designer Alex Tan has become a go-to for Singapore’s landed homes.
When Alex Tan’s phone lit up with a notification from a decade-old WhatsApp group chat, he did a double take. A couple, whose matrimonial home he had designed when he first started out as an interior designer, had reached out again. This time, they wanted him to design their new family home at Parkwood Collection for them, their two children, and a few dogs.
“I was really surprised that they still remember me and wanted me to quote for their renovation,” Alex recalled with a laugh.
This was a full-circle moment for Alex, who made the switch from technician to interior designer 11 years ago. From drafting floor plans to preparing quotations, the early years were tough. But what challenged him most was mastering site knowledge.
“We’re talking about technical things like how air con works, how contractors run all the aircon piping, how electricians lay the wire, how tiling works are done, how waterproofing works should be done properly,” he said.
“This is the part that really needs a lot of time to familiarise. But in R&R, we have a very good platform for us to learn and grow together.”
Why experience makes all the difference
Site knowledge is just one of the many things that rookie interior designers, as well as homeowners who try to DIY their renovations, struggle with — and where an experienced ID shines.
A client may have a picture-perfect moodboard, but translating it into reality within the constraints of their actual space is a whole other ball game. Plus, they may also fail to anticipate potential pitfalls that could arise during renovation.
For instance, when his clients wanted a laminate-clad feature wall for their modern luxe home, Alex knew it would not look good when scaled up in a landed property. Instead, he proposed a bookmatched stone wall, which would look more authentic and bring out a genuine sense of luxury.
“The smoothness and the reflection is totally different compared to laminate. You get what you pay for.”
Lighting is another area where professional insight makes a world of difference. Even with best-in-class 3D renderings, many homeowners struggle to visualise how their lighting choices will look until they are installed. And by then, it is often too late to make changes.
“No matter how beautifully you do up the house. Without nice lighting, the entire effect cannot be brought out.”
Equally important is balancing aesthetics with functionality in one’s lighting applications. In the living room, Alex used rose gold accents and mirrors within the fluted panels to enhance the illumination, while ensuring that vertical light strips placed at eye level were of lower voltage to reduce glare.
The staircase lighting was carefully planned with both safety and ambience in mind, while the LED lights installed in the walk-in wardrobe added both brightness and a premium touch. A vanity, with LED lights placed at just the right position, allows the homeowners to check themselves in the mirror in optimal lighting before heading out for a night out.
“When it comes to mirrors, lighting should not be placed right above your head or behind it or it would cast a shadow on you,” Alex says, cautioning homeowners against leaving light placements entirely to electricians, who might install a downlight sub-optimally for convenience.
The same attention to user experience applies to carpentry. When homeowners request five drawers for their lower kitchen cabinets, a rookie might simply agree. An experienced ID, however, knows that this leaves too little internal space to be functional. And it is a different story altogether when it comes to building drawers into study tables.
“When we talk to homeowners, we will ask them if they have the habit of crossing the legs.If they do, then we’ll recommend side drawers and leave the seating area clear.”
A familiar name in landed estates
Designing a landed property is hardly new to Alex In fact, one of his career milestones was completing an impressive six out of nine landed homes within the Luxus Hill development, and it all started with just one homeowner.
“When we first completed the project, the neighbour saw the outcome and started to reach out. By word-of-mouth recommendation, we ended up designing six of them.”
According to Alex, the primary reason homeowners recommend an interior designer to their friends and family is workmanship – a quality that trumps skill.
“Before handover, the designers at R&R will always go on site to check everything before the homeowner comes for inspection.”
These checks extend to every detail of carpentry work. It is not just about how something looks, but how it functions — from testing the hinges and drawer runners to making sure the soft-closing mechanism works smoothly.
It’s been a year since Alex handed over the Parkwood Collection project, but he still has not left the group chat.
“We’re still in touch, sometimes if there are minor issues that need to be fixed, they will still contact me to fix it for them.”
This is part of Rezt & Relax’s lifetime warranty, which reinforces trust long after a project is handed over. That brings us to another reason homeowners continue to recommend Alex: service.
Good service, Alex says, is not just about quick replies but also about taking the time to understand clients’ needs, which can differ greatly across households. Having worked with clients from across Asia and Europe, he has learnt to be mindful of cultural nuances.
For instance, he understands that Indian households often include an altar and has become familiar with every detail, from its placement to how it blends aesthetically with the rest of the home.
“When clients want the altar to be very intricate, every millimetre counts,” he explains.
While a typical carpentry discussion may take 30 minutes, this can easily stretch to hours when an altar is involved. There is little room for error in such cases, and clear communication requires patience — something Alex believes is always worth the effort.
“For me it’s always about seeing the client’s reactions at the end during handover. When they get into their new home, you can literally see the joy and relief on their faces.”
