A Honeymoon Inspired French Retro Home in Singapore by RENOSTUD.IO
A Honeymoon Inspired French Retro Home in Singapore by RENOSTUD.IO began with interior designer Jeremy translating a young family’s memories of Paris into a 5-room HDB in Tengah.
The apartment sits within Tengah, a BTO town planned around the idea of a forest city. Its sustainable and eco-conscious direction appealed to the family, while the flat itself offered the possibility of a generous, light-filled home. For Jeremy, the natural light became an important starting point. It brought to mind the atmosphere of Parisian apartments, where daylight, wall mouldings, ceiling details, and ornate trims often work together to create a sense of softness and depth.
The home carries that influence through French boiserie, cornices, ceiling roses, arches, fluted glass, brass-toned fittings, marble-like finishes, and a palette of deep blues, greens, black, white, and soft neutrals. Yet the design never feels heavy. The homeowners wanted a space that was “aesthetic yet not overly complicated,” and Jeremy guided them towards using two to three paint colours in each room so that the interior would remain calm.
The layout was planned around daily movement and family life. There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, dining area, kitchen, foyer, and a walk-in wardrobe created from one of the bedrooms. The living room was kept intentionally spacious, as the homeowners imagined spending much of their family time there. The TV console was designed with a curved form to make it more child friendly, while the home avoids excessive built-in carpentry in the shared spaces so that the rooms can breathe.
At the entrance, RENOSTUD.IO carved out a foyer that gives the family privacy without blocking light. A custom metal arch with fluted glass and lattice detailing separates this entry point from the living room. The feature was inspired by details the homeowners saw in a Paris hotel, and its form reappears in other parts of the home, including the dining wall and bathroom mirrors. With black and white floor tiles, concealed storage, and a framed glass partition, the foyer sets the tone for the rest of the apartment.
“My part was to conduct research on elements suitable for the house, create a layout that meets their needs, and propose an overall concept that incorporates their love for French details and colours,” says Jeremy.
The brief was not to create a home that felt overly polished or futuristic, but one with the quiet charm of an old European apartment. The homeowners, who now live here with their newborn, wanted the home to feel elegant, personal, and easy to live in.
The living room carries the strongest sense of old European character. Floor-to-ceiling wall mouldings add a historic quality, while the ceiling rose, wall sconces, and detailed ceiling fan introduce a more decorative layer. The custom TV console has a marble-like appearance, although it is made from wood, giving the space a refined look without unnecessary weight. The homeowners deliberately kept this room open and uncluttered, allowing children to move freely when friends and family visit.
The dining area sits directly in front of the kitchen and is one of Jeremy’s favourite parts of the home. A custom round marble dining table anchors the space, paired with a pendant light that gives the room a neoclassical touch. Beside it, a custom bookshelf mirrors the arched language found throughout the apartment. The curve softens the built-in structure and helps connect the dining area to the wider French Retro concept.
The kitchen was redesigned from an open layout into a more functional space with a row of cabinets opposite the stove. This allowed the team to create a kitchen island with additional storage and food preparation space, while still keeping a visual and social connection to the dining area. Recessed window doors allow the kitchen to be closed when needed, yet opened up when the homeowners are hosting.
The master bedroom draws directly from the couple’s stay at Hotel Chou Chou in Paris. They loved the hotel’s blue and white rooms, and RENOSTUD.IO translated that memory into a darker navy palette, custom carpentry, and a bay window seating area. The absence of electronics in the bedroom also adds to the old world feeling, creating a room that feels restful and removed from the pace of everyday life. One of the bedrooms was converted into a walk-in wardrobe, not simply as a luxury feature, but as a practical storage strategy.
The two bathrooms continue the home’s use of blue and green tones, but with more texture and pattern. The clients were drawn to tiles with colour, detail, and character, so the design team selected smaller and patterned tiles for the walls and floors. In the master bathroom, darker tones appear on the lower half of the walls, with subway tiles laid in a staggered pattern. In the common bathroom, the wall tiles are vertically stacked. Vintage-style shower sets, mirrors, sinks, taps, wall sconces, pendant lights, and brass-like finishes complete the look.
Across the apartment, marble-looking materials appear on the kitchen and bathroom countertops, the TV console, and the bedroom side table. Gold-toned lights and accessories add a quiet layer of ornamentation, helping the home feel more connected to the Parisian references that first inspired it.
