“The Dishwasher Saved My Marriage”: James Seah Gets Candid About Living With Wife Nicole Chang Min

Back to their present digs — they overhauled the 40-year-old flat as it was “very old school”. The reno came up to around $100K, a portion of the cost and furniture were sponsored.

Why spend so much when you are only living here temporarily? 

Most of the design decisions were left to Nicole, who is “very particular about aesthetics”.

“He basically let me do everything I want, while I left electronics and appliances to him,” says Nicole. 

“My prerequisites are very simple. I just want my own study and space to work out,” James chimes in.

Another thing he really wanted? A dishwasher, which, after extensive research, James bought at a local megastore. At a price tag of “a couple of thousand dollars”, it is their biggest splurge. And it’s worth every penny.

“The dishwasher saved my marriage,” declares James.

Dramatic, much?

James was designated the ‘dish washer’ when he and Nicole started living together in 2020. 

“I got scammed into this position,” he complains. “She’s the one who cooks and every day, she uses a lot of utensils like different cups for different drinks, then it just accumulates in the sink.” 

“My pet peeve is not about her not doing dishes but using so much cutlery. Sometimes when I come home after work and I see that there’s a huge pile to clean, I get annoyed. But as an understanding husband I would still clean it.”

What irks Nicole Chang Min about James Seah

Nicole, meanwhile, did not hold back either with dishing the dirt on James.

“Everywhere is his closet. There are a few spots where he likes to put his clothes, like his filming outfits or clothes after working out, but they are not the designated spots. He will clear them when he sees me staring at them,” she reveals.

This is also the reason she created a “lazy corner” for James to hang his “clean but not so clean” clothes. You know, like the jacket or jeans that you plan to wear again before washing.

“We didn’t have this in our old house and there was a mountain of clothes in the bathroom,” says Nicole.

“To her it’s lazy, but to me, it’s functional,” interjects James.

Oh, the joys of living together.

House tour

Living room

The first thing you’ll notice when you enter is how bright and airy the home is. It looks even bigger than its 1,140 sq ft size, thanks to its open concept, clean aesthetic, and light colour palette. Wood accents give a warm and cosy touch to the apartment.

To open up the space, the wall between the kitchen and dining area was hacked and replaced with sliding glass doors, while fluted panels and limewash TV feature wall add dimension and visual interest.

The shelves on the feature wall may look a little empty but that’s ‘cos the space is reserved for James’ future Star Awards trophies.

“I had this specially built to display his trophies. You see the height is just nice. Hint hint,” quips Nicole. 

When we offer to give James our Star Awards lamp, the media door gift at this year’s ceremony, his eyes light up. 

“Wah, better than nothing,” he laughs.

Kitchen

The kitchen is kept minimal for a clean, understated look. Even James’ bar, where he keeps his prized whiskey collection, is cleverly hidden. 

“We don’t have space for a proper bar counter, so I felt we should just keep the bar hidden, and that way it looks less cluttered too,” says James. “I drink occasionally at home by myself but mostly when I’m hosting friends. So we got a kitchen island that sort of serves as a mini bar counter.”

No drinking water for a week

The couple was quite stressed when they first moved in as only around 80 per cent of the flat was complete due to reno delays. Their kitchen island wasn’t done and appliances like their water filter system hadn’t been installed. As a result, they did not have drinking water for a week. 

“We couldn’t install the water filter system (gadget on the extreme right) as it sits on the island. We also didn’t have gas and didn’t want to buy a kettle as we didn’t want to spend money on things we don’t need, so we couldn’t boil water. We had to buy bottled water,” says Nicole.

When we tell them that it would have probably been cheaper to buy an electric kettle, which you can get for around $20, than a week’s worth of bottled water, Nicole replies: “Actually, we don’t know how much a kettle costs. Young people don’t know.”

Hidden man cave

In the living room, a concealed door in the fluted-paneled wall opens up to reveal James’ study aka man cave.

“It looks very weird to have two adjacent doors, so we designed the study entrance like a hidden door. I also felt it would be quite cool to create a hidden man cave,” says James.

Behind the French doors is the master bedroom and Nicole’s study. 

The couple had wanted an arch doorway but it could not be achieved as the “ceiling is very low”. So, the next best option was to have a door with an arch design. 

“We chose glass fluted doors so light can come through and it’s also more ‘aesthetic’,” shares Nicole. “I find regular doors very ugly. All our doors are customised and came up to about $10K.”

They added a dog door so their pooch Moon can access the room when the doors are shut.

They designed their room to feel like a hotel suite, complete with a king-sized bed, massage chair, vanity area and his and hers sinks.

“I really wanted to have his and hers sinks, where they are outside the bathroom ‘cos it has a hotel vibe,” shares Nicole. “Sometimes we have to get ready at the same time so having our own space means fewer quarrels.”

Inspired by James', er, marriage advice and looking for a dishwasher? 8 Days picks out some items you can shop right now:

Freestanding dishwashers to buy:  

• Electrolux ESF5512LOX Freestanding Dishwasher, 60cm, $1,028. Buy it here
• Samsung DW60A6092FS/SP Freestanding Dishwasher, 14 Place Settings, 3 Ticks, $1,255. Buy it here
• Bosch SMS4ECI14E 60cm Free-standing stainless steel dishwasher, 4 ticks, $2,199. Buy it here
• Bosch SMI2ITS33E 60cm Semi-integrated dishwasher, 3 Ticks, $2,499. Buy it here

Portable/countertop dishwashers to add to your kitchen (no reno needed):

• Midea Mini Plus Home Kitchen Portable Countertop Dishwasher, 6L, $339. Buy it here
• Toshiba Compact Tabletop Self Cleaning Dishwasher 8L, $540.50. Buy it here
• Bosch compact dishwasher, 2 Ticks, from $999. Buy it here

Photos: Kelvin Chia

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