Why Maxi Lim Decided To Go Into Interior Designing, And How His Own $80K Home Reno 3 Years Ago Played A Part In It

Ah Boys To Men Star Maxi Lim, 38, wears many hats. He’s a dad, an actor, a martial artist, and now, an interior designer, having started his own studio, Maximo, earlier this year. 

He takes host Hazelle Teo on a tour of his four-room HDB flat in the latest episode of Kaypoh Room Tours, where his interests and lifestyle are all reflected in the 1,100 sq ft space. 

Maxi first moved into the flat in 2022, with his ex-wife influencer Liz Teo and their son, Reign, who is now five. The pair announced their split in 2024, and though they are now co-parenting their little one, the house has turned into Maxi’s bachelor pad of sorts. 

Maxi bought the unit for over S$300,000, and spent around S$80,000 to renovate the space into a “retro industrial” theme, with a hint of “colonial vibes”. 

One of Maxi’s favourite items in his house is a vinyl player which he houses in his study area. “I think when it comes to renovating your own home, it needs to reflect the personality of the owner,” he says, adding that he likes to listen to jazz music from the 1940s to 1960s. 

His favourite corner of the house — a service-yard-turned-balcony, which he enters through the kitchen — is also reflective of Maxi’s daily lifestyle. 

“This is the first place I come when I wake up to have a drink of coffee. It also has a great unblocked view and I get to see a lot of greenery. So I spend a lot of my alone time here,” says Maxi, who hosts guests in the spot too. 

Personal vibes aside, Maxi also has an important tip for home owners looking to start their renovation journey. 

“Please plan your house in a way whereby you don’t really have to do a lot of housework. Housework sucks. That's why I chose cement screed with epoxy for my floor. My house kind of looks already dirty and aged, so even if it’s dirty, even if my son scribbles on the wall, it’s part of the feel of the home already,” he explains. 

He stores plenty of his son’s toys in a storage area underneath his bed, keeping the mess out of sight. “I keep the majority of his toys here, so when he’s bored, I’ll just pick up a new toy,” he adds.

Maxi speaks about his career pivots, from actor to F&B owner (he used to run a fried chilli snack biz, Eat My LJ) to interior designer. And as it turns out, the switch to become an interior designer was a decision that came very naturally for him. 

He reveals: “The opportunity came and it was also the time I stepped away from F&B, so I decided this seems like something interesting [for me to pursue]. I always like to pick up something new, so that’s why I decided to go ahead [with it].”

“People actually don’t know I graduated from Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Design, so I’m very familiar with model building, drawing, and naturally I have an eye for aesthetics. I know what is good, what is not good, so all these things translated into interior design,” he says.

His interior design firm, Maximo, means ‘greatness’ in Latin, and it just happens that the word is also a combination of his and his business partner’s names — the latter’s initials are M.O.  

Maxi had a good experience with his interior designer when renovating his own pad, and as such, hopes to provide the same pleasant and reliable process for his clients. 

He mentions cases he’s seen on social media where interior designers do poor jobs despite taking a deposit, and calls those people “black sheep of the industry”. “Don’t just think about money, think about serving first,” he shares. 

He also has a simple philosophy when it comes to juggling all the things he has on his plate. 

“There is always only 24 hours [in a day]. If you care about something, you’ll naturally find time to do it. I prioritise what needs to be done, get the difficult things done first, and then you have the rest of your day to allocate what to do,” he says.