This Gen-Z Turned Her HDB Service Yard Into A Bedroom Without Renovation — Here’s How She Did It
While most folks would use their BTO service yards as a laundry area or perhaps even extend their kitchen to their service yard, one TikToker has turned it into her bedroom. And she did it on a small budget and without any renovations too.
After sharing a bedroom with her sister for 24 years, Sasha (@sashamariestiktok) decided to transform the service yard of her family’s HDB flat into her bedroom.
“This was my own personal choice, no one forced me into it!” she shared on TikTok. “But I felt it was something really important for me.”
Sharing a room with her sibling meant having to adjust to each other’s different schedules, habits and interests, all of which are driving factors for Sasha to have a space she can call her own. The room also gave her creative freedom to decorate it to her liking.
In a Lemon8 post, Sasha shared further details on how she transformed the tiny space into a dream come true. We broke down her steps and added further considerations for those inspired to do the same.
Opaque film for the windows
While the transparent windows allow natural light to flow into the tight space, this can quickly heat the room and make the environment too bright and hot to get restful sleep. And so, Sasha got opaque window stickers — she DIY-ed the installation by pasting onto the windows to drastically reduce the light that enters. Opaquing the windows also gives her privacy from prying eyes from neighbours who live in the adjacent block.
Fuss-free curtain installation
Add curtains for a good night’s sleep and add cosy vibes to the space. Sasha put up a decorative curtain to add ambience to her room, and recommends using adhesive instead of the usual curtain rings or tracks to keep them up.
Get a bunk bed to maximise space
A bedroom, well, needs a bed, among other furniture you need to make the space liveable. To maximise her space, Sasha opted for a loft bed so that the space the bed can still be used. She purchased Ikea’s Småstad loft bed with a table, four drawers, a wardrobe, and a table.
Tip: When picking the furnishing, it is vital to understand the dimensions of the service yard and the spatial constraints that your furniture and movements will impose.
While Sasha picked the Ikea bed made for children, she shared that it was adequate for her as she is 161cm tall and “can still fit kids things.” More importantly, the bunk bed (207cm x 104cm) fits neatly into her service yard (256cm x 140cm) with sufficient space for her to climb the ladder to her bed.
Switch up the flooring on a budget
Because Sasha did not like the way the floor that came with the HDB looked, she even went the extra mile to change the flooring with an easy fix: self-adhesive floor stickers. The iteration she got featured a wood grain pattern, so it lends a Scandi touch to her new space (tile and marble designs are also available). Ensure that the floor stickers are minimally waterproof and non-slip.
Install a fan with ceiling lights
The service yard did not have an air conditioner, nor did it have space for a standing floor fan, and a ceiling fan was out of the question as the blades would be too close to her if she was chiling out on her bunk bed. So Sasha picked a ceiling light with an in-built fan killing two birds with one stone.
Decorate the space
After setting up her new bedroom with all the furnishings she needed to make it liveable, Sasha moved on to make the space truly hers by using interior decor pieces to create cosiness and ambience. She created a wall of Polaroid photos, added a floor mat, and hung up a neon light decor. Unless you have extra floor or counter space, we recommend opting for wall decorations instead so you do not use up precious walking and usable horizontal space.
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