"It's in These Moments That the Real Magic Happens" — A Tapestry of Vintage Finds and Objects Gives This Build-to-Order Canberra Apartment a Collected Soul
Color and an ever-evolving selection of antiques transform this standardized government-funded home into something truly special
If you were to engage the expertise of an interior design studio, you'd most likely expect to come away with a finished home. However, in the case of this build-to-order apartment, the objective was to create something exactly the opposite.
Located in Canberra, in Singapore's north, the dwelling is a form of government-subsidized housing. So, when Jade Cham, founder of Knock Knock Studio, was given the task of transforming it, she was presented with a true blank canvas, save for some internal walls and wall and floor tiles.
"There was no existing interior to work around in the conventional sense. The starting point was more about deciding what to retain, what to remove, and how far we wanted to depart from the standard finishes that came with the flat," she says of the home's original shell.
"The brief was to create a modern home with enough character to stand on its own, but also enough flexibility to become a backdrop for the vintage furniture, objects and unusual finds they would continue collecting over time," explains Jade.
Unlike some projects, the flat's occupants, Mandy Lee and Esmond Chang, both 32 years old, came not with a long list of must- and must-not haves, but a willingness to hand full creative control over to Jade and her team. Their only requirement was that the home felt incomplete and unexpected, and that it could comfortably house the two of them, plus their beloved cat, Tiger, and dog, 4D.
A graphic designer, Mandy was no stranger to color and a "more experimental" approach, and creative bravery quickly became a commanding principle of the home's reimagining. The goal was a space that could stand on its own, while carrying the personality of vintage furniture, objects, and "unusual finds" collected over time.
While designing the cabinetry, the Knock Knock Studio team worked closely with the carpenter to piece together different laminates, creating a completely custom final composition.
"The home is constantly being edited and shaped over time, evolving with the people who live in it," explains Jade. "For the client, it is a collected home, shaped by the things they come across along the way, from thrifted finds at flea markets and pieces brought home from their travels to unexpected Facebook Marketplace purchases and items that took months to find. A work in progress, with every new addition becoming part of its story."
Color guides the way from the entryway to the most intimate of corners, where playful combinations and contrasts thread intrigue through each space. The palette, says Jade, was a collaborative imagining, guided by the desire to create a home that felt anything but predictable.
The entryway and kitchen drive an immediate impact with hits of Cottage Red by Benjamin Moore, contrasting against butter-yellow cabinetry and commanding attention from the outset, while the blue-hued bedroom calms and coaxes rest.
While the red "dry kitchen" feels energetic, this space, dubbed the "wet kitchen" softens with butter yellow.
"Interestingly, when we were selecting the blue for the master bedroom, the client and I considered the colors separately and ended up choosing the exact same shade," remembers Jade. "It was one of those small moments that showed how naturally aligned we had become in our understanding of the home and its palette."
The palette itself changes, ebbs, and flows, each room taking on its own distinct mood but tied together as a collective with recurring materials, timber tones, and objects to avoid fragmentation.
"In the bedroom, different shades of blue create a calmer, more restful atmosphere," says Jade. "A deeper blue continues into the adjoining dressing room, visually connecting the two spaces and creating a natural sense of flow."
In each room, a menagerie of vintage pieces, from small trinkets to larger pieces of furniture, creates a notable but gentle contrast to a backdrop of contemporary design.
Interiors were kept clean, and color, timber tones, and patterned surfaces create a bridge between old and new. There is a sense of deliberate discord, where pieces from different eras and origins sit side-by-side — but it's in these moments that the real magic happens.
"There was also no intention for everything to match," Jade warns. The opposite, "that contrast gives the home a sense of depth and makes it feel as though it has been assembled gradually over time, rather than designed all at once."
For the designer, that is ultimately what gives the home its character: "many of the things within it carry their own story or memory, rather than simply being selected to complete a particular aesthetic."
"Many items in our home now have my dad's 'touch' too, who provided his encyclopaedia of knowledge on how to restore old materials, who helped fix my old cabinets with me, rewire lamps, and install things on walls," says Mandy.
For all its visual interest, ensuring functionality and comfort was of equal importance — especially given the home's compact footprint. Jade operated within a realistic frame: the aim was not to make the apartment feel bigger, but rather to make each space work as hard as it possibly could.
The kitchen was expanded and an island added, and a coffee corner sits beside it in an organic "sequence of use". A sense of space is played with in the pantry and bathroom, where mirrored splashbacks and half-height walls create greater depth and visual openness, the latter allowing for additional hidden storage.
Deep tones create a sense of intimacy in the bathroom.
Despite its size, there is a lot to love about this apartment: the way it quietly commands attention, its layered nature, its unconventional elements. But for Jade and her team, the biggest win was the close relationship they formed with the client.
"There was a strong level of trust, which gave us the freedom to explore combinations that might initially have felt unexpected, whether through color, material, or contrast," she explains. "Because we remained closely involved throughout the renovation, the design was able to continue evolving during execution. Some of the more distinctive moments in the home came from this process."
Joy continues in the bathrooms, which stand in contrast to one another, much like the old and new pieces that sit comfortably alongside one another.
For Mandy and Esmond, their home's redesign has been nothing short of life-changing. "There is a profound sense of peace that I didn't have before," says Mandy. "It feels less like a place I'm staying in and more like a reflection of who I am, which brings a lot of mental clarity."
Did Knock Knock Studio's remake of Mandy and Esmond's home get you daydreaming of a house makeover? To pick up inspiration along the way, revisit the edit of our favorite home tours from August 2026, and keep an eye out for more stories like this via our modern homes pages.
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