Actor Terence Cao gave interior designer free rein to redesign home, was shocked to lose a room演员曹国强全权委托室内设计师重新设计住宅，结果却意外失去了一个房间。
Cao handed over the keys to his HDB flat and stayed out of the renovation process – only to discover one of the two bedrooms was gone.
Cao handed over the keys to his HDB flat and stayed out of the renovation process – only to discover one of the two bedrooms was gone.
Terence Cao recently renovated his home. (Photos: Instagram/koocester)
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How much trust would you place in your interior designer? Enough to hand over your keys and not see what they're doing to your home until the renovation is complete?
Apparently, yes, if you're Terence Cao.
The Singaporean actor recently gave tours of his newly renovated house, an almost 60-year-old HDB flat in Toa Payoh, revealing that he gave his interior designer pretty much free rein over the place.
Judging from the floor plan and footage of the unit before its renovation, it appears to be a three-room flat with two bedrooms.
His instructions were surprisingly simple: The home had to be functional.
“I told them, ‘This is my key. Don’t ask me anything until you deliver the house. Don’t even call,’” Cao, 58, said in an Instagram video by lifestyle media platform Koocester.
“No!” he replied without hesitation. “Because I trusted [them].”
And it seems his decision to stay completely out of the design process paid off.
Terence Cao in his house. (Photo: YouTube/The Sixides Channel)
Recalling the first time he saw the finished home, Cao said: “They overdelivered beyond my expectations. For me, it was totally mind-blowing.”
The home has an industrial-inspired look, with raw textured walls, stainless steel finishes and darker tones offset by pops of burnt orange and red. Retro ventilation blocks add character to the space.
The renovation was sponsored as part of a collaboration, though Cao revealed that it would have cost “six figures”.
Terence Cao has a long history with the flat.
“I actually grew up in this neighbourhood,” he said. “I’m turning 60 next year. That’s how old this block is.”
Renovating a home that's close to six decades old came with its share of challenges, with the designers having to work around existing beams, pipes and other structural quirks.
Instead of fighting them, they used curved false ceilings and partition walls to create a smoother flow between the living room and kitchen.
Giving his ID complete creative freedom also meant Terence Cao was in for some surprises.
The biggest? One of the bedrooms had been hacked away to create a spacious dining area, with a sleek black granite island taking centre stage.
“I came in and I was totally shocked. I said, ‘Hey, I lost one room,’” he recalled.
His remaining bedroom, meanwhile, is concealed behind a stainless steel hidden door and is deliberately sparse.
“This is a place for me to actually rest, recover, rejuvenate,” said Cao, adding that he shouldn't spend too much time in his bedroom as he “should be more productive”.
The living space in Terence Cao's house. (Photo: Instagram/koocester)
As for the room he “lost”, Cao seems very happy with the trade-off.
The new dining area's black granite island is now his favourite part of the entire home.
“I could do so many things with this island. It’s like a centrepiece for me,” he said.
Given that he is the founder of livestreaming platform Star Live, the space could come in handy for work too.
“I can do live streaming, podcasts; I can do a full food show here,” he said.
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曹先生交出了组屋的钥匙，没有参与装修过程——结果却发现两间卧室中有一间不见了。
Terence Cao最近翻新了他的房子。（图片来源：Instagram/koocester）
这段音频由人工智能工具生成。
你对你的室内设计师有多信任？信任到愿意把钥匙交给他们，直到装修完成才去看他们在你家做什么吗？
显然，如果你是曹国强的话，答案是肯定的。
这位新加坡演员最近带领大家参观了他新装修的房子，这是一套位于大巴窑、已有近60年历史的组屋。他透露，他几乎完全放手让室内设计师自由发挥。
从房屋装修前的平面图和视频来看，这似乎是一套三室两厅的公寓。
他的指示出奇地简单：房子必须实用。
“我告诉他们，‘这是我的钥匙。在你们把房子交付之前，什么都别问我。甚至别打电话，’” 58 岁的曹在生活方式媒体平台 Koocester 发布的一段 Instagram 视频中说道。
“不！”他毫不犹豫地回答道，“因为我信任他们。”
看来他完全不参与设计过程的决定是明智的。
曹宇森在家中。（图片来源：YouTube/The Sixides Channel）
曹先生回忆起第一次看到竣工的房子时说：“他们做得远超我的预期。对我来说，这简直太不可思议了。”
这套住宅采用工业风设计，墙面保留了原始纹理，搭配不锈钢饰面和深色调，并以亮眼的焦橙色和红色点缀。复古的通风砖块也为空间增添了特色。
此次翻新工程是合作项目的一部分，由各方赞助，但曹透露，如果由各方自行决定，费用将达到“六位数”。
曹国强与这套公寓有着很深的渊源。
“我其实就住在这个街区，”他说。“我明年就60岁了。这条街也差不多有60年的历史了。”
翻新一栋近六十年的老房子面临着诸多挑战，设计师们不得不克服现有的梁柱、管道和其他结构缺陷。
他们没有与这些障碍物对抗，而是利用弧形吊顶和隔断墙，在客厅和厨房之间创造了更流畅的动线。
给予他的ID完全的创作自由也意味着曹天成将会遇到一些意想不到的情况。
最大的变化是什么？其中一间卧室被改造成了一个宽敞的用餐区，一个时尚的黑色花岗岩岛台占据了中心位置。
“我进来的时候完全懵了。我说，‘嘿，我丢了一个房间，’”他回忆道。
与此同时，他剩下的卧室则隐藏在一扇不锈钢暗门后面，而且刻意布置得十分简朴。
“这里是我真正休息、恢复、恢复精力的地方，”曹说道，并补充说他不应该在卧室里待太久，因为他“应该更高效地工作”。
这是曹国强家里的起居空间。（图片：Instagram/koocester）
至于他“失去”的那间房间，曹似乎对这样的交换非常满意。
现在，新餐厅的黑色花岗岩岛台成了他整个家中最喜欢的部分。
“我可以利用这座岛屿做很多事情。它对我来说就像一件艺术品，”他说。
鉴于他是直播平台 Star Live 的创始人，这个空间对他的工作也可能很有帮助。
“我可以做直播、播客；我可以在这里做一个完整的美食节目，”他说。
本文最初发表于《8Days》杂志。
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