6 Interior Design Tips To Bring Your Elderly Parents Back In Time

Do you remember what your home looked like when you were younger? Local housing has changed tremendously since then, but some design tips and tricks from the past remain. Have your parents ever reminisced with you how their homes were like back in their day?

Incorporating bits and pieces from their best moments into your home decor will not just pay ownage to Singapore’s past, but it will also give your parents a nice blast from the past. The number of shops here that specialise in vintage furniture is sufficient for giving your home that retro vibe from Singapore's history.

Here are six things you can incorporate into your home to give your beloved parents that sweet nostalgic ambience.

1. Rattan/Teak Furniture

As a child, you may have enjoyed climbing over sofas crafted from wood, their parts tied together with rattan twine and furnished with slim cushions that can easily slip out of place if you moved too much.

Today, our holstery comes in all forms of shapes, sizes, and materials. But traditional wooden furniture would never be discounted due to the warmth and cosiness it can give a space. Many furniture stores, from the big players to the small roadsiders, offer a variety of wooden furniture in varying styles, so your parents would always find something they love.

Kul Sofa 2-Seater from Scanteak, $1,658. Image © Scanteak

Interior Design + Image © Yujia Interior Design

2. Terrazzo Flooring

As a child, you may have remembered crawling or waddling all over this kind of flooring. You may have even caught glimpses of it when browsing through your childhood photos. Perhaps you have seen it when you visit shopping malls and cinemas. Despite wooden laminates and vinyl flooring being today’s trends, terrazzo flooring is a classic well-loved surface, and it remains widespread across both residential and commercial properties.

Terrazzo comprises of surface chips (marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable materials) mixed with granite or plastic components before being treated and laid onto surfaces. Back in the day, it was much sought after due to its low costs and simple design. Today, terrazzo flooring and terrazzo-esque patterns can be found in various surfaces, including flooring, laminates, and even kitchen countertops.

Interior Design + Image © Yujia Interior Design

Interior Design + Image © Yujia Interior Design

3. Mosaic Ceramic Tiles

Square, ceramic tiles — another classic, well-loved trait of interior design. Throughout the years, ceramic tiles have come in varying sizes, colours, and designs. In the past, you may have seen dozens of tiny one-inch squares on your floors and walls. Or big white ones on your countertops and walls.

Today, they still make frequent appearances in the modern homes, sprinkled along the walls of your kitchen and bathroom. For that retro vibe, go for tiny mosaic tiles in muted pastels or warms. If you want your home to have a bit of whimsy, go for tiles with big monochromatic floral designs.

Interior Design + Image © Absolook Interior Design

Interior Design + Image © Absolook Interior Design

4. Metal Window Grilles

Intricate metal window grilles were a staple of interior design in old Singapore, a far cry from the invisible ones we have today. These grilles were not just straight lines, coming in a variety of bold geometrical designs. Today, these vintage metal grilles may not be used for windows anymore, but they still make appearances as wall decor, dividers, and partitions, adding bits of nostalgia to any space. Teetfa is a local company that custom-makes such metal grilles.

Interior Design + Image © Absolook Interior Design

Interior Design + Image © H2O Interior Renovation

Interior Design + Image © Teetfa

5. Concrete Ventilation Blocks

Like the geometrical window grilles mentioned above, concrete ventilation blocks were also common back in the day, providing natural lighting and ventilation prior to the age of air-conditioning. They were versatile, essential pieces, and could be found in any kind of property regardless of social class. Today, they can be found in our homes either as decorative pieces or as built-in partitions.

Interior Design + Image © Fuse Concept

6. Stand-Alone Vintage Carpentry

Built-in carpentry with wooden patterns may be the in-thing for today’s homes, but stand-alone furniture would always have a place in both our hearts and homes. We still use stand-alone carpentry today, whether they are display cabinets, bed frames, TV consoles, or whichever this list accommodates. Some of them do not just come in conventional wooden patterns, but also in bright colours like green, red, and blue. This amps up the vintage vibe in any space, and also allows for space versatility due to these pieces’ portability.

Interior Design + Image © First Dot Design Pte Ltd

Interior Design + Image © H2O Interior Renovation

Interior Design + Image © Yujia Interior Design

Interior design themes you can weave these tips in include retro, resort, vintage, Asian, and industrial. Of course, other design themes are open but be sure to maintain an aesthetic balance by pairing your furniture with the design of your walls and floors if you want your home to look presentable.

What other tips can you pull up from your childhood memories that you can use to design your home?