A Fashionable Life: Inside Natasha Conceicao And Erwin Chong’s Brutalist-Style Creative Haven
The content creators intend to work hard and play hard, even at home.
By Nicole Ng - published
Like many young people exposed to content from around the world and encouraged to embrace individuality, Natasha Conceicao, 29, and Erwin Chong, 32, embody a restless, experimental and creative energy.
The duo—who go by @onericeplease on Instagram and TikTok—as well as their playful Munchkin cat, Chamo, wanted a space where they could combine work, rest, play and connection; and a home that would reflect their authentic interests. It might seem like a tall order, but the duo’s picture-perfect 1,011sqft built-to-order apartment, which looks out to a serene view of Bedok Reservoir, checks all the boxes.
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A shelf in their living room holding the Miniot Wheel 3 record player and a Lady Dior bag.
The home, covered floor to ceiling in grey limewash, is filled with steel furniture and accents. Apart from a pastel green Sabrina Carpenter record spinning on a Miniot record player—Chong’s splurge from his time in Holland—and personal touches such as a Kuromi-covered Nintendo Switch and a Loewe candle, the apartment is monochromatic. This is not a common look that Singaporeans go for, as Chong points out: “A lot of people may not be in tune with it because it feels cold to them, but we like this style because it’s in our personalities.”
The wall dividing their living room and study area features a spinning shelf.
The home is heavily influenced by Brutalist design, particularly the work of Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who is best known for his chapels and other concrete builds that emphasise light and austere simplicity. “When we were first working on our home, we talked a lot about Tadao Ando and how he plays with light coming into the space,” Conceicao reflects on their primary inspiration. “We needed to bring in light into our space because of how our home is positioned; it does get dark in the afternoons.”
The couple’s cat, Chamo, in the living room, which features a Samsung Frame Pro television and a console made up of a variety of bricks, which produces less dust.
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Their solution? A stretched ceiling in their living room that mimics two large skylights, a feature inspired by the lighting at an Apple store. Lighting, in the shape of a spiral and covered by a fabric membrane, creates a diffused glow and casts minimal shadows. This setting has become crucial to the two content creators, who needed a powerful light source for filming at odd hours; at the same time, it allows for a cosier atmosphere for hosting family and friends.
Conceicao in the living room, a space where the couple spends most of their time.
Such features are a result of living and shooting in their previous rental apartment, which was comparatively smaller and darker. “We faced a lot of constraints then. We didn’t have good angles for shooting and we didn’t have great lighting even in the daytime,” Conceicao recalls. “We wanted to make almost every part of our home filmable.”
The pair on the couch, which can be reconfigured to form a conversation pit.
Finding furnishings that were consistent with their Brutalist theme proved to be a challenge, but the resourceful pair overcame this with research and some out-of-the-box thinking. Grey standing desks were found after a long period of searching and their air conditioners are covered in matching vinyl, courtesy of three freelance car wrapping professionals Chong found on Carousell. The couch, a spot where the couple spends much of their time, was shipped from Foshan, China, widely known as the furniture capital of the world. The piece is modular, consisting of a long section and two short ones. “The idea for this was a conversation pit,” Chong shares, referencing the retro living room feature popular on social media in recent years. “We wanted to replicate it even though we don’t have much space. You can rearrange the couch into a giant square block to fit everyone.”
Conceicao in front of their custom-built shoe rack.
Custom builds here are not merely decorative accents, but fully functional centrepieces. The spinning shelf, which sits between Conceicao’s desk and the living room, allows sunlight to stream into the study, and the recessed shoe rack by the entrance reveals their soft spot for fashion grails. “We do create a lot of food content, but she really loves fashion,” Chong says of Conceicao, who proudly shows off a shoe collection—from sculptural Julian Hakes heels to Rick Owens sneakers—that occupies three of four floor-to-ceiling vertical drawers.
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The Mojito heels by Julian Hakes.
The idea for the shoe rack was also dreamt up by Conceicao, a self- professed “fashion girlie”, who was inspired by the cabinets in museums filled with archival material as well as KKPL’s (Koncept Kreation Private Limited) sleek spice racks.
Conceicao and Chong’s favourite accessories on an Hermès plate and a decor piece called Ash, by US-based designer Ukii.
The pair maintains that being fully committed to one’s vision is critical for those looking to design their own home. “We didn’t want to compromise if something wasn’t ready. It took us a little longer, but we have no regrets,” Conceicao says of their six-month-long renovation process, where they routinely swatched paint colours; imported smoother, more decor-friendly bricks from China; and gathered knick-knacks from buzzy lifestyle brands such as Dulton. “There’s nothing I would change, apart from small fixtures and some upgrades, but I’m very happy with it. I don’t want to leave my home.”
Art direction: Alice Chua and Sheryl Seah
Creative direction: Windy Aulia
Photographer: Isabelle Seah
Styling: Aaron Kok and Windy Aulia