HDB Renovation Guide Singapore: Open vs Closed Kitchens
The HDB Renovation Guide Singapore on kitchens says one thing first: you can open up a wall, but only a non-structural one with a permit. For 2025 BTO and resale flats, an open kitchen feels bigger and brighter, yet a closed one controls oil and smell. Decide by how much you fry, not by Instagram.
What HDB lets you knock down
You may hack non-structural walls only with a renovation permit from a contractor on HDB's Directory of Renovation Contractors. Structural walls, beams and columns are off limits, and removing an RC ledge is banned. Permits take up to 3 weeks, simple cases 3 to 7 days, and stay valid 3 months for BTO, 1 month for resale.
Quiet works like painting need no permit. Noisy hacking runs 9am to 5pm weekdays only, never Sundays or public holidays.
Before you commit, line up the permit timing with the rest of the job. A BTO flat carries a one-year defect liability period with the builder and HDB, so any hacking should fit inside that window rather than fight it. Resale work runs 12 to 16 weeks from keys to handover and costs 20 to 40% more than a BTO package, which is one more reason to keep the wall change small and avoid touching the structural frame.
HDB Renovation Guide Singapore: the wet-dry kitchen split
Many Singapore homes use a wet kitchen for heavy wok work and a dry kitchen for toast and coffee. You keep the closed wet zone for frying, open the dry side to the living room. It is the practical middle ground and fits 5-room and Executive layouts well.
- Keep the wet zone closed with its own hood.
- Open only the dry prep and sink area.
- Add a glass partition if you want light without smell.
Open-concept pros and cons
An open kitchen joins the cook and the living room, great for small 3-room and 4-room flats. Light flows and the flat reads larger. The catch is smell. Singapore stir-fry throws oil vapour that settles on the sofa if there is no wall to stop it.
- Pros: brighter space, easier to watch kids, more social cooking.
- Cons: odour spreads, less storage wall, noisier living area.
Ventilation is the real decider
A strong cooker hood is non-negotiable in an open HDB kitchen. Pick at least 1000m3 per hour suction and duct it out a window if you can. Without good extraction, open concept turns into a flat that smells of last night's sambal.
Closed still has a place
If you fry fish and curry weekly, a closed kitchen protects the whole flat. You lose some light but gain a calm living room. I've seen open-kitchen buyers regret it by month three of daily deep-frying.
Match the wall you open to how you cook and what your permit allows. A half-open wet-dry split gives most Singapore families the light they want and the smell control they need.
In this HDB Renovation Guide Singapore, the budget split should guide the call. Carpentry and cabinets take about 40% of a typical 4-room BTO reno of S$30k to S$66k, while ventilation and electrical come to roughly 25%. Spend that carpentry money on a proper hood duct and sealed cabinets, not open shelving you will regret by month six. Hold back 10 to 15% as contingency for the surprises hacking throws up.
