The HDB corridor is an iconic facet of life in Singapore, connecting you to and fro the outside world and serving as a public facade of one’s sanctuary. Whether you want to glam up your corridor space for the sake of personalisation or wish to achieve high-level aesthetics that will wow guests and passers-by alike, here are ideas for HDB corridor transformations in Singapore.
Of course, there are limits to how much you can alter the appearance and accessibility of a space that’s ultimately public and shared. Apart from design inspo, we’ve also included a breakdown of guidelines for HDB corridor transformations – dos and don’ts to prevent you from getting into trouble with HDB and NEA, or inducing the chagrin of your neighbours.
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Image credit: SQ Feed
You may recall the Tampines HDB corridor fish tank incident, where a built-in koi tank outside a ground-floor unit was ordered to be dismantled. Prior to the intervention from the town council as well as HDB itself, the homeowners were actually able to maintain their pretty tank for 3 whole years.
Alas, it was ordered to be removed as the construction of an attached fish tank violated a series of HDB guidelines. Even if you’re not planning on setting up a mini aquarium outside of your home, there are two HDB corridor rules to be mindful of when decorating.
Firstly, you should have no obstructions to the means of escape, which includes the corridor and staircases. Corridors have to maintain a clearance of at least 1.2m in width. This also means that installing fixed laundry racks is not allowed, but collapsible ones are still a-okay. Besides enabling a swift escape in emergencies, this is also the minimum clearance needed for wheelchair and stretcher access.
The second rule is to avoid excessive storage of combustibles. This includes shoe boxes, cardboard boxes, stacks of newspaper, and so on. When in doubt, a clutter-free corridor poses the least fire hazard. That said, residents often utilise the outdoor space to keep belongings handy, be it shoe racks for quick and easy access or a stash of cardboard boxes saved for recycling.
We assume that decorating your corridor with adornments to a certain degree is fine – at your own discretion as HDB has not released any hard and fast rules as to how much is too much.
Read up on the full set of HDB corridor guidelines.
Fix magnets to the back of the pieces and the game board before hanging it up.
Image credit: Shopee
Turn coming home into an interactive experience with a hanging board game on your corridor wall. You can find versions of games like chess, snakes and ladders, and tic-tac-toe online that can be hung onto walls.
Or, DIY your own using recycled cardboard. You can cover your board game with the furry side of velcro, then have the backings of game pieces covered in the hooks side. This way you’re less likely to lose pieces. You can also use a magnetic board with magnets as tokens as well.
Make sure that your game isn’t too big and is hung up with removable hooks that won’t damage the wall to avoid paying for damages and repairs.
Get magnetic board games.
Image credit: BERITAmediacorp/Nurulkhasanah Agost
For those of you who want an extra place to rest your legs and get some fresh air, try setting up a set of folding tables and chairs in your corridor. This is one of the easiest ways to make your corridor feel more like your own and can be the perfect place to have your morning cuppa.
As long as you abide by the spacing rule and keep the furniture folded on the side when not in use, you can have your mini-cafe just outside your door.
Image adapted from: Francis Yeo via Facebook
This one’s for green-thumbed folk who want to expand their home gardens beyond interior confines. Opt for a vertical garden so you can stack your plants upwards, instead of cluttering the public walkway with bulky pots.
This also means you won’t have to weave through a maze and struggle to reach the inner pots when watering your plant babies, and are safe from infringing on your neighbours’ territory. Going vertical also allows your plants to capture the most light, so it’s a win-win-win!
Image adapted from: Shopee
This is a wise investment for those who go on frequent online shopping sprees, and rack up purchases that are too big to squeeze into the letterbox. Most schedules don’t allow sitting by the door on standby to wait for your parcel, meaning you’ll either have to collect it at the post office or instruct the delivery person to place it outside – running the risk of stolen mail.
Installing a password-protected delivery box along the corridor means you can set one-time passwords for your delivery person to unlock and safely deposit your loot within. It also doubles as a receptacle for food deliveries so you can have contactless collection, or for friends and family to drop by and pass you items securely – even if you’re not around to receive them.
Get your own digital parcel delivery box.
Image adapted from: Renonation and Filmplace
Besides amping up the aesthetic factor tenfold and making the surroundings of your HDB unit look straight out of an interior design magazine, temporary textured flooring is also quick and easy to install and dismantle – perfect for those who like to switch things up on the regular. It’s akin to mixing and matching customised flooring on games like The Sims and Pet Society.
Fake grass patches give your entrance the illusion of a luscious front yard, which is a fantasy for many of us concrete jungle dwellers. Adding some cobblestone or wood flooring tiles also creates a designated area for visitors to remove their footwear without having to step onto the dirtied ground.
Jazz up the entrance of your home with some DIY cafe aesthetics. Setting up a chalkboard or pasting a small sheet of adhesive chalkboard wallpaper lets you express your creativity and come up with new doodles whenever inspiration hits.
Do note that HDB and town councils have regulations surrounding wall decorations along public corridors, so we suggest you paste small and modest pieces of chalkboard wallpaper instead of transforming the entire wall black.
Use it to design warm and personalised welcome greetings for your house guests, especially when it comes to livening up the mood for a special occasion. It also serves as an effective way to convey announcements and things to note for visitors including postmen delivery riders – telling them “Doorbell is broken, please knock”, for instance.
Get a roll of adhesive chalkboard wallpaper.
Take note that while you can’t paint directly onto HDB corridor walls, you can explore painting on easy-to-remove paper cutouts to attach.
Image adapted from: @ndrhdiary via Facebook
Hardcore Instagrammers are always on the lookout for picturesque photo spots, but you don’t have to venture far when your abode itself serves as a prime backdrop for OOTDs at home. Let your creativity run wild and adorn your corridor with themed decorations and wallpaper – while adhering to HDB guidelines and not contributing to significant amounts of clutter, of course.
This will level-up your pre-outing pics, in comparison to plain void deck walls or a lift lobby backdrop that any Singaporean would recognise immediately. And since your photo spot is by the corridor, you’ll be able to capture floods of natural lighting in the daytime, and golden hour sun rays come dusk.
Image credit: The Local INN.terior
If the rules for the corridor seem too stringent to work around, you can still add a bit of pizazz to your flat’s exterior with unique front door designs. Some of these include repainting your doors with a new colour or pattern, installing a decorative gate, or redesigning the house number sign.
There are guidelines you’ll need to adhere to, so consult your interior designer when asking your home reno questions about the safety and feasibility of your ideas.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to home decor and renovations to transform your sanctuary, but tailoring your HDB corridor – in terms of both style and functionality – comes with its own set of rules. The last thing you’d want is to land yourself in hot water over a corridor transformation project, or contribute to safety hazards in the event of a fire or medical emergency.
These ideas allow you to explore utilising the corridor space, inviting nature and even creating a designated area of parcel reception or daily announcements. The best part is, they’re all relatively low-maintenance and can be shifted or stowed away if need be.
If you’d still like to take the reins over your corridor decorating, consider purchasing your HDB access corridor. Only certain resale flats built before 1996 are eligible, so check under the Sale of Recess Area for the criteria before you put in a purchase application. That said, if you do manage to get it, you’ll have more freedom over this space, since the area isn’t shared with the public anymore.
Check out our other home guides:
Cover image adapted from: Francis Yeo via Facebook and Renonation
Originally published on 3rd February 2021. Last updated by Ezekiel Sen on 22nd March 2024.
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