7 Best Interior Design & Renovation Firms in Singapore 2026: HDB Registration, CaseTrust Status, BTO & Resale Costs

WE SEARCHED HDB'S DIRECTORY OF RENOVATION CONTRACTORS (DRC) FOR EVERY FIRM IN THIS GUIDE ON 28 AUGUST 2026 AND RE-RAN THE WHOLE SEARCH ON 7 SEPTEMBER 2026, WHEN EVERY REFERENCE NUMBER CAME BACK UNCHANGED. LISTED, with the reference number to check against your quotation: SWISS INTERIOR PTE. LTD. (CA003078C, 70 Ubi Crescent #01-10); WEIKEN.COM DESIGN PTE. LTD. (CA000437B, 18 Boon Lay Way, Tradehub 21); ICON INTERIOR DESIGN PTE. LTD. (CA002252G, 441 MacPherson Road); CARPENTERS DESIGN GROUP PTE. LTD. (CA102547C, 62 Ubi Road 1, Oxley Bizhub 2); FREE SPACE PTE. LTD. (CA000231H, 8 Ubi Road 2, Zervex). NOT LISTED: AKIHAUS and MR SHOPPER STUDIO returned no record, and neither claims HDB registration on its own website. WHAT 'NOT LISTED' ACTUALLY MEANS: it is not a black mark and it does not mean your flat cannot be renovated by them. Design studios routinely and legitimately appoint a DRC-listed renovation contractor to carry out the works. The consequence is one of accountability: for an HDB flat, hacking and structural-related works must be done by a DRC-listed contractor, and that contractor is the party HDB holds responsible, not the design studio. So ask which contractor will do the works, get its DRC reference number in writing, and check it yourself. For a condo or landed property, DRC listing is not required and this whole question is moot. TWO ENTITY TRAPS THIS SEARCH EXPOSED: (1) Swiss Interior's own website names three companies (Swiss Interior Signature Pte Ltd 201908060D, Swiss Interior Pte Ltd 201222630E, Swiss Interior Design Pte Ltd 201404543Z) but only SWISS INTERIOR PTE. LTD. is in the DRC. (2) HDB returns TWO Weiken entries at the same address: WEIKEN.COM DESIGN PTE. LTD. (CA000437B), which carries the CaseTrust flag, and WEIKEN GROUP (CA000552D), which does not. The brand on the signboard is not the entity on the register, so match the DRC record to the exact name printed on your quotation. HOW TO CHECK ANY CONTRACTOR YOURSELF: search HDB's DRC by company name, then match the returned company name AND address to the quotation you have been given. A name that nearly matches is not a match.

LIVSPACE WAS NO. 8 IN THE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THIS GUIDE AND HAS BEEN REMOVED, because the ways a Singapore homeowner could actually reach it have closed one by one. WHAT WE FOUND ON 28 AUGUST 2026: (1) livspace.com/sg no longer serves a Singapore site, it redirects to the India site with rupee pricing, and Livspace's own robots.txt states that only the /in/ region is active and that /sg/ is deprecated. (2) livspace.sg does not resolve at all. (3) Its Qanvast profile, which this guide previously told readers to use INSTEAD of the dead .com/sg link, now displays 'This firm's portfolio is not available on Qanvast' with no portfolio and no enquiry route, leaving only 204 historical reviews. (4) The @livspacesg Instagram account returns a 404. (5) It does not appear in HDB's Directory of Renovation Contractors, so it could not carry out HDB renovation works itself in any case. IS THE COMPANY GONE? Not legally. LIVSPACE PTE. LTD. (UEN 201215969R, incorporated 28 June 2012) is still recorded as a LIVE COMPANY with ACRA. But its registered address is now 60 Paya Lebar Road #12-18, Paya Lebar Square, Singapore 409051, NOT the 101 Thomson Road, United Square office that this guide and other roundups previously cited. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU: the entire reason to choose a platform over a traditional firm was fixed-price quotes plus a warranty serviced locally. With no Singapore website, no working enquiry route and no HDB registration, there is no longer a dependable way to obtain either. If you are MID-RENOVATION or hold an existing Livspace warranty, do not rely on the old web contacts. Put your request in writing to the registered Paya Lebar Square address, keep your signed quotation and payment records, and if you engaged them through Qanvast check whether you opted into the Qanvast Guarantee within the 7-day window, since that scheme pays out on insolvency. Note that a Live Company status means the insolvency trigger is not met today.

TYPICAL 2026 BALLPARK RANGES (these vary hugely by scope, materials, carpentry volume and finish level, so treat them as a starting reference and not a quote): HDB BTO, meaning a new flat needing minimal hacking: 3-room ~S$35,000-50,000; 4-room ~S$45,000-65,000; 5-room or executive ~S$55,000-80,000. RESALE FLATS: typically 30-50% MORE than an equivalent BTO, because older flats need more hacking, full rewiring, replumbing, possible structural and waterproofing works, and removal of the previous owner's fittings. A 4-room resale can easily run S$60,000-90,000+. CONDOS: highly variable at roughly S$60,000-120,000+ depending on size, whether it is new (developer-finished, so less work) or resale, and the finish level. High-end condo and landed projects go well beyond. WHAT DRIVES THE NUMBER: (1) CARPENTRY is usually the single biggest line item (built-in wardrobes, kitchen cabinets, feature walls), so more carpentry means more cost. (2) Hacking and masonry, meaning removing walls and re-tiling. (3) Electrical rewiring and additional points. (4) Material and finish tier, such as laminate versus quartz versus sintered stone. (5) Whether you need new windows, aircon or sanitary ware. MONEY-SAVING LEVERS: keep the existing layout so you avoid hacking walls, reduce custom carpentry by using freestanding furniture, choose mid-tier materials, and do not over-spec rooms you will rarely use. BUDGET BUFFER: always hold back a 10-15% contingency for variation orders and surprises, especially in resale flats where hidden issues surface once hacking starts. Get the written quote and compare scope line by line across 2-3 firms, because the lowest bottom-line number often just means items were left out.

THE HEADLINE: request quotes through Qanvast and you join the free Trust Programme, whose QANVAST GUARANTEE covers 50% of your contract value up to S$50,000 if the recommended firm BECOMES INSOLVENT. Now the parts that decide whether you are covered at all. GATE 1, ELIGIBILITY, AND THIS IS THE BIG ONE: the Guarantee applies only where you engage an ELIGIBLE service provider through Qanvast's quote-request feature, direct enquiry feature or events. Qanvast states plainly that homeowners who contact an INELIGIBLE service provider on Qanvast, or who approach a firm directly outside Qanvast, will not qualify, and its own Trust Programme page footnotes the Guarantee as applying to selected interior firms. Being listed on Qanvast is therefore NOT the same as being covered. Confirm the specific firm's eligibility before you sign, not after. GATE 2, THE TRIGGER: it pays on INSOLVENCY of the firm. Shoddy workmanship, delays, or a contractor who simply stops replying are not claimable events. GATE 3, IT IS NOT AN ESCROW: it is claim-based. Qanvast does not hold your renovation money and does not release it by milestone, so it does not replace your own milestone payment schedule. GATE 4, THE PAYOUT IS NETTED AGAINST WORK COMPLETED, which most write-ups omit and which is where expectations break. Qanvast's own worked examples: on a S$100,000 contract with S$30,000 paid and no work done, you can claim up to S$30,000. On a S$50,000 contract with S$30,000 paid, the 50% rule caps you at S$25,000. And on a S$100,000 contract with S$30,000 paid where S$20,000 of work was completed, you can claim just S$10,000. GATE 5, THE DEADLINES: opt in within 7 days of the signed quotation by submitting a PDF of it, and resubmit within 7 days for any variation order, otherwise the payout is based on the initial quotation sum. Cover runs 270 days from the first signed quotation or until the renovation is paid in full, whichever comes first. Qanvast caps payouts at four a year and S$100,000 in aggregate, excludes post-renovation rectifications and warranties issued by the firm itself, and applies only to recommendations made from 1 September 2016. THE REST OF THE TRUST PROGRAMME: REFUNDABLE DEPOSITS, precisely defined as getting your money back if you change your mind within 7 days of signing the contract AND no work has been carried out, plus EXTENDED WARRANTY of up to 12 months, but only if your chosen firm has opted into that scheme, so ask, because it is not automatic. DISCLOSURE: Qanvast has been majority-owned by Livspace since December 2021.

WE CHECKED CASE'S OWN ACCREDITED-BUSINESS REGISTER ON 7 SEPTEMBER 2026, AFTER IT CAME BACK ONLINE FOLLOWING THE SERVER ERROR THAT BLOCKED OUR AUGUST CHECK. FOUR OF THE SEVEN ARE ACCREDITED, and the name on the accreditation is not always the name in HDB's directory. (1) WEIKEN.COM DESIGN PTE LTD, CaseTrust GOLD Accreditation Scheme for Renovation Businesses, 18 Boon Lay Way, expiring 10 August 2030. Gold is rare: there are only four Gold-accredited renovation businesses on the whole register, so this is genuinely the strongest paper protection on this list. (2) ICON INTERIOR DESIGN PTE LTD, CaseTrust Accreditation for Renovation Businesses, 441 MacPherson Road, expiring 4 March 2030. Icon does not mention CaseTrust anywhere on its own website, so you would never learn this from the firm. (3) SWISS INTERIOR SIGNATURE PTE LTD, CaseTrust Accreditation for Renovation Businesses, 70 Ubi Crescent, expiring 19 June 2029. Note this is NOT the entity in HDB's DRC, which is Swiss Interior Pte Ltd. (4) CARPENTERS.COM.SG PTE LTD, CaseTrust-RCMA Joint Accreditation for Renovation Businesses, 62 Ubi Road 1, expiring 1 December 2028. Again NOT the DRC entity, which is Carpenters Design Group Pte Ltd. NOT ON THE REGISTER: FREE SPACE, AKIHAUS and MR SHOPPER STUDIO. THE TRAP TO AVOID: HDB's DRC has its own CaseTrust column, and it flags only Weiken.com Design out of these seven. A blank there is not proof a firm is unaccredited, it only means HDB has not flagged that record. WHY THE ENTITY MATTERS: the value of CaseTrust accreditation is the deposit performance bond that protects your deposit if the firm is wound up, plus the standard renovation contract and the audited dispute-resolution process. All of that attaches to the accredited COMPANY. If your quotation is issued by the group's other company, you are not signing with the accredited one. Ask which entity signs, ask for the certificate, and check both registers yourself.

RENOVATION HORROR STORIES ALMOST ALWAYS TRACE BACK TO SKIPPED DUE DILIGENCE. THE CHECKLIST: (1) HDB DRC LISTING. For an HDB flat the renovation contractor must be listed in HDB's Directory of Renovation Contractors. Search it by company name and match BOTH the returned company name and its address to your quotation. Contractors are listed for two years at a time, so a listing is a snapshot, not a permanent status. (2) CASETRUST-RCMA ACCREDITATION. Look for firms jointly accredited under CaseTrust and RCMA, the Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association, a joint scheme running since 2014. Accredited firms use a STANDARD RENOVATION CONTRACT, are audited on advertising and dispute-resolution practices, and must carry a DEPOSIT PERFORMANCE BOND protecting your deposit if the firm closes or is liquidated. The scheme is tiered, so ask which tier and see the certificate with its expiry date. AND CHECK THE RIGHT REGISTER: HDB's DRC carries a CaseTrust flag, but it is not the register and it under-reports. On this list HDB flags only Weiken.com Design, while CASE's own accredited-business list shows four of the seven accredited. Search CASE's list, not HDB's flag, and note which company name the accreditation sits on. (3) THE QANVAST GUARANTEE, with the eligibility gate covered in its own FAQ above. It is an insolvency backstop, not a workmanship guarantee, and not an escrow. (4) MILESTONE PAYMENT SCHEDULE. Insist on payments tied to completed stages and never pay a large lump sum upfront. A firm demanding 50% or more before work meaningfully starts is a red flag. (5) EVERYTHING IN WRITING: every item, material, dimension and brand. Verbal promises are worthless. (6) REVIEWS AND COMPLETED PROJECTS. Read recent Google and Qanvast reviews looking for project-management and after-sales complaints rather than pretty photos, and ask to see completed projects in your flat type. (7) THE ACTUAL DESIGNER. At larger firms your assigned designer matters more than the brand, so vet their personal portfolio. RED FLAGS: pressure to sign a today-only deal, reluctance to put things in writing, no fixed address or showroom, quotes far below everyone else because corners will be cut, and large upfront deposits. Get at least three quotes.

AN INTERIOR DESIGN (ID) FIRM sells design plus project management plus build under one roof, so there is a single point of accountability. You describe the home you want, they produce the concept, 3D visuals and material selections, then coordinate every trade. This is what most BTO and condo owners actually want, and you pay a premium for the coordination. A RENOVATION CONTRACTOR executes works without design direction. You bring the drawings and decisions, they build. It is cheaper, sometimes substantially, but you are the project manager, and if you have not run a renovation before that is a real job with real downside. Note that for HDB flats the DRC listing requirement attaches to whoever CARRIES OUT the works, which is why an ID firm that is not itself DRC-listed must appoint one that is. QANVAST is neither. It is a discovery and shortlisting platform: you browse portfolios and reviews, request quotes, and it introduces you to firms. Its commercial model means firms pay to be there, so treat its shortlist as a starting point rather than an objective ranking, and cross-check against firms you find elsewhere. Its genuine added value is the Trust Programme, and specifically the Qanvast Guarantee, which is an INSOLVENCY safety net subject to the eligibility gate described above, not a quality guarantee and not an escrow. DISCLOSURE: Qanvast has been majority-owned by Livspace since December 2021. THE PRACTICAL COMBINATION: shortlist through Qanvast for the comparison and the potential Guarantee cover, confirm the firm is an eligible service provider before signing, check the firm or its appointed contractor in HDB's DRC yourself, and still get quotes from at least one firm you found independently.

START 2-3 MONTHS BEFORE KEY COLLECTION. The work itself is the short part; the queue in front of it is what catches people out. A REALISTIC TIMELINE: research and shortlist, start 2-3 months out. Quotes from 3-5 firms plus meeting the actual designers, 2-4 weeks. Compare, negotiate and choose, 1-2 weeks. Design, 3D visuals, material selection and contract, 2-4 weeks. Build for a BTO, 6-10 weeks. Build for a resale flat, 10-16+ weeks, because hacking and rewiring add both time and the risk of surprises once walls are open. FOR HDB BTO SPECIFICALLY: you can only start renovating after key collection, but you should engage your firm and finalise the design BEFORE keys so that works begin immediately. Popular designers book out weeks ahead, and a good one who is free next Monday is often a signal rather than luck. ADD BUFFER FOR: the HDB renovation permit, which your DRC-listed contractor applies for; lead times on imported tiles, sintered stone and appliances, which routinely run 4-8 weeks; and the defects rectification period after handover. If you are renting while renovating, do not sign a lease that ends the week the build is scheduled to finish, because renovations very rarely finish early.

THERE ISN'T ONE, and any list that crowns a universal winner is usually selling that position. QUALITY IS DELIVERED BY THE DESIGNER ASSIGNED TO YOU, NOT THE COMPANY LOGO. The same firm produces flawless homes and horror stories in the same year depending on who picks up your file, which is why review averages across a large firm tell you much less than three completed projects by the specific person who will handle yours. SO PICK BY TIER, NOT RANK. If you are a first-time BTO owner who wants hand-holding, go established full-service (Swiss Interior, Weiken.com, Icon Interior Design) for a structured process and the lowest risk. If you are renovating a condo or landed home and design comes first, go design-led (The Carpenters Design Group, Free Space Intent, Akihaus), where you are buying a point of view. If you are fighting a small or awkward layout, go boutique space-planner (Mr Shopper Studio), because storage is the real problem. THEN APPLY THE OBJECTIVE FILTERS, which is where most 'top 10' lists stop short. Is the firm, or the contractor it will appoint, listed in HDB's DRC (see the first FAQ for every firm here)? Is it CaseTrust accredited, and can it show the certificate? Is it an eligible service provider for the Qanvast Guarantee? Those three questions are verifiable against a register. 'Award-winning' and 'trusted since' are not. THE ONLY RANKING THAT MATTERS IS YOURS: shortlist 3-5 firms WITHIN ONE TIER, quote them on identical scope, meet the actual designers, and pick the best completed work in YOUR flat type. A 7th-ranked firm in the right tier beats a no. 1 in the wrong one.