The 57-year-old star says shrinking his home to roughly 409 square feet has made life simpler, cheaper on effort and easier to clean.
Singaporean actor Thomas Ong has moved out of a three-room public housing flat into a two-room unit measuring just 38 square metres, and he says the switch has been the best thing to happen to him this year.
The 57-year-old announced the move on Facebook, where he has been posting pictures of the new place for months. He has already been living there for over a month, Channel News Asia reports.
A wish that took a year and a half
Ong first said in 2024 that he wanted to apply for a two-room Flexi flat. Flexi units are among the smallest categories of flats built by Singapore's Housing and Development Board (HDB), the state agency that builds and sells subsidised homes to most Singaporeans.
He applied twice and waited about 18 months before finally getting a unit this year through the Sale of Balance Flats exercise, a scheme where leftover or returned flats from earlier sales are offered to new buyers.
At 38 square metres, or about 409 square feet, the flat is roughly half the size of a typical three-room unit.
"Two steps and I'm in the bedroom"
Ong, who calls himself "Lao Wang" online, has not pretended the space is generous. He described stepping through his front door, taking two steps to the bedroom, two more to the kitchen and two more to the toilet.
He sees the tightness as a plus. He says a small home pushes him out of the house — to a nearby mall when he is hungry, or out for a walk or a workout when he wants to move. Home, in his description, is now mainly a place to return to and rest.
There is also the housework. Vacuuming takes no time, mopping less than 10 minutes, and he reckons the whole flat can be cleaned in under 30 minutes. "It's the smallest type, but it's just right," he wrote, adding that being "too lazy to clean" makes a tiny flat a better fit.
Smaller home, darker look
His earlier flat leaned on white and light wood. The new one goes the opposite way: dark green wall panelling in the bedroom, dark wood kitchen cabinetry with a marble-look backsplash, built-in storage and warm lighting throughout. A cushioned bench by the windows adds seating without eating up floor space, and a large television is mounted on a wood-panelled wall.
Ong also pushed back gently on the idea that moving into a bigger house is the only measure of success, joking that he simply does not have what it takes.
The one snag: he says he has designed the place so well for himself that he no longer feels like leaving it. A video tour of the renovation has been filmed and is being edited.
