The HOBI Direct Model: Why Cutting Out the Middleman Saves You 20–35%

If you have been getting renovation quotes in Singapore, you may have noticed a significant price gap between different companies. A kitchen that one company quotes at 5,000, another quotes at 2,000. How is that possible for the same product?

The answer is almost always the same: the middleman margin.

How the Interior Design Industry Works

Most ID firms in Singapore do not build anything themselves. They design, they project-manage, and they subcontract. The carpentry goes to a workshop like ours. The electrical goes to an electrician. The painting goes to a painter.

Each subcontractor has their own price. The ID firm adds their margin on top — typically 20% to 40% — and presents the combined total to you as their quote.

The HOBI Model

HOBI is the workshop. We design, we build in our Bedok factory, and we install with our own crew. When you engage HOBI, you are engaging the people who will actually build your furniture — with no layer in between.

This is why our prices are consistently 20% to 35% lower than comparable ID firm quotes for the same scope of work.

Same Quality, Lower Price?

Yes — because the quality of the carpentry is determined by the workshop, not the ID firm. Many ID firms in Singapore use the same few workshops. The carpentry you get from them is built by someone like us. You are just paying more for the privilege of having a designer coordinate it.

When Direct Makes Sense

Direct carpentry is the right choice when you know what you want — or are willing to spend time with our designers at the showroom to figure it out. If you need someone to design your entire home from scratch across multiple trades, an ID firm may still make sense. But for most Singaporeans renovating their kitchen or wardrobe, direct is almost always better value.

Come to our Jalan Kayu showroom and compare our quote with what you have received elsewhere. We are confident in the difference.