The Singaporean former architect reinterprets the Chinese practice to offer practical solutions for modern living, transforming spaces into sanctuaries of comfort and clarity
“Every Asian knows not to point your feet to the door,” says Singapore-born Tan, now based in London, where he first launched his design studio Dear Modern back in 2016 – long before he started sharing feng shui tips like this on TikTok under that same moniker. “That’s common sense,” he laughs. “Apparently it was not so obvious.”
As Dear Modern’s name suggests, Tan frequently addresses his dear viewers’ design concerns directly on camera, using miniature models of furniture and core principles found in feng shui – the openness of a space, the natural flow of a room – to illustrate how their homes can look more organised and actually feel like home. It’s a digitally native, distinctly modern twist on an ancient Chinese practice which I, like many others, had previously dismissed as little more than myth – and it has since brought him more than four million followers across TikTok and Instagram combined at the time of writing.
Feng shui, as Tan likes to describe it, is really just the art of being practical: “My channel made it lighthearted, funny and more approachable, less stigmatised.” Setting the superstitious undertones aside, he adds, “people started to understand that it actually makes sense”.
