Home & Decor: it's beautiful here

    About two weeks ago, Zm and I received our house keys! We have been so busy though that we have only visited the house 3 times since. We are quite excited and happy about the house - although it's still a far far road till we can move in. We've just sent in the first round of defects - luckily relatively minor ones! - and just started sourcing for furniture and contractors to do the hundred and one things it seems a house needs to become livable. 

    We had a relatively funny conversation the other day: 

    Me: I thought about it and I think wooden decking will be really nice for our balcony. 

    ZM: There's no budget for it! 

    Me: I'm sure we can squeeze it in somewhere...

    ZM: Have you forgotten about lighting? 

    Me: Oh right! Lighting. 

    ZM: Maybe we can do it progressively. 

    Me: Oh! Like we don't install lights in the third bedroom! Live by candle light. 

    ZM: (Pause) I was referring to the balcony. 

    Me: It's not like we will use the third bedroom haha. 

    ZM: We probably won't live in the house very long anyway. 

    Me: (Sad face)

    ZM: Are you going to promise me we will live there forever? 

    Me: I don't even know how we will be like in the next five years!

   

    The other thing Zm and I wrestle with is the decorating theme for the house. We have different aesthetic leanings - ZM prefers the place to be very spacious, bare and minimalist, while I lean towards colour and more clutter (see above). To be fair, ZM has given me free rein to the decorating of the house, but I would like to create an environment that we would both love. 

    If I could say what our theme would be clearly, I suppose it would be wood. Haha. Some mood boards: 

     

An hour later after the conversation above,  ZM walked me back to my office building as we were heading back for a night of work: 

   Me: You know... earning money is tough. We will probably live in our place forever. 

   ZM: Live in our place forever? 

   Me: Yes!

   ZM: (Smiles, then immediately gives me a look) You almost tricked me there. 

Home & Decor (3): Wardrobe & Closets

     One of my frivolous dreams was to have a big enough wardrobe to put all my clothes. I recall vaguely that when I agreed to marry ZM, I asked if he would let me have a huge wardrobe and he laughed and said, "of course". So, one of our three bedrooms will be turned into a built in wardrobe! I think out of all the things he has done for me (and he has done a lot), I will always remember how he agreed with no qualms to turn one of the bedrooms to a built in wardrobe - because this was clearly cost-wasting and possibly space-wasting. But, that's just the man he is, he will always fulfill my dreams even if they come at great cost... and with that generosity and kindness of spirit, I'm also learning to become a person as good as him. 

    Now, onto frivolity: 

     

       

    I always thought I would have my built-in wardrobe in nice thick mahogany, but lots of design inspirations have the shelving in white and it's quite lovely and clean actually.

      I think the important thing when deciding the shelving is matching the colouring of the walls and the carpeting/tiling. This is done so well in the picture above!

      One of my favourites:

   

   I like the elegance and functionality of the wardrobe design above. An important touch is the hangers - the uniformity and use of wood. 

    I can't decide if the shelving should remain open or closed. Here's a comparison: 

     

    When the shelving is done in darkish brown/black, it has an aristocratic air about it:

     I really love the touch of having a built in dressing table. The mirror, chair and carpet combination is divine. 

     Finally, when it comes to personality, nothing can beat the one below. The turtle dove blue, turquoise, gold, light green and white combination has left me entranced. Having curtains cover the shelving is lovely, similar actually to the purple curtains my Mum did for P's closet, shrouding it all with a touch of mystique and nostalgia. 

    

Style Inspiration: Cupcakes & Cashmere (Pink & Grey)

images from Cupcakes and Cashmere

    My two favourite colours currently are pink and grey. Grey because that is how the world feels when it is softly peaceful. Pink because that is my one bloom of optimism.

 

Consolidation

                                                                 Etsy: Illustrative Quotations


        It's been about seven months since I've started writing in this place and it's nice to see how much I've grown to love it. As the entries grow, I've decided to categorise some of the entries for ease of reference later:

a) Book
b) Europe
c) Food
d) Hoarder
e) Home & Decor
f) Quotations
g) Taiwan
h) Theatre
i) writings
j) Z & C
k) 我和她

    I'm not really sure how to make the tags appear on the blog (it-idiot) so I'll probably do consolidated entries every now and then. Finally, thank you for actually reading this space of mine. From the number of page views and geography of readers, it's more than likely we have never met in real life. But that's what I love the most about the written word - you write it and let it go. 

Home & Decor (2): Kitchen & Dining Decor

     The picture above is a very good approximate of the kitchen in my (future) house. My kitchen is bigger, with a built in oven, stove and space for the fridge. But the configuration is similar, except the island counter is covered with glass instead of being open spaced. 

      I really like the idea of painting the kitchen in one bold block colour, as if it was a lego cube. We have already decided to keep the kitchen simple and clean as it is, with dashes of colour and interest in all the kitchen accessories. I can't wait! 

   We are still very undecided though on how the dining area would be - should it be romantic and cosy, airy and big (ideal for dinner parties), grand and elegant, quirky and colourful? ZM only wants it to be clean and filled with good food. For me, I'm inclining towards a big dining table with lot of natural light. I've realised in Holland that I enjoy flowers and arranging them, and I think I would need a clean, simple dining room to give that space for accessorising. That may mean a more subdued wallpaper or colour or wall decoration (if any) - and yet a part of me also thinks that we are only going to be two young crazy adults once (without kids) and perhaps we should just be as bold as we can be for this one time. 

     Style 1 would be what I consider to be the typical/classical modern table template. It's a very effective style - pick a sturdy frame (usually a wooden rectangular dining table) and different chairs with different textures and designs. It's versatile because you could easily change and add chairs and it's very clean. It leaves you open to adding design highlights in the other areas. 

                                                             

     Style 2, which I also enjoy, leans towards the other side of the scale - this style is heavier, with an older victorian elegance. I think this style has more character, because it demands that eye for colour and texture. But, it always has the problem I think of never really feeling like home, and more like a boutique hotel (which may be the desired aim), or in the wrong hands, a musuem. This style also requires more balance or it can feel stuffy and too rigid, or even too serious with the gothic influences. I really enjoy restaurants designed in this style, but I don't think I'm perfectionist enough to live it. 

                          

                         

                                                                 

       Style 3 is like a cosy nook and booster seating area, kind of like those retro sixties dining booths. We love dining booths! I can imagine myself snuggling on one to read, using my computer there, and how cosy a dining booth feels in a restaurant. Because of the kitchen and dining area configuration, it won't be circular (alas) and would be more rectangular in structure. Also the island counter and glass display is quite low, so the booths will have to be similarly low. Another thing to consider would be the material of the booth - I love cotton or linen, but that's just a recipe for disaster when you are eating food. Leather would be a better choice, but that also limits the colour options and this would also depend on finding a good person to install this! 

    P.S. I clearly am partial to the white and victorian style. 

                                            

                                       

                                        

                                       

    The last four are my favourites. The key here (except maybe the first one) is that they are assymetrical in height for the chairs. I love the pairing of a sofa-like chair/bench with proper chairs, and I think this would be the most likely choices for the dining area. I would term this as beautiful kismetic chaos and would depend on what beautiful chair and dining pieces we meet! 

   

     And so, the world of chairs and dining tables await. 

Home & Decor (1) : Living Room

      ZM and I have received news that our house is going to be ready for possession in June/July! Exciting stuff. It's good because P will have graduated and moved back home by then, since I was always concerned about leaving my parents alone in the house. While I haven't really sorted out my feelings about leaving my childhood house, I am also full of anticipation of decorating my own home! Whee.

   ZM and I have worked out a budget that both of us are comfortable for doing up the house - actually most of the fixtures and furnishings are completed, and we will probably spend on the light fixtures, bed (many serious and intense discussions on the bed) and changing one room into a walk-in wardrobe (a HUGE wardrobe haha).

   I can't wait to see the house all done, because we don't actually know what would be the views like from the house (eeks) or how big or small it would feel. We bought a three bedroom apartment on the highest floor so it comes with extra-high ceilings, and we have also thought a lot about whether we wanted to make an upper partition. Although the consensus is no for now, every now and then, I have this dream of a loft-like library! Haha.

   I've changed a little from my previous design aspirations, see below:

   Now, I envision something really clean and light. Comfy and livable. It's going to be rather neutral with pops of colour, nothing very strong. I don't think we are the kind of people who would like a strong visual element or design signature, because we will probably get tired of it after a few months. I imagine a simple sturdy structure which will allow us to change the feel of it with simple accessorising. Some examples for the living room:

  Also, this picture made me giggle a lot because it already has the corgis I'm planning to get! Finally, with my own home, I can keep a dog again :)