Home Series: Lights, camera, action!

The correct lighting options can brighten your home style. Planning your home lighting is an important step. The hubs and I spent several hours thinking of what sort of light to use and what mood we wanted. We had to consider what tasks were going to be carried out in that particular room. Both design and function have to gel. The kids' rooms for example had to have ample lighting whilst our master bedroom needed something softer. There are various other factors to consider when choosing lights:

• Floor and surface may reflect or swallow your lights. 
• Ceiling height impacts the way you illuminate the room as well. Should you be lucky enough to have high ceilings, brighter lights can be spaced out. 
• Colour of walls. If you have a dark-coloured wall like our master bedroom, keep in mind that that tend to absorb light. Similarly for textured walls made of stone or brick. White light on the other hand reflects light hence the room would look brighter.

What do you think of this baby? Gorgeous right? It is meant to be a night light but I am planning on using it as a bedside table lamp. It didn't come cheap though considering that it is from Taobao. It cost me close to $40 per piece? I probably have bought the last two as the link is no longer working. 

We got this LED light for our master from Taobao. Many would probably shun at the thought of getting lightings or anything electrical from Taobao. We know how unreliable that may be. However, I tried to get it from a store with better ratings and more diamonds and crowns. Also, according to the hubs, who deals a lot with electricity in his job, such ornamental lights in Singapore didn't come with the safety mark anyways, so no diff. Biggest diff is in the driver of the lights. So fingers cross that that doesn't catch fire! *Gulp. The size we bought was of 52cm however, I kindof regretted it as it isn't as bright as we wanted it to be. Should have gotten a bigger one. Nevertheless, a nice designer piece like this would probably set us back easily by triple its price in Singapore. I got this at approximately $60 with shipping. Great deal right?

Here is the link to it: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=39817163391&toSite=main

I didn't want my house to be filled with boring old downlight hence here's another beauty for my study room to give the room a bit of an industrial look. A good an big lighting can be the talking point when guests come so I am hoping that its prominence would bring some chatters. Also, gotten from Taobao. I couldn't find a nice and decently priced one here and whilst browsing randomly one day, this beauty caught my eye and I had to get it. Cost me approximately SGD60 (inclusive of shipping). 

Here's the link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?ft=t&id=527913145018&toSite=main

Track lights have been in vogue of late. It can be used as mood lighting or general lighting. It goes really well with a industrial or Scandinavian  modern theme.

These boring lights are well, boring, but essential. It gives the place a minimalistic look. Too many pendant lamps will kill the feel of the place. Cove lights and downlight go hand in hand. To achieve a continuous glow effect, the strips of cove lighting has to be installed well. Be sure to cater enough width for overlapping.  We got these from a wholesaler at Kahki Bukit.

Switches are an integral part of the house. It is of utmost importance that you plan the position and the function of each switch. Like where would you like a two gang or a three gang to be? Would this switch be able to be controlled at another part of the house? Which lights do the switch control? Where do you need the sockets to be -- this depends highly on the things that you go about doing in the house which require a socket e.g. vacuuming. All these information has to be discussed and communicated well to the electricians because trust me, there are some out there who would simply not take initiatives and will have several lights controlled by one switch, thereby turning your house into a stadium! The hubs is particularly fond of Schneider's switches. He says it's the designer piece amongst switches. I have to agree with him as it has a softer touch than its cheaper counterparts. When turning off and on, it doesn't make the loud click click sound. Also, when it is switched off, you would see a small blue light which is enough to be my my night light. You may be wondering why is my switch placed horizontally but well, that's the design! Most switches would be vertical but ours are horizontal. Perhaps I'm a frog in the well, but this is pretty interesting isn't it?

Apart from Taobao and local brick and mortar stores lining Geylang and Balestier, we did check out a couple online lighting stores. Below are some of my favourites in no particular order of preference:

http://www.hipvan.com

http://www.lightsandco.com

https://www.castlery.com

The entire renovation journey thus far has been an exhausting one. From choosing laminates and flooring to lightings and furniture. However, one thing's for sure, the hubs and I got to bond more over this project and we have been talking about things other than kids! You know how you tend to loose yourself when you have kids? So this is a refreshing topic. That said, I wish things would move a tad faster! The wait is an arduous one!

Home series: All about beds

Photo credit: so-relatable.tumblr.com

Today, I share with you our search for beds, in particular, toddler beds. I have grand plans to shift the two kids into one room. Let them fight it out bond and allow the hubs and I to have more privacy. Something which we haven't been having much of for the last 5 years. You see, to date, Big K still cosleeps with me and due to the current situation, Small K cosleeps with the daddy. Not very ideal considering that Small K was trained to be an independent sleeper since young. I am not sure how I'm gonna work out the transition, especially since Small K wakes up an hour earlier than the sister and still needs one feed at dawn. Big K on the other hand, has yet to be diaperless at night. I failed miserably and was told that I have to wait till she is ready, meaning, her diaper should be relatively dry when she wakes up. Every morning I pray that I get a light diaper but alas! It always weighs a ton. Sigh. So, we shall see, perhaps a new bed would entice her to be diaperless and perhaps sleeping together would allow Small K to quit having his night feed. Wishful thinking I hope not?

So, alright, we were looking high and low for a low loft bed. Below were some of which we have visited:

IKEA

Photo credit: www.ikea.com 

The hubs was pretty insistent on going with Ikea. For the price. I mean, let's be honest, at $269, who could resist? His take was that even if it spoils, we could throw and get a new one and still save! I did entertain thoughts of getting the Kura reversible bed. However, the height wasn't ideal as Big K isn't diaperless yet at night. What if she tumbles down whilst climbing down to go to the loo? More importantly, I wasn't too confident of the wood. It didn't give me a sturdy feel too. Affordable it was, but my children's safety are of utmost importance. From a fengshui perspective, the bed has got to be sturdy. Your bed is the only piece of furniture that has the most intimate connection to your personal energy. The role of fengshui of your bed in relation to your health , well being and relationships cannot be underestimated.

KIDSHAVEN

Photo credit: www.kidshaven.sg

Kids Haven started out in 2010 when its founders were in search for practical, unique and affordable children's furnitures for her 2 young children. Indeed, when I browsed online, I saw a large range of beds. They have a good selection of designs beds like cars, safari, and carriages. I am sure all children would be able to find their dream bed here. We visited their Ubi outlet at Oxley Bizhub. The place was a tad difficult to find and when we finally entered the showroom, the lack of space made us very uncomfortable. The quality of the beds wasn't too impressive as well. Somewhat similar to Ikea. Perhaps we didn't get to see their solid pine wood range as the sales person was busy serving other customers and since nothing caught our eye, and after waiting for quite some time, we decided to move on. 

BABY ZOO

I love how sturdy their wood is and their matrix system meant that I could revamp the configuration in future as my children grow. Unfortunately, after several attempts in calling and contacting them via  private messages over on Facebook, I gave up. Their website had been down since 2 weeks ago. At the point of penning this post, it is still down. We wanted to make an appointment to view, but their couldn't reach them via phone. My messages via FB did not get replied either. So, sadly, we had to look for alternatives.

HARVEY NORMAN

I didn't really think of Harvey Norman until a friend reminded me of it. It has quite a selection of designs and one particular deal caught my eye! A bed with a trundle going for $1399, complete with two mattresses! A steal! The wood looks pretty sturdy too. 

iBENMA

Our choice!

Situated at Funan and Liang Court, Ibenma has quite a selection of loft beds to excite the kids' imagination. They specialize in 100% finland pine wood, uses nontoxic materials and produced with conformity to ASTM and EN71 standard (haha, whatever that is! But sounds pro and reassuring right?). We popped by their shop at Liang Court and were immediately sold by the selection they they have. The showroom was nice and clean and the kids were having a wonderful time climbing up and down the beds. We tested the beds ourselves and it is definitely sturdy enough. Their modular system is also something which we have been looking for! So a low loft bed it is, from Ibenma! Only thing we weren't too excited about was that we had to top up $100 to get the ladder shifted to the width of the bed! Their stand was that they had to cut out a piece of wood from the width and put an additional piece of wood on the length. Sounds like a net effect to me, so why charge me an extra $100? I insisted that I didn't need that extra hole to be filled in at the length when the ladder is taken away, hence they should not charge me but they were pretty rigid and said that it is their factory standard that I had to take it as a bundle and could remove it in future if i wanted. -_-. If not for the fact that I had to have it done that way due to the configuration of the room, I wouldn't have paid that extra sum. I wanted a slide but decided against it, coz after all, a bedroom is for the kids to sleep in, not play! I wouldn't want to turn bedtime into a drag. As it is, getting them to bed takes me an hour! So, the bed for the kids has been confirmed. Our total damage: $860. $690 for the whitewashed bed frame, $70 for the ladder and $100 for the extra piece of wood.  

CASTLERY

This site popped up several times on my FB thread, hence I decided to check them out. I was very impressed by the selection of designs and made a trip down to their showroom at Delta. Customer service was great and the selection was quite clear. 

Photo credits: www.castlery.com

Prior to going to the showroom, we already had our eyes on the above. The Cayson Bed. Its rustic feel is perfect for our bedroom. Made of solid Acacia wood, it has a mix of uneven distress wood treatment which I love. At a bundle price of $1599 inclusive of delivery, it didn't take long for us to make the decision.

SO Yay! We've got our beds selected! Now for the rest of the house! Stay tune as we will share with you more on our furniture shopping!

Home series: Choosing the right flooring materials

Our renovation journey has started last year. In November 2015, we started scouting around for an interior designing firm who could help us with our renovation. The hubs was not keen in engaging an ID as he deemed that they would charge sky rocket high due to their design fee. Typically, the design fees would be an average of $4000 and he would rather get contractors in and get me to draw instead! I would love to, save for the fact that he travels a whole lot and at the end of the day, I might be the one coordinating every single thing! Probably possible 5 years ago, sans kids. However, now, it's I.M.P.O.S.S.I.B.L.E So the search began and it was an arduous one no less. We surfed, we asked and we shortlisted 3 companies. Inflation has really kicked in fast and furious over the last 8 years when we renovated our matrimonial home. We were in for a shock when we saw their quotes! The most expensive being a whopping $96,000! Mind you, we live in a humble 5 room apartment and we were looking at pretty minimal renovation, so a quote like that wasn't going to go well with the pocket. So we searched and searched and finally settled with one which gave us most of what we needed for $77,000. That sounded a little better except that with that price, it doesn't include air-conditioning, furnishings and appliances. What it does include are: hacking of floors and wall tiles; dismantling of everything else, hacking away one kitchen wall to make things more spacious; laying of new flooring; building of cabinets for kitchen, master bedroom and study; doing up new windows and grills; false ceiling and lightings. Does that sound like a lot? teehee. Any hoots, the generous hubs decided that after 9 years, we should have everything changed! New beds, new fridge, new washing machine...everything NEW! I still don't know how we are going to fork out the total bill and am living day by day. 

After we settled on the quote, where i acted like an aunty going to the wet market, we quickly got down to the drawing board. However, as it was the festive period, many were on leave and things were delayed. By December, we finally gotten our 3D drawings presented to us. We spent some time amending and choosing the materials and by the time things were ready to commence, it was nearing to Chinese New Year! During this period, most foreign workers would go back to their hometown and the companies would typically rest for at least 2 weeks! I pressured the ID to have the floor hacked before CNY. I don't know what was I thinking, trying to annoy the S*** out of my neighbours. They would probably hate me for creating so much noise and dust just before the new year. But my intention was just to get things started! Things really had to move as the current living condition is stifling! Think: 7 pax in a small apartment, with one member of the family sleeping in the living room every night. Hence, I have no privacy or place to work after my kids sleep as everyone else would be sleeping and to turn on the lights would be impolite right? My eyesight has deteriorated so much due to working in dim light. Apart from that, keeping up with chores is a pain. I pride myself for being able to manage things. However, I am now living with a professional homemaker who wakes up at 430am to do chores and goes to the market at 6am! Every single day, laundry is being washed and folded. And I have to try to keep my children's toys at bay and leave them with only a box of random toys and a box of lego. That's all they have been having for the past 9 months! So yeah, I need things to start moving!

In anticipation of all the festivities and break from work, our ID suggested that we go shopping and get everything settled for a seamless transition thereafter. Hence, we started choosing our tiles, bathroom accessories and lightings.

Here's sharing some of our findings and loots:

Flooring is so important as it is essentially the foundation of your home. We have to hack the entire floor and redo the flooring instead of doing an overlay which was a much cheaper option. The existing tiles were approximately 20years old and the contractor noted some hollowness in them hence suggested that we changed lest the new overlaid material pops up in years to come. So, hacking of the floor was going to cost us big time. Bummer. 

Popular options for flooring:

Tiles: Of late, the Peranakan and Mediterranean-inspired tiles are in vogue due to their ornate patterns. 

Homogeneous ceramic tiles: Most versatile especially for bathrooms. Some come in matt whilst others are with glazed finishings. Minor scratches won't be obvious. A good choice with kids around.

Natural stone: Marble, limestone, granite and slate. Each cut is unique, hence the price. However, extra care and polishing is needed, so this isn't quite the type of flooring you would be looking at if you have young children. 

Traditional parquet: This is aesthetically pleasing and has a warm feel to it. However, it is easily damaged and will darken with age. I recalled always getting scolded for scratching the parquet of my parents' place when I was a little girl. -_-

Laminated flooring: It has beautiful wood grain, with extensive design. Many use this as an overlay which saves cost. It is actually compressed wood coated with aluminium oxide to enhance its scratch resistance. Low maintenance however, should water seep through, it may spell trouble. The adhesiveness might be lost and the laminates may start popping.

Concrete screeding: I LOVE THIS! 8 years ago, when I did up my first house, we wanted and we tried. However, the contractor wasn't able to achieve the desired look hence it had to be scraped. Apparently, back then, not many contractors were able to do this. This actually saves money as you merely have to top it off with a concrete sealer for smoother finishing and to minimise the dusty feel.

Evorich High End Resilent Flooring: Its 100% waterproof feature is a big draw. You never know when the little ones will spill a pail of water in your living room! It has better wear layer than the traditional vinyl and it is glueless and odourless. 

After analysing all the pros and cons, we decided to go with the High End Resilent Flooring. It was a tad more expensive than laminates, but we believe it will go a long way. 

Apart from the main floor, we had to select tiles for the bathrooms. For this, we went to a shop at Ubi, somewhere behind those car showrooms. Their selection was fairly decent and we settled for the below:

We were going for a resort feel, hence the stone tiles. What do you think? The above is our common toilet. Many commented that it will be tough to wash as dirt will be trapped in between. However, I believe that constant spraying and a bit of mould removal detergent should do the trick! After all, Chio (pretty) is most important right? :P

LAMINATES

For our master bedroom's wardrobe. I'm still missing my old walk-in closet! Boo!

White for our kitchen cabinets. Hope it wouldn't be too tough to clean!

Laminates for our wardrobe and kitchen cabinets were chosen. We went through two rounds and kept changing our minds. Don't blame me, I'm Woman after all. 

For our Kitchen top, we have chosen to go with iquartz. This is apparently similar but better than its counterpart, the granite. Granite used to be top of the range and expensive. However, over the years, with innovation, iquartz and granite pricing are pretty much the same. According to our ID, granite isn't favoured as it is more porous and for kitchen, you wouldn't want your sauces to seep into the holes right?

In my next post, I will share with you some places to check out for furniture. Stay tune!

Home Series: 12 Tips for for moving house

Photo credit: https://www.bidsbypros.com

Try being a full time mom, a full time educator, a full time business owner of Rhapnroll, an aspiring beauty consultant (with Mary Kay) and be shifting house with 2 young children all at once. I tell you, it certainly isn't a walk in the park. And I am doing this not once, not twice, but thrice1 Don't ask. It was a dumb decision and being married to a traditional family, I didn't have much say. 

There were times when I felt like throwing in the towel but for the sake of my wonderful family and myself, I just have to grit my teeth and preserve. Packing is really a pain especially when we have resided in our marital home for 9 years since 2006. This is a guide as to how you can make things a little more organised.

Step 1: Declutter!

And I don't mean doing it only once! I did at least 10 rounds for just my wardrobe alone! Aim to throw out 2 bags of rubbish a day. I am not counting those bags you have in the kitchen or those filled with soiled diapers. Be ruthless! 

I reckon I will never wear those killer heels anymore now that I have two kids to chase and carry. Hence, off they go!

I threw away so much stuff! And, after 2 moves, I still have stuff to declutter!

Step 2: How to organise your giveaways

Put aside a big box for 1) donation; 2) hand downs to friends and relatives; 3) rubbish. Rid #3 fast. As you go through your stuff, place it in the box accordingly. 

You could pass clothes which you will never fit into anymore after pregnancy to your younger cousins or even friends' helpers. They are more than happy to receive. Stop living in denial! I know i did!

Step 3: Sell!

I had much luck in Carousel, gumtree and a couple of interest groups on Facebook. Sell whatever you can to earn some moolah!

Step 3: Rent a temporary storage

Aim for one that is close to home so that whenever you are free, you can transport some boxes over. You have to, unless you live in a mansion as there will hardly be any space to walk or crawl for the case of Small K should you choose to leave everything to the movers. I mean where are you going to put the packed boxes? There is just this much space in a house. Another reason why you should not be lazy is that some transport company will charge extra for additional trips and they also charge according to the number of boxes you have. 

After some consideration, we settled for Lock & Store as it was the nearest to our place.

Below are some for your consideration:

Lock and Store

http://lockandstore.com/sg-en/

Ranges from 1st to 200sf. Has a minimum storage period dog 2 weeks and notice period of 14 days in advance when you intend to move. Monthly outlay is as low as less than $100. There is a one time administrative charge and deposit for access card as well as a refundable deposit.

Storefriendly

http://www.store-friendly.com.sg

Ranges from lockers measuring from 8 sq ft to 150 sq ft. Montly outlay of $68 to $688. Insurance is offered at $5/moth for coverage up to $1000.

Jumbo Locker

http://www.singaporestoragespace.com/jumbo-locker-marymount.html

Smallest size is that of a locker and largest being 200 sq ft. Some rooms even come with clothing racks! Monthly outlay starts from $65

Step 4: Start being friends with your local provision shop uncle

Be their buffs and they will save their best boxes for you! All my boxes were gotten from them! We started collecting about two months before the shift. That saved us a lot of money! No doubt the transport company will offer to give some boxes for free, it is certainly not enough for our case. Boxes aren't cheap. But if you are a little OCD and prefer everything new and uniform, then stick to those given by the transport company or you might have to top up should it not be complimentary.

Step 5: Deal with bulky items

You can opt for them to be picked up by various organisations like MINDs or the Salvation army. However, do note that their despatch require 2 weeks advance notice. Some of these organisations will also want to view the items before they decide on taking them. Alternatively, you may want to post online to sell or to give them away. Again, I had much success with Carousel, Gumtree and several other groups on Facebook. Say it is free and a lot of people will start contacting you! I managed to sell off 2 twenty-year-old fridges for $120 each! And I even sold the mil's stove for $50! Well, as they say, one man's junk is another man's treasure. 

Step 6: Prepare Miscellaneous boxes

If you are like me, someone who has heaps, prepare 4 to 5 boxes as one is not going to be enough. Towards the end when everything starts to get a little chaotic as time is running out, I simply dumped the remaining stuff into boxes. Out of sight, out of reach.

Step 7: Be organised!

I tried to pack everything into boxes which I could reuse so that the unpacking and move each time would not be too arduous. Keep an inventory list if possible as things can get a little overwhelming.

Step 8: Turn trash into fun!

Step 9: Book your moves early

We were moving over the weekend when everyone is available hence had major trouble booking the movers. I only started calling for quotes a week before our move. You should do it way in advance. Fortunately we were able to get the professionals in. Most of these professionals will provide corrugated paper, stretch films, OPP tapes and bubble pack. You should get quotes from at least 3 reliable companies and probably show to them the respective quotes to get a better match. Pack the boxes yourself to shave prices. Do keep in mind extra cost will be incurred if the place doesn't have a lift landing, the distance is long and the timing of the day also matters. 

Here are a list of movers for your consideration:

Shalom Movers http://www.shalom.com.sg

Elite movers http://www.elitemovers.com.sg

The helping hand http://www.thehelpinghand.org.sg

Sim Movers http://simmovers.com/contact/ (we used them)

Vimbox Movers http://www.vimboxmovers.com.sg 

Step 10: Contact the town council

Get the workers from town council to help shift your big bulky items which you intend to discard. This is if you live in a HDB flat. We managed to get hold of the worker's mobile and he zoomed up the moment we called. 

Step 11: The big move

Get someone to bring the kids out as things can get messy and dusty. Try to have a person at the new place to supervise where things should be placed and have someone on standby at the old place as well to ensure all goes smoothly.

Step 12: Last check

Sweep as much dust as possible. Sweep inwards and not out of the house as according to my mil, it is treasure hence we can't sweep it away.

Moving house is a very tiring episode. Hope that the above tips will help you in one way or the other! :)