Home series: Furniture shopping

Sourcing for the right furniture is an arduous job. This is especially so when you have kids in tow and a work to run! The furniture could make or break the whole look and feel of your home. Hence I took it very seriously and went to several places to check things out. Our theme is skewed towards Scandinavian modern with probably some elements or industrial. Below are some of our sharings:

Our ID brought us to this place called Next Phase at Kaki Bukit Road, Enterprise One. It houses a collection of Korean inspired furniture called Daaz. They are simple and practical and we really liked what we saw. Only problem was the price tag. This three-seater sofa for example could set you back by $3980. It was hard to resist its sleek, minimalist design though. You could check out their website here for more inspirations.

We ventured next door at Enterprise One and chanced upon this store which sells a nice collection of wooden furniture. I love the quality of the wood. It is teak and is imported from the forests of Thailand and each piece is unique as their grains will be different. The prices however is a little hard to swallow. I believe the table itself is a whopping $5000?

City Extendable Dining Set. Great for parties as I can extend it! 

Atelier TV stand

I have been seeing a couple of ads on Facebook and decided to check out this place called Nook and Cranny. As much as I enjoy clicking the mouse and browsing through tons of photos, I still feel unsettled if I can't see the actual item. So I decided make a trip down to their brick and mortar shop. They are located at Blk 514 Chai Chee Lane #02-07 and have a good range of furniture. From Chinese antique furniture to industrial furniture range. A handful of home accessories are also available to help create a unique representation of your individuality. We managed to settle our dining set by getting the City Extendable Dining Set. It is priced at $1499! Pretty reasonable I would say! We also got a matching Atelier TV stand for $899. In order to save money plus to reduce fixtures, we didn't want to custom make a TV console hence had been searching for a long while for a suitable piece that was long enough to sit in our living room and THIS was simply perfect. Most of their bulky items has to be preordered, so do take note of the waiting time.

A hidden gem is Tan Boon Liat Building. If you haven't heard about it, it is located at Outram Road. This factory building houses a handful of furniture shops. The following are some which we have found: 

Journey East. You can find an eclectic range of furnishings of reclaimed teak wood furniture and hand-selected vintage furniture pieces here. 

Address: 315 Outram Road, #03-02, Tan Boon Liat Building 

The Beuro.

This company gets their inspiration from its environment. They redefine materials to create sculptural pieces. Unique. You may find industrial and contemporary pieces here.

Address: 315 Outram Road, #03-09/10 

Mountain Teak

They are a supplier of environmentally friendly teak wood furniture. They have good designs and caters to a wide range of interior styles.

The below is yet another shop which I saw online -- Castlery. It was popping up so often on FB, it was hard to miss. Once again, I needed to visit their brick and mortar shop at Delta House to check out the quality. The staff were very helpful and their selection was totally in sync with what we were looking for. 

We placed an order for the William Sofa in Dark Gray some time in March and had to wait for a few weeks before it arrived. No hurries since our place wasn't ready. However, when we unveiled the sofa, the colour was a stark different. (See above photo). It is supposed to be dark grey but it looked like it was more green than grey! I have since feedbacked and they have since sent someone to assess. And my hunch was right! The one we received was in Charcoal whilst the one we ordered was Dark grey. They are still in the midst of sorting things out with production. It has been a week now and things have not been sorted out at the time of print. In addition to that, we bought a standing lamp and was dismayed to find that light bulb holder had melted! See below photo. That spells Fire Hazard! We have tried to look for a similar light bulb holder but to no avail. We have since gotten a holder which doesn't fit well and had to use masking tape to adhere it. Their recovery was to either to do an exchange for a different piece or a full refund for the item. This, however, has shaken our trust in the product. I mean, shouldn't it be checked and tested before it was sent to us?  We had previously bought a bed frame cum side tables from them and had no issues. This time round, we were dismayed.

Next up, is one of my favourite place to shop -- TAOBAO! the largest online shopping mall from China! Seriously, everything comes from China these days so don't judge. However, there is a huge risk especially when importing big items. Quality is questionable. When people hear the words "Made in China", automatically a stigma is formed. Most buyers are resigned to a certain degree of risk when they shop for stuff which they have not touched or seen in person and hence have to accept that some flaws are part of the cheap deal. What I end up doing at times is to sell them away if I really don't like it. Shipping wasn't too bad as I consolidated my items and went via sea mode to save on costs. If you have more stuff, you could use freight forwarders who will charge by cubic metres. It is more economical for bulkier products to be charged by CBM. Wooden furniture sold on Taobao tends to be heavy due to the material used, so if you were to go by weight, it would definitely cost you. If the items aren't too heavy, you could consider using agents such as ezbuy (formerly known as 65daigou), Peeka, Etrove and many others. The list is endless and the process of shopping on this China eBay is addictive! You can find anything from a Nordic European Sofa, to a piece of sponge for your home! Below are some of my buys:

Majorly pleased with our bar stools! We could even choose the colour of the wood! Item came 90% close to the picture.



Adding an industrial touch to my study room. It was quite hellish drilling the holes though. Fortunately, the hubs is quite a handy man and with the right tools, it was up in a jiffy. 

This was another beauty from TB. My study table. There was a great selection of colours and the wood grain is lovely. Similar ones in Singapore could set me back by more than $600. This beauty was approximately $450 with shipping. The only problem we had with this was its depth! We were too engrossed in making sure the length was right that we forgot to check its depth! It couldn't enter my main door! It couldn't be dismantled either! I had thought that most furniture would come in pieces and that we had to assemble them somewhat like Ikea items. But this particular table wasn't quite like that. The frame was fixed so there was no way to unscrew things. Lesson to self: Check with the seller how it will be packed and ask for extra protection before purchasing! Our solution: to take down our fire rated main door and squeeze it in! Mind you, a fire rated door is extremely heavy! Thank goodness for helpful neighbour who came to the hub's rescue. Hub was trying to be hero and I was no help at all considering the weight and all. Another issue I have with the table is that the drawers have not rollers and hence are tough to pull in and out. You got to be careful not to pull it all out lest the entire drawer comes off! That said, I still love how the table matches my study room. 

If you are interested, the link for the study table is here. 

My Eames inspired chair. Love it! A steal at approximately $30! Link here.

So there we have it. Furniture shopping more or less done. Next up, I will share with you how I jazz up my little abode with little knick knacks! Stay tune!

Homelearning: Teaching sight words

I am a big fan of sight words. Phonics is important in early childhood education but should the child be able to read by sight, wouldn't that be faster? Big K's repertoire of sight words is pretty vast. I try to introduce a word a day in three to four days. Several activities will be prepared for her to ingrain the word into her brain. Ideally, I would love to introduce 3 - 5 unfamiliar words at a time every other day as I believe it is manageable for her age. But sadly, I am always behind schedule. As the child gets more advance, you might expand the number of words you work on in each lesson.

Through trial and error, I have figured that there are a few techniques which worked for us:

1) See and Say: Repetition does help. Paste the words in various fonts all around the house and get the child to identify and read.

2) Spell reading: get the child to spell out the letters and then read the word again.

3) Air Writing: The child is to write the letters in the air.

4) Table Writing: The child writes the letters on a piece of paper.

5) Bring it to reality: This is one of our favourites as it gives the child empowerment that they know the world! When you come across a word on an advertisement or the bus, point it out to your child, you will see how her eyes light up!

6) Games: Kids love games and if you turn it into one, they will be exhilarated. Below are some which you could try:

I bought these cards some time back and it makes a great thing to bring along when we are out. What I usually do is to say out the word and if she knows which card it is, she takes it and scores a point. Things can be made more challenging when you play it with her. Take turns to shout out the word and snap it. She doesn't have to know that you know all the words :P

These eggs were painstakingly cut out by yours truly. A similar game as the above except that I would incorporate a spatula and get her to flip the eggs as I read the word. 

Caption: Photo credit: 3dinosaurs.com

This is a great activity as it trains not only sight but motor skills. 

Photo credit: Pinterest

Decorate the sight words with stickers, poms poms or whatever you could find around the house! One of my favourites as it requires so little preparation time!

Photo credit: coffeecupsandcrayons

This activity is soooooo cool!!! I hope to do it one day with Big K! It kills two birds with one stone! You get to practice sight word recognition by using them to build 3D shapes using play dough and craft sticks.

Remember tic tac toe? Well, why not do it with sight words?

Photo credit: Learningiftoff

Bring sight words outdoors. Your child will love it! Toss your marker, read the word it lands on and hop to it! 

Photo credit: giftofcuriosity

If writing on paper is too boring for you, why not try various mediums like shaving cream, salt or coloured rice? A bit of sensory action goes a long way!

There are a host of other activities which you can do with your little one. If you are ever stuck on ideas, head down on to Pinterest. The suggestions are endless! Have fun!

Review: Hello kitty lands in Singapore!

The cat has landed in Singapore!

Last night, I did something crazy. Something which I would never have done in my entire life. That was to queue for 2 hours to get into the latest craze in town -- Hello Kitty Orchid Garden. I am no fan of the cat, but well, friends around were, so ok, in the name of friendship, i joined in the madness. 

We were there at approximately 610pm and by approximately 810pm, we were given a place. This was on Day 2 of their opening. Everyone were patiently waiting. Some taking turns to queue. No queue numbers were given out and there was no reservation number we could call. On top of that, they were probably shorthanded as we spied several empty seats for a long while and no one was ushered in. So, we sat down and wanted to order practically everything bowed (the recommended stuff). Unfortunately, several items were out of stock! This included their flavoured sodas, because, they were out of sodas! Could you believe it? Well, with every new restaurant, there are bound to be teething problems and I guess they had been so busy they didn't have time to replenish their stock! Some of their mains were also not available and even no fuss sides like Nachos were not available. The food were mediocre and things like ice cream seemed like they were bought from NTUC. Nothing against that, but I would have expected better quality ones like Hagen Daz, Andersons, Movenpick or Udders perhaps?

Well, at least the food were looking pretty! Feast your eyes on them:

We had two out of three of their desserts: The Cat In Paradise (the one in yellow) which cost $18.50 and a Sundae, "Camping under the stars" which cost $19.50. The Sundae in my opinion was a ripoff! I mean, just a few pieces of biscuits and two scoops of ice-cream cost me close to $20? The other which was actually mango moose was more refreshing. It is light and easy on the palette and was served with a scoop of hazelnut gelato.

For mains, we ordered the waffles and Salmon. The waffles were disappointing as they weren't hot and fragrant. To make a good waffle is not easy but I would have expected better standards from a cafe like this. The salmon wasn't too bad. But again, not warm. The mains were generally well priced. At less than $20, you are able to get a decent meal.

Since there weren't sodas or plain water, we had to settle for tea at $7.80 per pot. The Strawberry Marshmallow tea we ordered tasted like cough syrup while the Kitty's Apple Pie Tea was went well with us. It has a fruit tisane of toasted apple and cinnamon tea.

We were told by the staff that our food would arrive only 45mins later. WHAT? after waiting for 2 hours, I still had to wait for another 45mins? A hungry man is an angry man and I was a bear with sore head! I was literally having a bad headache due to the intense heat the last couple of days and the wait didn't help. The waitress asked if we would like to have our desserts served after our meals but knowing how slow they were, we requested for whatever's fastest to come first. After what seemed like half an hour, our table was filled with all the food we ordered! *mouth agape

This was the crowd after we left at approximately 10pm. It seemed like the later it got, the more crowded it was. 

Don't be deceived, the place is filled to the brim!

If you would like to bring home a little something, there were also coffee, tea, and germination kits. Nicely packaged. But, it wasn't too price friendly. $38.50 for a tea gift set? That must be some good tea

Their selection of gelato was pretty wide. They weren't too sweet but honestly, nothing impressive. 

Acting cute in line with the theme! haha.

So my final verdict. If you would really like to join in the hype, probably go really early. Else, wait for everything to sizzle down as it is really not worth the wait. 

Disclaimer: No monetary compensation has been received. (I queued for 2hours didn't I?) All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

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!