mummymantras

Really beautiful! The sofa is just perfect for this space! And I like the briefcases on the floor. My dad still has one just like it (the genuine seventies article!) and my mum has an old portable Olivetti typewriter (still in its original case) that I'm gonna display on my big bookshelf in the living room. It'll help break up the monotony of all those books!

'Broken marble' seems to be such a classic late seventies / early eighties thing... in Singapore anyway! My in-laws have flooring just like this. But they also still have their original seventies rattan furniture and some very cool bubble-shaped psychedelic chairs to match. So the whole effect is charming and very consistent. Marshmallow's home works because she kept her furnishings to a neutral palette, which matches the earthy tones of her broken marble flooring. Like MingzhuAng says, if you want to have anything brighter, it's probably gonna look a little strange. Unless you opt for a more retro style that harmonises with the timeline of your floor.

Nice sensible layout! With toilets facing the bedrooms and not the kitchen... I'm not sure why it took HDB this long to figure out that most people do not like to 'do their business' and have a shower in the same place where they cook! Or have to trudge through their kitchen to take a piss in the early hours of the morning!

Good morning, Renotalkers! Was chatting with a few IDs yesterday and as most of them are rather visual people (my 3-page design brief had waaaay too many words for them methinks... and my design concept so unusual and beyond the norm that many of them failed to fully grasp it!), I've decided to start a collection of pics of other homes I like so that I can show potential IDs / contractors exactly what I talking about. Anyway, I came across this renovated shophouse that I'm really impressed with... The raw brick wall behind the kitchen counters and the kopitiam tables give it a 'uniquely Singaporean' feel. An important point I think. Too many homes I've seen so far are so bland that they could be anywhere really... Manchester, Zurich, Ploughkeepsie! Anywhere but Singapore! Sad... I also like what the guy did with his bedroom. It manages to be modern and neat, but cosy (the use of wood helps a lot!) and have a subtly Asian feel to it. Last but not least, I also like the guy's workspace. That's important for me, since I also work from home. And that brick wall (again!) paired with antique furniture is a nice touch.

Actually, I've got quite a number of comics too... My hubby likes Tintin (he's got ALL the books). I prefer more serious stuff (I've got a signed copy of Art Spiegelman's Maus!).

Absolutely! Yup. I read that entry in her blog before (http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=32559&view=findpost&p=594645) and I think that what happened to her was not only dreadful but a perfect illustration of why even adults have to be safe when handling any glass furniture or furnishings. Even tempered glass (which her shower screen was supposedly made of) can cut you badly. Although it will shatter into much smaller pieces than regular glass will, when broken, thereby reducing the possibility of serious injury (or, in my case, severed fingers!), it isn't 100% foolproof or danger-free.

Welcome to Renotalk! Actually, with floor tiles like those and that quirky arched doorway leading to the kitchen (so classic seventies!) you've already got the perfect retro home. It looks a whole lot like my parents' flat, which was indeed built (and last renovated) in the seventies! All you need is a new coat of paint, new wiring and plumbing throughout, better fittings in the toilets and new kitchen cabinetry, and matching re-upholstered vintage furniture and you'll be finished in no time at all. It'll look great!

Ha! Ha! Ha! A likely story...

Well, modern tempered glass is probably much safer than the glass that was used for my parents' cabinet back in the seventies. But nevertheless, tempered glass is still glass and it breaks far more easily than wood, metal or acrylic. With 2 naughty (and rather strong) toddlers and 1 rather large (and slightly clumsy) husband to keep an eye on, I really don't want to take chances. If they go crashing through a tempered glass door one day, it'll still leave them with some nasty cuts and scrapes and some fragments of glass embedded in the top layer of their skin. Not a pretty sight...

Lovely! Thanks! I guess he's just been too busy this year to even update his blog... Wonder if that's a bad thing or a good thing...

Glad you like it! I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the final outcome doesn't disappoint anyone... least of all me! We have so many books in fact that, back when I was a teacher and my students would come to visit me during Chinese New Year, they used to stare at my walls (note the plural!) of books with shock and awe (there actually used to be a lot more books in my flat, but I had to throw away about half of them after my daughters were born to make room for the babies!). The inevitable question always followed: "Wah, teacher, you actually read all these books, ah?" To which I would always respond sarcastically: "Nope. It's just for decorative purposes." They never got the joke! Sigh...

Good afternoon, Renotalkers! Am stuck at home this week. There's been an outbreak of HFMD at my daughters' childcare centre, so mummy and her daughters are all stuck at home. Just this morning, we played hide-and-seek, sang songs, read books, made assorted arts and crafts out of tissue paper, cardboard, tin foil and glitter crayons... and now they are bored... Sigh... Anyway, my obsession for today is tables! I love this one by Originals. Study construction and clean lines is just my thing. I would, however, prefer the benches to have cushions. Hard, wooden seats can be a real pain in the ***! This Mapp table (part of Plank Living) by Air Division is also a real beauty!

Probably! But I've got young kids, so large glass panels on anything would be unwise. As a child, I once crashed headlong into a glass-fronted cabinet in my parents' living room. I was lucky to have escaped with nothing more than a partially severed finger. Fortunately my mum got me to the hospital on time and the doctors managed to successfully reattach it. So, nope. No glass anywhere, if it can be helped. But for places where we really have to have glass, we'll either get safety glass or (better yet) acrylic. But we're hoping to keep the presence of anything breakable to a minimum.

Wow! I must admit that Mickey M's chosen design was not ... ahem ... to my taste. But the amount of work and thought that Loyd put into meeting his client's needs and expectations was quite extraordinary. Some of the work featured in his blog is also quite nice. However, there hasn't been any updates since August 2010. Does anyone know whether he's still in business?

Our theme song would probably be "True Faith"!

I'll get very toned arms after just a year at my new home! In fact, my hubby was joking that we should have one of those secret doors built into our bookshelf. You know, like in those that feature in Enid Blyton mysteries or Scooby Doo cartoons, where you pull on a special book that actually unlocks a hidden door and part of the bookcase swings open, revealing a dark hidden secret of the house! (cue thunder, lightening and sinister laughter...) But that might be just a bit too corny... My daughters would probably be tickled pink by it though...

Love the trompe l'oeil bookshelves on the wall of the entertainment room, in the house featured on the site. Just cluttered enough to be interesting!

It's official. I love your loos!

I guess it's... artistic vision = A+, value-for-money = C The problem I'm having so far is that I haven't been able to find an ID who has a dose of creative spark in them AND provides quality work at the same time... Sigh...

I'm seeing stars! It's nothing compared to the flat I've purchased though. The previous owner let her son (who is already in Primary 6, by the way!) doodle all over the walls! The kid is a budding graffiti artist... and a really bad one to boot! None of his doodles can be considered even remotely artistic... They are either lopsided representations of various foods or "I love ma ma!" Sigh...

Was particularly amused by this wallpaper... Very dressy!

So, which ID did you go with in the end?

After reading a post by JumpStreet on Mabaricows' t-blog, I've begun dreaming about trompe l’oeil bookcase wallpaper... especially along the passageway leading to my bedrooms, on my master bedroom wall, or even on the cabinets in my open plan kitchen. The printed word as food for the mind and a feast for the eyes... I love it! Am in love with this heavenly image: And this one (slightly more modern but no less desirable): And am really tickled by this fake door: Can you imagine putting this on your bedroom door? Then, you can play a game with your party guests and see how long it takes them to figure out that there doesn't appear to be any MBR in your flat!

Looks festive...

This wallpaper is absolutely gorgeous! It'll look as it I've got even more books than I do now... if that's even possible! Maybe I'll use it on the cabinets in my open kitchen... Anyone got any idea where I can get something like this in Singapore?