Last Friday, I made a trip with my family to Jakarta to attend my cousin’s wedding. It was my 1st time to Indonesia. Besides that, it was almost 20 years since the last time I have met my Indonesian aunt and cousins back in Singapore.
I used to complain about the traffics back here in Kuala Lumpur, but being in Jakarta changed my mind. I guess the traffic in Kuala Lumpur is better if we look it at the other way round.
This trip has been a tiring one due to the tight schedule and activities, so I did not really get much chance to explorer around, but I will be back for sure. It’s been good trip and an important one, because it strengthens the family tie, especially when your relatives are not exactly close by. Get to know more aunt, uncles and cousins and also discovered and learned more about the root of my ancestors, overall, it is a fruitful journey. I’ve also learned that, it’s not difficult to become a millionaire in Indonesia, at least this is also the 1st time I’m carrying a few million of cash in hand. That is for sure not possible back home in Kuala Lumpur for a normal person.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Home Improvement Project: Staircase Landing Part 2
With limited time recently due to work load, visiting various sites for mock ups and discussion, juggling different projects in hand at the same time and so many activities to attend during the weekend, my blog kicked off, but without much update. Here I shall continue the story of my home improvement project.
We’ll, my family friend, the carpenter paid me a short visit last weekend. He took his trusty measuring tape and gave the mentioned location a quick check. Sure enough, his finding is same as mine. So we had a short discussion, with me flipping through some old ID magazines and books which I bought a couple of years ago when I bought this house. Showed him the type of concept of my liking (mostly tropical/resort/oriental type of design) and discussed on the method to achieve such storage. We discussed about the inner details and also about the choice of wood for doors. The doors, will be ventilated type similar to those you can easily find in a hotel room wardrobe, which is quite resort/tropical like. My home design theme was inclined toward tropical/resort/oriental kind of with some hint of modern/contemporary touches. In Malaysia, it is sometimes called “Rojak”, where we try to mix in everything together.
He made some sketch with a pen and paper, put down the measurements and gave me a quick quote on the spot. The best thing I like about traditional carpenter, they do not need to have any CAD drawing or 3D visualization to have the furniture and pieces built for you. You just need to show them photos or show them the actual thing and they can customize you a piece that fits in to your unique space perfectly.
As I have previously made some budgetary calculation on my own with the price list I got from IKEA, both IKEA + Custom made front door and a total custom made piece end up to similar cost. I gave a green light to him to go ahead.
Next trip, he will be bringing me stain swatches to choose the wood stain to go with the door and furniture parts.
To be continued...
We’ll, my family friend, the carpenter paid me a short visit last weekend. He took his trusty measuring tape and gave the mentioned location a quick check. Sure enough, his finding is same as mine. So we had a short discussion, with me flipping through some old ID magazines and books which I bought a couple of years ago when I bought this house. Showed him the type of concept of my liking (mostly tropical/resort/oriental type of design) and discussed on the method to achieve such storage. We discussed about the inner details and also about the choice of wood for doors. The doors, will be ventilated type similar to those you can easily find in a hotel room wardrobe, which is quite resort/tropical like. My home design theme was inclined toward tropical/resort/oriental kind of with some hint of modern/contemporary touches. In Malaysia, it is sometimes called “Rojak”, where we try to mix in everything together.
He made some sketch with a pen and paper, put down the measurements and gave me a quick quote on the spot. The best thing I like about traditional carpenter, they do not need to have any CAD drawing or 3D visualization to have the furniture and pieces built for you. You just need to show them photos or show them the actual thing and they can customize you a piece that fits in to your unique space perfectly.
As I have previously made some budgetary calculation on my own with the price list I got from IKEA, both IKEA + Custom made front door and a total custom made piece end up to similar cost. I gave a green light to him to go ahead.
Next trip, he will be bringing me stain swatches to choose the wood stain to go with the door and furniture parts.
To be continued...
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Home Improvement Project: Staircase Landing Part 1
How will you use the empty spaces at the landing of a flight of stairs in your home? For my case, it has turned into another messy, unorganized shoe storage area which keeps piling up over time. After almost three years, I decided it is time to do something about it before it turned into another infamous leaning tower of shoebox as the collection grew. If a picture paints a thousand words, then the photo below shall explain everything.
I have been considering the following options, weighting the pros and cons.
1)Moving these shoe boxes to another location – this will most likely move the mess from Point A to Point B, not a good option.
2)Getting some readymade shoe storage/cabinet – it’s probably an easy option and cost effective too, but the only thing with readymade solution is whether it fit in properly into the space and the overall interior design theme.
3)Installing adjustable wall shelving system such as ANTONIUS series from IKEA with options to leave it in open concept, or hide it with curtain or some custom doors – such system can be customized, change, reconfigured and expanded overtime when needed which is a practical solution.
4)Custom made to order furniture piece – could be pricey, and even outdated if designed to be trendy. Some may last a lifetime too if built with quality in mind carrying design which is not easily be replaced over time.
I’m very much inclined toward option 3 and 4; however it is also the costlier options. But thinking about the possibilities for multiple usages beside storing shoes, I think it is an option to go for as a long term solution despite, a bigger hole in the pocket.
After taking some measurements (as usual, before shopping for furniture/pieces), I discovered that the developer who built my house gave me slanted walls. Sigh.., besides that, I’ve also discovered, the various walls and ceiling that made up that area is actually a couple of trapeziums instead of right angled rectangles....I made a call to a close family friend who happens to be a good and skilful carpenter for advice. He will be coming over to have a look before making any recommendations. He shall be visiting us soon...
I have been considering the following options, weighting the pros and cons.
1)Moving these shoe boxes to another location – this will most likely move the mess from Point A to Point B, not a good option.
2)Getting some readymade shoe storage/cabinet – it’s probably an easy option and cost effective too, but the only thing with readymade solution is whether it fit in properly into the space and the overall interior design theme.
3)Installing adjustable wall shelving system such as ANTONIUS series from IKEA with options to leave it in open concept, or hide it with curtain or some custom doors – such system can be customized, change, reconfigured and expanded overtime when needed which is a practical solution.
4)Custom made to order furniture piece – could be pricey, and even outdated if designed to be trendy. Some may last a lifetime too if built with quality in mind carrying design which is not easily be replaced over time.
I’m very much inclined toward option 3 and 4; however it is also the costlier options. But thinking about the possibilities for multiple usages beside storing shoes, I think it is an option to go for as a long term solution despite, a bigger hole in the pocket.
After taking some measurements (as usual, before shopping for furniture/pieces), I discovered that the developer who built my house gave me slanted walls. Sigh.., besides that, I’ve also discovered, the various walls and ceiling that made up that area is actually a couple of trapeziums instead of right angled rectangles....I made a call to a close family friend who happens to be a good and skilful carpenter for advice. He will be coming over to have a look before making any recommendations. He shall be visiting us soon...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
I started a joke...
No, I started a blog; instead of I started a joke (which is a 1968 song by The Bee Gees). This is my very first attempt to blog and so, this marks my very first blog entry in my life. I will be sharing my thoughts on various subjects, some of my attempt and DIY to create my dream home, food hunt, travel and much more. Stay tune for my blog to come alive. Will be typing when time allow. Cheers.
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