Home Reno - Front Terrace

I'm back :D

Remember when I promised you something on THIS PREVIOUS POST ?
So here's the built-in wall cabinet turned into seating cabinet/ bench..

Not bad, eh?

Looking at the size it's more on the day bed side, but we use it as a bench. 

The cabinet was reinforced with extra wooden structure so it could function well as a seating. The doors painted white and the body varnished.. and I got a 'new' bench which is also a roomy storage for shoes etc.

I didn't put seat cushion for practicality reason, but as you can see in the photo some throw pillows are enough to make the bench looks more inviting.

If you notice the checkered floor tiles, it's actually started from an accident where some of the (then) installed plain white tiles were flawed.. So I made a design decision to alternate the plain white tiles with ornate ones. We (I and hubby) search high and low for the ornate tiles, and finally found these ornate blue-white tiles that I think are perfect! :) 

Where I Sew

Here's more from my new sewing room, or what my kids call my office :D It was a room filled with clutter of old stuff, boxes and suitcases. After what seems to be an endless job, it's now finally coming together.

The old squeaky chair is my mother's. My hubby offered to change the wheels, but I'd rather get a whole new chair instead :)) Another one to add to my long wishlist.

We spent hours discussed which cabinet to get, but it's all worth it.. not to mention it's on sale! Yay! Hubby has hacked one of the display cubicle to make way for my sewing machine.. thank you dear ;)

And of course.. the day bed! It's oh so comfy and we get to use the space underneath to store stuff that we rarely use.


Though small, I'm so happy that I finally have my own sewing room. Well, actually it also functions as the guest bedroom, but we rarely have sleep over guests anyway.


I still need to add some details to the room.. will update the progress with you all here!

Built-In Storages in Small Space

I came across this article and thought I'd share with you some of my favourites which will suit well in a small space.

I'm sure you've seen some floor to ceiling book shelves, yet these ones caught my interest since they're nicely put in often ignored space.

Like this one in a narrow hall, complete with display of pictures on the opposite wall.

Or this one which frames the outdoor view, creates a small reading nook by the window.

This next one is also a floor to ceiling storage, but it's for shoes! I really should built this baby :D

Click here for full article from My home Ideas

(not so) New Laundry Bag

I had this foldable laundry bag with stand from IKEA with me for almost 4 years and I wasn't surprise when it broke down last week. I guess it's normal for the plastic bag not to withstand the test of time.

While I could easily get a new one at the store with a low cost, I see that the stand is actually still in good condition with no visible wear and tear sign. Then I recall that I still have enough vynil sheets to be made into a new laundry bag!

So here it is, my (not so) new laundry bag..

Hopefully with the vynil bag it'll be more durable than before :)

Handmade Space

I drool over these pretty organized craft rooms and always dream of having the same space as those beauties.

images from Modish: HANDMADE SPACES

Unfortunately I'm not that organized, since I find my craft room tidiness is the hardest to keep up (apart from the boys' room, ofcourse).

Bowl-ing

Have I told you that I've soft spot for accessories which are functional as well?

Like this pretty bowl, shown here as a fruit bowl, yet I'm sure we can find many use for this versatile piece. Even empty and standing alone, it would look dashing as a table centrepiece or as an unique accent on your console table.

And ofcourse it's availabe in our home and decor online store - Feathers For Nest :)

Bring The Outdoor In(to The Bath)

Lately I take a liking for relaxing long baths. And ofcourse I have to equip all the necessary things to make my bathroom a spa like sanctuary, rite? :D

Though I always drool over sights of natural styled outdoor baths or showers, but I have to bear with the fact that I'm not very fond of the cold wind against my skin. Well, even it's not that cold, but the warm water makes it feel colder than it is.

Hence, to create my very own indoor-with-an-outdoor-flair-bath I chose to bring the outdoor in instead, by adding natural elements like wood, stone, plants, even seashells. And ofcourse plenty of natural light will boost the outdoor feeling, that's why I installed skylight to get the best of both worlds - privacy and natural light.

And fyi, my bathroom is pretty small so I adjusted the natural elements so they wont be too overwhelming or worse, making the small bath more cramped.

One of my new added natural element is a soap coaster (yes, I always choose functional accessories). As simple as it may sound, but this one is made of natural materials: teak wood, varnished to make it durable in wet and humid environment common in bathrooms; combined with pearly seashell to top it off.

This wooden-shell soap coasters are available in 2 design, Asoka (the oval based shape) and Kenanga (the square based shape).

Kenanga Soap Coaster

Asoka Soap Coaster

Ofcourse, instead of drooling over them, you can have them here in Feathers For Nest :)

Floral Trays

What is it between women and flowers?

(Since I'm always drawn to beautiful flowers)

And what is it with trays that I like about?

Why, its multifunctions ofcourse!

So please do take a look at some new trays in our home n decor store Feathers For Nest, The Floral Collections, all made of durable melamine and full of pretty flowery print details.

The best part is that these versatile trays look good as they are functional.

You can keep it in your desk drawer to keep paper clips, business cards, or even your jewelleries. Or you can use it as a part of your landing strip for keys, receipts, notes, or mails.

And don't forget, you can always use it for it's intended use: a serving tray :)

Bottles on Display

Do you collect things?

While I never intended to collect certain things in the first place, but eventually now I end up (infact it's not ended yet) with piles of home design books and magazines.. and dozens of childrens books as well. Yet, I'm sure my case here is a common thing for many people.

But what if you collect things that are.. well, a bit unordinary?

Like my friend who happens to be a product designer is a collector of coke bottles. Yup, the same coke bottles that you usually throw in a garbage or recycle bin after you finished the carbonated drink. Ofcourse my dear friend always say that his collection is classic, it's the historic evolution of the coke bottle design. Yeah..

Anyway, he ones asked about ways to store his bottle collections. So here you go.

Conservatively, you can keep the bottles in wine bottle racks or shelves.

Creatively, you can display all of them instead, forming a room divider wall that even suits a small space since the transparent characteristic of the glass bottle material still lets light through so the divided rooms wont become claustrophobic.


pics from misterimportant.com

Then if you want to display only a few and keep the rest deep in the storage, you can always enhance the lime light on your display by adding some quirky accessories like this one below.

pic from revivehome.com

Caps Organizing

A friend of mine once asked me about how to organize her husband's collection of caps (baseball's, not bottle's). So I did some searching, and found some cap organizers like this one below, but unfortunately it needs international shipping to reach here.



After some time not knowing where to find the pretty much same item here in Singapore, I remember about this one from IKEA.


It's the Komplement Door Hanger . As the name indicates, this thing can be hung on the wardrobe's door to add more storage space. Basically it's an easy to move adjustable strap with 5 hooks on it.



For this special purpose of caps organizing, you can get creative by adding more hooks between the existing 5 hooks, so you can have even more space for storing those growing collection of caps.

Howdy..

If you want to impress your guest by displaying an unique - out of this world - coat stand, then you definitely should consider this one.


It's Catching The Wild from Stolen Wood, would fit in any cowboy's hallway perfectly.

Bedside Table Wonder

What do you like to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon?

As for me, reading in bed is my favorite pastime. I could do it for hours with magazines, books, newspapers, browsing in my laptop. That's why I really need a bedside table to put all of my reading materials.

And sometimes it can look kind of messy with all the books on the table, so I always prefer a bedside table with closed drawers or cabinet attached so I can easily put the books in it when I'm finished reading, out of sight, no sign of clutter what so ever.

But that doesn't mean that bedside tables without storage are useless though. Because you can easily put some pretty boxes underneath it for the extra storage that you need. 'Pretty' boxes here could be boxes in leather, rattan, even transparent acrylic, depend on your taste and preference.

But if you in some way could only cope with a lousy carton box, you can always decorate it with some giftwraps, d.i.y painting, decoupage, etc. Then again, if you are just too occupied (or just lazy) to do it all, a nice tablecloth which covers from top table to floor would easily hide those mess under the sidetable.

My Frog Prince

What's my most favourite thing from trips (yes, more than once) to the IKEA Sale recently?

Not the candle holder, not the table centerpiece, not the other home accessories..

It's the Minnen Groda frog toy :D

This cute soft toy is soooo adorable with a 'crown' on its head, and you can even open or close its mouth with zipper. When it's open there's a small 'fly' stitched inside, moreover you can store small items/ toys inside the mouth as well.

Having to fight over it with my twin pre-schoolers, now finally I can sleep with MY Frog Prince, a more interesting choice than a regular bolster. Ahh, I feel like a princess.. ;D

Multifunctional Side Table

Here's another versatile design from Ikea, the Hatten side table. With sleek metal legs and transparent plastic top, it's speaking in a modern language (in a low budget too).

So it's a table, with a removable top which can function as a tray as well, and it has a space underneath for storage. Ikea claims that this piece is perfect for outdoor furniture, say at the patio, for the storage can hold some cool drinks and the tray can be used to serve them.

But I'm not really buying it because even the top is made of plastic (which is weatherproof I suppose), but the legs are made of chromed metal which I don't think can stand in my area's humidity.

Yet I would still have it for indoor use though (I'm nuts about transparent furnitures, works great in my small space), let say in the kids bedroom, for toys storage. Or even as a bed side table (for ones that into modern-retro style, this piece's a steal).