Design: MMJ Design Loft

What is Soap Scum?

Image from Pipe wrench plumbing

Soap scum is a thin layer of stubborn, whitish grey of mildew that coats the shower door, tiles, glass, bathtubs, sink bowl and faucet; basically, any place that has any contact with soap and water. It is formed when the minerals in the water, mainly calcium and magnesium, combine with soap to create a sticky mixture. Usually, the soapy water also contains filth such as dissolved body oils, dead skin, hair and so on.

Design: DreamCatcher Interior Design

Why is Soap Scum Undesirable?

When left alone for too long, the soap scum will build up and makes it difficult to remove. The soap scum also attracts mould, algae and bacteria which will feed on it and grow. Sometimes, the soap scum gives off a foul smell too. Furthermore, the soap scum once accumulated on glass, shower surfaces, the particles will etch and permanently scratch the glass.

Design: DISTINCTidENTITY

How to Safely Remove Soap Scum

In this post, we will show you how to remove the stubborn soap scum using non-toxic, environment and family friendly household cleaner.

Materials & Tools

1. 1x Pair of Plastic Gloves

2. 1 pack of Baking Soda

3. 1 bottle of Water Spritz/Mist Spray that contains diluted White Vinegar

4. 1 piece of Non Scratch Scrub Sponge (Scotch-Brite)

5. 1 piece of water absorbent cotton rug

Image from

6. 1 bottle of Water Repellent (Rain-X 2-in-1 Glass Cleaner Plus Rain Repellent, available on Lazada)

Design: In-Expat

7 Steps for a Pristine Clean Bathroom!

Step 1. Spray the place which you want to clean with plenty of water
By dampening the area with water, the baking soda powder is able to form a paste and “stick” on the grime more firmly.

Step 2. Sprinkle the baking soda on the dampened area
Make sure that the area is completely covered with a thin layer of baking soda.

Step 3. Spray the baking soda paste with white vinegar and let the baking soda-white vinegar paste sits for around an hour
When white vinegar and baking soda are mixed together, hydrogen ions (white vinegar) react with the sodium and bicarbonate ions (baking soda). “The result is a decomposition reaction and the carbonic acid formed as a result of the first reaction immediately begins to decompose into water and carbon dioxide gas” explosively and results in the fizzle. This reaction helps to dislodge the soap scum and makes it easier to clean off the soap scum.

Step 4. Wear the plastic gloves and use the non-scratch scrub sponge to scrub
For tougher soap scum buildup, spray more white vinegar on the baking soda paste prior scrubbing. The pristine white baking soda paste will turn brown or grey when the dislodged soap scum is mixed with the paste.

Step 5. Rise the area thoroughly with water
Use plenty of water to rinse the area to remove the baking soda and soap scum.

Step 6. Wipe the area completely dry
Use the cotton rug to dry off the excess water.

Image from Triple Fat Goose

Step 7. Prevent soap scum from coming back by spraying the surface with a thin layer of water repellent
To stop soap scum from building up, the best way is to prevent it from sticking to the surface. Several products are designed to prevent water from staying on the surface and one of them includes using water repellent for meant for the windshields.

Additional Tip:

Water repellent wax or oil furniture polish also helps water to bead off the surface easily. Reapply the water repellent wax or oil furniture polish monthly since the protective film will wear off after a while. Using a shower squeegee after every shower will also keep the soap scum buildup to the minimum.

Design: Linear Space Concepts

Original post How to Eliminate Soap Scum and Keep the Bathroom Looking Pristine Clean appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

So you like to entertain. And what better way to impress your guests than with a well-stocked home bar? Even if you’re not a frequent host, having a dedicated space at home where you can fix up a good whisky cocktail for yourself can be extremely therapeutic after a long day at work. But don’t think you will need a lot of space for that though. These glamorous ideas below show that you can work in a home bar even with a small square footage. Time to break out the bubbly!

1. Sharing Space with the TV Console

The home bar and the TV console here form a single structure, helping to streamline the design visually in this small condominium. Slanted racks were specifically built at the side for storing wine bottles.

Design: UNO Interior

2. All You Need is a Bar Cart

Founded atop castor wheels, a bar cart is a great small space home bar option since it’s incredibly versatile and mobile—which means you can move it around wherever you wish! Get one in a gilded finish for that glamorous touch.

Design: Home Philosophy

3. Island Life

If you’re planning on going for a kitchen island, it can double as the perfect home bar setting. The under counter space can be used to store your wine glasses and bottles, but keep the storage to the side of the island so that it won’t interfere with your prep or eating zones.

Design: Linear Space Concepts

4. Hole in the Wall

A recessed wall niche as a home bar works wonders in a small space since it doesn’t get in the way physically or visually. Plus, it uses up a space that would otherwise go un-utilised! In this instance, there’s even enough room for a wine chiller. Be sure to keep the fragile glassware at the upper compartments lest you risk knocking them over with a stray elbow!

Design: The Scientist

5. Under Counter Shenanigans

In this set-up, the dining area, which joins with the kitchen counter, doubles as this apartment’s home bar area. A wine storage compartment was installed on the other side of the kitchen counter, making it easier to reach for a tipple after meals.

Design: Versaform

6. Keeping it Lean

Keep things casual with a standing bar. We like how lean this table design is. It is also mounted against the wall on one side, freeing up floor estate while not taking up extra visual space. Beer mugs and bottles are stored at the side of the bar table, while the fancier bottles are kept behind at a recessed wall niche.

Design: 3D Innovations

7. Hiding in the Corner

Having your home bar within the kitchen is a great idea if you’re looking to create a more inclusive cooking space that also doubles as a place for gathering. The corner of this L-shaped kitchen counter features an in-built wine rack, which is functional while breaking the monotony of the counter design.

Design: Design by Fifteen

8. The Only Way is Up

In small homes, it’s important to make use of your vertical space. Here, the wine rack is mounted from the ceiling, creating a gorgeous display of the homeowner’s liquor and spirits collection.

Design: Eightytwo

9. Sharing with the Kitchen

Here’s another home bar that takes advantage of vertical space. We like the ceiling-mounted wine rack’s addition of the wine glass slots at the bottom, which are a great way to display your glass wares. The bar table is also shared with the kitchen counter so that it does double duty.

Design: AO Studios

10. Now You See It, Now You Don’t

This idea is particularly savvy we think. The home bar is hidden within the TV cabinet. One of the cabinet fronts can be flipped opened to form the bar table, featuring a couple of shelves for wine storage at the side.

Design: Space Factor

11. Cabinet Conundrum

For kitchen home bars, there’s the option to make use of the space underneath your upper cabinets to store your wine glasses. The LED lights at the back of the cupboards add an alluring glow to the space.

Design: DSOD Interior

Tell us: Will you be setting up a home bar in your home? How will you make it work in your small space?

 Start meeting IDs to discuss your home design and compare quotes:

Original post 11 Glamorous Home Bar Ideas Great for Small Spaces appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Do you know?

The bathroom is where we start and end our day with our basic hygiene tasks  and the only place where it offers true, personal solitude. Hence, aside from the kitchen, the bathroom is the next workhorse of the house.

The bathroom should provide the basic features to carry out the necessary hygiene tasks and proper storage. However, having a functional bathroom does not stop at having adequate storage and a stylish design. Read on to find out why!

1. Extremely Prone to Heat & Humidity

Piping hot baths and showers, coupled with a small bathroom window, made moulds and mildew one of the top problems faced by homeowners.

Design: Fuse Concept

What does this mean to you?
Consider installing either a ceiling or a window ventilation fan for ample ventilation. Always leave the bathroom window and door open after every shower for hot air to escape. The shower screens and walls should also be wiped dry after every use to reduce the moisture level.

2. Towels are Top Breeding Spots for Germs

As the bath, face and hand towels are only used to dry up after a clean up, no one expects them to be the top breeding spots for germs. Based on the Huffington Post, “experts recommend washing after about three uses to remove millions of dead skin cells and avoid that musty scent. Face towels should really be replaced after every use if you don’t want to reintroduce bacteria in your pores, says a dermatologist.” In addition, the towels used in a bathroom are usually thick to absorb and lock in moisture to help us towel dry faster. Unfortunately, this means that these towels also lock in millions of germs too.

Design: Linear Space Concepts

What does this mean to you?
Towels are the heavy touch points for any bathroom users and therefore, the towel bars should be located at places which are accessible to the bathroom users, well away from the toilet bowl and have plenty of air ventilation. Furthermore, the towels should be replaced frequently at least every 3 uses or days.

3. Choose Towel Bars over Towel Hooks or Rings

Hanging towels on hooks or rings make them dry slower, traps moisture in the folds which helps mildew and bacteria flourish, resulting in nasty odour. However, spreading the towels on a towel bar will dry them much faster.

Design: Starry Homestead

What does this mean to you?
Towel hooks or rings are preferred over towel bars due to their space saving properties. Nevertheless, many homeowners did not realize that wall mounted multiple towel rails can actually help to address the space constraints since they are multi-tiered.

4. Avoid Open Shelving in Small Bathroom

Open shelving in a small bathroom makes it hard to pull off an organised look. This makes it also impossible to keep out the dirt, bacteria-contaminated flush-spray and fecal matter droplets when bathroom users do not close the toilet lid before they flush. Hence, when the open shelves are used to store clean towels, makeup brushes and even toothbrushes, they will be more vulnerable to bacterial growth and contamination.

Design: Voila

What does this mean to you?
Ensure that the storage cabinets are designed with doors and drawers in mind. To keep the storage cabinet clutter free, organize them with drawer tray dividers, bins, baskets and even extension rods.

5. Dedicate a Spot for Hairdryer, Electric Shaver & Electric Toothbrushes

As our lifestyle becomes more high tech, the electronic devices which are needed to complete our daily bathroom routine include hair dryer, electric shaver for ladies and men and electronic toothbrushes. However, a bathroom is a high moisture place and the dangers of the water splashed accidentally on the electrical socket are real.

Design: Free Space Intent

What does this mean to you?
Dedicate a spot for storing and using these electronic devices in the bathroom and they should be preferably 1 m or more away from water sources such as bathroom taps and shower area. If the electrical outlet is to be installed in the bathroom, get a certified electrician to install the outlet (with a built in circuit breaker) and a splash cover to protect it from water and moisture.  The safest option is to install the point either inside the wall of a storage cabinet (which helps to keep the cords and water out of the way and behind closed doors) which is furthest from the water sources, or simply just outside of the bathroom, so that the hair dryer, electric shaver can be used through the open bathroom door.

6. Plan for Emergency Backup Lights

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, the bathroom is where we start and end our day with our basic hygiene tasks. Therefore, as the next workhorse of the house, it is extremely critical that the bathroom is always functional. If the bathroom lighting malfunctions, you will find it challenging and even dangerous to use and navigate the bathroom in the dark.

Design: Three-d Conceptwerke

What does this mean to you?
Make sure that the bathroom is equipped with minimal 2 LED lighting points. This helps to ensure that if one lighting malfunctions, the other is still functional while the faulty lighting is replaced. LED lighting generally has a much longer lifespan and is more energy saving.

7. Plan for Less Maintenance

Difficult to clean grout lines and stained tiles are the most common grouses. In fact, keeping white grout lines and tiles pristine clean is actually a tall order for most busy homeowners!

Design: Design NEU

What does this mean to you?
Keep in mind to stay away from white tiles and grout lines when choosing the design style for your bathroom. In addition, choosing the biggest tiles available for the shower area, goes a long way to keep the maintenance to the minimum!

8. Wall & Floor Finishes in Bathrooms & Toilets of new HDB Flats cannot be Removed!

 All new HDB flats have a 3 year restriction period for wall and floor finishes removal in bathrooms and toilets. Hence, hacking of the wall and floor tiles are strictly prohibited.

Design: Architology

What does this mean to you?
Even with these restrictions in place, you can still replace the ugly looking wall and floor tiles by overlaying them with tiles of your choice. Nevertheless, you need to thoroughly check the wall and floor for hollow tiles and get them replaced, prior to the commencement of the renovation works, to prevent popped tiles in the future.

Original post 8 Things No One Tells You About the Bathroom That Affects Your Renovation appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

New to decorating and don’t know where to start? In our latest Ask the Experts column, we seek the advice of home styling experts to see what are some fail-safe ways to style your home.

Why is home styling important?

Home styling isn’t just about creating spaces that look like they came straight out of an interior design magazine—although kudos to you if you can achieve that—but it’s also about personalising your home so that it reflects who you are. Emeline from Truffula Forest likens styling your home to creating a sense of belonging, while Visha Nelson, the founder and designer at The Cinnamon Room, sees it as a means of self-expression.

Home styling is a way to express you in your home.

Design: Fuse Concept

Beyond just a showcase of your tastes, home styling can also be seen as a way to improve your quality of life, according to the team at Stylodeco. “Coming home to a space that speaks to you, your style, and that is curated with things you genuinely love will instantly make you feel calm and at ease.”

Best areas in the home to work in some styling magic?

Most of the stylists agree that any flat surface in the home is a good place to incorporate some styling. Nina Beale, the owner and director of Bungalow 55, suggests the coffee table, which she thinks most homeowners tend to neglect.

Flat surfaces, like the coffee table, is one of the best places to work in some styling.

Design: I-Bridge Design

“More can be done on the coffee table, as it’s usually a big flat surface in the centre of your living room. I always recommend a beautiful box to contain your remote controls and add some life in the form of scented candles or flowers,” says Nina.

Flowers help to add life and texture to any styled space.

Design: Bungalow 55

The Stylodeco team highlights three areas where you can focus your styling efforts on. One, the entryway, as it’s where you make the first impression of your home. Two, a large empty wall where you can consider turning into a galley wall, which is a great way to add a personal touch. And finally, the bathroom or bedroom vanity, as styling these private spaces can add a spa-like experience to mundane daily rituals.

Consider turning your wall into a galley wall, filled with art or your personal pictures.

Design: The Scientist

Daily rituals get a lift thanks to a perfectly styled vanity.

Design: i.Poise Interior Design

What are “vignettes” and why should we care when it comes to home styling?

You may have heard of the term thrown around a lot by interior stylists. It is used to describe a small styled space that forms a pleasing scene and is done by arranging different objects or furniture together. A vignette is an easier way to think about home styling, since it helps to break it down into smaller parts of the home. Here are some ways to do up your own vignette, according to the stylists:

Vary heights: One of the ways to create a perfectly styled vignette is by varying the heights of your décor items. Stylodeco suggests adding flowers to vary height, while Emeline from Truffula Forest recommends having the tallest element arranged at the back and the shortest in front to create visual balance.

Vary the heights of your grouped objects for visual interest.

Design: Icon Interior Design

Stick with a colour theme: If you’re just starting out, Emeline advises sticking religiously to a colour theme. Have not more than four elements arranged on a tray, which can help to assemble your pieces together.

Keep to a single colour theme for the best effect and vary the tones and textures of your items for interest. Here, a classic palette of white allows the variety of materials to shine.

Design: The Scientist

Stack elements: Once you’re comfortable, you can try stacking the different elements together. For instance, a stack of magazines or books would provide a great building platform for other decorative accents, suggests Emeline.

Books and magazines are some of the best tools to create more interest in a vignette.

Design: Arete Culture

Keep a collection together: If you’re displaying a collection of items, keep them together as they tell a better story rather than having them scattered around the room, says Nina.

Group similar objects together, rather than separate them throughout the room.

Design: DistinctIdentity

Find a focal point: Visha recommends starting with a focal point for any vignette. The focal point should be the essential of a room, e.g. the bed in the bedroom, and then adding accessories around it.

Versatile and easy-to-use accessories to use or buy?

Visha at The Cinnamon Room recommends going with a rug or carpet. “It’s one of the easiest way to transform a space. The placement of a rug softens the room, grounds the area and creates a focal point. It also adds texture and colour to your interiors and often completes a space effortlessly.”

A rug helps to tie everything together.

Design: The Cinnamon Room

The team at Stylodeco agrees: “Rugs create boundaries and these boundaries create a visual segmentation within a space and helps to pull an area together.”

Besides rugs, Stylodeco also wants you to consider lamps. “Table lamps, wall lamps and floor lamps give off ambient light, which creates a cosy, relaxed atmosphere which we feel is one of the elements that make a house a home. Always pair ambient lamps with warm white light.”

Warm light creates immediate ambience in a space.

Design: The Monocot Studio

In terms of smaller accessories, go with glass wares and crystal bowls, recommends Emeline. “They are classic and timeless pieces that will never go out of style. These staples not only stretch the dollar, they also catch the light and amp up any styled space.”

Classic pieces like glass wares add a timeless touch to any styled space.

Design: Fuse Concept

Common mistakes to avoid when it comes to home styling?

For Nina of Bungalow 55, one of the biggest mistakes she encountered in her styling projects is homeowners rushing out to buy key furniture pieces without taking into account how they live and then having to rearrange their layouts based on their purchases.

“I see clients purchasing 8-seater dining tables and they never entertain at home. I see clients purchasing sectional sofas and they don’t watch television.” She says that styling a home is ultimately to tell a story about the person living in that space. “It shouldn’t be about creating a showroom.”

Consider your lifestyle habits before making big purchases for your home.

Design: Notion of W

Visha, on the other hand, sees many homeowners positioning their furniture wrong. “In an effort to create more space, I often see all pieces of furniture pushed against the wall. In a lot of cases, this leads to no real focal point, making the central area look bare. By pulling furniture away from walls, you can actually create cosier spaces.”

How do we prevent our styled spaces from appearing overly cluttered or messy?

Less is definitely more when it comes to home styling.

Design: DistinctIdentity

The main advice from all the stylists? Go with less. “Look at the size of the area you’re decorating. You may only need one lamp on the console, rather than two. Go with bigger items rather than a lot of small items as small things, when grouped together, tend to create clutter,” says Nina.

Opt for larger elements rather than a clutter of smaller objects.

Design: Sujonohun Concept & Design

Truffula Forest’s Emeline concurs. “It can get pretty overwhelming and exciting when it comes to decorating with your favourite things, but remember less is more! Rotate and declutter the accents every few months to keep things looking fresh. This way, every prized possession gets their fair chance to shine!”

Rotate your decor items every once in a while to refresh a space.

Design: Lemonfridge Studio

Stylodeco shares with us a pro tip to prevent clutter in a small styled space: “Stick with the golden rule of styling with odd numbers—either in 3s or 5s. That is the maximum we would advise, especially if you’re styling a small space like a table-top surface.”

Have a home styling tip to share? Let us know in the comments!

Original post Ask the Experts: Home Styling Tips for Beginners appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Are You Eating Plastic for Dinner? | Short Film Showcase

What are microplastics?

Microplastics are extremely tiny pieces of plastic which are smaller than 5 mm. As a result of their diminutive size, sewage and wastewater treatment plants are not able to remove them with the filters. Therefore, these tiny shreds of plastic eventually make their way into the oceans and rivers.

Where do microplastics come from?

Microplastics originate from a wide variety of sources and are categorised into primary and secondary microplastics. Primary microplastics are manufactured plastic microbeads which are made from polyethylene plastic. These microbeads are commonly used in beauty products such as cosmetics and personal hygiene products such as cleansers and toothpastes. Secondary microplastics come from larger plastic discards that have been broken down into smaller pieces from UV and environmental element exposure over time. They enter the ocean and the river through surface runoff, plastic landfills, drainage networks and wastewater treatment plants.

________________________

Why are microplastics harmful to us?

Image from Microplastics

Do you know?
Microplastics are made of plastic which is non-biodegradable and insoluble! An average person could ingest 100,000 plastic particles a year — equal to one credit card a week!

Image from BBC

As a result, the microplastics pose grave danger to the environment once they enter the food chain; starting when animals ingest the microplastics infested oceans and rivers. Eventually, the microplastics end up in our body through contaminated food; yes, around 114 aquatic species have been found to be contaminated with fibers of microplastics!

One study has discovered that up to 273 microplastic particles per pound (600 particles per kilogram) of salt (Microplastic Pollution in Table Salts from China) were present when 15 different brands of sea salt are examined!

We Know Plastic Is Harming Marine Life. What About Us?!

The negative health impact of the microplastic contamination is beginning to show (source). Some of the possible side effects include increased growth of breast cancer cells, toxic accumulation in the liver, kidneys and intestines, airborne microplastics that may induce lung cells to make inflammatory chemicals and disruption of reproductive hormones by Bisphenol A (BPA), a well known endocrine disruptor.

________________________

5 surprising things you are doing at home that contribute to the massive microplastic pollution!

1. Using garment and bed linen which are increasingly made of plastic

Many of the garment and bed linen are made of polyester, nylon, acrylic and polyamide, aside from natural materials such as cotton and linen. As a result, they can shed up to 700,000 microfibres microplastic with each wash.

Image from Helpwiththewashing

What can you do to stop microplastic pollution?
Always check the label to ensure that your purchases are made up of 100% natural organic material. Furthermore, avoid over-washing the items and opt for sun dry instead of tumble dry.

2. Using laundry, dishwasher pods and tablets which contain tons of microplastics

Detergents and disinfectants that contain scrubbing agents have microplastics (made of either polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP)) which are released during each wash.

Image from Helpwiththewashing

What can you do to stop microplastic pollution?
Switch to plastic free detergents, dishwasher and soap nuts, which are made from plant-derived ingredients which are earth-friendly alternatives.

 3. Using wet wipes for almost everything

Almost all wipes (hand wipes, feminine, baby wipes, make-up removing wipes, wet wipes, kitchen or floor wipes) are made from polyester, polyethylene, and polypropylene – or a mixture of those plastics and natural fibers. Aside from non-biodegradable, when these synthetic fibres are flushed down the toilet bowl, they are usually the cause of expensive sewer blockages and beach contamination. The Marine Conservation Society in the UK found a steep 50% increase in wipes found on beaches between 2013 and 2014. Unsurprisingly, when these wet wipes found their way into the sea, they also contribute significantly to the presence of microplastic pollution!

Image from Tata and Howard

What can you do to stop microplastic pollution?
Switch to the more eco-friendly traditional all-cotton flannel. Always dispose the wet wipes properly and never flush them down the toilet bowl!

4. Using tea bags

Unknown to many, most tea products make extensive use of plastics; from their packing to their tea bags! In fact, their tea bags are made of plastic polymer, polypropylene which seals up, holds the contents of the tea bags together and retains the tea bag shape when they are soaked in boiling hot water.

Image from Treading my own path

What can you do to stop microplastic pollution?
Avoid purchasing tea in the form of tea bags! Always choose to purchase the loose-leaf tea, which is cheaper and more flavorful as they are not grounded to dust!

5. Using Personal Care and Cosmetic Products (PCCPs) with microbeads

Microbeads are tiny plastic spheres specially manufactured to use together with PCCs such as shower gels, makeup, toothpaste and lotions to add an exfoliating effect or simply to make the products look more attractive. These are usually made from polyethylene, a synthetic resin which is also widely used for plastic bags and packaging. Due to their size, they will bypass the filtration systems and invade the oceans and rivers. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, between 15 and 30% of microplastics are derived from primary microplastics!

Image from 5gyres.org

What can you do to stop microplastic pollution?
Find out whether the PCCPs contain microbeads by doing a quick online check at Beat the Microbead before making the purchase.

________________________

Here is a very useful infographic that summarizes the threat of microplastics

Image from GreenMatch

Original post 5 Surprising Things You Are Doing at Home that Contribute to the Massive Microplastic Pollution appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Apartment living shouldn’t be boring or constrained by the limited square footage. We show you just how to do it in style with actual floor plans from new freehold condo Sky Everton, which is located at the highly coveted Everton Road. (More than 40% of the units have been sold already by the way, so if you’re looking to jump on the bandwagon, check out this hot city fringe property here.)

From savvy solutions that maximise storage to nifty multipurpose designs that will make the most of floor estate, these floor plan ideas are perfect for spaces 1,500 square feet and under.

1-Bedroom (Type A1)
Size: 463 sqft

1. We all know how mirrors work in small spaces: they are great for bouncing light around, allowing a small room to appear larger and they add more visual depth to a space. If you have a layout like this where the entrance of the bedroom sits within the living area, consider swapping out the conventional door with a mirrored one that lets your living room appear more voluminous.

Images courtesy of Ark-hitecture

2. Who needs a living area when you’re living alone? Convert your apartment into a studio, with the original living room turned into a bedroom and the original bedroom turned into a walk-in wardrobe.

Images courtesy of Summerhaus D’zign

2-Bedroom (Type B1)
Size: 646 sqft

3. In the original condominium layout, the kitchen is an open one. But if you tend to do heavy cooking, you might want to close it up with a sliding glass door that helps to contain the fumes and grease. Going glass still keep things feeling open and airy so don’t worry even with a small space like this.

Images courtesy of Crescendo Interior & Lifestyle

4. Here’s one way to incorporate a study desk in a small bedroom. Do up a custom bed that features a workstation by the side. The best part? It can also double as a bedside table so you won’t need to find space for a separate one.

Images courtesy of 19 Eighty Three

2-Bedroom + Study (Type B5)
Size: 657 sqft

5. This layout features a tiny study nook near the foyer. Make the most of the space by incorporating a flexible pegboard shelf, which allows you to customise your shelves at varying heights.

In small kitchens, don’t be afraid of using a dark hue like the one we’ve shown here. They are great for making a big visual impact without taking up physical space. Do away with top cabinets to really open up a small cooking space.

Images courtesy of Fuse Concept

3-Bedroom (Type C1)
Size: 915 sqft

6. Consider hacking away a part of your kitchen wall and replacing it with a glass panel. Not only will it work as a backsplash, it also serves to bring in more light into your kitchen.

Image courtesy of Omni Design

3-Bedroom + Study (Type C3)
Size: 958 sqft

7. This full-height TV wall made up of thin strips of wood works as an eye-catching feature in the living room while dividing up the dining area with the living room to create cosier communal zones.

Images courtesy of Authors

8. Small bedrooms should totally invest in storage platforms. They are great for keeping clutter at bay with their copious storage, yet prevent the space from being cluttered up with too many storage pieces.

Image courtesy of Weiken.com

4-Bedroom (Type D1)
Size: 1,346 sqft

9. Sure, you might get lesser storage and countertop space, but angling a bathroom vanity this way helps to visually open up a small bathroom. It also means you won’t be standing in the way of the doorway clearance.

Image courtesy of Colourbox Interior

10. When you need more storage space in a small bedroom, make use of the space just in front of the windows. Consider a low storage cabinet that can double up as a study table as well.

Image courtesy of Third Avenue Studio

Original post 10 Clever Floor Plan Ideas for Condo Spaces Under 1,500 sqft appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Manoeuvring a small space requires just a bit of ingenuity. Using floor plans from the newest (and hippest) condo on the block, Haus on Handy located right next to Plaza Singapura and Dhoby Ghaut MRT, we show how you can make the most of a small floor estate without having to do a major renovation overhaul.

1. Dining at the balcony

1-Bedroom
Size: 420 – 570 sqft

This layout may be small but it’s boxy in shape, so there’s actually more room to manoeuvre things around. Extend your one-wall kitchen into an L-shaped, so you can have a nice breakfast counter for casual meals. For more formal meals, eat out by the balcony in an alfresco setting by placing your dining area there.

Design: Starry Homestead

2. A pull-out study table

1-Bedroom + Study
Size: 517 – 624 sqft

This 1-bedroom unit comes with a dedicated study nook by the foyer, which is great if you need more privacy when working. Because the workspace is relatively narrow, a lean wall-mounted desk will make the room feel less cramped. You might want to consider an extra pull-out table though, for when you need more table space.

Design: Anhans Interior Design

3. Embrace glass walls

2-Bedroom
Size: 592 – 764 sqft

If you’re not big on privacy and want a bright and airy studio style apartment, consider hacking away your concrete walls and replacing them with glass panels. In this layout idea, we also took away the wall between the two bedrooms, so that the sleeping area and the walk-in wardrobe can be connected.

Design: Fuse Concept

4. Concealed doorways

2-Bedroom + Study
Size: 678 – 926 sqft

Concealing a doorway is one way to create a more seamless and less cluttered space, so important for a small home. Here, we thought to hide the entrance into the bathroom with a wood panelled door, which is flush to the kitchen cabinetry and done up in the same laminate finish. And how storage savvy is that full-height pantry pull-out?

Design: The Local Inn.terior

5. Making the most of your bedrooms

3-Bedroom Dual Key
Size: 980 sqft

We love dual-key units, which are a great option for inter-generational families or if you are a potential landlord and are looking to get more bang for your buck by renting out your unit to a few groups of people.

Here are some ways to make the most of your dual-key apartment. In the studio bedroom, do up a thin divider to lend privacy to the sleeping space from the kitchenette. Place the divider on a storage platform for more storage space.

In the common bedroom in the other section of the apartment, you can do up a loft bed with a desk underneath for junior, which can minimise the floor estate used.

Design: Rezt & Relax Interior

6. Open kitchen idea

3-Bedroom
Size: 947 – 1,141 sqft

So Haus on Handy’s three-bedroom units come with a closed kitchen concept. But if you prefer an open one, consider breaking down one of the walls—the one facing the dining area—and replacing it with a glass window. This is a great way to open up the cooking zone. Plus, it lets you monitor what’s happening outside while you’re cooking. We also thought there’s enough room to place a small kitchen island by the dining area, which you can prep light meals on or use it as a serving table for when you have guests over.

If you have a lot of clothes and nowhere to put them, consider converting a spare bedroom into a walk-in wardrobe. But make it more multipurpose, with a study area and a cosy corner so space usage is maximised.

Design: Fineline Design

Original post Small Space Solutions for Condos: 6 Ingenious Floor Plan Ideas for Haus on Handy appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

1. All electrical works should be carried out by a licensed electrician

Design: The Scientist

Under the Electricity Act, only licensed Electrical Workers
(LEWs) are allowed to carry out electrical works. The types of electrical work that are involved in a typical home renovation include the installing of new wiring, repairing, maintaining, inspecting, rewiring, testing or extensions of wiring (Source). The licensing scheme authorizes the electrician to offer their services to members of the public.

2. There are 3 classes of electrical licence

Design: Icon Interior Design

There are 3 classes of electrical licence; the Electrician’s Licence, Electrical Technician’s Licence and Electrical Engineer’s Licence. The Electrician’s Licence is meant for design of installation of electrical works of lesser or equal to 45 kVA (1000V). The Electrical Technician’s Licence is meant for design of installation of electrical works of lesser or equal to 150 kVA (1000V) while there is no limitation for Electrical Engineer’s Licence (source).

3. A permit from HDB is needed for the installation of an air con or other high capacity appliances

Design: Fuse Concept

An HDB permit is needed for electrical works to be carried out in flats, with a lower electrical loading, for installation of 15A power points for air-con or other high capacity appliances. However, the permit is not required if your flat has been equipped with higher electrical loading. Generally, older flats require such a permit since the newer HDB flats (completed on/ after 1 Jan 1994) or flats which have undergone the Main Upgrading Programme (MUP)/ Home Improvement Programme (HIP) have been equipped with higher electrical loading of 40A main switch (source). Do note that only the 20A isolator is permitted for air-con installation.

If you are unsure of your block’s electrical loading, you can use the Electrical Loading of Your HDB Block e-Service to check or contact the HDB branch office at 1800-225-5432 (toll-free) to inquire.

Design: Urban Habitat Design

Note:

• Apply for an HDB permit when…
 A new 15A power point or 20A isolator is needed before the installation of the air-conditioner unit.

• An HDB permit is not needed when…
The existing approved 15A power point or 20A isolator has been provided by the previous flat owner or by the HDB.

• Only BCA trained air-conditioner installers…
…can install the air-conditioning systems.  An installation report must be submitted to the HDB Branch within 2 weeks after installation via mail or email (source).

4. It is illegal to embed wires in a Reinforced Cement (RC) slab, beam, column, wall, in wall plaster or other finishes

Design: Cozyspace

No embedding of wiring (housed in metal/ high impact PVC conduit) is allowed even though it is more aesthetically pleasing to keep the wires out of sight. Nevertheless, the renovation professionals would be able to advise many other creative ways to hide the wires without flouting this rule.

5. Plan and visualize all the electrical appliances

Design: D5 Studio Image

Plan and visualize where and how the electrical appliances are going to be used around the house. This simple step is very effective to determine where the additional electrical points are needed. Hence a simple visualization exercise, to walk through how a typical day involves the use of various electrical appliances, is quite useful for first-time homeowners.

6. Ensure that light switches are linked correctly

Design: VOILÀ

Homeowners should make use of their floor plan to come up with the lighting plan, to ensure that all the lighting switches are linked correctly to the appropriate lights. Furthermore, the various types of the lighting switches, such as the standard light switches and two-way switches, can also be labelled on the lighting plan as a handy reference for the electrician.

7. Choose the right type of switches

Design: Three-d Conceptwerke

There are generally 5 types of light switches to choose from; the standard light, two-way, dimmer, motion sensor and timer light switch to suit all the homeowners needs. The two-way switches are used in pairs so that the light can be controlled from two different places, such as ends of the corridor or a flight of stairs. A dimmer switch changes the light intensity through the use of variable resistors and helps to set the ambience. A motion sensor light switch will be automatically switched on when there is movement. These are recommended to be used together with a night light. A timer switch turns on or off after a preset duration.

8. Never ignore the warning signs

Design: Schemacraft Interiors

Always keep a lookout for warning signs which indicate problems in an improperly installed electrical system! The warning signs can range from popping noises or sparks whenever the switch or electrical appliance is in use, a switch breaker that somehow refuses to be reset to a switch that runs unusually hot when used. Remember to raise these problems to your electrician as soon as possible to prevent possible fires or mishaps in the home!

Original post 8 Things No One Tells You About Electrical Works appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Back in June, we held our first Meet the Designers event for 2019 at Castlery Grandstand Studio. This event was definitely one for the books! Spanning over a weekend, we were joined this time by a total of seven interior design firms and more than 400 homeowners. Here’s a quick look at the highlights:

A big thank you to the participating interior design firms: 9 Creation, Copper Design Associates, Design 4 Space, Inspire ID Group, Rezt & Relax Interior, Starry Homestead and The Interior Lab.

We also want to thank Ariston for being one of our lucky draw sponsors! They will be offering up a sleek and stunning Andris2 Lux 30 storage water heater as one of the prizes for our lucky draw.

Part of the new range of storage water heaters by Ariston, the Andris2 Lux 30 features a titanium heating element that ensures its heating performance remain stellar throughout its lifespan. It also comes with an LED display with electronic temperature control and a shower-ready indicator so you will always know when it’s ready to hit the showers.

The lucky draw is opened to all attendees who engaged a participating interior designer during the event or within 6 months of the event. If you have done so, send a copy of your signed contract/invoice to info@renonation.sg. 20 lucky winners will walk away with attractive prizes.

Finally, a quick shout-out to Nineteen95, for packing the showroom with the wonderful aroma of coffee and fuelling all of us with caffeinated goodness!

Be the first to know about our next Meet the Designers by subscribing to our e-newsletter here:

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Original post Video: Highlights of the Meet the Designers x Castlery Event appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Balancing between creature comforts and small-space living is no easy feat. But having luxury doesn’t always mean you have to sacrifice precious floor estate.

Using floor plans from Dunearn 386, a new 35-unit condominium located along Dunearn Road and just a short walking distance to the Botanic Gardens, we show you how you can master this delicate balance in your own home planning.

1-Bedroom (Type A-G or A)
Size: 452 sqft

1. If you always have your meals in front of the TV, consider doing away with a dedicated dining area to make your home feel less cramped.

For a small-space home bar solution, have a customised pull-out bar table built into your TV console. The sides of your console can also feature wine bottle slots for your collection.

Image courtesy of Aart Boxx Interior

2. Rotating TV stands are the perfect solution if you don’t want to invest in two separate televisions but still want to watch TV in two different rooms. This design is possible in this layout as the master bedroom sits just next to the living room.

Image courtesy of Liid Studio

2-Bedroom (Type B4)
Size: 646 sqft

3. This condo layout comes with a one-wall kitchen, which might not be enough if you are a frequent home cook or bake occasionally. Consider turning the original dining area into a dry kitchen instead, which provides more countertop space for food prep and additional storage. It can also double as an eating area. The wet kitchen is closed off to contain the cooking fumes and grease.

Image courtesy of Ehka Studio

4. This long-ish balcony is the perfect setting for a long bar table, which can serve as an informal dining area or a spot for winding down in the evenings with a tipple or two.

Image courtesy of M Squared Dezign

2-Bedroom (Type B5-G or B5)
Size: 667 sqft

5. Multipurpose spaces might sometimes be necessary in a home with limited square footage. In this instance, a living room also functions as a study area and an exercise zone, the latter featuring mirror wall panels.

Images courtesy of Livinz Synthesis

6. The original layout features an L-shaped kitchen, but it’s possible to turn it into a U-shaped layout by doing up an extra peninsula counter if you are in need of more counter space. Then, build a raised bar table on top of the peninsula to turn it into a dining zone.

Images courtesy of Fineline Design

4-Bedroom (Type C1-G or C1)
Size: 915sqft

7. Combining the master bedroom with another bedroom gives you a massive area that lets you fit in a walk-in wardrobe. We like how the galley-style walk-in wardrobe can be closed off via a sliding door for more privacy.

Images courtesy of DB Studio

8. Here’s another walk-in wardrobe design. Unlike the previous example, it isn’t combined with the master bedroom, but it also takes up the space of a common bedroom. Besides serving as a closet, it also features a bay window cosy corner, a platform for storage and lounging, and a study area.

Images courtesy of StyleMySpace

5-Bedroom (Type D-G or D)
Size: 1,163 sqft

9. In this layout, the entrance of the kitchen faces the communal areas. If you don’t want to see the clutter and mess of your cooking space from your living room, consider doing up a hidden entrance like this one that can also work as a feature wall.

Image courtesy of Fifth Avenue interior

10. For the frequent hosts: we hacked away one of the bedrooms so that the living and dining area is one big open space. This open plan permits an additional dry kitchen, which functions as an eating area as well.

Images courtesy of Icon Interior Design

Original post 10 Condo Floor Plan Ideas that Combine Creature Comforts with Small-Space Living appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Featuring a striking façade made up of two slender curved towers linked together by sky bridges, One Pearl Bank at the Outram/Chinatown district looks set to be one of the most iconic condo launches in Singapore this year. This CapitaLand development is also the world’s first residential property that is setting aside allotment gardens throughout its 39 storeys for urban farming.

In this article, we take a look at some of its floor plans and incorporate a bit of interior design magic to see how the apartments at One Pearl Bank, ranging from studios to penthouses, can look like in real life.

Type: Studio (A1-a)
Size: 431 sqft

1. So the studio apartments at One Pearl Bank are open concept. But if you’re looking to have some privacy, especially in your bedroom, consider building a glass divider. This idea also uses the closet as a divider between the bedroom and the rest of the communal spaces. That’s what we call functional and space-saving.

Images courtesy of The Makers Design Studio

Type: 1-Bedroom (B4-a)
Size: 560 sqft

2. In this one-bedroom unit, there’s an additional area just next to the bedroom which you can use as a study. Us? We prefer going with a luxurious walk-in wardrobe instead. Include a big mirror to divide the sleeping space and the closet area and add a couple of plush chairs for you to sit on while you put on your earrings. The built-in closet here sits just outside the entrance to the bathroom, so you can incorporate a hidden doorway—like Narnia!—that goes into your en-suite.

Images courtesy of Lemonfridge Studio

3. Here’s another walk-in wardrobe idea for the same layout. We removed the living room entirely—because who needs one anyway—and replaced it with the closet, which is a much better use of space in our opinion! The additional area serves as a workstation cum TV console so you can watch telly from the comforts of your bed.

Image courtesy of UNO Interior

Type: 2-Bedroom (C2-a)
Size: 743 sqft

4. This two-bedder layout already comes with its own walk-in wardrobe area, which sits just outside the bathroom. We decide to include a double sliding glass door, which is helpful to keep dust away especially if you’re going with an open-concept closet.

Image courtesy of 3D Innovations

Type: 2-Bedroom (C4-a)
Size: 893 sqft

5. If you’re looking to add a study zone in your bedroom in a clutter-free way, this is it. The entire workstation hides behind wardrobe doors so it appears just like the closet when closed. And we love the pull-out idea for the wardrobe, which gives you more storage room for your clothes.

Images courtesy of DS 2000

Type: 3-Bedroom (D3-a)
Size: 1,281 sqft

6. Instead of a dining set, consider a ceiling-mounted dining bar table instead which saves more space and allows you to watch TV while you have your meals. But if you do need a more formal eating space, consider using the area at your balcony, which all the units at One Pearl Bank—save for the studio apartments—come with.

Image courtesy of Weiken

7. Here’s how to recreate the hipster-cool vibes of The Projector, an offbeat movie theatre in Singapore, in your home. Step one: Incorporate a home theatre system complete with cosy platform decked out in beanbags. Step two: Do up a home bar at the side for chugging down your favourite local brand craft beer while catching the latest indie film. Step three: Don’t forget storage spaces to hide away the clutter!

Images courtesy of D5 Studio Image

Type: 4-Bedroom (E1-a)
Size: 1,432 sqft

8. If you prefer sipping tipples to whipping up dishes, double up your hob area as a home bar (which can also work as a breakfast bar in the mornings). Take note that this only works if you have an induction cooker rather than a gas hob because of the former’s flat surface.

The original layout in this 4-bedroom unit comes with a utility room within the kitchen which can be used as a store room. But you can also consider turning it into a kitchen pantry for storing your staples.

Image courtesy of DreamCreations Interior

9. There’s a junior master bedroom in the four-bedder units. Just like the master bedroom, it comes with its own en-suite, albeit in a slightly smaller space. To make the most of the area, flank a custom-made wardrobe on both sides of the bed. That way, you get more storage space.

Image courtesy of AkiHaus

Type: Penthouse (F2)
Size: 2,788 sqft

10. A TV wall that flips between the living room and dining room is definitely a much sleeker way to do things than having two separate TV walls. Plus, it also functions as a divider between the two zones, which gives both the living room and dining room more privacy.

Image courtesy of AkiHaus

Original post 10 Inspirational Layout Ideas for CapitaLand’s Iconic New Condo One Pearl Bank appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

From your living room’s TV console to your bedroom’s wardrobe, there’s a choice you will have to make: built-in or freestanding. There are pros and cons to each and there are no rights or wrongs, as much depend on your lifestyle needs. Some instances are better off with a custom built-in, while there are other instances where you can just purchase off the shelves. In general, built-ins are perfect if you’re looking to get an exact fit for your space, while freestanding is a good option if you’re wanting to create a more flexible and versatile home. In this article, we look at some of these things to help you make a more informed decision during your renovation:

Living Room

Designs: DB Studio (left) and Eightytwo (right)

TV Console: Often, the living room is the area where you will set the tone and theme for the rest of your home, so going for a customised built-in TV console makes sense as you can get it to serve as that visual anchor because it’s such a large piece. Plus, you can incorporate all sorts of features within it, helping you free up space in the rest of your living room so it doesn’t look overly cluttered. This is essential in a larger zone like the living room, where you will run into a bigger risk of incorporating too many furniture.

Winner: Built-in

Designs: Starry Homestead (left) and StyleMySpace (right)

Storage: If you’re storing things in your living room, it’s likely that the things you’re storing won’t exactly be of the same category since the living room is such a communal space. As such, going with customised storage is more ideal as you can consider what you’ll be storing and build the storage compartments accordingly. For instance, if you’re storing shoes, you might want shorter, boxier compartments, but if you’re storing housekeeping and cleaning equipment, you might want longer ones to accommodate things like your vacuum cleaner. Full-height closed cupboards keep things out of sight.

Winner: Built-in

Kitchen

Designs: Neu Konceptz (left) and Voila (right)

Kitchen Cabinets: Most homeowners here go for built-ins when it comes to kitchen cabinets as they help to make the most of the cooking space. In Singapore, there are also not very many options for purchasing kitchen cabinets off the rack. Still, freestanding kitchen cabinets are something to consider especially if you’re keen to bring your whole kitchen with you in your next home.

Freestanding also means you get to change your kitchen appliances when they break down without having to hack away at your cabinets. If you’re feeling brave, consider all sorts of non-kitchen specific storage ideas for your cooking space. A bookshelf can serve as a pantry and a filing cabinet can add an industrial style to your kitchen. With kitchens usually costing the most in your renovation thanks to the numerous built-ins, going the freestanding route might just help you save some cash.

Winner: Freestanding, if you’re brave enough

Designs: Adroit ID (left) and DB Studio (right)

Kitchen Island: A kitchen island can be for many things. In most households, it serves as a prep station. In some, it’s a home bar, and for others, a homework table. Being such a versatile piece in the kitchen, you will want to make it more multipurpose by making it freestanding. We like the idea of incorporating wheels on them so they can be rolled out of the kitchen for other things like a bar cart for serving food when you have guests over or even as a workstation.

Winner: Freestanding

Dining Room

Designs: Free Space Intent (left) and Story of Us (right)

Dining Set: When it comes to your dining table and chairs, we like the combination of built-in and freestanding. Here’s something to consider: go for a built-in dining bench, while keeping the rest freestanding. A built-in bench that is set against a wall accommodates more seating without taking up too much space and it can also provide extra storage room to store dinnertime essentials. Keeping the table and the other chairs freestanding allows you to shift things around when you have more guests or when you want to watch TV while you eat.

Winner: A mix of both

Bedroom

Designs: The Local Inn.terior (left) and Voila (right)

Bed: Unless you have plenty of space, there’s probably only one good way to place your bed. As such, it’s actually a good idea to go with a built-in bed since it helps to maximise space in your bedroom. A good mattress is also usually a long-term investment (think 10 years) and most of them come in standard sizes so there’s no need to worry about your next mattress not fitting in. Some also like incorporating storage, bedside tables or vanity tables together with the built-in bed, which is a great way to lessen the amount of freestanding furniture in your bedroom.

Winner: Built-in

Designs: I-Chapter (left) and UNO Interior (right)

Wardrobe: While there are plenty of freestanding (some quite beautiful) wardrobes out there, nothing quite beats a customised built-in closet in terms of aesthetics and space-saving. According to professional organisers we spoke to, the wardrobe is the number one clutter zone in the home so it really helps to keep things organised if you have a closet that is catered to your fashion choices.

For instance, a taller hanging space for longer dresses or bevelled sloping compartments for shoes. Freestanding options also often leave you with gaps at the top which can accumulate a lot of dust over time. Go full-height and wall-to-wall to maximise wardrobe space. And if you have a small space, this can lend a sense of grandeur while helping to conceal sight lines so the room appears bigger.

Winner: Built-in

Bathroom

Designs: I.Poise (left) and Studio Abby (right)

Vanity Counter: Like kitchen cabinets, there aren’t very many standalone bathroom vanity units in the market. Unlike kitchen cabinets, you should probably go with a built-in vanity. Most bathrooms are small, so a built-in can help to ensure that no space gets wasted while making sure you have enough storage space. A bathroom vanity also isn’t very big so it won’t cost very much in your renovation budget. Most freestanding units will also be attached to the wall because of the piping so you’re essentially getting a built-in anyway.

Winner: Built-in

Study Room

Designs: I-Bridge Design (left) and Three-D Conceptwerke (right)

Study Table: There are lots of reasons why going for a freestanding study table makes more sense compared to a custom one. For most homeowners, a study room isn’t quite a necessity and it’s usually a good-to-have that’s set aside when you have the extra room. As such, going for a freestanding unit gives you that flexibility to move the workstation elsewhere when you need to give up that extra room due to changes in circumstances. Also, a freestanding unit enables you to change things around when you change your job nature and require a different workstation setup.

Winner: Freestanding

Do you agree or disagree with the above? Tell us if you will be going for more built-ins or freestanding options in your home.

Do you love what you’ve seen? Get free quotations now:

Original post Built-in or Freestanding: Which to go for in your home? appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

While it’s not the most important room in your home, you’d best take care not to commit these Feng Shui errors that make studying a chore!

Image courtesy of PRODUCE

On average, the study room is not as frequently used compared to the kitchen, bedroom and a home’s main entrance, which is why it’s not considered a vital area as far as interior Feng Shui is concerned. Nevertheless, it’s still worth being a little smart about where the study room is located – as well as how it’s designed – to ensure it’s conducive for the intellectual undertakings that transpire there.

Location is paramount in Feng Shui; even an inconspicuous component of the study room that’s out of place can present negative Qi, which in turn adversely affects one’s productivity. So long as you become mindful of these factors factor, you can ensure that your studies and work at home are far more productive than they otherwise would have.

Study Room In The Basement

While a study room in an underground location of a home seems like a cool idea – especially among men who love the whole “man cave” concept – it’s an overall inauspicious spot since you’ll be surrounded by the Earth element on all sides. This leads to bad circulation of Qi. Qi that flows poorly or remains stagnant causes people to have a poor flow of ideas or become mentally (even physically) sluggishness. You’d want to locate a study somewhere that facilitates growth and innovation; being underground does the exact opposite.

Slanted Study Room Ceiling

It’s nice to have a little asymmetry in a room to add character, but slanted ceilings aren’t a very good way of doing so, especially if the study desk is located under the lower end of said ceiling. Such a feature causes the Qi to become imbalanced; side effects of this include added stress and the inexplicable sense of constantly being under pressure. If you’re directly under the slanted ceiling, you may also find yourself having great difficulty concentrating on your work. If you cannot relocate your study room, the next best thing is to make sure your desk is under the higher end of the ceiling.

Study Desk Directly Above Kitchen Stove

Having the study room above the kitchen isn’t a problem in itself; it’s only an issue when the stove is right below the study desk as it could affect the studier’s mood. This negative alignment between stove and desk can lead to increased irritability, which in turn impacts concentration and productivity. You don’t have to worry about this if the kitchen ceiling is taller than 15 feet as this will place the study desk far enough. However, if you don’t have the benefit of tall ceilings, you just need to move your desk elsewhere to render this problem nonexistent!

Study Room Door Faces Another Door

A room door that almost immediately opens up to another room door usually isn’t a good feature in Feng Shui, and this principle applies to study rooms too. You don’t want the Qi to flow in a straight line between doors, as this makes the Qi too ‘merciless’. If there isn’t an open space or a good distance between the study room door and the other door it’s facing, it’s best to rethink where you work within your home.

Study Room Door Faces Edge Of Wall

In such cases, the corner of the wall creates Sha Qi pointed directly at the study room door. Even if your study room is located in a beneficial sector of your home, the Sha Qi alone can undermine or outright negate the beneficial sector’s positive effects. It’s highly recommended to avoid using such a room as a study, unless you extend the wall outside so the edge no longer opposes the door. You don’t necessarily have to lay bricks to achieve this; simply using cabinets and other similar items to artificially extend the wall will do the trick.

Granted, there are other considerations if you truly want to create the perfect space for working at home. Still, just avoiding the Feng Shui pitfalls above can go a long way in allowing you to enjoy your work from home, without unnecessary interior headaches getting in the way!

For more information on interior Feng Shui (and all things Chinese Metaphysics), visit www.joeyyap.com/renonation to peruse our wealth of resources on the subject.

About Joey Yap

Joey Yap is the founder of the Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics – an education institution for Feng Shui, BaZi, Qi Men Dun Jia, Mian Xiang, Yi Jing, Date Selection and Face Reading.

He is the best-selling author of over 172 book titles published in 7 different languages worldwide and engages with students in more than 37 countries. He has conducted professional consultations for a wide range of clientele from the UK, USA, Canada, France, Germany and all of South East Asia.

For all things Joey Yap and more, connect with us on www.instagram.com/realjoeyyap. For further enquiries on one-on-one consultation, please email info@joeyyap.com.

Original post 5 Study Room Feng Shui Mistakes You Would Rather Not Make appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

The coastal style remains a perennial favourite in domestic interior design. And not without a reason: blue, khaki and white are a few of the most versatile colours on the spectrum. They go well with most colours, giving you a feeling of tranquillity and harmony.

The combination of these tones for sure speaks relaxation, and it turns out, bringing the seaside resort home is not as difficult as finding time for a week’s vacation.

The coastal style incorporates elements reminiscent of the seaside: a clear sky, aquamarine water, white sand and seashells, all distilled into a palette and a range of textures.

With the right structural arrangements, your home can look just like the beach.

Lavish the coastal tones upon your household

First of all, let there be light! The seaside is not the same without the warmth of sunlight, which is why a light-reflecting clean white is the key to a coastal atmosphere.

Apart from pure white, khaki and beige are also good choices for the main walls. Not only do these colours bounce backlight, they also remind you of the soft sand at the beach.

And let there be water, too. Splashes of azure, aquamarine, and blues with a transparent quality are immediately reminiscent of the sea, as well as the sky. Textures of furniture should lean towards the rustic and the unpolished.

Avoid metallic tones and sheen to preserve the natural air of nature.

Bedroom décor in tones of the sky and the sea

Indulge in the textures of wooden cottages

The walls of seaside resorts are usually one clean white painted over wooden planks, a feature has proven very difficult to replicate in an urban setting.

When trying to bring in this special feature of the seaside, you can consider using wallpaper which imitates the texture of a painted wooden wall.

Be generous with the palette of seashells and sand. See how the blues pop on the white canvas!

Accent pieces can make a world of difference

Since curtains and carpets can occupy a great amount of visual space, with considerations of aesthetics, these items might play a crucial role in completing the coastal look.

For curtains, opt for soft, muslin-like material which flutters as the wind stirs. The wavy, curved folds of the fabric will remind you of the waves at the coastline.

The canvas extended on a ship’s mast is in itself a good material for carpets. For a coastal interior style, the material also adds a marine flavour to the space.

Try to strike a balance between the portions of blue and white (water and sand) in the space. For decorative items, seashells and boat models are obvious choices.

In general, crystals and glass are excellent materials which are reminiscent of water, while wooden furniture, matte and fabric textures resemble the sand.

A touch of green, say, a house plant, can amplify the natural atmosphere in the space. Apart form lighting, metal should be avoided in decoration.

Marine-style decorative items

HKDecoman, now going global as Deco-Man, is a Hong Kong-based renovation platform which provides professional consultancy services and pioneers in the development of A.I. homeowner-engineer matching. We aim at educating the public about the art of home renovation and have our eyes on transforming the traditional renovation industry, bringing standardisation, transparency, convenience and automation to the business.

Original post Bring the Beach Home: Escape to the Serenity of the Sea with Coastal Interior Design appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

What are GPS location trackers?

They are devices which make use of the Global Positioning System (GPS ) to remotely pinpoint the location of an entity with the longitude, latitude, ground speed, and course direction. With GPS, it is possible to locate the device’s position with an accuracy between 100 to 10 meters for most devices.

What are they used for?

GPS tracking devices are useful for companies which need to track the location of their employees and they include the law enforcement professionals, firefighters, military personnel, transportation and large courier businesses. Aside from this, GPS tracking devices are also increasingly used by caregivers to keep their loved one safe and secure, especially for the elderly with suffering from memory-related problems or Alzheimer’s, so that they can be easily located when they wander off or lost in an unfamiliar place.

iHelp active elderly location and fall monitoring device

My search for a reliable active elderly location and fall monitoring device, leads me to the iHelp adult GPS tracker device, which meets my following needs:

1. Real-time status monitoring;
2. Comprehensive view of the route taken over a period of time;
3. Easy 2 way communication during emergency situations and;
4. The active fall detection, which will inform the caregivers when there is a fall.

How does the iHelp work?

Image from OMG

Handy and portable

The iHelp is a small, portable GPS tracking device which can be worn either around the neck, the armband, as a bag tag or keychain. It comes with thick silicon covering that makes it water and drop resistant.

SMS alert when fall is detected or when loved ones leave the premises

Aside from real-time location tracking, whenever the iHelp detects a fall, it automatically triggers an SMS alert and calls to 5 caregivers (sequentially), so that they can be notified immediately. In addition, the SMS alert will also be sent when their loved ones leave the Geo-fence, a virtual perimeter set-up in the real-world geographic area.

Single-press to call

In addition, the iHelp functions as a handy single-press to call SOS device so that when the SOS button is pressed, iHelp also triggers the call to the caregivers, without the need to reach for a hand-phone to dial the contacts of the caregivers. The iHelp works with a normal (not data) SIM card since it functions like a handy walk-talkie too for the caregivers to communicate their loved ones directly.

Ease of device management via mobile application and website  platform

The iHelp mobile application, the Smart-Tracking app, provides the caregivers a simple interface to check the location and manage tracking monitoring device easily. The list of basic features available in the app includes the following:

1. Configuration of Geo-fencing
Setups a virtual geographic parameter, and configure the iHelp to send an SMS notification to the list of caregivers when your loved one leaves the virtual parameter.

2. Activity Route
Maps out the exact route taken in between the dates and time specified.

3. Real time location tracker and contact
Establishes the location of your loved one in real-time and easily contact your loved one directly through the simple call function.

4. Configuration of caregivers details
Specifies up to 3 contact numbers of caregivers. The iHelp location and fall monitoring device will contact this list of caregivers when either your loved ones leaves the virtual parameter or had a fall.

The website platform provides a more comprehensive list of advanced features to manage the iHelp location and fall detection device. These features include the report and chart generation and hence only recommended for advanced users. Nevertheless, the features of the Smart-Tracking app is good enough to meet most of the needs.

Does iHelp perform well?

Overall, iHelp performed reasonably well and meet most of my expectations. Unfortunately, iHelp lacks in battery performance and here are the following observations…

1. “Real-time”
Since Singapore is a concrete jungle, there is a slight time lag for the GPS to triangulate iHelp, pinpoint and transmit its location. Hence, the SMS notifications and calls are slightly delayed, around a minute or two.

2. A comprehensive view of the route
The Smart-Tracking mobile app shows the route taken on a specific date and the time period. Whilst the web platform allows for an advanced animation playback of the routes taken over a maximum of 1 week!

3. Easy 2-way communication
As most of the elderly have difficulty remembering or punching the contact numbers, the press to call an SOS function proved much faster and a breeze to use. Furthermore, the voice over the speaker is clear too. However, it takes a slight delay of 30 secs or so for the caregivers at the other end to receive the call.

4. Fairly accurate fall detection
Out of 5 times, iHelp is able to detect 4 simulated falls from waist high. However, the fall detection feature could be dependent on the angle and height from which iHelp is dropped from.

5. Poor battery performance
The iHelp battery depletes very fast and hence, it needs to be charged every night. It proves a problem when our loved ones, especially the elderly, forget to charge iHelp before they go to bed.

Original post REVIEWING: GPS Location Tracker Device for Loved Ones – Does It Really Work? appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Image courtesy of Studio Abby

Given the vast sea of information out there on the internet, this is probably not the first article you’ve read about comparing oil-based paint and water-based paint.

If you have indeed done quite a bit of research on the two materials, you should know a few things about them.

For example, how one releases VOCs (volatile organic compounds) during the curing process while the other does much less harm to your health. Or how one scratches more easily than the other.

You might also be wondering if these articles are actively persuading you to choose one over the other for various business-related reasons.

But really, choosing your material is more about choosing the appropriate material for your specific purpose rather than the ‘best’ material out there.

Today, we’re going to break down the specific traits and usage of oil-based paint and water-base paint. Choose your weapon wisely.

Oil-based paint

Five decades ago, almost all paint used in architecture was oil-based. And then the concern over carcinogenic VOCs encouraged manufacturers to make water-based paint with better quality and performance. It is said that water-based paint nowadays is so well-developed that it is beginning to replace oil-based paint.

But the fact that oil-based paint is still in use suggests that it does have an edge over its counterpart. Oil-based paint tends to give a smoother, more high-gloss finish. It is more resistant to wear, high temperature and humidity.

Indeed, some circumstances do call for the use of oil-based paint:

1. Baseboards

(Image: greatpros.com)

Oil-based paint’s durability makes it more likely to withstand scrapes and dings from the vacuum cleaner.

2. Window frames

When opening and closing the windows, oil-based paint is less likely to cause the frames to stick together.

3. Trim

The smooth, high-gloss finish of oil-based paint serves well to accentuate the interior and exterior which might be bland otherwise.

While using oil-based paint in the interior is generally not encouraged, there are instances where using it for the interior has more advantages than disadvantages. A good rule of thumb is never use it for large surfaces like walls.

Water-based paint

Image courtesy of Adroit ID

The main difference between water-based paint and its counterpart is that water-based paint uses acrylic and latex to binder pigments and water. It gives off less to virtually no VOCs. Acrylic polymers as a binder also make the coating more flexible, thus less likely to crack compared with oil-based paint.

Water-based paint has a full range of colour options and shorter curing time, which makes it an excellent choice for larger interior surfaces. It is also more resistant to colour fade due to its UV durability.

Best uses of water-based paint:

1. Interior walls

Image courtesy of Open Studio

Water-based paint is great for large interior surface because of its cleaner characteristic. It does not smell as much, and dries more rapidly than oil-based paint. Renovation using water-based paint causes less disruption to your daily life, and less harm to your health.

2. Masonry

Water-based paint has a chemical makeup that is resistant to alkalis. This means that it adheres better and last longer on brick, stone, concrete and plaster structures.

To wrap up…

Visit your local paint store and you will find that product labels specify which usage the paint is designed for. It is useful to know the general differences between oil-based and water-based paint, but manufacturers often fine-tune the chemical makeup of both types of paints to cater to specific needs.

For example, ‘exterior’ paint is tailored to resist cracking, chalking and moisture, while ‘interior’ paint is designed to resist abrasion. Within the category of water-based paint, some give off close to no VOCs which suits families with young children and pets.

With all things considered, we strongly advise against using a paint for purposes it is not intended to serve. While using an interior paint for the exterior might increase maintenance cost, using an exterior paint for the interior will certainly cost your health.

HKDecoman, now going global as Deco-Man, is a Hong Kong-based renovation platform which provides professional consultancy services and pioneers in the development of A.I. homeowner-engineer matching. We aim at educating the public about the art of home renovation and have our eyes on transforming the traditional renovation industry, bringing standardisation, transparency, convenience and automation to the business.

Original post How to Choose Your Material: Oil-based paint VS water-based paint appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Design: Eightytwo

According to  Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona, the kitchen is more germ-infested than the bathroom! In fact, a typical kitchen houses some of the most germ-infested areas and items in the house. Hence, it is critical that homeowners clean these place or get these items replaced since germs can make us sick. Without further ado, here is the ugly truth about 6 kitchen places and tools which you should take note of!

1. Rinse the kitchen sink with hot, soapy water

 The kitchen sink is where the raw meat, poultry, fruits, vegetables and dirty dishes are cleaned and prepared. Hence, it harbours the most dangerous bacteria due to the dirt and grime introduced. Furthermore, most homeowners usually place more attention on a dirty countertop than a dirty kitchen sink.

Design: Linear Space Concepts

What does this means to you?

Wash the kitchen sink with hot, soapy water before and after handling meat, poultry, fruits or vegetables. Always wipe the kitchen sink dry with disinfectant kitchen wipes or with diluted vinegar (which is made from 1 part vinegar to 1 part water) after every use.

2. Zap the dish sponge

The dish sponge comes into direct contact with grime and dirt daily. As a result, it is “the No. 1 source of germs in the whole house” and harbors zillions of microbes. Therefore, the dish sponge is the number 1 item which needs to be replaced the most frequently in the kitchen. Unknown to most homeowners, the pores in the dish sponge trap moisture and thus makes it a splendid place for germs to multiply and thrive. Furthermore, cross-contamination occurs when the germ-infected dish sponges are used to wipe other places.

Design: VOILÀ

What does this means to you?

According to Neil Schachter, the author of The Good Doctor’s Guide to Colds and Flu, the correct way of cleaning the dish sponge is to first rise off the detergent, then boil or leave it in the microwave for 2 mins (on high) to sanitize it. For heavy usage dish sponge, get it replaced every 2-3 weeks or when it smells bad or it becomes slimy; for light usage dish sponge, the general guide is to get it replaced every 4-6 weeks.

3. Practice good kitchen towel etiquette

Aside from the dish sponge, the kitchen towel is the number 2 item which needs to be replaced frequently. This is because, the kitchen towel picks up every kitchen spill and mess, dries the dishes, wet hands, dirty counter top surfaces and hence, picks up thousands of bacteria throughout its use. Similar to the dish sponge, the kitchen towel can cause cross-contamination when it is used for other areas.

Design: Three-D Conceptwerke

What does this means to you?

Boil the kitchen towel daily to keep the germs at bay. Allow the kitchen towel to dry out between uses since most bacteria cannot thrive when there is no moisture. The kitchen towel should also be replaced at least once a year or when it is full of stains which can no longer can be removed. Although disposable paper towel is more convenient, it is more expensive and not environmentally friendly.

4. Use separate cutting board

Although the hot, soapy water helps to clean the cutting board, the knife grooves in the cutting board are excellent places to hide the germs. Therefore, more bacteria thrive in the cutting board when there are more knife marks. Although a wooden cutting board has a porous surface and the plastic cutting board does not, it does not mean that the plastic board is more resistant to bacteria. This is because a plastic cutting board is softer and thus gets more knife cracks than a wooden one.

Design: D5 Studio Image

What does this means to you?

Use separate cutting board for cutting raw meat and poultry, and for the fruits and vegetables, to prevent the risk of cross-contamination. Since the plastic cutting boards are more prone to  knife cuts, they should only be used for low-impact food preparation tasks such as slicing fruit, vegetables, or any ready-to-eat foods. Wash the cutting board in hot, soapy water after each use and sanitize it with a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach with per gallon of water. Replace the cutting boards once they are worn or have many deep knife grooves which are hard to clean.

5. Clean the kitchen counter top

The kitchen counter is where almost of the food preparation activities and spills take place. When a germ infested dish sponge or kitchen towel is used to clean countertop, cross-contamination takes place and the germs get spread all over the countertop.

Design: Adroit Interior Design

What does this means to you?

Never prepare food directly on the kitchen counter top and use the cutting boards where possible. Disinfect the kitchen counter top daily with diluted vinegar.

6. Disinfect the fridge and kitchen faucet handles

Based on a study by Dr. Charles Gerba, the highest concentrations of all the faecal coliforms, total coliforms and heterotrophic plate count bacteria are also found in kitchen places that are frequent contact points. These places include the refrigerator door and kitchen faucet handles. This is because homeowners tend to handle many types of different food in-between opening the refrigerator or handling the kitchen faucets. Furthermore, most homeowners do not normally clean and disinfect these places as part of their kitchen cleaning routine.

Design: The Scientist

What does this means to you?

Clean these places at least once a day with a disinfectant spray, diluted vinegar or kitchen wipes will keep these bacteria at bay. 

Original post 6 Surprising Kitchen Places and Tools that might be Dirtier than a Toilet appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

Wellness has been a buzzword for a couple of years now, and it is seen as a holistic way of pursuing health. The idea of wellness has extended into the home; after all, it’s one of the spaces we spend a lot of time in.

Wellness in the home can be different for everybody.

Image courtesy of Weiken.com

Wellness in the home hasn’t been quite defined in exact terms, which comes as no surprise, since it is often subjective to each person. In general though, a home that centres on wellness is one that nurtures the body, mind and soul. There are lots of ways we can start to think about that in order to achieve wellness in the home, and we will explore some of them today.

1. Maximise natural light and air flow

Our body responds to daylight in that it releases a hormone called serotonin, which is associated with lifting our moods and helping us focus. A home that lacks natural light is likely to make us feel depressed.

There are a few ways to encourage more daylight into your home. Making sure your windows aren’t blocked by things like plants or your furniture, placing mirrors to face your windows, going for a light colour scheme, and having an open layout to encourage daylight to reach every corner of the home.

Mirrors can help to reflect more natural light into your space.

Image courtesy of DB Studio

Besides maximising natural light into your home, encourage air flow to improve your indoor air quality. Freshen up your spaces by opening your windows and doors to let fresh air flow through the home.

A wall fan in the kitchen also helps to promote air circulation.

Image courtesy of Amoz Boon

Ceiling fans and exhaust fans are good options for less breezy months and will help aid in circulating air throughout your home. The former can cover a larger expanse of space, while the latter is recommended for humidity-dense areas like your bathroom and kitchen.

2. Provide areas for quiet contemplation

Another way to create wellness in the home is to designate an area (or areas) that you can just go and zone out. It could be a cosy corner for reading, a built-in window area that lets you lounge and recharge or a meditation corner at the balcony with some cushions.

Carve out a cosy corner in the home for quiet reflections.

Image courtesy of Authors

It doesn’t have to be a big space or a single room—it just needs to be intentional and preferably with some privacy. You want that space to also be inviting and radiate joy—so throw in favourite blankets, hang up your favourite quote and prepare to zen out. With endless to-do lists in our lives, it’s good to have a quiet zone in the home just to take a breather. Retreat into that space for a few minutes a day, whether it’s the start of the day or the end of a hectic work day, just to recharge.

3. Use non-toxic materials and products

Long-term exposure to toxic materials and products can be detrimental to our health. Some of the more common toxins found indoors include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can come from varnishes, adhesives and certain paints, formaldehyde, which is often found in materials used to make kitchen cabinets, and phthalates, which are often found in household cleaning products that have fragrances.

Read up on the sources and origins of the materials and products you choose.

Image courtesy of Icon Interior Design

You should look up the sources of your materials and products, but don’t be taken in by greenwashing claims or nature-inspired packaging. Look out instead for official green certifications such as the Singapore Green Label, which is awarded to products that fulfil a certain criteria and serves as an endorsement on their environmental claims.

4. Consider artificial lighting seriously

For homes that don’t have a lot of natural light coming in, artificial light can serve as a booster. But even if you are exposed to plenty of daylight, artificial light is necessary for certain tasks and especially at nightfall.

Don’t neglect the choice of your artificial lighting when it comes to wellness in the home.

Image courtesy of Fuse Concept

It is important to select the right sort of artificial lighting as that has a big impact on wellness at home. How much light we get—and at what intensity and colour temperature—can impact how we feel and how we fulfil our tasks. In line with the understanding of how lighting can affect us, Dyson recently launched a new lamp that adjusts automatically to align with our body’s circadian rhythm.

Incorporate lighting through layers: ambient, task and accent.

Image courtesy of Minimo

When it comes to lighting, there is no one size fits all. Some lights are meant for general ambience, while some are intended for specific, focused tasks. As a general rule, start with an ambient light—usually a ceiling fixture—that allows you to complete general tasks. If your space requires you to perform activities that need focus like studying, you may wish to layer on with a task light. Accent lights can be a third layer to your artificial lighting system. These are great for highlighting certain spots in a space. Go for dimmers if you’re looking to accommodate multiple lighting needs in a single space.

5. For quality sleep, your bedroom should be a slumber sanctuary

Sleep deprivation not only affects our mood, it can also affect our memory and health, which is why adequate rest and sleep is so important to the foundation of wellness. In order to encourage enough sleep at home, focus on turning your bedroom into a wellness sanctuary made for sleeping.

Adequate sleep is necessary for wellness. Ensure your bedroom is a slumber sanctuary conducive for proper sleeping.

Image courtesy of Urban Habitat Design

When it comes to turning your bedroom into a slumber sanctuary, make sure you’re getting the right mattress. As a general guide, memory foam mattresses are good for folks who are on the heavier side as they tend to mould into your body shape, thereby helping to reduce pressure points. If you don’t sleep with the air-conditioning at night, get a natural latex mattress which can keep you cool and promotes air circulation.

Pillow choice is equally important. Back sleepers should go for a pillow with an extra hump at the bottom of the pillow for neck support, while side sleepers should opt for a firmer pillow. For bedding and bed linens, opt for 100% cotton sheets for all-round comfort and breathability.

Keeping the workspace separate from the sleeping area through a ledge in this small bedroom.

Image courtesy of Story of Us

To create a restful sanctuary, keep your workspace out of the bedroom if you can. If not, consider using dividers so as to keep the work zone separated from the sleeping area. Technology should also be left outside of the bedroom as they tend to emit artificial light sources that can suppress melatonin levels in our body, which are needed to tell our bodies that it’s time to sleep. Light sources from outside, such as traffic lights or lights from nearby buildings, can have a similar effect on our body. Keep your bedroom dark by investing in blackout shades or curtains.

Keep the light out in your bedroom when it’s time to sleep.

Image courtesy of MMJ Design Loft

6. Colour choice matters

Colours affect our moods in significant ways, but while it’s easy to generalise and say that loud and warm tones like red and orange lend vitality while greens and blues are soothing hues, it’s in fact a lot more subjective than that. Most of us perceive colours differently. For instance, while some may feel an all-white space is calming and oh-so-zen, others may feel it to be too stark and devoid of personality.

Neutrals are naturally calming.

Image courtesy of Starry Homestead

Go for colours that make you feel calm. It could be a warm blush shade or a serene green. Neutrals like taupe and greys are a safe bet if you’re completely clueless. Darker colours like charcoal can create a moodier scene and can feel cosy and warm when paired with the right lighting. An all-white space is also great if you want a clutter-free vibe. Collect inspiration and photos for a mood board (if you don’t already have one) and you will realise there is a consistency to your colour scheme choices. That will then be your answer.

7. Encourage mindful eating

Mindful eating, where we pay attention to what, how and when we eat, is a big part of wellness. To practice mindful eating at home, the first step is to create proper eating places. It could be a little breakfast bar by the kitchen or a formal dining room, but try not to have them by the TV or near your workstation as they can promote mindless eating. The idea is to have a designated area where you can sit down and pay attention to your food while you eat.

You don’t need a formal dining area to practice mindful eating at home.

Image courtesy of Adroit ID

Keep utensils and serving ware within easy reach so you won’t be tempted to eat straight out from the container, a manner which is usually done hurriedly. Place your wares in a see-through glass cabinet, so you know where everything is at a glance. It also serves as a visual reminder to use them.

Place your serve ware in glass kitchen cabinets so you know where everything is in a glance.

Image courtesy of Versaform

When storing foods in cabinets or the fridge, keep healthy ones at the eye level and within easy reach so you will be more likely to reach out for them when you are cooking or want a pre-dinner snack. Place appliances like juicers or food processors out on your countertop to encourage eating fruits and vegetables.

8. Layer on the comfort

An aspect of wellness in the home that we don’t often think about is comfort. A comfortable home is a happy one, so layer it on thickly. Comfort is an individual thing, so consider what makes you comfortable. It could be in the form of having lots of soft furnishings like carpets, throws and cushions, it could be ergonomic furniture—consider this if you’re working from home, or it could mean clutter-free spaces.

Layer on the comfort at home through soft furnishings.

Image courtesy of Lemonfridge Studio

Visually, you want to soften the edges in your space for a comfortable visage. Opt for curvaceous furniture rather than ones with harsh edges. Or complement sharp lines with rounded shapes. Choose organic and natural materials like wood, leather and rattan, which can help add comfort even to “colder” themes like the industrial style.

9. Encourage socialisation

A home that centres on wellness should have private spaces where one can retreat to be alone, but it should also have spaces that encourage purposeful interaction and socialisation, which is known to improve mental wellness.

Bi-fold glass dividers create more flexibility to a space. They can be closed where there’s a need for privacy or opened to encourage mingling among the occupants in the home.

Image courtesy of Cozyspace

An open-plan layout and multipurpose rooms encourage occupants to be in the same space at the same time. The living room is likely to be the most social, so incorporate plenty of seating for meaningful conversations. If you have kids, consider carving out a separate play area in the living room where they are allowed to be in the same space as the rest of the adults without taking over the entire area.

What other ways can you incorporate wellness in the home?

Original post 9 Tips to Create Wellness in the Home appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

One of the best parts about doing up your kitchen is getting the appliances. Major ones like the oven, hob and hood require just a bit more care and planning when shopping for them. After all, they are a significant driving force of the kitchen and you will want them to last for a long time. To help you along, we’ve put together a handy guide, courtesy of Bosch, to take you through your decisions.

Built-in versus Freestanding?

One of the first questions you have to ask yourself before shopping for kitchen appliances is whether to go for built-in or freestanding ones. While freestanding appliances offer more flexibility as you can move them around, they can cause a kitchen—especially a small one—to look messy. Most of the time, freestanding appliances will be left out on the countertop, taking up unnecessary space and leaving you with less room for food prep.

For a seamless look for your kitchen, built-in appliances are your best bet.

Built-in appliances, on the other hand, allow you to achieve a seamless, uniform look as they are built into your kitchen cabinets. This not only helps to maximise every square footage since the areas allocated for the appliances are measured precisely, it also frees up countertop space and ensures your appliances are more stable since they are fixed in place. With uninterrupted surfaces and appliances no longer sticking out like a sore thumb, your kitchen will also appear bigger and more open.

When to Buy?

The next thing you will have to consider is when to buy your kitchen appliances. The short answer? Right at the start of your renovation process. You should have a general idea of what appliances you want and need—preferably with exact measurements—before sitting down to discuss with your interior designer on your kitchen design. This will allow him or her to allocate space for your appliances.

Get your appliances early in your renovation process so that space can be allocated for them in the kitchen design.

Before the start of any actual renovation work, make sure you have already purchased your appliances. Coordinate the delivery dates with your interior designer so that the appliances will be ready for installation when the kitchen is being done up. Getting your appliances early ensures your carpentry will fit precisely around your appliances. Not only does that save you the trouble of having to find appliances that fit into your cabinets, it also avoids the scenario of having to move your gas and water lines when you realise your appliances don’t fit in where you want them to.

How to Buy?

We zoom into three major built-in kitchen appliances—oven, hob and hood—to see what you should look out for when shopping for them.

OVEN

Should you go for a microwave or a steam oven? Or will a combi oven be more suited to your needs? To decide what sort of oven to get, determine what kind of chef are you. Are you a dry, moist or a combi chef? Here’s a quick table guide:

	Dry Chef	Moist Chef	Combi Chef
Style of cooking	Grilling, Roasting, Baking	Steaming, Boiling, Simmering	Stewing, Braising
Definition of cooking types	Relatively quick process; adds crispness and flavour, but doesn’t tenderise.	Involves cooking with water or stock, like poaching fish and steaming broccoli.	Often uses slow-cooking techniques to tenderise and break down tough cuts of meat.
Suitable ovens	Oven Microwave Oven	Steam Oven	Steam-Combination Oven Microwave Combination Oven
Best for	Meat lovers who enjoy browning while avoiding excess fat	The health conscious and nutrient-lovers	Meat lovers who prefer more bite and strong flavour.

Consider getting a Bosch oven for your kitchen. See how quality, perfection and reliability are ensured in their cooking ovens through a stringent quality control and testing process:

Bonus tip: where to install your oven(s)?

If you’re getting a single oven, install it over your waist level for the easiest access. But if you have limited cabinet space, placing it below your counter and hob is an ideal option if you often transfer food from your cooktop to your oven for the final part of cooking.

Placing your oven below counter makes it easier to transfer food directly from the hob to the oven.
Photo Credit: Melissa C. Koh’s kitchen, SquareRooms

If you are going for more than one oven, have the appliances stacked atop one another at the cabinet to optimise space. Install them at eye level for easy monitoring. But if you want to operate your different ovens at the same time, go for placing them side by side.

More than one oven? Place them side by side if you want to operate them easily at the same time.

HOB

There are generally three kinds of hobs to select from. The key differences lie in their heating methods. Here’s an overview:

	Gas Hob	Electric Radiant Hobs	Induction Hob
Cooks by	Direct flame	A heating element under ceramic glass	Heat is generated in the cooking vessel directly through induction
Ease of cleaning	🔥	🔥🔥	🔥🔥🔥
Intelligent features	🔥	🔥🔥🔥	🔥🔥🔥
Safety features	🔥	🔥🔥	🔥🔥🔥
Best for	Wok-hei taste/General cooking	General cooking	Fast cooking with superior control and energy efficiency

Want better flame control? Consider Bosch’s gas hobs, which offer precise flame adjustment to independently control the inner and outer flame rings. This lets you easily control your simmering and frying.

For a cooktop that is easier to clean though, get induction hobs. This is because the only area that gets hot for an induction hob is the area under your pot or pan; the rest of the surface remains cool, allowing you to clean up any spills easily and safely.

If you have different sized pots and pans, opt for Bosch’s induction hobs, which have an automatic pan recognition that identifies the size of your ware and only heats up its base instead of the entire zone for greater energy efficiency and savings. The hobs also come with a PowerBoost function that increases power output to a selected cooking zone by approximately 50%, so boiling 2 litres of water takes just 4.7 minutes!

Bonus tip: know your gas source

When buying a gas hob, make sure you know where the source of gas comes from to ensure that your cooker is set up to use your selected gas. You can choose between LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas or commonly known as cylinder gas) or piped town gas by CityGas.

If going for LPG, make sure you allocate a suitable section in your kitchen cabinetry to store your LPG cyclinder in an upright position away from direct heat. For town gas supplied by CityGas, you will need to apply for a utilities account with SP Services and make an appointment for CityGas to turn on your gas line.

HOOD

Hoods are necessary in helping to remove grease and fumes while you cook, which helps to minimise cleanup. Bosch hoods in particular feature a powerful energy-efficient air recirculation mode that reduces grease particles from dispersing and settling on everything in your home.

In general, there are two kinds of hoods you can choose from: slimline and chimney.

A slimline hood is perfectly inconspicuous.

For the minimalist kitchen, get a slimline hood. It features a thin, slide-out profile that is fully integrated into your kitchen cabinets. Unlike their leaner cousins, the chimney hood is much more conspicuous. Mounted on the wall between wall units or hanging from the ceiling over an island, it comes in either a pyramid or a box design and generally offers a stronger suction ability compared to the slimline hood.

Chimney hoods tend to offer a stronger suction and can be mounted on the wall or hanging down from the ceiling.

Standard hoods come in either 60 or 90cm width sizes, although the latter is more common in households here. When selecting a hood, note its extraction rate. To determine what extraction rate you need for your kitchen, find out the volume of your kitchen in metre cube (length x width x height) and multiply that figure by 10. An effective hood should be able to replace the air in your kitchen 10 times an hour.

Here’s how to determine how much extraction rate you need.

For additional tips like these, download a copy of Your Guide to Home Development with Bosch.

Make your kitchen appliance shopping easier by heading down to Bosch’s Mega Sale Event happening over the National Day weekend!

Enjoy exclusive trade-in deals, BTO kitchen packages and amazing promotions on a variety of home appliances, including ovens, hobs and hoods. RSVP today to enjoy a special gift!

Original post A Handy Guide to Shopping for Major Kitchen Appliances appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.

When space is hard to find in a small home, consider multipurpose storage to make the most of the tight space. These double-duty storage solutions that do more than just one job should help you along.

1. Console cabinet that is also a coffee table

Part of the TV console cabinet is mobile (castors were added at the bottom) so they can function as a side or coffee table in the living room whenever there is a need.

Image courtesy of 3D Innovations

2. Bookshelf that is also a sliding door

A single-purpose bookshelf can take up a lot of unnecessary wall space, especially when square footage is already cramped. Placing it by the door by having it double as the entrance will help to free up some vertical room.

Image courtesy of Space Factor

3. Cat ladders that are also a media wall storage

Commercial cat ladders aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing, so it’s a good idea to opt for a custom-made one that blends in with your home design. This one not only keeps the furry pals happy, it also works as storage solution and a dining bench.

Image courtesy of Produce

4. Bay window storage that is also a table

Bay window seat with storage = common. But bay window storage that also works as a pop-up table for tea? Not so common and fabulous.

Image courtesy of DistinctIdentity

5. TV wall that is also a room divider

This see-through TV wall made from industrial-style pipes and wood planks is a great display rack, but it also helps to visually separate the different zones—the living room and study in this instance—in this open-plan home without taking up too much visual weight.

Image courtesy of Icon Interior Design

6. Headboard that is also a dresser

This headboard hides a ton of storage room, which helps to keep the clutter at bay in this sleeping quarters, but it also features a compartment that serves as a dresser for the homeowner, complete with light-rimmed mirror mounted to the back of the panel door.

Image courtesy of Starry Homestead

7. Feature wall that is also shoe storage

Your foyer should steal attention, which is just what this eye-catching feature wall is doing. But when you have a small home, you can’t just think beauty without function. Here, this feature conceals a shoe storage behind its custom-made panels.

Image courtesy of 3D Innovations

8. Living room storage that is also a dining table

Full-height storage is a must to maximise vertical space in a living room. But this one is more than just a storage solution; it transforms into a dining table that can be stowed away after meals.

Image courtesy of Produce

9. Headboard that is also wardrobe

A pull-out compartment in the headboard hides a mini closet, which is perfect for storing everyday wear.

Image courtesy of 3D Innovations

10. Moving bookshelf that hides TV

If you don’t like having your TV front and centre in your home design, get a moving bookshelf that hides the black box when not in use.

Image courtesy of Urban Habitat Design

Will these storage solutions work for your home? Which of these storage solutions will you adopt? Share with us your clever storage solutions in the comments below! 

Original post Small Spaces: 10 Storage Solutions That Do More Than One Job appeared first on Renonation.sg. Renonation.sg - It's where renovation begins.