Laundry Area Storage Organizer

Before

After

Neater and prettier! These are 2 HINDO shelving units from IKEA, installed on top of each other. Very sturdy! So glad that IKEA has opened in Johor Bahru..heh.

A Scandinavian Boy's Room

A long-awaited post! The boys' room extension was finally completed about last month. Now it's double the size!

The mess...

Laminated flooring in progress.

Almost there!

Kepoh-ing with the painting.

Completo! The Scandinavian themed room I've always wanted to create.

Their study, reading and playing area.

The ingredients to get the Nordic look (stockist details at the end):

Wall art.

There are plenty of printables on Etsy. I basically searched "Scandinavian wall art for children's room" and eventually narrowed down to 3. 

Here, I am actually not very pleased with the frame arrangements. I didn't plan very well.

And speaking about wall hangings, a lot of people want to hang nice arts on their wall but never got around to do it because they hate drilling the wall. I hate it too. So my best way was to get the light FISKBO IKEA frames and then hang it using the 3M hook (photo somewhere below).

It really works! No mess!

Bed linen sets. 

Storage and large cushions... (and a retro fan!)

Curtains. This photo makes the room look dark, but actually it is still rather bright even when all the curtains are drawn.

*The making of the room*

WALL ART

Fine Little Day Apple Poster from bloesem. Purchased online from their shop and self-collected from the shop owner's humongous British colonial white bungalow house at Nassim Road, Singapore. 

Printable Cat Print from AtelierKokoon

 

Printable Yin Yang Bear 'Find Balance' from TutuPepe. 

Rabbit poster from synplus. Have yet to display this in their room.

My own art. I'll be happy to share the pdf file.

This 3M sawtooth hook is my favourite.

BED LINEN SETS

Ordered from Taobao.

Designs like these are not found anywhere in Malaysia, Singapore or even IKEA. And the impressive thing is, the quality is actually good. Smooth 100% cotton, and doesn't make one feel hot lying on it. Initially I was skeptical but I really wanted these designs so I took the risk, and now I'm very satisfied with them! 

The Cloud & Pine Tree bed linen set.

The Swiss Cross bed linen set. 

You can select from the many designs in that link, and also the size. The set comes with a choice of fitted or flat sheet. ( Not all sets do, so check first)

CURTAINS

This adorable Whale Curtain was also ordered from Taobao, custom-made. The eazyla staff was awesome! They helped me communicate with the seller (in Chinese of course, not my forte) on the measurements and all the other details. I'm impressed how good the service is! Most of the sellers will customize the size and include the backing for the curtain hooks. They also offer a few types of backing depending on the kind of hook you want. 

STORAGE

You probably recognize this ubiquitous 3-shelves rack, found in Giant and local furniture shops. Super cheap...looking. I remember back then, it only came in this brown. Now there are white, black, colourful and also in laminated wooden texture that actually makes it look very atas ( found in TESCO)

So, I znged it.

I made boxes without the top using plastic corrugated boards which were cut into sizes and joined with binding tapes (the strongest stickiest type). 

The front part is covered with this Scandinavian Half Circle Wave fabric from luckyshop0228. 

I used the same binding tape to add a tab at the bottom as a pull-out.

And that cute bear paper bag storage is from Tellkiddo.

CUSHIONS

It is also hard to find nice covers for LARGE cushions. IKEA offers a limited selection. So I got their large INNER cushions, and made a couple of covers with these fabrics:

Small Cross and Cloud Pattern cotton fabric from luckyshop0228 as well.

For one of the covers, there weren't enough fabric for both sides, so substituted one side with this really cute duck pattern fabric, also from the same shop.

I must say, it is a happy room! I don't know if the boys appreciate the style but they love the extra space! 

Quaint Cafe Earth Heart in Old Johor Bahru Town

Recently, I passed by a really retro cafe at Jalan Ibrahim. I fell instantly in love! How could you Eh He!

photo courtesy of Peggy Loh

Please do read the very concise write-up from Peggy Loh's blog. It is AWESOME! Basically, it's a cafe AND an art exhibition space upstairs.

I didn't want to take photos of the art pieces, you know, artist's rights. Please go see it! But here are some photos of the cafe's interior. Lots of exposed brick wall, half cemented, post-war look!

The bar on ground floor.

The sitting area on the upper floor. 

Unique ceiling lights made of wood branches and hanging bulbs.

Looks like handmade benches and table.

This is by far my favourite piece in the room! It looks EXACTLY like my grandmother's cupboard! Notice the legs resting on round-containers? Those are filled with water back then, to prevent ants from going into the cupboard.

Mural art by a local artist.

Lots of little cute plants!

I had this black sesame waffle, SERVED IN RETRO ENAMEL DISH. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Pity I'm not a coffee drinker (heart rate goes berserk) but according to my aunt who is a coffee drinker and lived in Japan for 20 over years, the coffee she had was so-so only. 

If you love raw, rustic and zakka look, you'll love this place. Hipster cafes, keep coming! 

My Humble Abode - Redecorated.

My home in 2007 to 2008. That was the first major renovation. The walls were painted Apple White, which gave a greenish hue, and gave me a heart attack when I first saw it. Just last year, I loved it because mint became my favourite colour. But then, when the Scandinavian Nordic white and clean lines took over, it was time to repaint and redecorate the house again.

See the greenish hue?

Just before repainting.

Our new dining area. The mirror made a significant difference to the brightness and size of the area. And mirrors are said to be good for feng shui because it reflects the food on our dining table, which means we double our abundance...and errmm also waste. So we are will not waste food now. See the positive effect?*grin*
We used Nippon Brilliant White 1001 Odorless Paint. It was REALLY odorless, and very easy to remove if you get them all over the floor or on your body/clothes.

That beautiful Chinese calligraphy on the piano is made by my talented colleague. I feel so peaceful and joyful.

 And to this room where I spend 6-7 hours a day unconsciously...heheh.

BEFORE.

There used to be a dresser here, but it was revamped and used as a desk for Darren now.

AFTER.

 11 things in this photo are from IKEA. You know me.

Snapshots around my nest...

Made this bolster cover from this very adorable fabric I bought from Etsy's luckyshop0228.

An additional art decor piece. The horse's legs match the Chinese character, yes?

I feel like I've arrived...