Posts from — July 2008

This is my second post on the topic of invisible bookshelves. It’s not yet a fetish but I sure am attracted to the notion of being able to store by books neatly with the perception of them floating in mid air. You can read my first post on ‘HowTo: Make an Invisible Bookshelf’ here.

In this post, I’m introducing my latest find- the Sticklebook- an insivible bookshelf that stores books horizontally (in the previous post, the books were stored vertically). The Sticklebook concept is pretty ingenious and simple as it uses a fine tooth aluminium comb-like structure where it’s teeth will grip the pages and covers of any paperback book. Note: It doesn’t support hardbacks.

My first concern was that this might ruin the pages of the books it clenches. Here’s what the Sticklebook manufacturers have to say about this:

Does it damage the books?
Sticklebook’s comb will leave a small mark on the ends of the book leaves but has been carefully designed to ensure as minimal marking as possible.

Read the complete Sticklebook FAQ here

The 50cm Sticklebook shelf costs about RM130 (inclusive of delivery charges) via online purchase. I think it’s a pretty fair price for something truly innovative which is not available locally at any retail stores yet.

Yet another item that’ll surely be a great conversational piece. It would’ve been great if the Sticklebook had enough strength to hold hardcover books. Having one of these in the kitchen for your cookbooks would simply be ideal since almost nobody really designs their kitchens with a cookbook storage space in mind.

Some useful links:

Found a nice blog post by LiveByArchitecture featuring the Sticklebook and other designer shelves. Click here to read it

Here’s a less elegant but extremely economical way to hang up your books without using a shelf platform.

Stand a chance to win RM1,000 worth of IKEA vouchers simply by participating in their survey which runs now until the 22nd of July. 1k can get you plenty at IKEA so hurry on and take the survey

If the potential prize of RM1,000 isn’t enough to lure you to do the survey or you simply think ‘I never have the luck’, it’s still really worth taking the survey because each question is displayed on a separate screen with backgrounds portraying modern homes and simple yet elegant furniture configurations. So really, by doing the survey, you can get free ideas on how you could configure the furniture and colour schemes in your home. It’s just another great way to get more home ideas.

Still not convinced? C’mon, the questions are really simple. Here’s an example (the first question)

By sharing this piece of info with you on How’sHouse, I am effectively reducing my chances of winning the RM1,000 but hey, this blog’s all about sharing so go ahead and take the survey (I’m still hopeful about winning it, hah!). I already know what I’ll be getting from IKEA when/if they hand over those vouchers to me!

Click here to take the IKEA survey now.

Tired of boring plain walls? Renting but itching to do something with the walls to liven up your place? The easy answer to this would be to use wall decals. Some of you would remember playing Need For Speed: Underground. One of the mods you were allowed on your ride was to add vinyl patterns to pimp up your car’s external looks. Basically the layman would call ‘em car stickers but the enthusiasts call it decals. Whatever you call it, you can do the same now for your walls as you did for your car in NFS.

Why are decals cool?

• They add dimension, patterns, colour and liveliness to your walls.
• They stick on and peel off without leaving marks on your walls.
• It’s a more affordable alternative than painting
• Unleash the artistic side of you and get creative- your wall is your canvas
• You can even use them on glass, mirrors or tiles

Where can I get wall decals?

Fortunately for us, W-ink (wall ink), a Singaporean company that produces a great range of wall decals has a local premise here in the Klang Valley. Their products can be found at Hommy, in Aeon Bukit Tinggi in Klang (lot F36, 1st Floor). They have two more premises in Johor Bahru as well- click here for location details

I can imagine decals on cars but not in homes. Show me some examples?

Here are some photos taken from W-ink’s flickr photobook. Click here to view the complete photobook

The great thing about decals is that it comes in a set of loose vinyls, meaning you can get your creative juices flowing and decide on the placement of each individual vinyl- effectively, you are still the author of your art!

I don’t wanna spend money buying vinyl. How’sHouse, gimme some DIY tips lah

It’s actually worth the couple of hundred bucks you might spend to decorate your place with decals which are manufactured by the pros. W-ink also can tailor make decals to suit your whims and fancies. But if you still feel that DIY is the way to go, here’s a video of how to make your own DIY wall decals from Nest. The video also contains links to many other sites featuring wall decals so watch the video to get more ideas for your home.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azL-ZFGwwdw&feature=user]

and here’s another DIY on wall decals: A step by step instructable posted by britsteiner

Whether you choose to make your own or go out to buy them, wall decals sure are a lot of fun to have in your home.

Tip: it’s a great way to liven up your bathroom as well- stick em on your shower screens or bland white tiles for extra effect.

Looking for fresh works of art? I came across the ThreeSixty Art Development Studio at the Waterfront in Desa Parkcity last weekend. The studio is situated on the first floor, directly above The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and is now currently showcasing works of semester 5 students from UITM. Just a brief into what ThreeSixty Art Development Studio is about- you can click here for the long version- or read my super summarised version: to provide local talents a place to showcase their works and an avenue to gain some side income whilst at it.

Some pictures of the gallery at the Waterfront, taken from thr3sixty.com (these pics were taken during the first exhibition, not the current one. You can still view pieces from the previous exhibition in a separate room.)

I thought that some of the works displayed there were really good. One piece that caught my eye in particular was the ‘Dewi Bulan Sari dalam F# Minor‘ by Amar Shahid Salehudin- an elegant and visually stunning work, arcylic on canvas, 91.4cm x 91.4cm. I’m not going to sound like a pro doing a review on art, simply because I’m not. I’m more the sort of person who feels that if you can connect with a piece of art and like it for its visual properties and can figure a place to hang it in your home, then that’s all that matters- buy it. So I’ll let the painter tell you what he intended of his paintings (I didn’t speak to him personally, but got this excerpt off the brochure the lady working there handed to me)…

Amar Shahid’s work encourages his audience to tap into their fitrah, or the disposition towards virtue and beauty inherent in all human beings

I am still undecided whether to purchase it but in all fairness, I didn’t have all the time in the world the other day because I actually went to the Waterfront to buy Big Apple donuts before being derailed to the gallery. I’ll probably have to pay it a visit real soon again before someone snaps it up.

Other artists whose work I found noteworthy was Edroger Cassidy and Rairol Azmi. Edroger’s work focuses on the representation from a camera whilst Rairol focuses on nature and landscape scenes. This gallery is affiliated to Galeri Chandan, located in Damansara Heights. Click here for more info on Galeri Chandan’s current exhibition. Read more here about the people behind it, why it’s called Chandan, and the exhibition’s aim

Don’t play play, student’s artwork also can fetch from RM600 to RM1,600. As they say, there’s no price for art that you like, really. If you’re hoping to pick up some art for the home, head on over the the gallery. They close at 8.30pm.

Here’s a little something I added to my bathroom recently to liven things up a little and give it some life and colour- a plant. I chose the Sansivieria because of its hardiness. Driving near the Kuarters Kerajaan to Jln Kuching (near Kensington Homes), I saw a whole lot of plants by the side of the road, all withering away, except for the Sansivierias planted there and I figured, hey, if i’m going to have a plant in the home, this is it as it requires minimal care. Wikipedia also states that its sap has antiseptic qualities and it’s leaves are used for bandages in traditional African first aid. YinLeng, if I cut myself, spare yourself the trouble and please just take me to the Mediviron clinic across the street from us.

There’s even an International Sansivieria Society. Don’t play play. At least I know where I can get support if I ever run into Sansivieria issues.

Anyhoo, back to giving my bathroom life- when I’m not singing in it. I got my Sansiviera from IKEA for RM15. These are the ones about a metre tall. I saw the same sized ones going for RM10 in Sungai Buloh (see my post on Sungai Buloh- the place to buy plants here). Bugger, could’ve saved 5 bucks.

Please bear with the low quality pics. Unlike some pro bloggers, I’m using my faithful SE K800i to take these shots (I am so contemplating getting a DSLR right now actually). I then bought this white flower pot, also from IKEA, for RM9.90

Next up, I loosen the soil in which the Sansiviera resided in and transferred it over to it’s new pot. I decided to place the pot in a niche between the shower screen and the toilet. Here are some ‘before’ images (the reverse angle effect is because I’m taking the pic of the image on the mirror.

See that metal pipe sticking out the wall? I don’t like it. Scroll down to see what I’ve done to soften its visual effect.

See how much of a difference a plant can make to the whole look and feel of the bathroom. The green is accentuated well against the white that is the dominant colour of my bathroom.

The final touch, which gives it a classier feel, I surrounded the pot with river rocks I bought at Sungai Buloh (comes in a 10kg pack and I’ve used only a fifth of it here). The black river rocks stand out so much that you’re more likely to look at the rock configuration than the metal pipe that’s sticking out of the wall.

Tip: I’m only using a third of the Sansivieria I purchased from IKEA, the rest is still sitting in the porch, waiting to be potted and placed somewhere else. Basically, 1x RM15 Sansivieria plant can be split and fitted into 3x RM9.90 white pots from IKEA.

Well, there you have it- adding life to a bathroom for under RM30. Minimal care is required of the sansivieria (after all, it’s sold indoors at IKEA, that’s an indication that these plants don’t require all that much sunlight), no care is required of the river rocks, but care is required where one tinkles, but that’s a personal issue I can’t help you guys with… maybe another blog will.

During my project at DiGi last year, it was the norm for my Portuguese colleagues to get a cuppa espresso after lunch everyday. We’d walk from ‘Reload’ (their in-house cafeteria run by Mr. Ho’s Fine Foods) to the outdoor foyer where they’d purchase their espresso from the bakery whilst I get my 5 minutes daily dose of TheSun npp.

We usually sat on the ‘Obelisk‘, a beautiful dark grey patio set by Dedon. What’s amazing about the Obelisk is that it can be stacked vertically- leaving a small storage footprint- into a physical piece of art in the shape of what else, but an Obelisk. It’s made from durable plastic interwoven like the rattan chairs you would find at your grandparents’ house 15 years ago. Extremely lightweight and doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out how to stack the set.

Click here for a pic of the DiGi office with the Obelisk visible in the background, found on brokenscrew.blogspot.com

Derailing off topic…

In case you didn’t already know, DiGi’s headquarters (known as D’House) in Subang Hi-Tech is an ultra-modern facility with contemporary furnishings and modern abstract art hung all over the place. Click here to visit ‘just minishorts’ blog post with pics of the facility.

Back to the Obelisk…

I haven’t seen any local retail stores carrying this set but I soon figured out why after finding this post on TreeHugger- it costs a whopping USD$8,922!!! For plastic? Yeah yeah, the concept’s really cool but I need a maid more than I need an outdoor set. Maid = RM800; Obelisk = USD8,922 x 3.2 = RM28,550.40 = 35.6 mths (round up/approx 3 years) of maid’s wages!!!

Ahh… but there are alternatives available locally. I saw a set which spots the exact same concept at Homelife (Lorong Seputeh branch) called ‘Aralyn‘. Also made of interwoven durable plastic, the major difference is that it stacks not to form the shape of an obelisk but instead, takes the form of a large vase/urn. Build quality is evidently not as fine as that of Dedon’s Obelisk but still would be a conversational and practical space saving set to own. Price tag= RM 4,999 (yes, half a year of maid’s wages). I was not allowed to take a picture of the set. Perhaps they fear that I may suddenly possess handyman qualities and all the necessary industrial tools to produce a similar set and siphon off their sales of Aralyn sets?!?!?!

I remember seeing a similar set at G.D.O so you can check it out over there as well if you’re interested in a stackable yet artistic patio set.

Tired of putting your photos to display in regular frames? Here’s another alternative framing method I discovered at ThriftDeluxe.com. It suggests framing your photos by wrapping them around cans, any cans at all – baked beans, corn, regular 325ml soft drink cans.

Click here for the full set of instructions

Click here to view another alternative framing method (an earlier post), using trouser hangers from IKEA

This has to be the most brilliant analog clock concept I’ve seen yet. This clock, aptly called ‘The Meaning of Time’ by designer Bomi Kim, is an ultra simple torpedo shaped contraption with two holes, labeled ‘Hour’ and ‘Minute’. Stick the sharp end into your wall to hang the clock, then insert anything into the holes to represent the hour and minute clock!!!

I found this clock whilst browsing Yankodesign.com. Here are some examples of what you can insert into the holes to make clock hands. Unfortunately, no word on retail price or availability. Bomi Kim’s site is no help either as it’s currently under construction.

I personally think the pencil idea looks classy yet playful. Imagine using glow sticks in place of pencils when throwing one of your dinner parties. That sure would wow your guests and get them talking about it. However, I’m skeptical about how well the clock will hold ‘anything’ really because the holes are fixed size so you’ve got to find ‘hands’ that are exactly the same size as the holes to fit them in nicely into ‘The Meaning of Time’.

You could also get creative by customising the background of the clock to create a contemporary effect like this

The picture above is the Karlsson silver cube wall. FYI- Karlsson and Nextime mass produce contemporary analog clocks, many of which would look great in your modern home. You can find these clocks at Molecule in the Home Precinct at Pavilion KL (level 5). Clocks range from RM248 to RM655.

Digressing from Bomi Kim’s ‘The Meaning of Time’ analog clock, this is my pick of Karlsson clocks from Molecule- the Mixed Numbers Clock. This clock currently retails at RM655. If not for my practical side warning me of the effort required to clean the dust off the crevices of the clock, I would’ve purchased it in a jiffy.

Behold, the DB Fletcher Capstan Ilona- a table that seats six but has the capability to effortlessly expand to seat twelve. The marvelous thing about this table is that it stores its expansion leaves within itself, hence no external parts are required for the expansion process. Watch the video to view the expansion process and admire the beauty of this table concept.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh_qn62zny0]

What more impressive is that the table can be expanded or collapsed automatically, via remote control! It would be truly amusing if your local Chinese restaurant installed the Capstans. No more need for workers to roll ‘em big circular expansion table tops across the restaurant.