Posts from — November 2008

To fellow How’sHouse readers. It’s been a while since my last post and I do apologize for not posting as regularly as before. A lot has happened since my Bangkok trip two weeks ago – work: moving from an energy-sapping project onto a new engagement; life: the passing on of a dear relative; family: the current situation in Bangkok where my wife is currently stranded.

So do be patient, the posts will come flowing again very soon… hopefully by middle of the coming week where I foresee some opportunity for me to do my blogging after work hours again.

In my previous post, siam discovery centre, I mentioned getting gelgems from the Loft. So what exactly are they? Here’s the official description from gelgems.com itself:

Colorful, fun and reusable, GelGems® are a dynamic new way to express yourself and decorate your surroundings. Flowers, fish, stars and dozens of other shapes stick to your windows, mirrors, computer monitor or drinking glasses – any non-porous surface. Don’t stick GelGems® on drywall, wood, painted surfaces, plastic, fabric or other porous surfaces – they will leave oily marks. Send a message to your neighbors, add a splash of color, or create a detailed mosaic. Then, when you feel the creative itch again, take down your design and start again

In short, wall decals for mirrors and glass. They’re usually more on the ‘cute’ side and is especially great to have to brighten up your children’s rooms.

Here are some applications of gelgems in action:

Click here for more variations of gelgems applications.

Anybody know where to get these locally here in Malaysia? If so, do share with everybody here on How’sHouse! I’m sure lots of parents of little children would be keen to get these creative adhesives for their homes.

My most recent trip to Bangkok was a chilled out, very relaxed sort of trip as we’ve seen all the tourist attractions and famous landmarks during the trip prior to this one. My next few blog posts will probably detail some home-related stories from this trip.

Instead of shopping for clothes, I was more on the lookout for homeware and to my delight, Bangkok did not disappoint. The city offers a wide range of stores selling designer furniture in many of the major malls to designer copies being sold in the markets.

One such place which I really enjoyed was the Siam Discovery Centre which is located in between Siam Centre and MBK. This shopping complex has a whole floor and a half dedicated to home-related stores which are extremely hip, modern, trendy.

Here’s a list of my top pick stores there (I’ve excluded the more neo-classical sort of stores as I’m a fan of contemporary home furnishing)

Habitat – a large store spanning two floors selling everything from furniture for the home to little decorative items to furnish the home. Extremely contemporary. Wide variety of offerings. I guarantee you’ll find something to your liking here. Price is another matter altogether though. On sale, many of the items are pretty reasonable

Loft - this store sells lots of fun, colourful and quirky items which would be great to liven up any home. We bought some gelgems (more on this in an upcoming blog post!) here. Loft is not exactly a store dedicated to selling homeware. In fact, it sells Golla bags/pouches, stationary, and even toys. They do have a cute collection of clocks and cutlery which is worth a look.

Room & Anyroom – We have Room here too in most of our larger shopping malls like 1Utama and MidValley. I’m not sure if the Room in Bangkok is in any way affiliated with the ones here as the logo isn’t identical. The ones in Bangkok sure have a whole lot more to offer- I could spend hours in these shops looking at each of the little items they have on sale. Anyroom is yet another store within the shopping mall which seems have the same core concept of selling quirky and modern items but with more of a focus on furniture. They have quite a few attractive lamps and chairs on sale.

Within Bangkok, another great place to shop for home items if you’re into original designer ware instead of copies would be in Central World. This is the first place I’ve seen selling items from Vitra! Definitely the place to go if you have the moolah to splash.

For me, I’ll stick to the Siam Discovery Centre and Chatuchak Market.

Homedec- Malaysia’s largest home showcase- is back and will be held from Nov 13-16 at the KLCC Convention Centre. Exhibition hours are from 10am to 8pm.

The exhibition will be split into the following categories, mainly covering the key areas of home decoration and renovation:

- Audio Visual Equipment
- Electrical & Home Appliances
- Bath & Sanitaryware
- Bedding, Wardrobe & Fittings
- Carpet, Wall-Covering & Paint
- Curtains, Blinds & Soft Furnishings
- Doors, Windows & Roofing
- Finance & Others
- Floor & Wall Finishes
- Furniture & Home Furnishing
- Garden, Landscape & Swimming Pool
- Interior Design Clinic & Consultation
- Kitchenware & Household Products
- Lighting & Material
- Water Heater & Filtration

For more details on Homedec ‘08, click here to access the official website.

The exhibition is especially great for new homebuyers looking to renovate and furnish their homes as one can choose from the many exhibitors there instead of driving around the city looking for suitable deals. With a high volume of exhibitors on board, you can expect attractive deals and discounts.

For those looking to buy decorative items, Homedec has traditionally featured quite an attractive selection of designer looking items for sale.

If you haven’t any plans for this weekend, be sure to visit Homedec ‘08.

Imagesource: CISnetwork