#SmallSpaces is where I write about different sections of our home. From children's playrooms to bedrooms and seasonal setups over Chinese New Year, Christmas and other Festivities. We hear a lot of "Home is Where the Heart is" and that is so so true. It doesn't matter where we might be as long as we are together.
We are lucky that every Singaporean has a home over their head. Here is us sharing the spaces we own[ed] or rented throughout our post-kid years.
Aug 25, 2022
My daughter needs a bookshelf in her room but I cannot imagine a boxy shelf which will block sunlight and take up floor space in her modestly-sized room. I thought of customising one to fit into her asymmetrical wall but it was gonna cost too much.
As I sat across the potential wall I was going to makeover, several ideas ran through my mind. I had always wanted a floor-to-ceiling library with a movable ladder. Alas. Our wall is to shallow and our 4.2m height has been compromised by her loft. [
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January 19, 2018
Ready made curtains are cheaper but they hardly fit well. Custom-made ones would cost an arm and leg. I know because we spent a lot for #mmlittle家's 4.3 metre high ceiling space. Just imagine us doubling our expenditure with that!
We turned to ShadeSpace, an online shopping platform for blinds in our kitchen. They cut down a lot [dollars and cents] in between because there is no brick and mortar store which also cuts down on overheads.
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January 9, 2018
3LittlePicks has one of the most beautiful collection of Home Accessories in Singapore! I fell in love with almost everything in their store but I had to pull myself back lest I burnt a hole in my pocket.
I cannot remember which year it was when I first bought my first little pick but I remember the quality to be good, which led me to buying more and more. Being the thrifty me, I will always wait for a sale to fill my cart. Well at least I felt better saving some dollars as opposed to paying full price! [
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December 5, 2017
When I was planning for Ewan's room, I knew I wanted it monochrome. Yet, I didn't want to deprive him of a boring black and white space that is too adult for his age. A brilliant idea struck! The Dark Knight is monochrome! Batman it is then.
I did not ask the children for their opinions when designing their rooms. Seriously, I would come to a designing block [dead-end] if he requested for a Hulk vs Ironman theme. Oh I am definitely not going down that route. Not especially if my daughter is to suggest a Hello Kitty or Frozen theme.
Ewan loves his room. He was ecstatic when he saw it and went, "Every morning when I wake up and see Batman in front of me, I will go WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!" [
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November 28, 2017
It is finally ready but it'll never really be finished if you know what I mean. I won't be able to resist adding pretty little trinkets to her room. Oh but I've got to stop somewhere because I don't want to overcrowd!
The mood board I put together helped a lot too! Not to mention all the beautiful styling works of Instagram moms that inspired me so much like @hudson_and_harlow. I swooned over their photographs and was determined to do the same! If not for my daughter, for my own satisfaction.
Entering the door to her full-timber loft room, she is greeted with the bed I customised with the help of Urban Li'l. I have written a full account on the story behind this whimsical House-Framed Bed on another post which got many dreaming for a bed like that too! The best part of this is its ability to turn into a playpen after she's outgrown it. Hmmm... when she's outgrown it, will she still want to play in it? [
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November 17, 2017
I love Mrs Mighetto's prints and the fantasy it exudes in its pictures. I thought, "How beautiful a playroom it will make if I had a wall to match the posters Owl Bliss sent us?"
In recent years, I had been obsessed with wall murals. Oh I chased artists' works from Tiong Bahru to Penang and absolutely loved those quirky murals along the breakwaters of Bondi Beach, Sydney. I am not an artist and I cannot draw for nuts. However, I have this quiet appreciation for Art and secretly wished I could paint up something astounding on my non-existent easel. So I had been thinking who I could engage for this job! Since Mrs Malin Mighetto herself doesn't reside in Singapore *haha* [
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November 14, 2017
I went through a lot in the making of this frame. Oh don't be mistaken. They were not exasperating texts that went back and forth with Rachel. She had been most helpful with all my ideas despite nursing bad morning sicknesses through her first trimester!
What I meant was, I toyed with the thought of giving the bed legs to elevate it. I was playing with colours, size [Ikea or Asian single mattress size] and add-ons like, "Can I add a chimney to her house?"
I concluded that I wanted the bed on the floor so that even if Faye rolled off, she wouldn't hurt herself. It shall be white but slightly raw with hints of the original wood peeping out from the paint. Lastly, that adorable adorable chimney.
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October 13, 2017
We did not hire an interior designer for all our homes and the reason is simple.
10 years ago when we were putting together our matrimony home, we decided on the theme "Resort Living". It was all about trees, earth, wood and daybeds. We did our research through magazines, dog-earring pages that called out to us. Interior designing is not a walk in the park and we toyed with the idea of hiring a professional to do the job.
Going from one interior designing company to another, we realised all they did was put our concepts into drawings. Hmmm... we decided to take matters in our hands and Did It Ourselves.
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September 27, 2017
They call themselves The Trusted Defect Check Team and I couldn't agree more. Not just because we are collaborating on this together but I really wouldn't be able to spot so many crucial defects that needed rectification if I were to do this on my own. Sure. I would turn the tap on in the toilets to check if it runs and stops as it should. However, I wouldn't put the stopper in place to check if it really does stop the water from seeping through. The professionals at Absolute Inspection took no shortcuts and had that checked as well. To our dismay, both basins had stoppage issues. Things like these we would probably realise only after shifting in. [
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September 20, 2017
Not only have I been solo-parenting the children, I have been solo-parenting our new home too. I had three meetings with my contractor before commencement proper with the last meeting set up to talk about the construction of our loft, breaking down a wall, carpentry works and putting up wall beadings in our living and dining rooms. I didn't believe I could ever solo-parent my children [nor the new home] but I guess what push comes to shove, we just have to make things work. Even if it meant breaking down walls on my own. Never again will I call myself the weaker sex. [
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March 30, 2017
One of my favourite things to do is to give an old space a new lease of life. It is the kids' room this time [always the kids' room actually] and I thought, "How about a functional night light that does not take up space yet passes off as a decorative?" Well then. It has got to be a hanging wall decor that emits light. As an Instagram addict, scrolling feed after feed five times a day, I find myself attracted to those hypnotic Sleepy Eyes wall decor hanging above baby cots and toddler beds. Well, who wouldn't? It was such a craze last year that every kids' online store that I knew were blasting tempting pictures in my face! By the time I decided to own one, Sleepy Eyes was sold out everywhere. [Still available at Pocketpig Diary today] [
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January 20, 2017
I fell in love with a craft work made by the Nursery One kids in my children's pre-school and decided to come home to replicate some for our own home. It is the year of the Rooster and this seems like the perfect handicraft to put together with the kids!
Look at the Roosters carefully and you would have noticed that they are made of Circles, Hearts, Teardrops and Triangles! How clever of the teachers? This session turned into a Shapes lesson! I asked Ewan and Faye if they'd like to craft this at home and they nodded excitedly. [
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November 15, 2016
I would like to take this chance to document how we've stayed in our current residence as a couple to becoming parents of one child, moved out to a bigger rented space for two years and now back again to our 2-bedroom humble abode for our family of four.
After all that we've been through, Home is truly where the heart is. Space is not going to make or break a family. We make the difference. [
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August 31, 2016
IKEA is always innovating, ever-evolving in its ways to produce Designs for Everyone. They focus on five dimensions to bring us products that encompass at least one element in its design - a challenge to keep the design team innovative at all times. Unsurprisingly, some products boast all five dimensions in its design. In line with IKEA's 2017 catalogue which is all about Demographic Design, I am sharing how FUNCTIONAL their products can be. I will be presenting five products we have at home with its original purpose and two innovative takes on what they can be used for if we think out of the box.
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July 28, 2016
I was inspired by IKEA with many bright ideas to encourage sustainability in the heart of our home. I hadn't noticed but there are many lightbulb moments as we shop, reminding us to switch to LED light bulbs to save electrical energy or saving water by adding a pressure compensating aerator inside the faucet. We did a major home rehaul to strength sustainable life at home. [
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June 28, 2016
We recently moved back to our old place. A downsize as we wait for our new home to be ready in 18 months time. Although our time here is only temporary, we want to make it comfortable for all to live in. The rooms are empty and I had full reign to turn the children's room into anything I like it to be. The monochrome bedroom series seems to be the latest fad and parents are working hard on black and whites. I love those monochrome wall decals, bedspreads and decorative items too! They are clean, photogenic and Instagram-worthy. Yet, I decided to deviate from it because colours have the ability to inspire, excite and stimulate dreams. [
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November 25, 2016
I was inspired by fellow mommy bloggers, Summer (A Happy Mum) and Adeline (Growing With The Tans), to embark on my own cardboard crafting journey for my children. Summer hand-crafted Fairy Wings out of cardboards while Adeline constructed a cool Airplane! I was a little ambitious to make this a big project. It will not be just one cardboard kitchen but a playroom filled with cardboard creations would be fun! Firstly, get that book! Summer and Adeline recommended The Cardboard Box Book by Roger Priddy and Sarah Powell in their respective blogs. Since it had been tried and tested, I shan't go against the flow and rode the wave as well! [read]
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November 2, 2015
People who visited us in our pre-kid home would go, "Oh my goodness! You guys are not living in a real home! Is this a show flat?" Oh yes, we had our fair share of neat and tidy homes until I became a parent *haha* I am ashamed to admit that I had judged my friends' toy-tornado-swept homes. I said I'd never let my house or life be invaded by kids but I had. Inevitably, I had! Right now, I have the messiest home ever but it is our humble abode full of joyous laughter. I had to [had to had to] hop onto this blog train that Justina had initiated. It literally nudged me with a "You've got to document your children's living quarters! It's now or never!" What a good read it would make when we look back in a decade's time. [read]
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January 14, 2014
I had 4 major decisions to make last quarter and while schooling was one, the move to a bigger house was another. As much as I didn't want Ewan to go to school, I didn't want to move.
2 years ago, I resisted giving our T.Blangah flat up to shift to where we reside now. Firstly, it doesn't make sense that we are to move to a smaller unit with only 2 bedrooms when we've been living in the luxury of space from a 30 year old flat. Secondly, we put in so much effort renovating the old flat to a new-world resort. Thirdly, we will have to spend a lot more money re-furnishing the place up. [read]
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We recently moved back to our old place. A downsize as we wait for our new home to be ready in 18 months time. Although our time here is only temporary, we want to make it comfortable for all to live in. The rooms are empty and I had full reign to turn the children's room into anything I like it to be. The monochrome bedroom series seems to be the latest fad and parents are working hard on black and whites. I love those monochrome wall decals, bedspreads and decorative items too! They are clean, photogenic and Instagram-worthy. Yet, I decided to deviate from it because colours have the ability to inspire, excite and stimulate dreams. [read]
I was inspired by fellow mommy bloggers, Summer (A Happy Mum) and Adeline (Growing With The Tans), to embark on my own cardboard crafting journey for my children. Summer hand-crafted Fairy Wings out of cardboards while Adeline constructed a cool Airplane! I was a little ambitious to make this a big project. It will not be just one cardboard kitchen but a playroom filled with cardboard creations would be fun! Firstly, get that book! Summer and Adeline recommended The Cardboard Box Book by Roger Priddy and Sarah Powell in their respective blogs. Since it had been tried and tested, I shan't go against the flow and rode the wave as well! [read]
People who visited us in our pre-kid home would go, "Oh my goodness! You guys are not living in a real home! Is this a show flat?" Oh yes, we had our fair share of neat and tidy homes until I became a parent *haha* I am ashamed to admit that I had judged my friends' toy-tornado-swept homes. I said I'd never let my house or life be invaded by kids but I had. Inevitably, I had! Right now, I have the messiest home ever but it is our humble abode full of joyous laughter. I had to [had to had to] hop onto this blog train that Justina had initiated. It literally nudged me with a "You've got to document your children's living quarters! It's now or never!" What a good read it would make when we look back in a decade's time. [read]
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