This is home, surely.

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Fir Key Tray for entryway

We recently splurged on a small, seemingly unimportant item: a key storage receptacle. I feel that simple, elegant solutions to reduce clutter are often overlooked in a home. In our tiny space, this is extremely important. I always get a peculiar feeling when I look at people's lived-in, recently renovated places: I start worrying about the possible clutter at our future home.

Living by myself in an apartment overseas has made myself hyper-aware of my lifestyle preferences and habits. One of the things which I already knew about myself is my high tendency to forget where I leave things, and this is exacerbated by my habit of leaving things wherever convenient. To prevent this, I need a permanent spot for most things, even items used daily, like keys. In my rental apartment here, I have solved this easily by using a 3M Command plastic hook on the wall to hang my keys. 

However, I always want the most elegant solution possible for my dream home. Enter Brian's fir key tray from Urbancase, which cost us US$88.50 including shipping. Bit pricey for a small block of wood (albeit hand-carved). 

The tray just arrived today. The workmanship is fairly good, varnished on all sides that matter (all the sides not against the wall or facing the floor). However, the varnish is slightly sticky and I am a little concerned that it will trap dust particles on it over time. I can't judge its functionality yet as I have to wait another 1.5 years for my home to be ready.

It is quite a bit larger than I thought it would be: roughly 30cm in length. I hope it doesn't overwhelm its surroundings! It seems like a lot of things I purchase in the US tend to be a lot bigger than expected (like the Portland lantern I purchased earlier). I am slightly disappointed in the size, and can only pray hard it doesn't diminish the space in my home.

Note on my purchase: I did search around for other key trays, but found mostly hook type key storage rather than trays. Trays are visually neater, and go better with my entryway hooks for bags and jackets. This was by far the most minimalistic and elegant design I found in a suitable size.

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It's perfect for our small, lack-of-walls-and-floor-space home! Note to self: Buy the Boskke sky planter for the new home.

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Photographer's tripod lamp: I got the brass coloured version. Picture of how it looks like in my current apartment. Not looking forward to the shipping cost in a year's time!

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Buys from franc franc JCube (about to close): Serving tray, $12 (discounted) Plate, $6.30 (discounted)

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More buys: Photographer’s tripod lamp from Pottery Barn, US$99 sale price Distressed wooden crate from TJ Maxx, US$13.

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I got sucked into the Japanese knife promise. More buys from Amazon:

Tojiro DP Gyutou 21cm, US$60

Saya for 21cm Gyutou, US$29.58 incl. shipping

King Combination Water stone, US$27.

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I also bought these on Amazon… Oops! Ball 24 oz wide mouth jars, US$13 for 9 7 oz flat bottom aluminum scoops, US$16 for 4 Anchor hocking half-gallon glass jar, US$20.

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First kitchen appliance purchase for the home! Man, I’m on a roll! I bought this because I’m in the US right now and it’s cheaper here. KitchenAid Artisan mixer in pistachio, US$537.50 incl. shipping, from Amazon. Pasta attachments, US$155.26, from Amazon.

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Finally bought our very first piece of furniture for our home! Decided to go ahead with the purchase just in case Muji decided to change their lineup in the next 2 years, and because this is definitely a confirmed piece I need, and is really hard to find elsewhere. There just isn’t enough space for a regular dresser. Plus, it’s hidden when I’m not using it! I love the idea, and the compactness of the actual design from Muji.

Ash dresser with stool, $399, from Muji.

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Living Room, MBR and Studio Revamped: 3D no. 1.2

(Warning: Ultra long post.)

I changed my mind. Hey, I still have 2 more years to change my mind, right? 

I decided my MBR wasn't getting enough openness and still felt cramped. Originally, I wanted a full width sliding door that would open to the bed facing it directly, like in this picture of Banyan Tree Lijiang:

But I didn't think it was possible because that would leave no wall space to put our wardrobe.

I put the wardrobe behind the bed, meaning I would have to sacrifice some wardrobe space. To reduce the impact of this, I am planning to have the bed as low as possible (more space above for wardrobe).

Here's the new MBR 3D:

Completely open MBR.

The bedside tables are gone, replaced by a long niche in the wardrobe behind. I am also contemplating for the wardrobe to be in a single type of laminate that is similar to the wall, making it appear as if the bed is the only piece of furniture/built-in in the room. 

I have also added the 3/4 height windows in to get an idea of how much light will enter the room. Presently, it looks very bright and airy because of the absence of any wall whatsoever between the two rooms (the MBR and studio). The picture below should clarify the view:

Adjoining MBR and studio.

Since only the two of us will be staying in the flat, there usually won't be a need for bedroom privacy unless guests come over (e.g. my students or his colleagues/clients). Therefore, I love the flow of space into the two areas. When we need privacy, a long set of accordion doors can be drawn across the entire length of the room. 

As mentioned previously, the entire MBR will be resting on a low platform of wood (or faux wood) to demarcate the sleeping area. This becomes even more important with the new design.

The studio layout has also been altered to suit this new MBR. Since there is no longer a wall between them, there isn't space for a desk anymore. I have shifted the grand piano into the studio and built a shelf next to it as the only other piece of furniture in that room. This shelf will serve as my music score library. 

If you can recall, the grand piano and music shelf used to sit in my living room. Since I have moved them into the studio, I now have the living room to recreate my desk. I decided to join both our desks together to form a long desk:

Open shelves above the desk to create a lighter, airier space.

The smart bench remains but is shortened slightly to make room for a full height cabinet that will house the ugly and bulky equipment like our printer, scanner, dry box & router. The printer and scanner will be on pull outs for easy access.

At my desk, because of the limited space, I plan to have two extra pull out desk tops that I can use for my students and my own work. This will also hide any clutter I might generate while doing my work.

Inspiration from here:

Zooming in to my fiancé's desk area, I have drawn a thin grooved shelf (what I call the letter shelf) that can store mail and hang a stationery holder. The shelf will be magnetic to serve as a note board as well.

This was inspired by a display shelf among Sebastian Cox's bespoke furniture.

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I found the (almost) perfect set for my dressing table! It is small enough to go into my wardrobe. I plan to have something like this, with castors so I can wheel it around easily.

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Revised MBR Bath shower area: Open bench & partition wall

It seems like the question I keep asking myself nowadays is, "Opened or closed?" This question applies to the MBR shower as well. 

Previous design: closed bench.

Now: Open bench.

It somehow gives the illusion of a longer shower area, because there is a larger area of planking. I also added a partition wall in between the toilet bowl and shower for more privacy. Even though a glass partition would create a more open feeling, I think privacy is more important in a bathroom.

Inspiration picture:

Contemporary Bathroom design by New York Interior Designer Betty Wasserman

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Revised MBR wardrobe: Down lights and recessed doors

I saw this picture while surfing for interior design pictures, and decided this wardrobe look was very clean and streamlined. As I already have track lights in the kitchen, I thought the MBR wardrobe might look better with down lights, and not look so much like a piece of cabinetry.

The recessed doors and concrete sides help to convey the impression that it's built into a wall, rather than looking like a huge box sitting on the floor. 

The grey panels of the doors will be full length mirrors.

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Revised Kitchen 3D: Off-the-floor cabinets & cascading countertop

After I changed the countertop to cascade over the side of the island cabinets, I was exploring different laminate prints for the kitchen cabinets because I didn't want white laminate that turns yellow over time. (My countertop material is pretty much fixed: I want Caesarstone!) However, I tried many different woodgrains and even grey concrete but I was still dissatisfied. It then occurred to me that maybe the cascading countertop was making the island appear bulky. As the breakfast counter and the cooking countertop was still on the same plane, the entire 1.26m wide surface was being cascaded over the side. Imagine a 1.26m by 1.74m box jutting out of your living room wall! 

I then tried lowering the breakfast counter a notch so that it didn't need to cascade with the main cooking surface:

Cascading cooking surface and step down breakfast counter.

It definitely looked better but I still couldn't decide if I liked the cascading look better or not. I kept comparing the two. The non-cascading design looks cleaner, but my fiancé kept saying the cascading design looked better.

Non-cascading island surface.

I woke up this morning and decided it still looked bulky, and I had a mini-revelation! When I was first planning my kitchen, I really wanted off-the-floor cabinets as it makes the space feel bigger with the empty space underneath. However, the configuration of my island made it unstable to do so: the huge chunk of island cabinets would only be supported by the wall at the breadth. With the addition of the cascading countertop, there would be additional support for the floating cabinets! (Please correct me if I'm wrong!) So I went ahead to push the cabinets off the floor. It looks a lot cleaner and now allows me to make the full height cabinets a different colour as the floating cabinets help to visually separate the two lengths of cabinets. I also decided to relocate the motor for the extractor hood to the full length cabinets, where it will have a lower perceived noise level situated high up and far from the cooktop, thus freeing up space under the cooktop and allowing me sufficient storage space even though I sacrifice storage by making floating cabinets.

Floating cabinets with cascading surface.

I think it looks visually stunning and helps to integrate the island with the floating cabinets on the opposite wall.

Tell me what you think of the colour scheme and design!

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Wall clocks

This is going to be a record of the clocks I've come across and liked. It will most likely be situated in the living room/kitchen area, on the white brick wall. I'm thinking if I need another for the bedroom or whether I should just use a small alarm clock.

Recycled bike wheel clock from pixelthis on Etsy.

  Recycled bike wheel clock in a different style from the same merchant.

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MBR bed

I incorporated my favourite platform bed in the below post into my MBR 3D and here's the result.

Isn't it gorgeous? I love the clean lines and the simplicity of it.

However, I like the idea of having drawers (keeps area uncluttered).  Having drawers is more functional but looks a little less clean. Which do you think looks better?

To complement the wooden headboard (reduce the heavy feeling on the wall), I have modified the shelf above the bed to a simple plank in the same finish as the wall. 

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Platform beds

I am currently hooked on the idea of a low platform bed for the MBR. It gives the impression of a higher ceiling or more vertical space above it. Plus, I just like the idea of sleeping near the floor. I am strange in that way!  I came across a few beds I loved on Houzz:

Modern Bedroom design by Los Angeles Architect Studio 0.10 Architects

This is my absolute favourite. Architectural style. Also appears to have empty space underneath.

Contemporary Bedroom design by San Francisco Interior Designer INSTUDIO Samuel Fleming Lewis

This is also a very boxy design with space underneath, but I would prefer it a little bit lower.

Contemporary Bedroom design by London Interior Designer Kia Designs

This is the ultimate minimalist bed that appears to float! The bed has a support right in the centre.

I really like the first one as the woody look goes so well with raw cement screed walls, and the bedside tables are joined with the bed frame. I plan to have similar raw-looking walls in my MBR, so this would fit very well indeed.