The Gazebo Makeover

I last wrote about our gazebo here. Back then, our gazebo was purely a place for us to place our outdoor furniture. Obviously we furnished it with the basic necessities i.e. a fan and lights. But that was just it! It didn't feel homely at all.

In an effort to make the gazebo more cozy with a class of luxury, we decided to embark on a mini makeover project. Inspired by the beautiful purple flowers growing just by our gazebo, we adopted a purple theme for the area.

Our ever flowering purple flowers by the gazebo.

To give it a touch of style, we started by sourcing for a carpet. We initially wanted a Moroccan designed rug, but we hunted everywhere - IKEA, Spotlight and even online. But we couldn't find a suitable rug that we could easily fold over for storage in case it rains. Everything was either not to our liking, or to our liking but just way way way too expensive. In the end, I suggested to Hubby for us to just recycle an existing purple motif carpet that we had in the house. Since it was going to stay outside in the rain or shine, why bother splurging so much? Hence we ended up purchasing a new carpet to replace the recycled carpet, which went to our guest bedroom downstairs. And we brought the purple carpet outside... Takdelah rasa ralat sangat if it gets destroyed over the years, kan?

Recognize the purple carpet?

Our willow tree leaves giving the area a tad sense of privacy.

For a touch of elegance, we added some purple pillows and even a purple throw to the seats. It matched the carpet beautifully!! Hubby even found an old painting in our attic, which complemented the whole look. So far so good - zero money spent!

Surprisingly, the painting matched the whole purple affair!

A place of comfort in the garden.

We love relaxing in the gazebo, enjoying the peace and quiet with a cup of tea/coffee. Kids enjoy playing there too!

Next up, despite the carpet being recycled, we simply couldn't leave it exposed to the rain. Nanti bau masam! We resorted to rolling it up and bringing it indoors during the weekdays. But it was no easy feat - berat ok! Hence we collectively agreed to source for some outdoor blinds to cover the open sides, to prevent the rain from coming in.

Initially we wanted to just go for IKEA blinds, but in the end we calculated just a slight top up to custom it to size. So glad we decided to go custom, especially since we needed a slanting blind for one of the sides (far end in above photo).

Last but not least, in order to give it a bit of rustic feel to match the wood decking flooring, we sourced for these beautiful lovebird storage seats and repurposed them into flower beds! We also planted more of those purple flowers in honour of the theme we chose. And every morning the flowers would bloom without fail - such a pretty and soothing sight.

Storage seats from IKEA, repurposed into flower beds!

So happy that the gazebo is now the main garden feature. Since it is so cosy, it is fully utilized both during the day and night. On weekend mornings, we'll have our breakfast or brunch outdoors. Some nights, we would setup our image projector and watch a movie on the big screen. We also use the area to entertain our guests with an outdoor BBQ, or even a romantic supper for two after the kids have gone to bed.

That's it for our gazebo makeover! We're happy and content with our outdoor space now (well at least until we find another spot to revamp yet again) *chuckles*

Spring Cleaning

After a successful job at getting my shoes in order, I am suddenly overwhelmed with the urge of cleaning and organizing just about everything else in my wardrobe. It must be the after effects of spring cleaning; the sight of everything prettily displayed is ridiculously satisfying!

It was a toss-up between a closet with doors or open shelvings. In the end, I opted for the latter. The idea is to display my everyday necessities so that they are within easy reach. The target? To give my handbags, scarves and accessories a proper home.

The beauty with open shelvings is that they are very practical and versatile. Not only do you get to maximize the space, but you can also adapt it to fit any room of the house. And with the right touch, they can also be a decorative visual element to instantaneously brighten a mundane room.

Nothing adds a little life to a room like a little bit of flora. Just a few plants can wake up an entire space, including a pop of colour to your room.

For my latest project, I decided to use Vetop Storage's steel shelving system. Vetop Storage is a free-standing and fully adjustable shelving system, engineered to be flexible for use in any room and practically any purpose. They offer a wide range of products too - from basic shelves, to functional units and even accessories and storage boxes. After browsing through their online catalogue, my heart was set on a medium + large black shelving set, with a wooden shelf add on. I was impressed to note that not only was the price competitive... but the shipping was free too!

When the shelves arrived, I was stunned by the size and the weight of the package. Each box (there were three!) was packed neatly and weighed quite a bit. But I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the daunting challenge of assembling the racks all by myself (Hubby was away), it turned out to be effortless instead. There were no screws to turn, no hammers to wield. All I needed to do was to snap a couple of clips on the horizontal pole according to the height I desired, lower down the racks until they latch on to the clips, repeat with all other racks, and tadaaaaa I was done. I could even choose the elevation of each storage rack to fit the various sizes of my handbag boxes. Plus, the racks are so durable, they can withstand up to 100kg! (Not that my handbags are ever going to hit a hundred kilograms, but still!) *chuckles*

Anyway, here are a couple of photos from my Vetop Storage project, taken last weekend. Hopefully an inspiration for you to take on some spring cleaning in the near future!

The racks can be set at different elevations to suit your needs.

Don't be fooled by these stylish racks... they are also very strong and durable. You can also use these robust racks for all your commercial and heavy duty needs.

I configured my racks to fit these nifty storage boxes to store my accessories. With these different boxes, I can now segregate my accessories according to use – casual, classy and formal 

Affectionately called the VTNUGKIDBOX, these transparent boxes can also be stacked and they slide out like drawers. They can also be used to store food in the refrigerator, and suitable for dishwashers, microwaves and also freezers.

These awesome clips make assembling a breeze. Simply snap them to your desired height and lower the racks onto them until they lock.

I allocated the lower racks for my scarves. These used to be crushed together in a bin, or tangled together on a top shelf somewhere. But with open shelving, I can easily see my scarves to choose to match my outfit.

Now, all my favourite handbags are displayed neatly and positioned within reach. However, you can also request to customize these racks to fit a certain height. I love the personalization options!

But this is definitely my ultimate favourite. I personalized my shelving combination by adding on a wooden shelf. This opened up a myriad of decorating opportunities – from showing off my favourite accessories to trinkets that I picked up during my holidays.

Showcase the things you love, instead of leaving them gathering dust at the back of a closet. You can mix and match for your own in-home display, and experiment until you get the perfect look.

Vetop’s storage solutions are very functional and they can be used for practically anything. The options for use are endless! Browse their website for ideas and inspirations on how you can use their products in your home. There are also pre-designed kits that you can choose from to fulfill your specific storage needs.

If you're embarking on a spring cleaning journey soon, I have good news! Vetop Storage is currently offering a 10% discount to all my readers. Yes, you! All you need to do is to head to www.vetopstorage.com and enter the code LIZ10 at checkout. Shipping is free to West Malaysia. For more information, visit https://web.facebook.com/wengmingind/. Orders can be made through both Facebook and their official website.

Happy spring cleaning!

A Walk-In Wardrobe For My Shoes

I think I'm going to take a break from all the holiday posts. (Although I must give myself a pat on the back for persevering!) The act of shortlisting photos, editing them, resizing then, thinking of captions and of course, writing the post... is so draining!

Let's talk about happier things, other than holidays. Let's talk about shoes. Yes shoes.

I've never been much of a shoe person. I don't get gugu eyes over a pair of Jimmy Choos. Although I have to admit my Ferragamos are quite comfy, I really wouldn't mind wearing an equally comfortable pair of Vincci either. Heck, they're going to end up at my feet anyway!

Because I've never been much of a shoe person, I've never made it a point to keep track of the shoes that I own. I do buy shoes to match my handbags, so those I remember very well. But all the rest are really just a blur in my head. My helper lectures me quite a bit, especially when she has to hunt for a pair of shoes in the store. "Puan ada banyak kasut tapi tak pakai! Stor ini sampai tak boleh jalan, sudah penuh!" Ok ok I get the hint. The store bawah tangga is filled with shoes. The shoe racks near the kitchen is also filled with my shoes. And yet I keep wearing the same trusty comfy shoes day in day out.

Inspired by Vivy's shoe racks, I decided that I needed one too. Because the shoes were displayed prominently on open shelves, I deduced that it will lead to two things. One, it is visually accessible so I can easily choose one to match my outfit. And two, I will stop buying new shoes because now I know exactly what shades of shoe colours I have at home.

But the hard part was the execution bit. We have zero space for open shelvings shoe racks! Hubby doesn't want shoes in the bedroom, so I can't erect shoe racks in the master bedroom nor the guest bedroom downstairs. I can't put it in the living hall, cos as much as I would like to believe that I have good taste in shoes, they would never be visually appealing enough to suit any deco. We wanted to put up those racks in the aisle near the laundry room, but that would cramp the narrow aisle.

After much deliberation, I finally found the perfect spot. Remember the windows upstairs that we had to wall up due to the high ceiling dining hall renovations? An empty wall, just screaming for a home improvement project. Absolutely perfect!

Not really a walk-in, but rather a walk-through! That door you see is the door to my master bedroom.

Three IKEA Lack wall racks later, it was ready! I was sooooo excited to house my shoes on the empty shelves. Lo and behold, I occupied 98% of the space with my shoes. If I buy anymore new shoes, I'll have to banish Hubby's shoes to the store bawah tangga! *giggles*

A family project! Thank you boys, for doing this for my shoes.

My current mantra is, "No more shoes, I have enough!"

Now I have no more excuse of forgetting the shoes that I own. And it is so easy to choose my shoes for the day. I simply have to walk out of my bedroom and choose a pair to match my outfit. Major love! (Now, time to organize my handbags???) *chuckles*

The Outdoor Gazebo

And so I promised myself that I wouldn't post any other stories before I made the time to write about our outdoor gazebo. So here I am, trying to fulfill that promise.

The need for an outdoor gazebo was purely because we needed a place to put our garden furniture. With the patio converted as a dining area, we couldn't just leave our garden furniture in the rain and shine, right? And of course, the patio is oh-so-convenient whenever we host people over; that's where I put my buffet table during BBQs, dessert table during parties, and last but not least, situlah tempat the men lepak whenever the ladies are in the house gossiping.

So as mentioned in the previous post, we finally agreed to chop down our lush pokok kemboja and sacrifice the greenest plot of grass in the garden, for an outdoor gazebo. Before we made the decision, we considered so many other options - at the corner depan rumah, beside the porch... but it just didn't feel right. At the end of the day I'm really glad that we decided to take the plunge. It really is the best spot for an outdoor gazebo.

Right smack at the end of our garden. We also increased the height of our outdoor walls, to give the gazebo more privacy.

Our outdoor furniture fitted perfectly in the nook. Also, I love the squared recess of the wood decking - just the right size for a BBQ set!

The outdoor gazebo came with its fair share of drama too. Hubby wanted to minimize the budget by just having a simple cement slab as the base. I on the other hand, wanted wood decking to match the wood decking outside our new dining hall. Of course, my influencing skills won hands down. *giggles*

Hubby also didn't want a fan for the gazebo, because we had a lot of electrical problems at the patio previously, due to leaking rain water. But how can you have a gazebo without a fan, right? Can't depend purely on wind effect, kan? Also, we initially wanted a clear roof for the outdoor gazebo, but they wrongly installed a brownish roof instead. It turned out to be a good mistake, because we loved how the brown matched the matte black structure. And, can you believe that I measured the distance between the two wall lights, to fit my dessert table? #kiasumuch

The view from my helper's room. She joked that she now has her own private hosting area, as the wood decking from her room directly leads to the outdoor gazebo.

A few months after we settled in post renovation, our hands itched for some form of water feature in the garden. Furthermore, our pet tortoises (Squirtle, Blastoise and Wartotle) have outgrown their aquarium and needed a bigger space. (Hubby's alasan here.) After a few days of scouting around, we brought home... a pond!!!!! Totally Hubby's fault. Hubby has always been a fish person. I'm more of a cat person, as you can actually play with cats. Fish? What can you do with fish???

Well Hubby claims that having a water feature and watching fish swimming brings a calming effect after a long day. Uhuh... yeah right. Shopping gives me the same calming effect, darling! *chuckles*

The water feature just beside the outdoor gazebo.

Calming effect, eh?

Koi fish! My favourite is the one with the orange head and black spots. The tortoises are nowhere to be seen... probably hiding somewhere.

Our white garden set contrasts beautifully with the wood decking outside our dining hall. Also acts as our favourite breakfast spot in the garden.

Right smack outside our dining hall. You can also hear the water feature from the family hall.

And that brings me to the end of my renovation posts. InsyaAllah, we are ready for Eid! :)

Renovating Our Humble Home

Hi everyone,

I’ve finally managed to find the time to sift through the gazillion photos of our recent renovation for the purpose of this blogpost.

The renovation phase was insanely exciting, to say the least. As I had mentioned before, we had a dateline (my SIL’s wedding). That means we only had a two month renovation period - to break down a patio, erect new walls and roof to build a completely new dining hall, expand the maid room, plus an outdoor gazebo constructed from scratch. Insane! Here are the two main reasons why we made the dateline (1) by having a dedicated and transparent renovation contractor, and (2) by being able to make quick nerve-wrecking decisions.

It wasn’t just about decisions on type of tiles… hhmmpphhh that was probably the simplest of the lot. But I’m talking about making tough and hard decisions on the layout, height of ceiling, interior paint, lighting placement, style of wainscoting, plaster ceiling plans... and the list goes on and on.

Thank god we had LDC Wijrah.

LDC Wijrah simplified most of the decisions for us by providing sound advice and proposed layouts for our consideration. Just after a week meeting them, they came back with two proposals for the dining hall including options for roofing, plaster ceiling and its corresponding lighting. With their advise, we made our choice within a day. As for the maid’s room expansion, while they were in the midst of hacking the walls, I requested for a last minute change. Within a few hours, they worked on a revised layout and a cost impact, which we authorized on the spot.

The next hurdle was siting the outdoor gazebo. After a long and hard debate (I love how they were not shy about turning down most of our suggestions. It helps to have an equally opinionated challenger, who is not only experienced, but is able to make you see the pros and cons of each outcome. I rather have constructive discussions than a contractor who is simply a yes-man to all my ideas…), we finally made the tough decision to chop down our pokok kemboja and sacrifice our favourite plot of lush green grass for the gazebo.

They were very accommodating too. Due to time constraints, they arranged for a live WhatsApp chat for purchasing light fixtures – where Hubby and I made real time choices through photos (supported by their recommendations) while they were physically at the shop! So thank you LDC Wijrah, for your dedication and passion in making our house beautiful.

Before I move on to the actual photos, allow me to show you the original house plan versus the layout proposed by LDC Wijrah. LDC Wijrah renovated our house when we first moved in to Cahaya SPK, hence here’s their layout of our house from post initial renovation. (Note that we didn’t proceed with the wood decking as per the picture, as Hubby was awfully fond of his grassy garden.)

Original layout.

And here’s the current layout of our house. The patio is now gone, and replaced by a completely new structure (our new dining hall). Also, LDC Wijrah proposed a double volume ceiling; therefore we had to agree to close up the two windows right on top of the new structure. The outdoor gazebo is now where Hubby’s favourite pokok lalang used to be. We even extended the wood decking from the maid’s room all the way to the gazebo – hence every morning, my maid wakes up to such a beautiful view from her bedroom window!

Post renovation layout.

If you've been following my blog previously, you're probably familiar with how my living hall and dining hall are separated by the patio. With this renovation, the living and dining hall is now connected and the space feels so open and airy. The double volume ceiling makes it feel even more spacious than before.

Right after LDC Wijrah was done with the renovations, Lentera Creative came in with the ID. Why hire an interior decorator? Well, Hubby and I have quite contrasting ideas about interior deco, and we don't trust ourselves in making bold (and expensive) decisions. So, we agreed to disagree on our views, and hire a professional instead. We told them what we liked (modern luxury, mirror furniture) and then they came to view the house. I also told them that they had to match our existing carpet, wainscoting walls (read about my DIY wainscoting adventures here) and the colour tone of the new chesterfield sofa we bought here. Other than that, they had the free reign of choosing everything (within our budget, of course).

Boy was I glad we decided to hire them. We were asked to leave the house for a couple of hours while they 'transformed' the house. Our jaws dropped when we returned later... They exceeded our expectations in so many ways!!! So much love for their work. I'll save my compliments for when we get to the photos below.

Anyway, for those of you still reading, here are the photos post renovation and interior decorations:

The view from the front door. Major love!

Moved our chandelier to the living hall to give it a grandeur feel.

These are our existing arm chairs which Lentera refurbished. I never knew purple would go so well with our Persian carpet! And that mirrored double drawers by Lentera is simply to die for. *drool*

The day bed on the left is also an existing piece of furniture. Lentera only refurbished the pillows to purple to match the arm chairs.

Orchids in my living hall.

The sole reason why we hired Lentera in the first place... the curtains! I love the pleats and the drape of the material. Till now, none of the boys are allowed to unravel the pleats. Unless they want to hear Mummy screaming till Timbuktu! *chuckles*

If it was up to me, I would probably buy some crystal table lamps to match the mirrored furniture. But Amran of Lentera laughed and said no way. He bought these instead, macam lampu kat hotel (so he says). I have to admit, he's absolutely right! The table lamps look so grand, perched on top of matching mirrored side tables. 

The intricate stems of the orchid bouquet.

Lentera made my bargain chesterfield sofa, look like a million dollars! And who knew, that chevron pillows would look so polished in a modern luxurious living room? (See, that's why you hire an interior designer) *chuckles*

The view from behind our chesterfield sofa. Can you see the next highlight of the living hall?

Lentera chose this beautiful console, which compliments (instead of overshadows) our wainscoting. 

I love the matching mirror too. And who knew that leaves in bottles would look this good? *giggles*

The huge bouquet of flowers practically covered all off the mirror. It's slightly eccentric, but we love it!

Blooming flowers.

I was initially quite hesitant about adding a coffee table to our living hall (plus the fear of bursting our budget). But I'm so glad Amran talked us into it, because if not, the living hall would look so empty! And of course, it is functional too. Excellent for serving guests in a formal setting.

Purple armchairs, Persian carpet, chevron pillows, grey curtains, console, mirrored furniture, table lamps and wainscoting. No way in hell Hubby and I would have managed this on our own.

The view from our staircase. See how our living hall and dining hall are now connected to each other?

Wood paneling by LDC Wijrah, made from recycled wood. Demarcates the dining hall from the walkway heading to the back of the house.

LDC Wijrah also made a door leading out to our new outdoor gazebo, patio and garden. I'll save photos of our ourdoor gazebo for a separate post, ok?

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Final photo for this post. *phewwwww*

Sorry for the overdose of photos, but there were so many things that I wanted to share with all of you. As always, thanks for reading, and pray hard that those photos of our outdoor gazebo, gets to see the light of the day. Stay tuned (I hope)! *grin* Meanwhile, take a look at how we revamped our family hall, DIY style - here!