HDB Renovation Myths #10

I'm going to start a new column titled HDB Renovation Myths & over the next few days (hopefully not weeks) tell all you readers (I know it's just 1) what you need to know when renovating your HDB flat

#10 - If your flat has no lift access hacking, haulage and cleaning will knock a hefty dent (no pun intended) into your renovation budget. This is the truth! So if you're planning on renovating your home into a loft-style apartment - be warned.

Design Inspiration: 5 To-Die-For Feature Walls

I was randomly surfing my library of favorite design blogs and was so inspired by the tons f great design ideas that I've decided to share my 5 favorite feature wall ideas. These ideas are actually easy to achieve and can turn any room from blah to bling.

1) Chevron

Stripes are soooo 90s but with this chic Chevron stripe pattern - it just screams style with fun! Go classic with tone-on-tone or really mix it up with bold, bright colours!

2) Crown Moulding

Doesn't every gal dream of living in Paris? Bring this classic yet updated style into your home by installing crown moulding frames on your walls. After that, just hang up lots of your favorite pictures and art to achieve that lovely Parisian flair. Mix up different sizes of frames but keep them in a similar tone to achieve that classic style or mix it up for an eclectic, layered look.

3) High Gloss Walls

High gloss walls simply ooze masculine sophistication. Great for a bachelor pad or an office lounge!

4) Shelving

Why go for boring shelves on your walls & jazz it up with these display boxes. You can even paint the backs of each box for extra oomph!

5) Twinkle
Doesn't this just give off such a cozy, personal vibe? Such a simple idea but what a great effect! Love it!

Small Space Solutions

We get quite alot of requests to revamp HDB 3 room flats and it's always a challenge to create a breezy, airy feel with such a small space.

Tip: Keep the walls light and ensure living spaces are well demarcated while consider built-in storage to maximize the use of space.

Project: 3 room HDB flat @ Jalan Kukoh

Resort Chic

Love wood tones for the cozy, warm look but don't want all out Balinese resort style? We combine rich wood tones with modern design for an overall look that is Resort Chic!

Project: 4 Bedroom Condminium @ West Coast

Feng Shui Feng-natic

This post is sorely late but with me being on leave this week from my regular jig I finally have a moment to catch up on some overdue postings.

This post is dedicated to all you folks out there who are beginners to feng shui and also to those who are worried that feng shui requires you to drastically alter the interior layout and design of your space.

Vince is a firm believer in what he calls 'modern feng shui' - which essentially means practical, DIY, simple and accessible. So here are 3 tips when it comes to bringing feng shui into your work/home:

1. Prevent last minute challenges by engaging your Feng Shui Expert (FSE) early. It's best if you consult an FSE before even purchasing or renting your new home, that way you will avoid any possible problems such as unfavourable entrance ways or undesirable walls.
   
2. Work with an FSE that you trust. Many FSEs these days often try to sell you crystals, lucky pots and other accessories to cure your home of its 'inherent ills'. If a crystal could solve all of the world's problems, there would be no never ending wars and environmental problems. Feng Shui is all about enhancing and re-creating balance in your space - it can't prevent the inevitable. It also helps to have a good dose of common sense.
   
3. Find ways to make your feng shui work with your personal taste. There's no reason why you need to have crazy crystal fountains and gold coin spitting frogs in your home if that's not the way you envisione your space. A good FSE will help you bring feng shui into your home in a tasteful and affordable way.

Back to Kranki Kraft - here's our personal feng shui journey...

We hired a FSE to look at our new showroom before we even committed on the lease. She helped us determine if the space was suitable for our nature of business, demarcate areas for the office and showroom space and tell us which colours to use. Then once the main renovation was done, that's when the fun began as she introduced us to ways we could enhance the design to re-balance our quirky little shophouse.

Below is the list of her MUST DOs and how we incorporated her instructions whilst ensuring our space was still modern & chic.

1) FIRE

Apparently our cosy little shophouse was lacking some fiery heat to balance the rather 'watery' nature of the shophouse. Ok, so the shophouse is rather low lying and along a road named North Bridge Road so a canal or river might be lurking somewher nearby.

In order to restore the fire-water balance, we snagged some cute candles at Ikea to create our very own furnace by the entrance.

2) RED & GOLD
Warmth can be created not only through candles but also through warm, passionate colours like red & gold.


Red Wine

Gold organza curtains

Give our discussion tables a makeover with red candle holders, red cushions, gold-topped calculators and magnetic boards

Framed Art

3) NO NO...

Out went our potpourri, black sofa cushions, lamp and visions of plants littered along the TV feature wall. After some pleading and protesting, we were allowed to add a dash of green with a small plant on the right side of the showroom space.

4) BREAK UP THE BEAMS

Horizontal beams across your living or work space is generally considered to be taboo in feng shui. You can break the bad aura of the beams by placing small money plants in sets of even numbers along the beams.

5) Yellow Light vs White Light
We also changed most of our lights into warm yellow lights instead of white light to make our space cosier and warmer - and according to FSE - more likely to make cusotmers sign on the dotted white line...

So that's a quick tour of feng shui 101 - Kranki Kraft style

Happy 2010!!

To all our customers, suppliers, sub contractors, staff, family & friends,

Have an AWESOME 2010!!!

Huat Ah!!

It's been a crazy month and a half or so of spring cleaning and figuring out how to balance the stringent requirements of our feng shui expert (more in my next post) with our love of chic, modern spaces, Kranki Kraft (finally) official opened our doors on 22 Dec 2009 to a host of well wishers and congratulatory garlands.

Thank you for all your kind wishes and for attending our official opening. We appreciate each and every one of your support and look forward to growing our partnership in 2010.

On behalf of all at Kranki Kraft - myself, Vincent & Alex wish all our customers Happy Holidays and cheers to a terrific New Year!!!

HUAT AH!