The (unofficial) Tan Boon Liat Building furniture store directory

It seems like Tan Boon Liat Building has a great collection of furniture stores, so I thought to compile a list for would-be furniture hunters. After all, it’s not the most easy to get to building (not until the new MRT station is up anyway), and I know what it’s like to miss a store and then to re-trace your steps (frustrating!).  And mostly cos the current building directory majorly sucks, and there is no online directory.  You can see the old fashion directory (which is in an obscure corner no less) below:

Yay for another new store: CB2 in Singapore

It’s like the younger sibling of Crate & Barrel I think.  As usual I prowled through the CB2 site (ships to Singapore by the way!) and shortlisted these eye candy below. Just too bad I need another house before I can seriously consider which ones to get.

Pretty sure CB2 Singapore will update its Facebook, so you can check it out for updates.  The new store is supposed to be at Peranakan Place, so it doesn’t sound like it will be a big store.

Sale at Franc Franc

Just in case you didn’t know… Franc Franc sale started on 3 August. Spotted lots of display sets, wall pics and ornaments on sale.

For those of you in the midst of furnishing your place, happy shopping!

 

Prettier IKEA furniture

I’ve spotted Prettypegs on quite a few international blogs that I follow.  As Prettypegs has described “Replace your IKEA-legs with a set of customized Prettypegs and add some colour and playful elegance to the room.  Super easy to swap after season, socks or cocktail guests. Designed and produced in Sweden“.

The pic is way more descriptive than words anyway:

IKEA’s PS 2012 collection

UPDATE: Here’s the press kit that has loads more details on the PS 2012 collection.

PS? What’s that?

Every 3 years (the last PS collection was in 2009), IKEA gathers a group of designers to create ‘cutting edge’ furniture that’s available at a fraction of the price for designer ones. While it’s no H&M Marni or Versace collaboration, it’s still a good cause for cheer cos these items are not your ordinary functional IKEA designs.  [IKEA should really consider tying up with designers for capsule collections tho... how about a Karim Rashid one? Or a Marcel Wanders? Or Philippe Starck, Patricia Urquiola, Naoto Fukasawa... gosh the possibilities goes on and on and on...]

Latest obsession: Marimekko fabrics

So I have been looking for gorgeous AND affordable wall decoration for a while now, but to no avail… I even went to the recent Affordable Art Fair 2011 and came back empty handed.  So short of going for art/painting classes for some DIY and hopefully nice artwork (which really isn’t a bad idea methinks), or bugging SO for my LEGO mosiacs… what shall we do with the loads of empty white walls???  Actually, the apartment doesn’t look bad with bare walls, cos we do have a pretty minimalist design.  But it just feels a tad cold/non-personal to me.

Was browsing an interior design mag when some nice fabric patterns caught my eye… sudden brainwave – I could wall hang the fabrics for relatively affordable decoration right?

And it turns out, I’m not the only one with the bright idea to use Marimekko fabrics for wall decoration.  There are even online stores devoted to selling wall kits.

But Mari-what?  I’m pretty sure you have seen a Marimekko pattern before, even if you weren’t aware it was a Marimekko.  One distinctive Marimekko design is the Unikko, that’s available in a variety of other colours and pattern sizes.

Looks familiar?

Anyway, a few nights of obsessive Googling and Whatsapp chat with SO later, here’s the shortlist of candidates for wall decoration.  Now having a short cooling off period before going ahead… or not.

Pics of shortlisted fabrics after the jump…

Ikea Sale – 7 to 24 July 2011

Happy shopping…

Some other useful info for reno…

Got started browsing the articles from Homedesignfind and here’s a compilation of those that I found useful, enlightening or simply interesting to read:

General

• Tips on How to Choose an Architect
• Tips on Choosing an Interior Designer
• Hiring A Decorator and Staying in Control
• Interior Design Software: Planning in the virtual world for real success
• How To Create A Great Mood Board

Flooring

• Glossy or Matte Hardwood Floors?
• Choosing A Floor
• Changing the Color of Your Wood Floor

Colours, Themes & Style

• 16 decorating mistakes you should avoid
• Timeless vs. Trendy
• Basic Design Principles that will Make Your Home Pop
• Basics of Modern Design
• Basics of modern home decor
• Tips For Working Out What The Focal Point Of A Room Is
• Finding True Italian Style
• Making Minimal Livable
• How To Get That Scandinavian Style
• How to Personalize the Mid-Century Modern Look
• Beyond IKEA, Going for the Swedish Look
• Making Black Rooms Work
• All-White, Without Feeling Like A Hospital
• Visual Trickery: Tips to Ensure a Small Room Looks Larger Than it Is
• How To Make A Small Room Work For You
• Tips for Decorating a Small Space
• How To Implement The Industrial Look In Your Home

Painting & Walls

• Choosing A Color from Paint Chips
• Choosing the “Right” White
• How to Choose the Right Paint Color

Specific Rooms

• Defining an Entryway Where there is None
• Mixing Old and New
• Two Kids, One Room
• Dining without the Dining Room
• Dwelling on Work: How to Decorate Your Home Office Space
• Decorating a Balcony
• High-Style Closet Systems
• Furnishing a Study/Guestroom
• How To Create A Great Bathroom

Windows

• How to Treat Your Windows

High & Low Ceilings

• Making Use of Vertical Space
• Dealing with Low Ceilings

Bathroom/Toilets

• Small Bathroom, Big Ideas

Kitchen & Utility Room

• Functional Kitchen Design
• Easy Ways to a Beautiful but Functional Kitchen
• Hiding a Washer and/or Dryer
• Dishing out the Right Stuff: Guide to Buying Great Kitchen Furniture

Furniture

• Avoiding the Impulse to Match
• How to Make IKEA Not Look Like IKEA
• 7 Tips on buying furniture
• Lightening up the Feel of Dark Furniture
• Choosing a Leather Sofa
• Choosing A Couch
• How To Choose The Perfect Bed

Appliances & Electricals

• How to Integrate a TV into Your Decor
• How Big is Your TV Screen?
• Hiding Electrical Cord Clutter
• Crafting up an entertainment center: How to create your own media theater

Decor & Furnishings

• Bring Order and Style to Chaotic Bookcases
• How To Store Books the Right Way
• Managing Family Photographs
• Tips on Hanging a Picture
• Five Easy Ways to Add Drama
• Good Clutter vs. Bad Clutter
• Keeping A Collection from Feeling Like Clutter
• Art vs. Furniture
• How to choose artwork for your home
• Do’s and Don’ts of artwork hanging
• Decor accents – the final touches for every home

Other Practical Tips

• Getting Rid of Ants Naturally
• 17 Clever Tips for Around the House

Lovely danish furniture

Wikipedia says that “Scandinavian design emerged in the 1950s in the three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), as well as Finland. It is a design movement characterized by simple designs, minimalism, functionality, and low-cost mass production.“

I can get the “simple designs, minimalism, functionality” bit, but low cost? Nah… apart from Ikea, none of the stores I’ve visited that specialise in Scandinavian furniture are anywhere near cheap… not even like “moderately priced”.

Still, there is no denying that I like the style.

Anyway enough rambling, the reason for this post is to share a new store we stumbled upon over the weekend. More on how we chanced upon it later, but just to share some finds:

The Gallery stool by Hans S.Jakobsen is just gorgeous…

 

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The Aki chair by Alfredo Häberli looks good too…

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Price wise, not cheap as I’d mention (comparable to places like Proof Living).

Danish Design Co.

http://danishdesignco.com/

Century Warehouse #08-01
100E Pasir Panjang Road
Singapore 118521
Telephone: +65 6270 8483
Mobile: +65 8101 2211

The showroom is located in the same building as Lorgan’s, which is how we stumbled upon it. I like their inspirations page too:
http://danishdesignco.com/inspirations

It isn’t a very big store, but it actually has more furniture on display than Style Nordic.  Thought Danish Design Co is a new shop, but had a nice chat with Jacqueline who told me it’s actually been around for a few years. I called to ask about the stool of course…

Tempted but am not getting it…

Beautiful ideas from Page Thirteen

Once in a while, I stumble upon gorgeous sites that leaves me salivating… Page Thirteen is one of them.

Like this scandinavian style inspiration:

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Or even one on the colour burgundy:

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Pretty right?