Valen’s Vanity Square

Finally, we are back in KL. Our stuffs arrived this morning. We are glad that the professional mover company that we hired sent a team of efficient workers. It just took them around 4 hours to pack all our things yesterday. It would have been 4 months if we were to do it ourselves.

Back in our new house, we are also quite satisfied with the plaster ceiling, down lights and grills taken care by one single contractor. They really rushed to complete the work so that it is ready when we had our things moved in this morning. They must have used some super powerful air tools to finish the work in less than 2 weeks.

Well, things are not quite done yet. The part I dread the most has just started – cleaning the house. I can foresee myself to lose weight very soon, haha!

Furthermore, there are like 101 boxes to unpack! The worse is - we are not able to unpack any of them yet (except for dirty laundry and dry foods) because we still don’t have a wardrobe to keep our clothes or kitchen cabinets to store our kitchen utensils and dry foods! No bed in the room, no furniture in the living room and dining hall.

That also means, lots of shopping to do in the coming few weeks. I hope we can get something that will create the style and feel of this dining room that I saw on the internet. Nice, huh?

Hubby called up the house developer two days ago and was informed that the keys to our new house will be ready for collection end of this month! (But we won’t be in KL end of this month, duh!)

Anyway, it means that we will start seeing a big stream of money flowing out of our bank account very soon.

We first need to install grills on all doors and windows, then put in an alarm system, plaster the ceiling and install ceiling lights, may be repaint some of the walls with our colors of choice, have air-conditioner units placed in the living room and master bedroom, re-do the fencing between our house and the neighbors’, furniture, kitchen cabinets…arghhh, a very long list. *Starting to sweat*

Find shutters at Larson Shutter Company

As much as I would love to have wooden exterior shutters for the windows to give the house a hint of Victorian flavor, guess we have no space for it in the budget now. In view of the recent rise in cost of living, I foresee that it would take months, or even one whole year, for us to get the house done in the way we want. So short of cash right now!

With the electricity rates going up very soon, we all have to tighten our belts even further!

I can no longer afford to have the laptop powered on for 12 hours a day. This means that I have to get really efficient and have work done with the laptop during the daytime, and thus, no more dilly-dallying between the internet and serious work, hehe.

As much as I like the living room to be well lit at night even if it’s just watching TV, I think I have to ‘comply’ with some save-electricity movement and only have the wall lights on. Well, may be we should just use candles at night, haha! Besides saving electricity, we could create a romantic ambiance within the house.

Imagine how these candles placed at different corners of the house would set a romantic mood for two?

The candles shown above are from www.quickcandles.com.

Our TV rack was bought from IKEA and has been with us for 4 years now. (Jeez, I’m saying this like it’s our pet dog. :P)

It looks modern and contemporary, but it also collects dust as it is an open rack. Dust on the CDs and the DVD player, too. So, too bad for it, this TV rack will not be sitting in our living room of our new house. We will try to find a corner for it though.

We shall get a TV rack with doors to keep dust away and things neatly organized. Something simple will do.

[Wanted to show a photo of the TV rack I like here, but the Wordpress add-image function just ain't working!]

Fortunately we won’t need audio racks because we don’t have any of those super high-tech home audio systems that only the rich can afford. That means one item less to spend money on (and the cash can be used to buy my dream oven, hehe).

We still haven’t heard any news about the CF for our house from the developer, but hubby and I have started browsing interior design magazines and discussing the possible interior concepts we like our new house to have this time.

Hubby would like to have a bathtub in the master bedroom’s bathroom. The thought of being able to soak away work stress in a bathtub filled with refreshing bubbles and foams is nice, but the price to pay to build one is certainly not.

Alternatively, we can buy one of those traditional wooden bathtubs. I suppose this option is relatively cheaper. I don’t know why, hubby seems to like the idea of soaking in a wooden bathtub with herbal solution.

May be when we are older (and richer), we will consider one of those hydro air therapy walk in tubs, like the one below.

This type of tub is used not only for bathing, but also water treatment that is claimed to be beneficial to health, such as reduces arthritis pain, eases muscle strain and improves blood circulation. The design of a walk in tub is actually safer for the elderly.

As for now, if our budget doesn’t allow us to have a bathtub, we will probably just install a glass shower screen, which is much easier to clean compared to a bathtub!

Highly functional.

Sleek and lavish in style.

You let me experience what luxury is all about.

One look at you makes me want to touch you and feel you. While you may feel cold at first touch, but as my hands glide across your smooth and spotless body, I know you’ll make my best companion ever… in the kitchen.

Hey, what do you think I’m blabbering about here? Of course it’s one of the Blanco sinks!

Choosing a sink that looks great and is highly functional is important for a woman, right? After all, that’s the place where we’re going to wash the dishes for the rest of our life, haha!

Air-conditioned room, big screen LCD, DVD player, surround sound system with a subwoofer that shakes even the roof of your neighbors – yes, these are what a home theater is made of. Make yourself a bowl of popcorn, switch off the light and get cozy up on the couch, and hey, don’t you feel like you’re watching a movie in a mini cinema?

However, you still feel that something is missing that makes this almost-perfect entertainment experience, err, not so perfect.

Has it ever come across your mind that, perhaps, it’s the lighting factor? Noticed how wall sconces (light fixtures) in cinemas subtly emanate soft lighting in the dark, creating a soothing ambience for your movie-watching pleasure?

Right, that’s it. That’s the missing factor – home theater lighting.

You can now create the perfect movie-watching experience by installing some wall sconces in your home theater room. They can be as simple and plain as this:

Or, a slightly more artistic one such as this mosaic wall sconce:

Why not have some fun with quirky lightings, such as this popcorn wall sconce? It would make every thing so ‘cinema-ish’, haha!

With all that, I bet your house (or rather your home theater room) would become the next hot spot in the neighborhood.

Everyone loves to have a garden in their homes, where they can enjoy breathing fresh air in the morning or watching the sunset with their love ones. I too love that idea. But other than in the morning and evening, it’s impossible to engage in any garden activities at other times of the day. You know how hot or wet our weather can be in Malaysia.

Unless I am staying in the Cameron Highlands, then I don’t mind doing gardening or reading a book in the garden at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Imagine – cool weather, scenic green surroundings, plus sounds of the Nature – how can one not spend more time outdoor in Cameron Highlands?

If I had a small house with garden in Cameron Highlands (here I go daydreaming again…), I would place a table and some chairs there so that I could spend an afternoon reading books while eating scones and drinking English Tea, haha!

To uplift the way my garden looks, I would place some wacky garden decor all around. Something like the hanging hatching chicks and turtle planter below would make a garden livelier, don’t you think?

These ‘animals’ certainly would make my garden the perfect place to daydream myself into la la land, haha!

Garden decor images from gardenfun.com

Although bathrooms take up relatively smaller space in a house, they deserve much more attention in a house make-over project. A bathroom is a place where we not only sponge away dirt and sweat, but also to wash away stress, tension and tiredness built up during the day.

I will definitely want my bathrooms in my new house to be clean, comfortable and ‘aesthetically’ pleasant, hehe. While everyone would like their bathroom to look stylish and modern, there are a few things to keep in mind when comes to buying bathroom vanities and accessories.

Practicality
First of all, consider your actual needs. For example, make sure the basin height is not too short so that you won’t have to bend when washing at the basin. Also, choose basins and tops that are scratch-proof and made from easy to clean material for longer life.

Style
Do you like your bathroom to look contemporary, modern or vintage? Do you want to share a single sink with your spouse, or customize a ‘his-sink’ and ‘her-sink’? Do you prefer wood or porcelain? There are so many styles out there, so do your research, study home interior magazines, and find out which your favorite style is, and that complements the design of the rest of your house.

Budget
We may have found bathroom vanities that perfectly match our taste and style, but many a times they are not so matched with our budget. Even if you have to exchange that awesomely beautiful marble sink for a basic ceramic sink, it doesn’t mean you will compromise the aesthetic quality of your bathroom. Spice up the bathroom with details like mirrors and vanity lights that comfortably fit into your budget. Also pay attention to cabinet knobs and pulls. I’m sure there is an array of stylish and affordable options available if you are willing to search around.

So, good luck, hope you can find what you like and can afford, and have a great splashing time in the bathroom.