Back in Action!

Hi everyone,

First up, extremely sorry for the absence. Wedding planning has been sucking up all my free time and it's been a really crazy fun journey! I believe I'm one of the more laid-back brides but nevertheless, there are so many decisions to make and things to do - it will definitely be one of the most stressful times of your life.

It may be tempting to take on all the jobs yourself, but always remember that your bridal party is willing, and would be happy, to help in whatever way they can. Our bridal party has been amazing and our close friends keep telling us that we're the first couple where they're close to both the bride and groom, and that they are super excited for our wedding day! Their enthusiasm has definitely made us want to plan a special day to share with them. After all, an event is only as special as the people you share them with, and we're blessed to have such a loving bunch of friends who are truly happy for us.

Second, www.hometown.sg recently held it's very first GSS sale where selected products were marked down by 30%! We received a good reception to the sale, and want to thank everyone who supported us. We've decided to keep these sale items on sale, to bring the best offers to our customers.

Now...back to some design inspiration! My week's inspiration is coming from my wedding shoes. After weeks of deliberation and trawling through stores to find a cheaper alternative, I decided to take the plunge and have these as my wedding shoes! It cost me a small fortune but as they say, it's once in your lifetime! (Horrible excuse, if you ask me, but oh-so-convincing!)

The beautiful metallic finish has got me thinking about metallic accents for home decor. And here are some good ways to incorporate a tiny bit of shimmer into your home:

Metallic table runners are a great way to infuse a party mood in your dining table decor. They are especially suitable for Christmas and New Year, and are an easy way to add a touch of luxe to a white table cloth. I'm incorporating this easy party trick to our dining tables for the wedding! A wide variety of metallic cloth is available from cloth retailers at People's Park Complex and all it takes is a bit of skill with the sewing machine to cut and hem in the edges. I'll share pictures of the results after the wedding!

I'm loving this bronze book rack, and hope that I'll be able to find something similar for my home. In addition to being functional, it's definitely trendy and a statement piece by itself.

Bronze finishings in your bathroom bring back memories of a fancy hotel.

No space in your house for a bar? Consider having a bar cart instead that can fit in a nook when not in use. A bar cart in metallic accents will look more posh than one in plastic and will add to that whiskey experience.

  

I have a Dachshund at home and I would really love to have this! Alternatively, hometown's handpainted dinosaurs would be perfect too!

Another option would be metallic accent wallpaper on a feature wall. Depending on the size of the room, having metallic wallpaper on all 4 walls may be overwhelming, so selecting just 1 wall may be a better option to help it pop and add visual interest to your room. Lots of options are available these days and I understand that the procedure is much easier than before.

On other news, XZQT at ION is holding a moving-out sale! I'm very excited to troop down there to check out what's still available, as I've always been a fan of their modern and fuss-free furniture. 

I've been waiting for my house to be completed (target Nov 2014) before I start buying up furniture, for fear of ending up with a mish mash of decor styles that don't blend and furniture of proportions that don't fit. I get shivers of excitement everytime I think about my new place - finally, a clean slate to decor as I please! But if the offers at XZQT are compelling, I may relent!

I hope you've enjoyed this post, and I endeavor to update as often as I can!

Love!

New Arrivals on hometown.sg!

Here are some of our new arrivals on hometown.sg, we hope you like them as much as we do!

And to thank you for all your support, we have extended our 10% promotional code until 31 May 2013.

Time to shop shop shop!

New & Exciting Items!

First of all, sorry for the silence! We've been really busy getting our latest slew of products ready for release. It's been a crazy busy couple of weekends taking product shots, as well as having a themed photoshoot at a beautiful condo in central Singapore. (Thanks to our kind host who opened her door to us one early Saturday morning!)

Second, we are really excited to share some new and very different products with you. We will be releasing our new items in batches, so stayed tuned for the new releases.

Last but not least, a big THANK YOU to all of you who have "liked" our facebook page at www.facebook.com/HomeTownDecorPteLtd! We are close to 500 likes at the moment, and to celebrate hitting 500 likes, we'll be revealing a discount code for 10% off all products on hometown.sg! Please check out our facebook page for the discount code!

Here's a sneak preview of some new and exciting items that will be available in the upcoming weeks:

**Paper pom poms are all the rage now on sites such as http://www.weddingchicks.com/ and http://www.stylemepretty.com/. They're not only cheap and easy ways of adding lots of colour to a room, they're also very easy to hang up and require only fishing lines. They can be used for one-time decor at events and can also be used as fuss-free decor in rooms such as dining rooms and nurseries.

**Grass Animals! These grass animals are too cute to be true and will definitely put a smile on your face. Perfect as gifts or as a light-hearted addition to your home, they're so hard to resist!

 

Stay tuned for a new release of products this Friday, 10 May 2013!

Decorating Lofts

Local developers have been testing the market with their SOHO and loft-style property launches in recent years. The concept works by marrying a smaller floor area with a higher ceiling height, to give you the illusion of more space in your apartment. The design concepts are typically open-concept, and the different living areas merge seamlessly with each other. These types of apartments are for a niche group of people who don't require much storage space, don't use the kitchen for heavy cooking and are comfortable having few doors and walls and less privacy.

Here are some photos of a gorgeous Swedish apartment that creates a modern home out of a small space:

Now you see it... 

Now you don't! The secret always lies in hidden storage - your interior designer should be able to offer you various suggestions on how to maximise your storage area without disrupting the look of the home you are trying to achieve. A few sliding doors here, a door flush with a surface there...these are great tricks to help with concealing storage spaces!

While small spaces tend to look bigger without doors and partitions, if you plan to do heavy cooking in your kitchen, it would be advisable to get sliding doors installed, to prevent odours and grease from staining the rest of your house. Again, your interior designer should be able to offer options for sliding doors which disappear into walls when not in use, and are easy to dispatch when required.

A cosy living room with built-in book shelves that are practical and add character to the home.

The living room leads straight to the compact dining room but the contrasting blues and reds allow the areas to be separate from each other. The tall windows flood the apartment with gorgeous natural light and add to the airy-ness of the space.

The varnished walnut staircase in the first 2 pictures leads up to the mezzanine bedroom area and the bookcases extend from floor to ceiling for a consistent look.

A simple yet fully functional and pretty bathroom completes the apartment.

(pictures via here)

Let's Go Dive!

I'm off for a week of diving in the Maldives next week, and am super excited. Fingers crossed very tightly for mantas and whale sharks in particular!

In the weeks leading up to this trip, I've been eyeing many marine inspired home accessories...here are some of my favourites to share with you!

(via here)

(via here - hopefully they used dead coral washed up ashore)

 (via here)

 (via here)

(via here)

 (jellyfish chandelier - via here)

 (via here)

(via here)

(via here)

Hotel Inspiration

I absolutely love travelling, and all the more so when there's a luxurious hotel to return to at the end of the day! As most of us live in apartments/HDBs these days, why not channel hotel-chic in your home decor and design? 

And if you're lucky enough to be sitting on a gorgeous piece of real estate which can accommodate a pool, have a good look at private pools for villas, and I'm sure you'll find many useful ideas!

If you prefer hassle-free maintenance for your interior, taking a leaf from hotel decor is a good idea, as there is typically just enough counter space without allowing you to indulge in clutter. The trick is with concealed storage spaces, which a good interior designer should be able to help you achieve.

I'm a fan of jetsetter.com, which is a members-only website for accommodation deals around the world. Signing up for an account is easy, and it allows you to view all the lust-worthy hotels and grab good deals on your hotel stay.

Here are some of my favorite hotels this week:

(click to enlarge images. Unless otherwise stated, all images from jetsetter.com)

Pan Pacific Seattle:

Hotel Paloma Chicago:

Anantara Seminyak:

Hotel Keppler Paris (images via http://www.keppler.fr/):

(I have fallen in love with the lounge of Hotel Keppler Paris. It's glamorous, quirky and so many different elements just work together. I'm definitely adding these 2 pictures on my pinterest page, to inspire me when decorating my new home! This look can definitely be achieved with products from hometown.sg! Psst - we've launched new products recently, do drop by and have a look!)

Anantara Phuket Villas: