I am taking a break for cooking. Too busy and also because of Tom was out 2 weeks to China for a business trip. I felt so down for being home alone and got no motivation to cook at all. Fortunately, Cici volunteered herself to keep me accompanied, she is really a sweet pretty girl. Anyway, I kept myself really busy to clean the house, re-arranging some furniture and getting some home decors to surprise Tom when he is back.
That wasn't cost me too much for this project. I searched over all the places that got the best deal and good quality stuff, browsing on the internet to get some extra discount coupons. Tom is quite satisfied with my arrangement. I made it a little bit like Balinese style as I like bamboo and natural wood a lot!!!
I forgot to take the photo before I do the decoration, but managed to find some old photos taken about 1 year ago for the comparison. It was fun and satisfied to make our home nicer.
I picked up a Chinese character 和 (means harmony) wall decor for our entrance. For me, have a harmonious family is very important. Old people said "家和万事兴" - means a harmonious family is a sign of prosperity (not sure if I translated it correctly, no matter what, it is a good sign.. lol).
I didn't want to spend too much money right now because eventually we will be tearing a lot of things for remodeling, our first project will be the master bathroom, I think we will do 95% of the work by ourselves (have to hire someone for the plumbing). I will try my best to post the progress pictures to share.
I moved the tea table that was sitting beside the couch to the entrance, hang up a piece of bamboo panel to hide the ugly window.
Moved a rack to this place and set it up with a pot of plant and some essence flowers.
I am so happy that I found these bamboo panels on sales (50% off) at JC Penney and got another 15% off with online coupon, it is supposed for window panel, but I used them as a divider of our living room and dining room, that really gives our room looks like a little bit Ballinese effect! LOL!! I re-arranged the table that was at the back of the love seat to side at the wall and put a pot of silk orchid on it. Just love it!
Got a new set of table cloth, place mat, bamboo runner and curtain from ROSS ( a place you could get a very good deal for some unique home decor and small furniture).
Do you like my decor?? Look at below photos that were taken before...
Tom and Cici were playing guitar hero....LOL!! You can see the plain entrance behind them.
Tom set up a welcome home banner when I got back to US last year. This photo was taken from living room, we just had a love seat and coffee table set up as a divider between living room and dining room, I didn't quite like it as you can look through all the rooms...
This is the dining area taken on Chinese new year, we had Hot Pot in new year eve..., curtain was plain white and everything not quite well arranged yet.
wow, your house look so nice, very comfortable design.
ReplyDeleteAll done by yourself? Thumbs UP :D
ReplyDeleteLook so good, very nice ambience and I like how you use the bamboo as divider. Creative!
ReplyDeleteHey there, I thought you already went back to Penang for your trip! I love the new decor and lightings!! Bamboo definitely adds more softness and warmth to the whole place.Very nice & soothing! You must be so happy with the new decoration. I'm now planning my home decor too! But it'll be a simple one to start with because it's my new home & if I get carried away, will have to spend so much which I can't afford to at the moment :(.
ReplyDeleteHi everybody.... thank you so much for your compliments. I started to like home decor shopping now!LOL..! Can not afford some of the solid wood furniture, but I will keep looking for the good deal (you will only pay 50 or 35% of the regular price when they are on sales / clearance). Will continue to search something nice to make our house nicer!
ReplyDeleteHi Nyonya,
ReplyDeleteTom was out for 2 weeks, I didn't cook at all since I am on diet. :-p , just grab something simple for hunger. While he was out, I spent 2 weeks for the treasurer hunt for my home, go back and forward to the shops in order to get the perfect matches for my Ballinese theme. My advice for your new home decor is - no hurry, keep looking and waiting for the good deal. If you already have an idea in your mind, set up a budget. You don't have to get all the stuff immediately, because the home decor is not a trendy thing, sometime, it will take you a few years to get your dream home done.
I still have not done yet, still looking for a solid wood buffet and bamboo silk tree for my dining area, its still too expensive, I am waiting for their promotion!
It cost me only USD130 for the whole project project this time.
Bamboo panels 6pcs - 21"X84"/pc = $12/pc (reg. price is $32/pc)- I only used up 5 panels, still have 1 left over.
Curtain - $32/4 pcs (reg. = $64)
Table cloth - $7/pc (reg. = $15)
Place Mats - $5/4pcs (reg = $16)
Bamboo table runner - $4/pc (reg = $5)
Harmony wall decor - $10/pc (reg = $25)
See how much money I save? LOL!!
You're right, must set up a budget or else can get carried away as home decor things are not cheap. I think I can get nice reasonable bamboo blinds from Ikea too. I will slowly decor my plc but i think my kitchen will be the most 'fashionable' one. Hehe.
ReplyDeletewelcome to the home decor adventure nyonya..!!hahaha...if you don't mind, do share some pictures with us! :-)
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply Anncoo, I just got sometime to read through all the comments in my blog! :-p. I will pick up the award now! Thanks!
ReplyDelete