On Indefinite Leave

I've decided to take a break from actively decorating, mostly because I can't find anything I like or fits the budget at the moment. The side table, for example, needs a lamp, but I will wait and buy only if I happen to find something interesting.

This also means that new posts on this blog will be very few and far between.

Missing IKEA

The great thing about IKEA is that you can buy nice looking stuff without breaking the bank. Unfortunately, they don't have a branch in Manila.

See the picture on the left? It's the Tank Table Lamp from Keystone Lamps, and it would have been perfect for the accent table we bought last year. The problem is that it's rather short at 11.5 inches (height), and I prefer the shade be changed to something black instead.

To change the shade will cost us Php 6,800. To increase the height by around six inches will be an additional Php 11,700:

Time to start looking elsewhere.

Before & After: Hallway and Staircase

Before

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After

In fixing up this house, I've noticed that we've been trying to recreate parts of our apartment in Singapore. For example, the picture frames in the hallway - they're positioned the same way as when they were hanging in our Residences @ Somme bedroom.

As to the gallery wall by the staircase, this was the first thing I thought of doing when we bought the house. Putting it up was harder than I thought, but I think everything worked out in the end.

Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas everyone!

This year, our theme is minimalist - mostly because I was so busy fixing up the house, I forgot to buy holiday decor. By the time I got around to shopping for a tree, I was informed that the type I was looking for had been sold out by September. My idea was to place a pencil slim tree beside the foyer table to save on space (not to mention that it's the only logical location in our house for a Christmas tree).

As to the other decor items, most of what I was interested in, were either sold out or the last piece. My problem with the last piece is that it's not in a box and has probably been on display for weeks (meaning dusty). So, of course, I didn't want that.

Given the situation, I told my husband that we'll decorate next year instead. He was disappointed. Considering this is our first Christmas in the house, I could understand his sentiments. Fortunately, a trip to National Bookstore turned out to be lucky and they still had decor items stored in boxes in the stockroom. That's where the wreath and the tabletop Christmas tree came from.

The snowman stocking was sourced from SM and the red and gold balls were the ones we had on our old tree.

Before & After: The Study

Before

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After

By the way, that the fabric of the armchair color coordinates with the picture frames was not on purpose. I forgot that the prints were yellow and black, and had I remembered, I would have chosen something else.

Slow Progress

We're still working on the house, but things are not moving as fast as I would like due to the other items on my plate.

The last pieces of furniture are coming soon and half the picture frames have been hung. I also have guests arriving in less than two weeks so time to start cracking!

Tannenbaum

I've been having a bit of a dilemma - to decorate or not to decorate?

At first I was excited, but then the thought of having to pack and ship everything home gave me pause (not to mention the cost). So I am still undecided which is the reason why there hasn't been much activity on this blog lately.

But since Christmas is around the corner, I was thinking it would be too sad if we didn't have anything that looked remotely festive. So I decided on a disposable Christmas tree.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a small 160 cm tree for just SGD 12.99 over at Giant. When I went back to buy it yesterday, they were already sold out with no plans of restocking. Thus I bought the next inexpensive tree at SGD 32.99 with a metal base - it was the same height and the only difference being the cheaper one had a plastic base with more tips. In other words, the cheaper tree was a much better deal. Lesson learned - when you see it, buy it.

The red and gold balls were from Daiso at SGD 2 per pack of 10 balls. The red and gold flowers at SGD 3.95 each (I got 10 pieces) were purchased from Takashimaya along with the lights at SGD 11.90.

One item I will most likely keep is the star tree topper from Metro at SGD 23.90. I also wanted to buy a wreath but the prices ranged from SGD 50-90 which I thought was too expensive considering I am planning to dump almost everything in the trash bin after the holidays. I could store it but again, lugging it home will be a problem when we leave.

Total bill: SGD 116.29

Hmmm... when added together, that doesn't seem too cheap. Maybe I'll keep the red and gold flowers too.