A place we can call home

We are the kind of people who love our home, we love to sit and chill at home, cook at home (very un-Singaporean..) and entertain at home. What makes you proud of your home and what makes your home 'you' is made up of all the nick-nacks you have acquired over the years, along with some 'signature' items and of course your furniture.

Setting up house is super fun when you have no time or budget restrictions, when you know how much you can expect to pay for things, where to shop and where to find those special pieces that make your place unique and 'you'. For me, unfortunately setting up house in Singapore was more like a project with a deadline. We needed key items to be able to live there, so the clock was ticking!

We made the call to sell our TV unit, lounge and desk before moving to Singapore. We figured, we were due for a change AND not knowing what size or shape our place would be, we were best to buy new pieces to suit once we found a place. We also didn't own a dining table AND we wanted to use our old bed as a guest bed in our spare room (we want people to come and visit us!!), so that, plus all the above items were immediately added to our shopping list. We also desperately needed some storage shelving, to make the most of the extra space (as I have mentioned before, cupboards here... not so spacious..)

I had envisaged (or maybe more appropriately dreamed of) purchasing beautiful Asian inspired pieces - solid dark timber... maybe a bargain antique piece or two... but where to shop? Research told me that there are what sounds like a million antique warehouse stores stocking this kind of furniture in Singapore, but which one do you go to when you're on your own, don't speak Chinese and don't know your way around Singapore..? and more importantly, how do you know if you're getting jipped or not?

After a mammoth online hunt (a rather unsuccessful hunt I might add.. we are just too fussy!) .... Hubby and I made a trip to Ikea and Harvey Norman (ah the familiar!) to suss out what they had on offer. Harvey Norman came through with the goods - a simple solid timber, low bed, at a bargain price. Where we got jipped... the mattress! Wowzer! Yes... we went for the Sealy Posturepedic - King size... but far out! We're talking about the price of a decent second hand car in Aus!

After our success at Harvey's we hit Ikea - and boy did we shop. It was a marathon effort until close at 11pm! (yes they are open DAILY til 11pm). Actually it was the most fun hubby and I have had in ages, running around the self serve area trying to find everything, load our trolley and get to the checkout in time... (classic... that is rather tragic!) We got the key pieces we needed (in the look we wanted), plus we got storage shelving and a heap of little 'must have' bits and pieces (god love Ikea!) and... all at an Ikea price. *Happy days*

If I didn't already have a soft spot for Ikea... I would now - in Singapore they also offer a flat rate for delivery and an assembly/installation service for 6% of the items value! AMAZING!

I also shopped around for linen - another 'OCD' point of mine. Everything has to be just right... the right look, colour, pattern, texture, thread count... anyhow, I found a store where I again cleaned up. It's an Aussie brand that I (as an Aussie) have never heard of... classic. The brand is called 'Aussino'. In a nutshell, good quality Manchester for a good price. I ended up going with something COMPLETELY different to our old set, just to 'change things up a bit', I also invested in some 'Singaporean pieces' - a bolster and body pillow (apparently everyone here has one or two.... and with hubby traveling all the time, I thought why not! I need something to snuggle lol). He got home on Saturday night and loved what I had picked out - Hooray!

Thanks to the handy delivery/assembly men from Ikea and Harvey Norman, along with my stamina and determination (OCD) to unpack :P we're at a point now, where we are almost done... :)

Our once empty apartment, is starting to look like home :)

Though, I am in need of some fun... I am still keen to find one antique piece for our dining area (not a necessity though), so that will give me plenty of time to enjoy the hunt!