Home Decor

- UNDER CONSTRUCTION -

Home Decor had always been an important element in setting the mood for any home.  And decorative essentials ranging from fanciful lighting fixtures to artistic paintings are all catered to bring out every individual owner's personality.

This blogging entry would hopefully serve as a reference to home decor.  Apart from decors used for my home, I have also included items from retailers that could hopefully imbue creative inspiration among other home owners.



Buddha Portraits

I had always wanted to have some artistic paintings at home and the ZEN-themed artworks had been a rage with home owners for quite a while.

So when I came across portraits of Buddhas, I would cringe at the thought of having to become hundreds of dollars poorer in pockets if I were to acquire just one of these art pieces.

Then my opportunity came when I chanced upon an online seller trading in these art pieces which he would be letting go at a fraction of the retail price sold in shops.

Even though the actual source of these art pieces remain unknown, I realized that I have had a very good bargain from the seller.

Both paintings had a grainy & "sandy" texture.  And maintenance is quite an issue because both paintings were prone to getting moldy.  And there is no recourse to cleaning the paintings once they are blemished with mold spots.

As the saying goes in Buddhism that there is impermanence in all things in life, let us overlook the "blemishes" and appreciate the painting in good humor. :)

When I first acquired this piece of artwork, I was slightly perturbed by the expression of the Buddha's eyes.

Those eyes had a certain aggression to it & instills fear in some people when looked on.  Unfortunately, this could not be mirrored clearly through photography in view of lighting (& photography) limitations.

I was quite worried over my hubby's reaction to it as I bought it without consulting him.

However, I was very relieved when it was love at first sight when he saw the painting!

This is a (HUGE!) second portrait that I had no choice but to make this obligatory purchase since I ordered a golden version in a large size from the online seller & rejected the art works becox of quality issues with the paint strokes.

The obligatory purchase is a grayish version of the Buddha's portrait, seemingly done up by the artist who did the first portrait that I bought from this same ebayer.

It was very difficult to capture the exact shade, which is a sandstone gray.  And the expression too... It doesn't have the fierce expression unlike the first piece I acquired in earthy tones.

According to our Taiwanese geomencer, earthy tones were the best colours for our living room as a couple.  I had my reservations with this sandstone version as the colour theme didn't fall under the earth element. 

My attempts to locate an earthy version (first portrait)  with the same facial orientation as illustrated in this sandstone painting was unfruitful.  As such, we had decided that it was our affinity that we had acquired this art piece of which the Buddha's outlook does have a very serene & calming effect on visitors when looked upon from the main entrance of our flat.

(I left the plastic wrappers on until we are ready to get it mounted on the wall & would be updating more photographs once the paintings are mounted on the walls in our home.)

Lighting Fixtures :  Decorative Lamps
I have never been a fan of decorative light stands or table lamps because I had the idea of maximising on the mileage of ceiling lights.  Moreover, I'm a bag of lazy bones when it comes to cleaning & dusting furnishings.

(photo - pending)
This is one of the artistic pieces which made its way to my home in year 2002.  It was a gift from an Australian expatriate who used to be based in Singapore as a medical professional.  I was amazed at the quality of this decorative table lamp as it's coming to 8 years old & seems to be age-resistant!

The metal spokes are made of aluminium that's beaten & curled at the tips to an artistic perfection and the white "plastic" which had been rolled & held in shape by nails is still as pristine in white as it is since day one!!! :)

I am also showcasing some nice table lamps from SILIC LIGHTING CENTRE @ Balestier Road (Singapore) which I felt would be such nice additions to a home :

According to Jenny of SILIC LIGHTING CENTRE, these table lamps were imported from Japan and are new arrivals as I could see that every lamp shade had been encased in a clear plastic.

These styles of table lamps seemed timeless from my perspective and I supposed they do go with some retro style furnishings too!

Isn't this such a romantic piece?

For a moment, I had the impression that this was an expensive property that was found on acting scenes of Regency / Victorian period dramas.


I was so surprised to find such a design in Singapore because it gave me the impression that it came right out of historical romantic novels written by Barbara Cartland!

This is a smaller variation of its larger counterpart as shown in the photograph displayed above.

A dainty & cute table lamp that exudes romance.  Another feminine collectible for any vintage lovers.










Country Style Decor
I have also noticed that country style decor seems to be a timeless classic which is almost an all-time favourite of many home owners and furniture & home decor, including quilted bags & cushions were frequently a common sight in the retail market.

As such, I figured out that home decor that are inspired by country styles is still pretty popular among home owners.  And a worthy point for us penny pinchers to take note is that, many of these country style or vintage-inspired  items don't come cheap!

While we were shopping for lighting, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that SILIC LIGHTING CENTRE @ Balestier Road is selling these country style decorations which would definitely be of interest to home owners and collectors who love vintage-inspired stuff.

As you could see from the photograph above, these country style decorations are just a fraction of what's found at a corner of a showroom on the 2nd storey of this lighting boutique.

This is a cute little piece that might work well in bedrooms, service yards and even kitchens!

I believe that it's made of solid wood and hand painted to give it a sweet & romantic outlook.  It's definitely another feminine piece of furnishing for young girls & romantic ladies.

(more photographs pending)

Art Decor (Painting)

It's a real pity that this art gallery which is known as 艺美苑 (Yi Mei Yuan) at Lucky ChinaTown had already closed down for good.  Its owner whose a PRC national by the name of 杨峰 had doubled up both as a grandfather to his bundles of joy at home and an entrepreneur.

Unfortunately, he has decided to wind down the business in view of many reasons, one of which being domestic as he had plans to return to his homeland which he misses badly.

While the art gallery is no longer in operation, the photographs that I've taken for sharing on a local forum wouldn't go to waste as I would be publishing them here on my blog for the purposes of art appreciation.  And trust me, it's a feast to the eyes!

Although I'm not trained in the field of fine arts, I've always expressed a keen interest in canvas painting and have acquired my first collection in the form of 2 cheaply priced canvas painting from a pushcart sometime in Year 2002.

One of which featuring a beautiful scenery with hills & waterfall as the sun sets, had been passed on to my brother-in-law.

The second had been retained as that was a meaningful one that we felt emotionally attached to as it was catered for Geomency purposes even though it didn't age well under the hot sun - the oil painting had started showing hairline cracks.  However, we loved the painting so much that we had decided to retain it in our home.  And it'll be mounted happily on a champagne coloured wall at our balcony. :)

So here comes some lovely canvas painting which are already hanging on the walls of home owners!

Peonies painted on "gold foil"

Lotus on Canvas
Done up in the style of "Vincent van Gough" is how I would comment this piece in a layman's language.

Lotus on "gold foil"
This is yet another lotus-motif art work that is painted on gold foil and looks a lot better when seen in person.

It was a pity that I didn't get to buy it or other variations of it as they were all bought by other customers by the time I get to visit the art gallery again.

People :  A duo of Ballerinas
When I first set my eyes on this elegant painting, I am immediately reminded of the ballerinas in the Natalie Portman's movie, The Black Swan.

People :  

Courtesan or Imperial Concubine ?

While I was walking around in the art gallery, I stumbled upon this beautiful canvas painting of artistic nature which in my opinion, would be appropriate for private boudoirs, spas or beauty palors.

I've taken a snapshot of this painting, depicting a courtesan or royal concubine of the Tang dynastic era. It isn't sleazy by nature & would be well-appreciated from the artistic perspective.



Wealth Inviting Decoration - Maneki-neko 招き猫

I have started a recent collection of the all-time favourite fortune cat among many home owners.  If you are interested in looking at my humble collection of fortune cats, please feel free to visit my blogging articles at:

 

Maneki-neko (Part I) : Peony & Koban

 

 

Maneki-neko (Part II) : Sakura
















Chinese New Year Decoration - All Year Round! (from GEMINI BODY SHOP @ Pagoda Street)

During our recent audit by our Taiwanese geomencer, he had recommended that we place a red picture or a red scroll on a certain section of our wall.  At that juncture, Chinese New Year was well over for a couple of months or so.

We were almost going to buy a mega print of red roses when a PRC national friend well into her 40s mentioned to us that it's highly recommended that we kept to the conventional practice of using a red scroll with Chinese auspicious wordings on it.

She mentioned that there is a particular shop in ChinaTown that might have what we were looking for.  And there I was in ChinaTown, but tracking down this shop wasn't easy becox I had to ask many of the neighbouring shops for its exact location.  It was made extra tough by the unpredictable weather.  Sunny one moment but rainy during the next second.

Much to my relief, I finally found it!  It was actually running along the street that leads us to the escalator for Chinatown mrt station.

I was extremely surprised that it had such a huge variety of Chinese New Year (CNY) decorations even after CNY was long over.

The boss, Marcus Choo, said that CNY decorations were available throughout the year in his shop.  Although the demand for such decorations weren't as high as during its festive season, there is still a constant stream of customers from drama theaters and tourists requesting for them.

And his signage GEMINI BODY SHOP reflected the festive mood of CNY in a cheery tone of red, which is one of my favourite colours!

Initially, when I saw a giant version of the Mystic Knot being sold at his shop, I was almost going to purchase it becox I love such knots as it is one of the auspicious symbols in Buddhism.

It is associated with an abundance or endless amount of good energy & luck.  As such, it had also been known as the Endless Knot and had been very popular with high fashion houses & their designers.

However, after much serious contemplation while looking through the CNY wares at GEMINI, I've decided to settle down for the traditional red felt scrolls since our Taiwanese fengshui master had recommended a red "painting" or picture on that section of the wall.

I was extremely happy that GEMINI has a huge variety of such red scrolls.  Although they looked really cliche & typical of an "oldish" CNY decor as there's nothing modernised about it, I had decided to purchase one of these red scrolls since they would serve our fengshui requirements well.

After browsing through a good variety of red scrolls, I selected a version that has the Chinese word "福" (fu) written in a hundred ways as shown partially at the bottom left hand corner in the photograph.

Apart from CNY decorations being sold all year round in GEMINI Body Shop, they also sell traditional wares which are being used during Chinese weddings.

Rental of the Chinese "KUA" which had been used traditionally by the Cantonese during the wedding tea ceremony is also available at the store.

I took a snippet of 2 of such costumes in GEMINI Body Shop and they do look pretty & elaborated with the intriccate embroidery of the dragon & phoenix in silvery & goldish threads.

Perhaps I should jux rent one for myself for a wedding anniversary photo shoot & my hubby could pair off with me in the Chinese skull cap with his pig-tail! :P

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Disclaimer:

Permission has been sought from the following parties for their products & stores to be featured in this blog :
Jenny Ow of SILIC LIGHTING CENTRE PTE LTD
Marcus Choo of GEMINI BODY SHOP
Mr 杨峰 of 艺美苑 (Yi Mei Yuan Art Gallery) - No longer in Operation

Kindly note that this thread is strictly for the purpose of sharing my humble & objective views of products and services provided by the aforesaid company.

I am not affliated to this company and am a customer who bought products from these shops.

Reader's discretion is therefore sought when viewing this thread.

For the ease of viewing and any enquiries related to contact details of these companies, photographs that are ear-marked with such details are uploaded.

Some photographs related to these companies had also been water-marked in view of copyright issues.

Thank you for your kind understanding.