looking for a lantern for my dining area...

It's been a while since I last wrote, hasn't it!

Well, work has been rather hectic, so I haven't had much time and energy to update here.

My husband and I have been busy looking for lights to decorate our new home. We've been looking for three weekends and still haven't found anything suitable for our dining area until today! I can easily say that looking for pendant lighting can be as difficult as looking for our wedding rings two years ago :-).

I've never really been a chandelier kind of girl - I like simple lighting, and I am drawn to the simple elegance of lanterns.

However, after scouring a total of... (counting in my head)... 12 (!) different lighting shops, today there was a shop that had great-looking lanterns at reasonable prices. In addition to that, lanterns are categorised under the 'outdoor lighting' section, so today, while admiring the lantern I liked, I didn't tell the sales girl that I was considering of hanging it in our dining room. I think she would have maybe laughed at me.

Anyway, we haven't bought the light yet as we were rushing off somewhere after that, so we'll probably buy it tomorrow or next weekend. I hope I can post a picture of it here and show you then.

In the meantime, here are some of my inspiration photos of lanterns in dining areas. Take a look!

Velvet & Linen

I love this sunroom with the french doors and windows! Isn't the lantern so pretty as well?

Munger Interiors

A simple, clean white dining area with a lovely, squarish lantern. Love it. Love the Roman shades with the elegant grey stripes, too.

Tammy Connor Interior Design

I am in love with this room above! I love the sheers with the thin iron rods and those glass doors. Beautiful!

Loi Thai's dining room

Now who has not fallen in love with Loi Thai's dining room yet? Well, I have. Amid the neutrals, the beautiful dark lantern makes a great accent. I love the size, too.

Sally Wheat - Better Homes & Gardens

A pair of industrial looking lanterns complete this look in this fresh and bright dining area. Check out the ghost chairs. Aren't they lovely?

So what do you think? Well, I am most certainly loving the lantern look and most likely will get one for myself!

Have a great weekend, all!

Granite or marble countertops?

Help! I can't decide whether to go for granite countertops or marble countertops for my kitchen!

I wrote a post about this a while ago, and now, when it comes to making the final decision with my contractor, I can't make up my mind!

My dream kitchens have always featured white marble countertops with a simple square edge.

traditional kitchen design by burlington architect Smith & Vansant Architects PC

 I love that the white marble backsplash matches the countertop. It's so simple and beautiful. The white trim above the backsplash is such an elegant detail.

Loi Thai's kitchen

I am absolutely in love with this kitchen of Loi Thai, my new blogger and Pinterest friend! Notice that the backsplash is also similar to the photo above - the same marble of the countertops.

Another view of the beautiful kitchen.

Brooke Giannetti's kitchen

This kitchen which belongs to another one of my favourite bloggers, Brooke Giannetti, also has white marble for the countertops that I fell in love with. The marble is less thicker than usual countertops which I find elegant.

House Beautiful

The kitchen in the photo above is more modern, but the white marble complements it beautifully.  I adore this kitchen and its sleek and simple lines. 

But, I also love the look of black granite countertops like these, and the cost is lower than marble.

i Gigi

Belgian Pearls

Notice that there's no backsplash in this kitchen, too? Just a trim of the black granite. Simple and elegant.

Katrin Cargill

The island has beautiful granite countertop. I love the pairing of the polished countertop with the aged wood from the console table beside the window. It's a perfect complement perfect and patina.

House Beautiful

Another kitchen with beautiful black countertops.

Timeless Living

This modern and simple kitchen is similar to the other modern kitchen I posted above, but this time with black countertops. Which one do you like better? I can't decide.

Or maybe a mix of both materials in one kitchen like this?

Cote de Texas

In terms of practicality, marble dulls and is more prone to stains. Black granite will not show stains and is stronger than marble against dents and scratches.

But at the same time, I adore the intricate grain of marble and I actually don't mind scratches and stains (okay, maybe a little bit). But I've learned to appreciate the beauty of patina.

If cost was not an issue, I would have chosen marble in the blink of an eye. So now I am weighing down the pros and cons of both of these stones.

What would your personal choice be? I really can't decide now. Help!

red nook

I wrote about breakfast nooks the other day. So we've decided that we can't afford to have one in the house, for now.

But it still has not deterred me from finding beautiful pictures of breakfast nooks on Pinterest!.

I'm loving this one right now.

Source unknown! Pls let me know if you can find the source

I've never been a fan of red, but this crimson looks so pretty. I'm loving the exposed wood beam, the raw plaster walls, the linen table cloth with the red stripes. And floral pillows matched with striped pillows look great, too.

Lovely!

sunset view

Our son has been down with a fever for the past 3 days, hence the lack of updates this week. It's Wednesday already!

So today, husband and I spent the afternoon at home with our son, and at around 7pm, we noticed the beautiful view outside our apartment window.

This was taken with my phone... so it actually looks better in real life.

The amazing views of sunset will be one of those things I will miss when we move out. So I'm going to be savouring the last days (or months, depending on how long our renovation will take),  before we leave this place.

Goodnight and hope I will write again soon.

backsplash ideas

I've not decided on the backsplash design that we'll be using for our kitchen.

My first request was for my contractor to quote on white 4x4 inch tiles where this was my inspiration.

Pinterest

So when my contractor gave me the quotation, she instead quoted 2x2 inch tiles where it would look something like this (thanks, Google images - you're a lifesaver).

Susan Jablan

Which doesn't look bad at all, but not the look that I was going for.

Which also made me wonder, would my kitchen end up looking like a bathroom with all the tiles placed neatly side by side?

Unknown source

Maybe that's why the Americans love their signature subway tiles in their kitchens - tiles are stacked in a neat brick-like pattern instead.

BHG

But I was certain that I didn't want to go subway style because (dare I say), its too homey and traditional for me. And plus, I saw beautiful tiles in a Belgian kitchen before that was not subway.

Belgian Pearls

So my contractor explained to me that 2x2 inch tiles would cost less for installation as they come pre-installed as a mosaic of a bigger tile, stuck together with some mesh. Does that make sense to you? Well, it does in my head. But anyway, it's kind of like lots of tiles bound together to make one tile.

4x4 inch tiles would cost more as they would quote based on installation per tile - which I presume is smaller than the mosaic tile made of 2x2 tiles.

I'm not trying to give you all a high school math quiz, but in the end, I have to contemplate which one was worth the money.

So, I started googling up images of mosaic tiles so that I could convince myself to go for this option.

Here are some beautiful mosaic tiles used for kitchen backsplashes.

Decorpad

 Isn't it beautiful? The kitchen backsplash in the photo above uses mosaic linear glass tiles. It looks modern and sophisticated.

Decorpad

A mixture of grey and white mosaic tiles used here.

Decorpad

The use of glass linear mosaic tiles here is gorgeous as they are of different sizes.

Decorpad

This is the same kitchen from one of the photos above, but I love the whole kitchen, so I thought I'd just show it to you.

Eclectic Revisted

I've shown this photo on my blog before. But I just noticed that the bright ocean blue backsplash is actually mosaic. So pretty.

Houzz

Mosaic tiles can actually bring depth to a rustic-industrial inspired kitchen!

So, after this, I'm going to get my contractor to quote on linear glass mosaic tiles and will decide after that!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

sort-of walk-in closet

In our master bedroom, there's a little corner that leads to the master bathroom where we'll be doing a sort-of walk-in closet (I say 'sort-of' because folks out there would probably laugh because it's rather small and not those walk-in closets you see in shows like the Kardashians, or anything). 

To save money on having built-in doors, I am considering of having a curtain to close this section of the room (for those days when it's looking messy). 

These photos are my inspiration. 

Pinterest

Of course, I love linen curtains, and having them to cover a walk-in closet is no exception. 

Daniela Cavestany from here

What do you think of linen panels covering up your closets? Is it practical? 

Have a lovely Tuesday!

grey and white, carrara and granite

I love white kitchen cabinets, but as I've mentioned before, it wouldn't be practical for homes with young kids as they would get their grubby hands on them. I also love grey kitchens.

So, to have the best of both worlds, I've decided (thus far) that I'm going for grey lower cabinets and white upper cabinets. With white for the upper cabinets, it would be less maintenance for me as upper cabinets are usually less handled and the kids won't be able to reach up to them. :-)

And white Carrara marble countertops as I've always loved the look of white marble.

After going through my contractor's quotation today, I was trying to cut out as much unnecessary stuff as I could to keep within our budget. Of course, I knew marble would be rather expensive, but I didn't want to compromise it with anything else!

Until I read this post by the super-talented Joni of Cote de Texas blog the other day and saw this photo.

I always love how her photos are so big on her blog

Grey lower cabinets and white upper cabinets! But.... black honed granite countertops! And Carrara marble for the island! And it looks gorgeous!

So, I asked my contractor (within half an hour of reading the post) of how much black granite would cost. She said pure black granite would be rather expensive and would get back to me on that. Sigh.

Then, I saw this photo on Greige.

The granite countertops here are not black, rather grey-speckled and it looks gorgeous, too!

I think I need to stop looking at photos of beautiful kitchens otherwise I'll never make up my mind!

So, what's your preference?

Carrara marble?

Or granite?

Double sigh!

breakfast nook dreams

I think I’m giving my husband a headache with all my crazy (and expensive) ideas for our house renovation. Okay, I won’t call them crazy, but maybe a little bit…. ambitious?

You can’t stop a girl from dreaming about her dream house, huh? I’m sure a lot of you reading this have been dreaming of the perfect house since you were just little girls (or boys if you’re a guy). Well, at least I have.

My latest "ambition"? Having a breakfast nook.

We have a room next to the kitchen of our new house which I believe would be unused (stashing ugly stuff does not classify it as 'used'). And since the kitchen is rather dark, I’ve been contemplating on taking down the wall and making it into a little breakfast nook with lots of light.

I can just imagine myself in any of these breakfast rooms, having my morning breakfast of cornflakes and cold milk. And a cup of hot Milo (a chocolate drink here in this part of the planet). 


The photo below is simply beautiful. I love the neutral colour palette of whites, beige and white washed wood. Seaside decor at its best.

Casual and elegant. Image from here

From Apartment Therapy

I love the denim blue material used for the seats and the mix of patterns on the throw pillows. Lovely!

House Beautiful

The use of neutrals in this breakfast nook is gorgeous. 

Aesthetically Thinking

A striped black and white banquette and lovely mix of frames and pictures. They used two square tables here and mismatched chairs. Casual elegance again!

Southern Living

This breakfast nook is clean and uncluttered. Simply beautiful. 

Triangle Honeymoon

Get those wicker chairs at Ikea!! This corner is oh so pretty. 

A House and Home

Sunlight being filtered by those lovely roman blinds. How lovely. 

Elle Decor

I love this nook with all its use of textures. 

Can your house afford a breakfast nook? I'll let you know if my dream of having a breakfast nook comes to life. If not, I'll probably opt for a french door with milk glass panes so that the sunlight can enter in to the kitchen from that room. 

Have a great Tuesday!

our house!

I've got a huge project ahead of me. We have just got the keys to our new house!

Gulp!

Photo taken from iPhone. Sorry for the poor quality.

My husband and I thought we had another 8 months ahead of us, but seems like the developer has exceeded our expectations.

We're going to miss living so close to the city! But I am excited to start with the renovation of this house so that I can decorate it afterwards!

This will be our second renovating experience so I am already anticipating the stress and headaches to come. Though our first experience was a pretty smooth one, there were some bumps here and there that we've learnt from. 


Do share with me your renovation tips! I love hearing from you! Perhaps on how to keep your cool when things don't turn out the way you wanted it to? :-) 

I will be sharing more updates of this particular project on this blog!