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Entryway: Blending Retro Glass Bricks with Modern Contemporary Design
HomeOne Year Later – Our Experience & Transformation
hwashan_
Our cosy 90sqm resale for conversations & coffee
One Year Later – Our Experience & Transformation
1828
- Free Style
- HDB (Resale)
- ~900 sqft
- 3 br
- Couple Living
Hello, we are KH & MS from @hwashan_ and we appreciate your time here with us! Our home is a 4RM-HDB resale in AMK, about 19 years old and 90sqm in size. We also around $80k for our renovations, inclusive of furnishings. With hwashan_ turning one, we felt that it'd be a good opportunity to reflect and share with you about our journey as first-time home owners and also, what we are looking forward to in our year ahead. Let's goooooo! :) Photocredits: @fortevisuals 
1. Our way of resting & relaxation has changed One big reason why we got this resale unit was because of its lovely view of the park. We definitely has taken this into account during our layout planning for our communal space area. One year in - we are loving the view still (and maybe even more since we saw the huge rainbow just a few weekends ago!) We actually find ourselves doom-scrolling less now and intentionally enjoying the space and view together at our communal area :) 2. Our take on windows & blinds has changed This was one headache during renovation as we really debated between practicality and aesthetics - whether to go for curtains, blinds or none at all. With the help from Everyday Curtains, we then went with linen curtains for our communal area and blinds for the rest of our rooms. One year in - no regrets at all! These window dressings really amp up the cosiness of our home :) As we are a corridor unit, there were occasions where we needed to take calls for work when we work from home. These curtains definitely helped to keep it bright and airy whilst we got the privacy we needed at the same time. For our rooms - we chose to go with venetian blinds with colors complementing our walls to exude a more seamless and cosy vibes around the house. The dark browns also add that slight contrast which we both love :) Having venetian blinds instead of curtains allow sunlight to seep through the windows, depending on your angle. This actually helps to wake (one of) us up on weekdays, when we fail our alarm clocks. And also, we love these shots of how the light bounces off the walls :) Ah! and tip: If possible, talk with your partner about the sleeping arrangements. For us, I did not realise I needed some form of light still (as my room used to be next to the carpark so there were street lights). Whereas for KH, he was prefectly alright to sleep in complete darkness. I actually fell and knocked into things a few times at the beginning before we got ourselves some night lamps (but more about that in our subsequent posts!) 3. Our perspectives towards digital locks changed Both of us actually did not intend to get a digital lock at the very beginning as we were both used to the traditional key & lock system. But that said, having changed to the digital lock did save us the headache of bringing the key around and also some time saved when..nature calls unexpectedly. We are glad we made this decision to change :D Photocredits: @fortevisuals At our entryway area, we have set up a few decorative items including a wooden box to house our masks and also a motivational quote card we got from Taiwan. It is like our daily reminder as we leave and come back for the day. Photocredits: @fortevisuals 4. Habits take time to form, especially when it might not be at your top of mind One year ago - we decided to do a home shoot and was sharing with our photographer @fortevisuals that we wanted to have the habit to put sunblock daily and consistently (Therefore this funny shot at the entryway) One year in - having placed the sunblock and masks strategically at the entryway did instill the habit in us after a while to put our sunblock diligently before we leave the house. I guess the saying "out of sight, out of mind" really is true to a certain extent! Photocredits: @fortevisuals Another habit we tried to cultivate since we moved in was to dedicate time for us amongst the schedules we have and the commitments we make with our family and friends. An advice we got from when we were getting married was to always remember to set aside time for date nights - even if we would be seeing each other every day. We did not understand it at the beginning but having carved out this cosy corner in our home, we have a good space to just sit down and talk to each other without being distracted by our laptops and TV. It is amazing how environment can really help to steer your energies into thoughts and activities to rest and recharge. And also! This is going to be our home cafe space in the making :) On the other side of our communal area, we hacked a room to elongate the entire communal space. This is where we house our sofa and TV. There is also a floor-to-ceiling sliding door that can close up the area should we host for a movie or karaoke singing session with our family and friends. On the side of our TV, we put up some decorative items on our shelf - from our mini crafting sessions to some of our favourite books and wedding memories. These are nice topic-starters with our guests when they come over to @hwashan_ :) 
Any recommendations for karaoke systems? Photocredits: @fortevisuals We have an alcohol nook to display some of our collections. The shelves were DIY-ed from IKEA whilst the puzzle was our wedding guestbook with our guests' well wishes all combined into one! Finally on the last space of our communal area - kitchen :) Ours is a galley layout with our service yard also integrated together into one space. Photocredits: @fortevisuals KH has claimed the kitchen to be under his jurisdiction fully, but it did not stop the Milo figurines to join the kitchen ensemble (haha!) But anyway, back to the main sharing on changes we made in this year - we are not sure if it's just us but our way of utilising the kitchen counterspace has definitely changed alot over the one year! Initially, the idea was to do the "wet food" preparation near between the sink and the stove whilst "dry food" preparation to be done on the other side. Currently (and depending whether we are using the small appliances like airfryer), we found ourselves doing quite the opposite. How are you prepping your food in the kitchen? Photocredits: @fortevisuals This is the other side of our kitchen (from one year ago). We knew we wanted a dedicated space for coffee & beverages preparation but we were afraid to commit. Which then brings us to the final point of today's sharing... Photocredits: @fortevisuals 
5. Don't just plan and wait, just do it! It took us a while, but we are absolutely loving our station set up now. Making coffee and tea together has also brought us closer together as there are more common activities for us to enjoy together now. :) ------- We hope you have enjoyed reading our little reflection sharing and also some of the home changes we have made over at @hwashan_! See you at the next post (wavessss)
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