Home & Decor

out with minimalism

Having spent the better part of last year working from home, I discovered just how difficult it can be to operate from a space that everyone (especially those who subscribe to the method of a particularly well-known Japanese home organiser with her own Netflix show) thinks should be kept sparse and simple. I began to regret throwing out things that I thought I didn’t need anymore, like a printer and an office chair, and having to rush out to buy new ones again. I believe I am not the only one too, as industry experts share that sales of home furniture and work desks have seen a sharp rise recently. The apperance of Covid signalled the end of Minimalist living. In my opinion that may not be a bad thing, because…

rays of hope

There is nothing like lighting objects that inject a dose of drama into spaces. Crafted from 390 aluminium “rays”, the Sun - Light of Love pendant light from Italian brand Foscarini is at once poetic like a giant floating dandelion and majestic like a mysterious glowing star. That one can’t discern the light source in a cursory glance makes it the perfect conversation starter. “I wanted to bring the sun inside; into the house and its spaces,” says designer Tord Boontje. “Just like sunlight, Sun – Light of Love is an object that makes it hard to know where it begins and where it ends. It has no clear separation between inside and outside. Its geometric presence is very fluid and organic at the same time.” The Foscarini Sun – Light…

solid marigold

The year 2021 is shaping up to be a year of recovery, and the colour trends reflect this. In an unprecedented move, Pantone chose two colours as its Colour of the Year 2021: a mid-tone grey Ultimate Gray and a sunny yellow Illuminating, which expresses a marriage of reliability and hope. Similarly, Dulux’s beige Brave Ground, Nippon Paint’s powder blue Smooth Sailing, and Sherwin-Williams’ greige Urbane Bronze all paint a serene picture of a kinder and gentler year. Taking inspiration from this, we’ve chosen warm, golden yellow marigold as our colour of the month. “I would match marigold or ochre with splashes of its complementary cooler tones like blue or green as it can make for a very sophisticated palette,” says Wong Liangyuan, colour specialist at Haven Lifestyle. Marigold is a…

artist of the month

TIFFANY LOY Local textile artist Tiffany Loy started her creative career as an industrial designer working at the Design Incubation Centre at National University of Singapore (NUS) before opening her textile design studio in 2014. Tiffany’s curious textile exploration has taken her to Kyoto, and most recently to London, where she exhibited a 3.6m-tall site-specific textile sculpture called The Weaverly Way during the London Craft Week 2020 at the lobby of citizenM hotel Bankside. Created In collaboration with British silk mill Gainsborough Weaving, it showcased a weaver’s approach to building 3D forms. Visit www.tiffanyloy.com for more information. SPACE SAVER As working from home becomes the norm, the design of residential furniture has evolved to accommodate the daily transformation of living space to working space and back to a resting space at the end of…

exhibition of the month

Singapore Ceramics Now! What: Ceramics exhibition at Singapore Art Week Where: Block 7, Level 1, Gillman Barracks When: 20 January to 13 February 2021 Curated by renowned ceramicist Jason Lim together with SEED The Art Space, Singapore Ceramics Now! showcases contemporary ceramics work of 19 Singapore-based artists. Taking the theme of Marking | Making, the exhibition celebrates the diverse processes, techniques, and artistic ideas in the local ceramics scene. The exhibits blend the dexterity of traditional and experimental techniques and present ceramic art objects in refreshing contexts.…

news

Architects Apartment Italian furniture brand Living Divani has joined Space Furniture’s portfolio. The brand’s latest and greatest, including pieces from local designers like the Pebble vanity by Lanzavecchia + Wai and Rabbit & Tortoise tables by Studio Juju, can be viewed at Space Furniture’s new showcase, titled the Architects Apartment, which features Living Divani products alongside other brands like Flos and Glas Italia. Visit www.spacefurniture.com.sg for more information. Seven Zones of Sleep European mattress company Emma established a presence in Singapore in December. Hailed as Europe’s most-awarded mattress, the Emma Original Mattress provides full-body support with advanced zoning technology featuring seven foam zones that distribute pressure and support with exceptional motion isolation for the best sleep. Each purchase comes with a 100-night trial with a money-back guarantee and a 10-year warranty. Emma mattresses retail for…