Before and After, Part I - Living Room

Sorry, people. A bit of lapse since my last posting cause I have a job now and have to limit my magazine browsing to lunch hours and bedtime reading. But thanks to this New Year holiday, I finally found the time to put together some 'before and after' photos of my old apartment. Happy looking and Happy New Year.

Before:
These photos were taken when the real estate agent arranged the first viewing. Every room was ghastly white. There was a dirty-looking Indian lamp shade in the direct line of sight as you enter through the front door and just above the dining area, there was a cheap tube shade.

After: Still a WIP but...

The biggest challenge in decorating this room was to find a colour that worked i.e. not make the room too dark or is too difficult to match with other furniture pieces. I was inspired to go with this bright peacock blue after seeing how Vietnam Airlines used it in their logo in combination with gold. So, I too made gold silk cushions and laid the bright olive-based sarong on the back of the sofa.

The marble floor was polished to restore shine. I had the curtain rods were lowered and painted black. Then I put in voile curtains to reduce glare while leaving the room light and airy.

Ceiling lamps and the old ticking fan were also replaced. I put in ball lamps made of some kind of high-end plastic instead of paper lamps so that the lamps would not billow about when the fan is on.

To break the monotony of the walls, I put up framed posters and paintings. I also used a lot of textiles I collected from my travels as drapery. For instance, on the back of the couch is a Sumatran sarong. The black/white/red cloth on the dining table is a Shan longyi. Instead of boring curtain ties, I pulled back the see-through voile layers with a red/black tribal belt that I found in the Philippines. The dining area lamp shade is made of brilliant Vietnamese silk and in the living area, I laid out my precious Persian rug.