Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Malacca Cupboard
This cupboard made its debut in an earlier posting but it finally made the journey to KL. It is now a three-shelf cupboard for my handbags. Anyone interested in similar pieces, let me know. The lorry guy offered to bring 3 more units up to KL for my inspection.
Antique Burmese Tiffin
Can't help buying travel souvenirs so I lugged this Shan lacquer tiffin back from Yangon. In the old days, Burmese ladies used to fill these tiffins with food, place them on their heads and walk long distances to temples (...visions of Kipling's Mandalay Girl...) but nowadays, they rarely make these big simple ones but mostly the ornate types for decorative purposes.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Penang Reading Chair
This is a recent find that I am very pleased with. A teak armchair circa 1920-1940 salvaged from one of the old colonial houses of Penang. Clearly, Campbell Road still has its treasures...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Free Furniture
One of the perks of having a bunch of relatives is that they usually have plenty of redundant furniture which they are happy to give away. Collecting these old furniture is a good way of saving money but it has to be done with deliberation or you might end up with an apartment that looks like a junk shop. So far, I have been offered:
1) a rattan living room set - declined because of uncomfortable cushions
2) 10 orange moulded plastic dining chairs - declined because too many and too retro
3) a bookshelf - declined because I already ordered an 8-foot behemoth
4) a Singer-sewing machine table base - no space but KIV
5) a pair of armchairs - accepted (see below)
6) an iron bed - accepted after modification (see below)
My mum's friend, Aunty Florence, gave me a pair of chintz "Dancing Dolls Chairs". When my mover went to collect them, she gave them each a kiss goodbye as they had been with her for over 30 years. The chintz would have to eventually go and what I have in mind is to repaint the wood in black and to reupholster the fabric bits in pinstriped wool - the same kind used for men's suits. I first saw one redone like this in the Brooks Brothers' window display in London more than a year ago and have wanted similar chairs ever since. However, painting and reupholstering costs upwards of RM500 plus fabric costs. So the Dancing Dolls are safe for now...
Aunty Florence also gave me her father's queen-sized iron bed which she lorried down from Ipoh. It was originally a four-poster bed but I had the four posts chopped off to fit into my low-ceilinged bedroom. This is the bed with the work halfway done.
1) a rattan living room set - declined because of uncomfortable cushions
2) 10 orange moulded plastic dining chairs - declined because too many and too retro
3) a bookshelf - declined because I already ordered an 8-foot behemoth
4) a Singer-sewing machine table base - no space but KIV
5) a pair of armchairs - accepted (see below)
6) an iron bed - accepted after modification (see below)
My mum's friend, Aunty Florence, gave me a pair of chintz "Dancing Dolls Chairs". When my mover went to collect them, she gave them each a kiss goodbye as they had been with her for over 30 years. The chintz would have to eventually go and what I have in mind is to repaint the wood in black and to reupholster the fabric bits in pinstriped wool - the same kind used for men's suits. I first saw one redone like this in the Brooks Brothers' window display in London more than a year ago and have wanted similar chairs ever since. However, painting and reupholstering costs upwards of RM500 plus fabric costs. So the Dancing Dolls are safe for now...
Aunty Florence also gave me her father's queen-sized iron bed which she lorried down from Ipoh. It was originally a four-poster bed but I had the four posts chopped off to fit into my low-ceilinged bedroom. This is the bed with the work halfway done.
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