ARTICLE 1

Natural Focal Points

Many focal points occur naturally in home architecture. Common ones include fireplaces, bookshelves, built-in cabinetry and picture windows—especially if they showcase a gorgeous view. These features draw the eye to them, giving a feeling of structure and balance to a room.

Consider yourself fortunate if you have even one of these architectural focal points. These naturally interesting features make interior design tasks—such as furniture placement and art positioning—much easier, for the point of focus has already been established for you.

		Fireplaces are excellent focal points. As well as being a source of warmth and comfort, they're visually captivating and appealing. (If you don't have a fireplace, you may be able to add an attractive wood-burning stove without too much trouble, for a similar effect.) Tip: Make your fireplace area the "star" of your room by dressing up the mantle, hanging artwork or an interesting mirror above it, adding decorative tiling and fireplace accessories, or simply painting the area with a bold splash of color.
		Moldings can do a lot to bring attention to a focal area by helping to create a look that's complete and well defined. Tip: Use decorative moldings to dress up a picture window or to encase a set of built-in bookshelves. Finish the project with a coat of semi-gloss paint to add a subtle, elegant sheen
		Fabrics that are colorful, or have interesting patterns or textures, are a great way to create visual interest. Tip: Add drama to a picture window by framing it with draperies made from vibrant, luxurious fabrics. Keep in mind that the bolder the color or pattern of the fabric, the more attention it will attract.

If there are too many areas competing for focus, a room can appear disjointed and feel somewhat off-balance. If there's more than one focal point in a room, the eye needs to be directed where to look first.

For example, with two or more objects of interest in a room, give priority to only one of them, and let the others play a supporting role. Also, don't highlight secondary features with colors or patterns that are more vibrant or interesting than those used on the primary focal point.

If you are lucky enough to have more than one interesting feature—for instance, a gorgeous fireplace and a spectacular view—the view should most definitely take precedence.

 ARTICLE 2

Chic in white

When Wei Siu Lim and his wife Sowfun decided to renovate their home in the upmarket Mont’ Kiara Sophia condominium in Kuala Lumpur, they had contemporary, clean lines in mind.

Happily, since both were on the same design wavelength, the decision to adopt a “practically minimal, high-tech and uncluttered” look was settled without much ado. They reasoned that the minimalist feel would suit their busy schedules as maintenance would be easier without the presence of unnecessary furnishings or objects.

Using the decision as the basis, Lim then set about converting his two-plus-one-bedroom home into what he terms as a “hip and contemporary crib” - an exercise that took just six weeks.

Being a quantity surveyor by profession, he said design was never a prerequisite for his job. However, that didn’t stop him from having a go at it - after all, as he readily admits, creativity is “in his blood”.

The first sign of this can be found in the white and stainless steel hues that dominate the home.

“We wanted something extraordinary and controversial,” he explains.

“White has always been tagged as a ‘high-maintenance’ colour, and stainless steel has been given the label of being ‘too commercial’ ... because of this, we decided to put them both together.”

For their bravery - which can be seen on entire walls, kitchen cabinets, bedroom wardrobes and furniture - the couple have been frequently complemented by guests who appreciate the way Volakas marble, chunky stainless steel sections and colour-backed glass have come together to create a striking setting.

Full height mirrors in the bedroom corridors have also been introduced to give the space a sense of depth.

Lim said the minimalist theme together with the use of full height mirrors in strategic areas in his unit has managed to offset the imposing feel that comes with having heavy marble and steel in a small space.

However, he says the design concept wasn’t without problems, one which was the “extreme difficulty” in finding loose furniture in pure white.

“Because of this, we had to custom-make several pieces,” Lim recounts.

In fact, he even went so far as to order the leather upholstery for the L-shaped sofa set directly from Italy and the white Volakas marble table top from Greece.

“A typical example of Europe brought to Malaysia,” Lim says.

Does Lim have any regrets in doing up his entire home in white?“Absolutely not,” he says, although he sheepishly admits that it’s rather difficult to keep his pure white leather sofa and Ottoman in pristine condition.

However, if he had the chance to do up his “crib” all over again, he says he would opt for the same choices as “any other colour would have compromised on the purity of the theme”.

Beneath the minimal high-tech appearance lies a home that is high-tech in substance too, boasting a wi-fi system and “over 400ft of audio-visual cabling embedded in the walls and flooring”. With them, his Apple I-Mac G5 home computer, Bose Lifestyle audio system and Pioneer plasma screen TV have come together to form an integrated AV system.

“Now, we can watch movies stored on the computer or surf the Internet on our plasma TV,” he says, happy in the fact that his 1,208sq ft home has become a place that might sound small on paper but is big on space and lifestyle.

Source : Property Times 29 April 2006 issue

  ARTICLE 3