Bryan Wong

Time flies…

Not only are we into year 2010 but it is now already the 9th episode of home decor 4..3 more to go and the end of this season is drawing close..

This episode we dwelt with the topic of Pacific Homes..and after much research we concluded that lots of places are linked to the Pacific Ocean and thus, we decided on the Iconic Hawaii, which is nestled in the heart of the Pacific and known to the whole entire world, to be the best representation of Pacific homes:)

My contestant for this episode is the effervescent Lynn and her handsome hubby Dave, together with their lot of lovely friends who came to helped out, i must say, that this is the episode that i really had fun!With the hawaii theme in mind, we set to recreate this modern simple decor 4 room flat into a home that exudes the charm and sunny disposition of a Pacific home:)

I did a direct translation of bringing the ocean into the living room simply by using this fantabulously pretty shade of tiffany blue and even though i am not a fan of blue, this colour really gave off this wonderfully pacific vibes that calms all mind:)Also, the vibrance of life of the Pacific Ocean is directly translated into the colourful arrays of decor items and also, nature represented by the canes and raw wood console and wooven rug…

Set in a tropical climate, the pacific ocean region is bustling with life! birds and flowers are in abundance and that’s why,nestled in the corner, a flower arrangement of flowers found in that region..also places at some corners, intricately carved colourful birds found in the pacific region:)

After much research, i found that the native fruit of the Pacific is actually pineapple,which i directly translated it into this wonderful lamp that i found(in the shape of pineapple:)) and also the rug that we chosen and i also found a frog which thrives only in the pacific region and thus, it became my inspiration for my art piece, which is going to be the first time i am going to draw on a canvass using acrilyic paint instead of my usual wooden planks and emulsion paints:)

To adorn the walls of the dining area, what do people most do on the Pacific Ocean ???? Surfing! and a mirror surfboard is thus created:)

Fruits are one of the staples of the pacific and thus, we set up this fruit platter and cocktails to actually feel the way of life in a pacific home:)

BEFORE                                                               AFTER

In the end, Somehow or rather, the judges felt that we went off the topic..We might not have stuck a printed picture of the ocean on the wall, but choosing Hawaii, an iconic part of the pacific ocean, as an inspiration  was clearly not a mistake and actually letting people experience the feel of living in a pacific home on top of the decor should be an integral part of decor.The decor should encompass life.

Dave, though the end result might not be the birthday present you so hoped to receive, nevertheless, me thinks u are already blessed with a wonderful wife and beautiful friends.

so here’s to you from a new friend,

Happy birthday and aloooooooooha!

Thank you all for your wonderful birthday greetings and well wishes..

Can’t say that i had a rowdy birthday..On the contrary, it was really quiet and..well, the couple of us and my mum went out for dinner but, oh man, the food sucks big time!  interestingly, that was our first visit there and it will be the last..a truly unforgettable yet forgettable birthday dinner! euewwww! fortunately i had the company of my mum and two of my pals if not, it would have been the most miserable birthday of all times:(

Anyway, that aside, coming back to the topic of the day…I have been to quite a few places..covered a fair bit of europe..but, i have never set foot in Holland( unless u consider transit in the airport as being there) and this time round, on March the 13th i will fly once again with UOB travels, visiting Paris,Belgium and Holland!!! all ten days ending up in the vast tulip fields that takes many breath away:) i have always wanted to visit the Netherlands and this time round, i am finally getting around to do it:) CHEERS!!!!

The weather is going to be superb..cold but yet bearable..the romantic Paris, the belgium chocolates and the tulips…can’t wait…hurry time..hur.r.y!

wait with me….or,

come fly with me:)

My dear friends..every week ,one task that i perform with much enthusiasm is to blog about HD4 and getting to read your wonderful comments.Even though i don’t acknowledge each and every single one of the comments, i am very much heartened by the fact that you guys appreciate what we did and your words of encouragements made all the tiredness worthwhile..Quite a fair bit of you wanted to know my id firm’s contact and well, actually, the year of 2007 i did start up an id firm with some partners..however, year 2008 i embarked on my almost a year filming of destination most wanted and in the midst of it, my partners and i decided to fold up the businesss because me not being around is not condusive for the venture.So,the answer to your questions would be nope, i don’t have an id firm:)..not now, at least:)

This week we were tasked to go minimal…and that, my friend, is more difficult than ever! because to create the less is more effect, the few pieces of furniture that is allowed in the space has to speak volumes.Furthermore, it is not simply minimalism we are dealing with but, the additional twist to the topic is ARTHOUSE!euewwwww!!!!!!!!!!

To start off with, we have yet again a four room flat and its original state is rather minimal:)

We decided to go with an art house showcasing love, and thus, a poem written by jarrod is stenciled onto the wall..

Since it is supposed to be an art house, i decided to D.I.M a one of a kind console to house the lcd and this is the end result..

And to have a drawing, i drew this version of smiling face..which did not go well with the judges, who deemed it unoriginal and a tad unfitting for the decor..Frankly, that stung quite a bit as..well…it took a whole lot of effort to draw something of this scale,given that the time alloted was less than four hours….

BEFORE                                                                     AFTER

At the end of the day, we won..

The pleasure that filled our hearts stemmed from the fact that we did all the stuffs ourselves..we conceptualised,we bought the wood, saw the wood,glued the wood, painted the wood..all were done by our very own hands and the eventual result got us feeling really gratified:)

and so long live D.I.M= Do It Myself

Once again, a big thank you to all of you for your wonderful words with respect to last week’s episode..been a while since so many comments flooded in and i am truly touched:)

And this week, a difficult topic again! To mix euro style and asian style together is no easy feat and this has been one of those episodes that i felt really stumped! Irregardless of how i feel, the show has to go on and we have to complete our task…

This time round, the 5 room flat we got was really gigantic and with our budget ,really dont know how to fill it up!

The present way the furnitures are placed came across as really akward and the fan really gets in the way..

the dining room is really bare..and the present dining set they have is way too small..

I simply adore audrey hepburn ..and i feel she encompasses the beauty of the west and thus, i decided to do a portrait of her wearing a cheong sum, a direct translation of euro-asia mix and match:)

With her being placed at that spot denotes the new center of the living rooma and i am thus able to shift the living room area to its new location..

I felt that the dining room has got a vast potential and thus, with the aid of curtains, i am able to create this cosy enclosed space where the dining table that we purchased reigned proud and elegant..

With the chinese characters surrounding the dining table, i fulfilled the euro asia mix and match criteria

BEFORE                                                                   AFTER

We Won!

the couple was so touched and happy and they cried..tears of joy..

..and such moments reminds me why i love my job….

Thank you all for your kind words with respect to last week’s episode:)

This week we are faced with contemporary elegance,which me thinks is pretty straight forward..

However, this time round the flat that we have gotten is a real challenge..First and foremost, the layout of the living room is pretty strange..In fact, it was almost impossible to place a sofa at the intended living room area.. well, a picture is worth a thousand words i suppose, so, lets take a look at the before pictures:)

The other dilema we had was that the space was really…long.

The built in cabinets did not really help and we were mighty pleased that the owner is fine with us hacking it away:)

The country styled wall paper…had to go as well..

To break the long piece of a wall, i decided to do wooden panellings with hiden back lights to be hung behind the tv console.This time round, we were extremely meticulous and paid great attention to all details and it turned out fabulously!

We decided to relocated the living area to the dining area and vice versa..thus, with a buffet table against the wall, we have to D>I>M our very own mirror nd that we did..with many squares of mirrors bonded to the wall:)

All our hard work paid off when finally..This was the final result!

we also D.I.M this long coffee table..which we were very much proud of:)

Another favourite corner of ours would be the dinning area…we simply adore it:)

And so our job is done..just to refresh your memory, here’s a never been done before,  before and after side by side!

AFTER                                                     BEFORE

We are so ever pleased with our decor and even more so elated when we won! This had been a really memorable episode for us..

This time round our team went the extra mile and we were rewarded:)

Very pleased…

indeed:)

p.s : seems like lots of you guys are keen on d.I.M..so..to get the wood and woodskin, please go to Wellwin Tropical produce blk 1057 #01-85 Eunos Ave 3

Told you already..this season we have the weirdest topics..So..Harlem Urbanism..rings a bell? well, after much research on this topic(goggling..library etc…), i derived at this definition: A style of decor that echoes deeply the roots of african american..colour used are mainly earth tones (reminiscience of the vastland of africa)..tribal artifects..animals prints..wood furnitures..tradional art of hand woven things… a touch of jazz and hip hop blink blink…post modern touch with a tinge of old hollywood opulence..touch of manhattan style with global theme..Hmmm..very much a handul.With that in mind, our team carefully selected all the furnitures and accessories to bring out the essence of Harlem Urbanism..

Here comes the before pictures:)

We got ourselves a four room flat again..and this time round, it comes with a pink wall and a dining area that seemed odd in place..also, the ceiling fan poses as a main concern..

Other than that, the store room door is a bit of an eye sore..

This time round, as the space is not very big, we have to think of ways to let this living room feels roomy and not crowded..and with the size of the kitchen being that small, it is only right for us to create a dinning area instead of taking a short cut of doing away with it..and thus, we created this:)

As i have mentioned earlier, the store room door needs a real makeover..and thus, i applied one of the essence of Harlem urbanism decor, which is the art of hand woven  pattern, onto this door.To weave this pattern onto this door is no easy feat..finally adhering it to the frame with 3M spray adhesive, we completed this DIM item with pride:)

To create the illusion of space in this living room, we selected a glass top round table with acrilyic chairs..if u were to look carefully at the chairs, its shape takes after the curves of manhattan style chairs ,fullfilling the criteria of old hollywood opulence…

If you set out to do something, you have to give it the complete treatment..In order to let it all gel together, we have to laminate the main door as well.we also got this jazz inspired Hat Light to light up the dinning area:)Bronzy metals are part of the essence of today’s topic and i translate it directly to the bronze framed mirror that we D.I.M.

This tv console  in this raw wood colour defines the natural wood grain that is essential in today’s topic..And the lamp we have chosen with it’s crytal like balls are the blink blink that is so blatant in african american culture..

This velvet black sofa in its unique shape suggests the hip hop culture and the animal prints cushion covers fulfills the criteria of having animal prints in this design..The african masks on the walls is a reminder of the roots of their culture..

And last but not least, the colours that we have adopted for the walls are of natural earthy tones..again..fulfilling the criteria of this design..

Even though we crafted this home with strict accordance to the theme, the judges went the other way..

Nevertheless, i would like to thank the couple for their wonderful involvement in this project and thank you for allowing us to painsaking weave the woodskin onto your door…it was an effort of grit and love…

till the next epi,

Goodbyes……….