A good design is R&D

I bought myself an interior design magazine yesterday. And I am so impressed by the designs I see. Jealous. Envious. Full of hatred. :P Nah, I'm just get emotional cause I'm not working anymore as a designer now. But, anyways. Making my story short. I realized something. You can have such a lovely, beautiful, and expensive design. But functionality? Where does that leaves you too? A good design is an interior where everything is there for you without the need to add in anything in the next 10 years or even worst the next day.

Before you want to do anything, what you need is what the interior really needs. Real needs. Like a good R&D. So, I've got my R&D cap on and asked myself like I'm the customer, which I am. A customer to myself. A guinea pig more like it. hehehehe. I asked what do I want in a space, that won't need any changes in the next 5-10 years.... *imagine thoughts in a white clouds popping out from my head*

Let just say you are living in a 600-700 sqf apartment. I'm just going to list down the areas and explained in each area what is the most essential needs that I think designer/a person who wants to design his/her place, did not take into consideration.

1. Entrance/ Hallway :

• Mirror/Artwork/Console Table
  

If you happen to have a wall facing your front door, it will be great if you could have a mirror/picture frame hanged on it. Not a big mirror, but a beautiful, decorated piece, would be lovely. Have a console table below it. Reason being, that console table could act as a place for you to throw your house keys, phone, handbags, car keys and anything which is the first thing that we human usually want to do once enter a house.

If you don't have a wall facing the front entrance door, I'm sure next to the door there is a wall. Have it at the side of the door. Ain't it easy just to have a table for you to dump your things once enter. Reach out your left or right hand and dump. Hehehehe. The mirror on the other hand, act as a last minute vain-port check up. Or maybe you come home and see how ugly and messed up you are once you come home, you wouldn't want your husband to see you unattractive. Yes?

• Chest of Drawers/ Cabinet/ Stylish Shoe Cabinet

Buy a slim cabinet like with drawers or doors. It also helps to hide smelly shoes from guest seeing it. I have a shoe rack at home now. Which, every time I come home, I wish I can get it covered. It's like exposing your feet, naked and smelly too. Yish. Look at the photos I posted and get an idea on what the heck I'm talking about. Oh, don't forget to throw a stool or a plush pillow for a comfort sitting while wearing those nice looking pumps.

Either you like them traditional, modern or industrial, it's your choice. Be creative. A chest of drawers doesn't mean it has to be used only in the bedroom, right...?

2. Kitchen

Please remind yourself, before you want to design a kitchen, include all necessary appliances which you need. NEED. Invest on it. For it will make you, your husband and family's tummy very happy. Well, mostly them of course, as you will curse your head out because of all the mess that was made plus the cleaning. I hate the cleaning. What a good kitchen need is :-

• A refrigerator
• An oven
• A microwave (If you can have a micro-oven will be ideal - save space or stack them like the photo below.)

• An cooker hood
• A cooker (If you intend to buy a cook with built in oven will be ideal too.)
• A washing machine.

Now a washing machine sounds pretty weird to be put in a kitchen, but I think it's the ideal place to have them because, well, there is NO OTHER place to put them if your bathroom is small, you got no spare room for laundry room and, well - basically no place to have them. Plus it's easier (beside in the bathroom) to locate the water piping for the washer. Not much of hacking/demolishing or ripping off your pocket money. I wonder why some designer leave out a space for and oven. Sad. I wish I had one. I wouldn't even mind not having a washer just so I can put an oven in.

• Cabinets/shelves for dinnerware/ food storage/ container.

This is one of the things that everyone is facing. Space for your plates, pots, cups and etc. For those who stays in a very tight space, and is about to move in, need to list down what utensils, cookware, and others that relates to kitchen properly. List down from saucepan, wok, cook pot, grill pans and so on. Then, when it comes to buying plates, ask yourself, are you the kind of person who entertains everyday that needs more than 4 plates, cups, glasses, fork and spoon type? Limit yourself. I cook most of the time. But I manages to have my grilling pan, wok, 2 saute pan, dinnerware, bowls and etc in 1 drawer, as our other 2 drawers are for our other housemates. See. It helps if you know what kinda cooking you plan to do.

Next, clean up what's inside the cabinet. Label them & stack them if you have spices, ingredients, flour, etc in an air tight container. Arranging them helps to give more space for new stocks to arrive. If you have just bought your box of cereal and intend to have them for every breakfast, then throw away the box and keep your cereal in a container where you can neatly keep them in the storage compartment.

• Movable table/trolleys

This is a cool idea. I wish I can take away our washer and have that empty space for my movable trolley and use it when I need extra table. Check out IKEA's kitchen trolley. Brilliant.

Design by a European brand called Gunni.

Brand by Head Cook Eur195

• Have a bar rail anywhere you can think off. It helps! Have them hang loose.. If ya know what I mean.. Heh heh heh... (_ _!)
  

If you can't go down, go up. That's what I always say. When you don't have enough space horizontally, think vertically.

• Dish Drainer - A place to dry up you dinnerware/utensils/pans and pots. (Since no more money or space to buy a dryer.)

Make sure there is ALWAYS a space for drying. Unless, you are a clean freak like me, who dries every one of my plates/pots and etc. right after I used them. But, sometimes, I do get tired of it, so I leave them on the dish drainer. Everyone who can't afford a dryer, should have a hip, cool and stylish drainer. Unlike mine, my Suami bought from IKEA (the cheapest of them all) and took half of the space. Plus, we need to share them with 2 other housemates. There are some cool ones from IKEA, but you just need to see the situation on how to place them. It's a "MUST-HAVE" kitchen item. Hellooooo...!

Some of the selection which I like very much. And within the budget. :P

Brilliant idea for recycle water, but where can I put my wok?

Creative design called Dish Drainer by Geo. But this maybe fit in a boutique hotel.

black + blum's High&Dry dish drainer.

What I usually do, since it's pretty annoying to see the dripping water from washing it drops on the counter top, I lay a cloths beneath it. I use only a 'Good Morning" towel. Been laying it underneath the drainer for 5months, and there isn't much stained or mark on it. Plus the summer is quickly drying it off for me before I even get to be pissed off. Some have a tray at the bottom, but it doesn't seem to solve the problem. Problem is, water drops and water stays. So, having a tray, not only catches the water droplets, but it also accumulates it and end ups having a pool fiesta going on. And to wait for it to dry up..? I rather use a cloth.

But I always come to a problem when it has to do with the large sauce pan or pots. Where to dry them. *Sigh*

My god, just the topic of kitchen can go up to a whole damn page. I'm going to stop right now. Tomorrow I will try to continue with the basic essential needs for a good home living. Good night, readers.

Next, I will talk about Movable Kitchen. Yes, movable kitchen.

Have a good weekend.

Signing off,
The Mrs.