At first glance, interior design does not look difficult at all but believe me, it is the most difficult thing to do ranking slightly below scoring two stars on Angry Birds, blindfolded. I am not kidding. One of the most important factors of interior design is color harmony. Here are some simple tips to perk up your living room because colors have the power to affect our moods greatly. For example, red can invoke passion and energy, blue can bring about calm and peacefulness, green placates the soul with Zen and the list goes on.
This is a pic of how this apartment looked like during renovation. Black, white, shades of gray. Boring, empty… and dusty.
After almost a year of saving, here’s what this couple managed to come up with:
1. IKEA Metal Frame Shelves: RM75
2. DIY Pacman & Folded Paper Planes: RM5 for color paper
3. Nippon Weather Resistant Wall Paint for the lantern art: RM9.90
4. IKEA Coffee Table: RM69
5. One-U Furniture Shop Pigeonhole Bookcase: RM199
6. One-U Furniture Shop Red Pleather Sofa: RM750
7. IKEA Rattan Chairs: RM398 for 2
8. Fake grass carpet from random hardware store with installation: RM1200
For most people, we can’t really afford to splurge at one go so it can be difficult to envision the final product and some may even give up halfway to settle with whatever they have. Our advice is to never lose sight of your dream. Plan, plan, plan and make a list of what you need for your living room and set a timeline towards purchasing the necessary items needed.
Learn to fix things up yourself!
DIY interior ideas is also great because it helps you save money and you can always change as you like!
Use your existing toys or memorabilia to decorate your place creatively with little things that mean something to you.
Let’s face it, whilst IKEA isn’t exactly the most affordable place to shop, it ranks high in terms of convenience and ideas (yes that’s the clueless, cheap Malaysian talking). The Swedish home experts has its own charm unfound in any other furniture shop apart from being one of the top places to frolic about for couples, thanks for the idea Tom and Summer (of 500 Days of Summer).
Always look around for alternative buys elsewhere if you’re under a tight budget such as the many furniture stores along Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara (between Damansara Jaya and Damansara Utama) plus these places offer free delivery inclusive of installation!
