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Making your home fit with your lifestyle and into your aesthetic is hard enough without adding children into the equation… Which is why we’re always so impressed with the family-friendly homes domino features—white sofas and all. As it turns out, various designers and parents have different philosophies on how exactly to make a home well-designed while still being suitable for young children. Keep reading to learn how seven mothers make kid-friendly spaces for themselves as well as their clients. maya nairn FOUNDER OF DE BUCI BABY WHERE DO YOU START WHEN DESIGNING A SPACE YOU KNOW CHILDREN WILL SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN? Safety is definitely where I begin. I want to be able to sit in a room with my children and know that they are safe without having to keep an eye on every single thing that they are doing. I do the typical childproofing with baby gates on stairs, plugs in electrical sockets and internal cabinet locks on cabinets that might have cleaning products or breakables inside. Being realistic is next. Kids will spill things and mark things so I’m very thoughtful with the colors and textures of fabrics that I use. One of our sofas is navy velvet. The dark color and the texture of this velvet have been great in hiding little mishaps. Our other sofa and chair have removable covers and have been washed on many occasions. HOW DO YOU MAKE A SPACE KID-FRIENDLY? FROM THE FURNITURE TO DECOR, ETC. WHAT DO YOU SPLURGE/SAVE ON, TRICKS OR ALTERNATIVES YOU’VE FOUND WORK? Two of my favorite things that we have done is no coffee table and low furniture. It has created this really lovely space that is so comfortable for everyone. You can sit on the sofa, or sit on the floor with your back against the sofa. You can play with the kids on the floor or comfortably do your own thing while they are playing right there. They can climb on the furniture and when they inevitably take a tumble they don’t have very far to fall. We also have a deceptive number of toys, books and dress up clothes hidden away in cupboards and baskets. Everything is easily accessible to the children and out of sight when they are asleep. MIA BAXTER HOW DOES DESIGNING A “KID-FRIENDLY” SPACE IMPACT OR CHANGE YOUR DESIGN PROCESS? I’m a minimalist and I think there is an innate child friendliness in minimalism because there isn’t much around for them to get into. We probably have fewer low lying vases of flowers and objects than we might otherwise have but I don’t feel we have had to compromise anything aesthetically because of our children. WHAT DOES THE DESCRIPTOR “KID-FRIENDLY” ACTUALLY MEAN TO YOU? A room that is safe and fun for a child to be in. A room where they can spill a drink or get chocolate on something and it isn’t the end of the world. A room where they aren’t constantly being told not to touch things. I FEEL LIKE THERE’S KIND OF A COMMON BELIEF THAT YOU CAN’T HAVE A TRULY STUNNING SPACE THAT ALSO WORKS FOR KIDS. HOW DO YOU FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN MAKING A BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED HOME THAT ALSO WORKS FOR YOUNG, POTENTIALLY MESSY CHILDREN? It’s all about perspective. There is definitely a belief that things needs to be dumbed down for children, be it interiors, clothing, or food. You can get a stain out of a pretty cotton dress or button down shirt as easily as you can a cotton t-shirt. The same principle rings true in interiors, beautiful can be practical too. I do think it’s important to hold your children to certain standards in your home. We have rules like only eating in the kitchen, no jumping on the sofas, it’s ok to make a big mess as long as you clean it up when you’ve finished playing. It’s a work in progress along with every other aspect of parenting, but I try to teach them to be respectful of their environments. MIA BAXTER robin wilson CEO OF ROBIN WILSON HOME WHERE DO YOU START WHEN DESIGNING A SPACE YOU KNOW CHILDREN WILL SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN? The first thing I ask a client who wants a child-friendly space is the age, energy level, allergies and if there are any disabilities to ensure that the space is appropriate for their children and their friends. HOW DOES DESIGNING A “KID-FRIENDLY” SPACE IMPACT OR CHANGE YOUR DESIGN PROCESS? As any parent knows, the most important thing about a kid-friendly space is using our Clean Design protocol to ensure that it is non-toxic from the foundation to the furnishings. We select floor coverings that are washable like FLOR carpet tiles, suggest rubber (not vinyl!) playmats, and materials that are both durable and easily cleaned. For safety, corners are often rounded and lighting is also important, as well as anchoring shelving to the wall to prevent tipping, and we only use no-VOC wall paint to ensure no off-gassing. WHAT DOES THE DESCRIPTOR “KID-FRIENDLY” ACTUALLY MEAN TO YOU? A room that is safe and fun for a child to be in. A room where they can spill a drink or get chocolate on something and it isn’t the end of the world. A room where they aren’t constantly being told not to touch things. HOW DO YOU MAKE A SPACE KID-FRIENDLY? FROM THE FURNITURE TO DECOR, ETC. WHAT DO YOU SPLURGE/SAVE ON, TRICKS OR ALTERNATIVES YOU’VE FOUND WORK? My book, Clean Design, has an entire chapter devoted to nurseries/play spaces and all the non-toxic things a person can do to design on a budget or to splurge. One of the biggest trends in kid-friendly spaces is to have a single wall with a whiteboard or chalkboard (use only dustless chalk!)‎ wall. And we always mix high-low. For example, the crib/bed might be from a high end store and the child friendly plastic chair and the drawing table might be from IKEA, which is easy to clean. I FEEL LIKE THERE’S KIND OF A COMMON BELIEF THAT YOU CAN’T HAVE A TRULY STUNNING SPACE THAT ALSO WORKS FOR KIDS. HOW DO YOU FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN MAKING A BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED HOME THAT ALSO WORKS FOR YOUNG, POTENTIALLY MESSY CHILDREN? My belief is that color, pattern and texture are the most important things for a child’s space. Whether a colorful tent, colorful floor tiles and solid white or primary colors, the space should have a theme that allows them to know it is “theirs” and also have the potential for them to age in the space without too many alterations outside of paint and decorative items. One of the best things is purchasing a bed that can “grow” with the child, yet be in a classic style that will complement them at their current age. ROBIN WILSON Pro tip: Use unexpected items to furnish your space. Designer Maryam Nassirzadeh uses a vintage mail sorter to smaller toys. BRITTANY AMBRIDGE jenni li FOUNDER OF INTIEARTH HOW DID DESIGNING A “KID-FRIENDLY” SPACE IMPACT OR CHANGE YOUR DESIGN PROCESS? It didn’t really impact anything too much. Visually, I’m drawn to more formal and manicured living rooms. Comfortable and functional design always wins in the end. Where you can relax and put your feet up, with kids or without. HOW DO YOU MAKE A SPACE KID-FRIENDLY? I love open floor plans with combined living kitchen and dining, this allows everyone to spend more time together, cooking and meals together are important in our house. I designed this space to open up onto the backyard, so the living space flows into green space and the kids can play. Toys inevitably end up outside of their defined play areas. So I make sure they “blend” into the living space so the house doesn’t end up one big playroom. Baskets are great, they look great and kind hide everything. I’m also keen on built in storage cabinets that are extensions of the walls. It creates a continuous clean look and you can hide all those plastic toys inside. They can get thrown in at cleanup time. Kids love to draw and paint but it’s tricky to have everything on hand for these projects. I always dedicate one wall near the kitchen for art. Whether it’s a chalkboard wall or a shelf with paint, jars, and paper on the wall. It’s ready to go. I KNOW YOU HAVE A WHITE SOFA, WHICH MOST PEOPLE WOULD RULE OUT IMMEDIATELY. HOW?! That’s always a big topic for people when they talk about my home. They always ask “How do you keep it so clean?!” I have had white sofas for as long as I can remember. Slip covers are essential. Just throw it in the wash. WHAT DOES THE DESCRIPTOR “KID-FRIENDLY” ACTUALLY MEAN TO YOU? A space with lots of fragile crystal figurines and non-washable silk furniture could pose some risks with kids.

If you're a Singapore homeowner with a house in Johor and considering a kitchen upgrade, I've got a great tip for you. Finding reliable cabinet and countertop specialists in Johor can be a headache, but I recently discovered AmpQuartz and had an amazing experience. Let me tell you why I recommend AmpQuartz: Singapore Sensibilities: They get what Singapore homeowners want. Their designs are on-trend and they focus on quality and functionality. Reliable and Organized: Unlike many Johor contractors, these guys have a very systemized approach. No missed deadlines or unexpected hiccups – everything was smooth sailing. Factory-Direct with a Showroom: You get the best of both worlds – competitive pricing since they're a direct factory, but the kind of customer experience you expect from a retail showroom. Customer-Centric: AmpQuartz genuinely cares about making the renovation process as stress-free as possible. This matters a lot when you're dealing with a project in a different country! I know a lot of us here have properties in Johor. If you want the look and quality of a Singapore kitchen renovation without the hassle, give AmpQuartz a try. They showroom: https://www.waze.com/live-map/directions/my/johor/ulu-tiram/ampquartz-kitchen-cabinet-johor?to=place.ChIJ664CAr1u2jERQMPtTgdE6Tg Contact them directly: https://wa.link/ampquartz Anyone else have experience with AmpQuartz or other Johor-based kitchen specialists that cater well to Singaporeans? Let's share our tips and recommendations!

Despace interior design in johor bahru designed an Airbnb /Homestay friendly Small Studio Apartment in Molek Regency. Here’s the tour by the designer

Hello, this is a log of my trips to JB in my hunt for sinks, fans and lights. Hope this guide can help you, whoever you are. Here is a sample map of one of my day trips. Visited: 11 NOV 2017 visit Tampoi Lighting Centre I found their range of lights quite huge, but nothing really impressive (it looks like u can get their items from taobao). They carry ceiling fans as well. Lady boss behind the counter is a bit weird though - doesn't like me asking prices for fans. Lots of people. They sell spare bulbs too. You can find philips downlights here. Starworld Opposite end of the same building from Tampoi. Smaller range than TLC, carries fans as well. Range of taps not impressive. Salesman tells me its due to lack of display space but told me that I can still order from catalogue. Also carries philips downlights. I think all lights shop have them. Pro field home and living (Across the road from TLC) I didn't get anything from them because their fittings are cheap-looking. Cheap plating and if you've bought a taobao tap before, you know exactly what I mean. And taobao taps get rusty very fast. Don't get from pro field, don't get from taobao either, unless you want to drink rust or wash your clothes in rust. They have some sinks, and the stainless steel ones look really industrial (not aesthetically pleasing) to me. 19 NOV 2017 visit HT lighting (permas jaya) Very friendly assistants. Pricing is standardised and good but I did not require lighting stuff so I didn't get anything. (I based the fair pricing on their bulb and fan prices) Aldeco Living It was a 2 storied shophouse, finding parking is difficult - but protip, make a left turn to go BEHIND the shophouses. Plenty of parking there. Selection there was typical, mainly bathroom/kitching fittings. Stainless steel racks, holders etc. Selection of stainless steel kitchen sinks upstairs. Very limited basins on display. Shop requires some sort of membership and all price tags have a member/non-member pricing. Fancy Lighting (CLOSED) 1 Lighting (beside ex-fancy lighting shop) Very antiquated designs, friendly shop owner. Did not buy anything. I however asked him where to get fans. He directed me to a shop across the road. It is a Chinese shop (XXX Eastern XXX). XXX Eastern XXX (electronics store across the bridge from 1 Lighting) Do not buy any electronics from that shop. I asked for the pricing for a few known fans and was quoted at least RM150 above the retail price. Shop owner was quick to point out that it is still cheaper than getting it in SG and was also quick to offer at RM100 discount. Interestingly, when I asked the owner where to get lights, I was directed back to 1 Lighting. Of course I pretended to not know better and left the place politely. KAC kitchen There was no prominent signboard - I had to confirm the shop by unit number. It is a showroom-shop, carrying lots of modern hobs and german/italian stainless steel kitchen sink. Friendly and genuine shop assistant. Jubin BMS Initially I thought I was lost and stumbled on a non-consumer industrial estate. I saw no entrances, no showrooms at Jubin (from the outside). I went to a nearby showroom and was fortunately redirected back to Jubin BMS for my needs. A dream haven for sinks, fittings, toilet bowls, bathtube, even floor tiles! Pricing is extremely good. Branded sinks can be had for slightly over 300RM. Unbranded toilet bowls begin at around the same price. Of course, if you're looking for high end they have it too. I saw sinks/toilets onwards of RM3000. They have electronic seat covers/bidet etc. Every sink, every toilet bowl had its own showcase. Let the pictures speak for themselves. Needless to say I got my items from here. As seen from the outside, you'd never imagine there's a giant consumer showroom inside. 24 NOV 2017 visit Yes Electrical Bought my fans from the shop. Having been to all the places above, I dare say that they are the best priced. They carry lights too. I bought some Philips tubes/lamps, and pricing is good. Feel free to facebook message them and ask them for a quote - that's what I did. Another plus point is that they are so near to the customs (Pelangi area). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not visited (please feel free to add in your reviews): Top Lamp Big Bath

Here are some of the projects by SP SETIA In Johor Properties Here: http://www.cascadia.com.my/ http://www.setiaecogardens.com.my/property.aspx http://www.setiatropika.com.my/ http://www.spsetia.com/en-us/ Anymore list you guys wanna add?

Ampquartz carries silestone, caesarstone, quartz in johor. A trustworthy one. visit www.ampquartz.com

ATTENTION Johoreans! CLAIM Your FREE 3D Drawing For YOUR Home/Office In Johor Now! Follow The Steps Below: 1) LIKE www.facebook.com/renotalkmalaysia 2) Sign Up An Account With Renotalk Forum 3) Upload Your Floor Plan Here 4) Wait For Us To Contact You Terms & Conditions: 1) Only 1 Perspective (Any Area) 2) Claim Your 3D Drawings At Respective Interior Designer Showroom 3) Delivery timeline is within ONE month of confirmation of claim. (Note than multiple changes will affect the delivery of the 3D drawings) 4) Maximum of 3 changes allowed. 4) Renotalk is not liable for any disputes/losses between you and the selected interior designers . 5) Only Applicable to House/Office

anyone has any good view on capital 21 mall in tampoi johor? Heard its badly launched with empty and undone units. Still under construction. anyone invested?

Anyone heard of this tritower property in johor bahru? Its just beside the Johor to Singapore Train. RTS.

We know the trend now is for consumers to buy directly from Suppliers. Especially those from Johor. Reason? Cost saving of course! Homeowners are smart nowadays. They research and shop online for the cheapest and best deals. So Renotalk has since expanded into Johor and get suppliers and interior designers or contractors listed here https://www.renotalk.com/johor Got any good ones to suggest? let us know or you can send this link to your friends to register: https://www.renotalk.com/business/register

Hi everyone, Can any helpful guys PM me any good/affordable furniture shops in JB that does delivery to SG as well.

Hi Everyone, I don’t usually write in forums but I have benefited from others who have contributed advice and learnings to forums so I thought I should share my terrible experience with Zest Design and Construction (Victor Tan) so you can learn from our experience, and hopefully avoid the pitfalls that we went through when you are doing your renovations. We are now in a situation where Victor of Zest Design has walked off the job, and we are left to find some else to finish it. We also discovered that he had cut many corners, and did not do some of the things that were part of the contract, which we have already paid for. We engaged Zest Design & Construction (Victor Tan) as we had seen a number of good reviews on the Sammy boy forum. We had read of the many bad contractor experiences of others, and hence thought we would go with recommendations from others who had engaged him. Our biggest mistake was that we were too trusting, and did not do background checks. Our friends warned us about being too trusting but we kept insisting that Victor was different. He was a good & honest guy. How wrong we were! It was easy to be convinced by Victor in the beginning as he is well spoken in English, drives a Singapore-plated BMW 5-series, and had a ‘pleasant’ personality. Well, we certainly paid the price for not doing more checks and for being too impatient to find a contractor. I thought I’d share some tips of what you should watch out for when engaging your contractor (all the things we didn’t do): Contractors often do not quote for many things that we think are included. If you expect it to be included, ensure it is stated in the contract.For example, we thought tiling and ceiling plaster boards were included in the contract. Our contractor quoted for it in one part of the house, but not for another section. We thought windows were included in the contract. He only quoted for window frames! If you expect a door, make sure it is detailed. Don’t accept “Yes, it’s all included”. If you do not see it in the details of your contract, assume it is not included. It is the smallest of things, like a wooden railing for the balcony, or handles for the kitchen cabinet door, etc. If you a renovating a bathroom, do not assume the plumbing is included. If you are doing a new room, do not assume air-con piping is accounted for. Delivery Date / Deadline & CompensationEnsure that a delivery date is stated in the contract. Allow for a grace period, and then insist on a day rate compensation for further delays. Our original renovation was supposed to take 4 months. It has now been 11 months, and he has walked off the job. What contractors often do is move their workers around from one job to another. They take your deposit or progress payment, have workers at your place, then take on another job, move workers there, after a few days or even a week or two, workers come back to your job. This can go on for months, as we have experienced. Payment TermsNever, never, never agree to pay more than 25% upfront. And absolutely insist you will pay last 20% payment at the end of completion. We made a mistake by only holding on to 5% for the final payment. Hence, why he could walk away from the job. Maintain your own Records of Payments, Progress of Work and Variation OrdersAgain, we were too trusting and accepted his submission records. He tried to confuse us with multiple different Excel sheets, and very confusing method of listing the costs. Towards the end when we were in dispute, and we went through the records and documented it ourselves, we picked up double-billing of the same item, quoting for materials that weren’t actually used, asking for more final payment of that side order, when the job was actually not completed, etc. Take your own Measurements & Check the materials usedTiling and Ceiling plasterboards are charged per square foot. Victor was charging us a slightly larger area than the actual size he did the tiling and plastering. He was also charging us for better and different material then he actually used. When we questioned him, he did not respond. Another thing we discovered, he was supposed to do waterproofing of the roof, which is a basic requirement of any roof. He only did 1/3 of the area he is supposed to do! This was pointed out by the new plumber we engaged. Deposit with the ManagementMake the contractor put down the deposit with Management office. That way, you can be assured that he will clean up the vicinity before he leaves. Apparently this is acceptable & common. We made the mistake of putting down the deposit (RM5000). Now we have to spend our own money to clear the area as our contractor has left the debris behind. Get your own Sub-contractors if you want to save money If you are looking to save money, try to get your own subcontractors, and include that in your contract up front that you will engage sub-contractors as well. We bought our own tiles, glass doors, landscaper, etc. That was one of the things that upset our contractor. We found his quote for glass doors too high, so we got our own supplier. The difference in price was RM8000! And this is just for the glass doors alone. Qualifications & CredentialsAlways double-check that your contractor indeed has the experience and expertise to do what you need safely and correctly. When we re-read the good reviews on Zest Design, we realized that it was mainly on small projects like cabinetry, putting up interior walls, etc. Ours was a larger project as we put up an entire second floor. We actually did not double-check if he is certified to do such a project. All these points above may actually seem very obvious to do. But as I mentioned, we were too trusting and too “chin chai” as we were taken in by his ‘pleasant’ personality and thought Victor was honest and trust-worthy. Maybe he was in the past, but now I understand why people say never trust contractors in Johor. BE ON GUARD, all the time. My husband has some knowledge in construction and yet we were still fooled by Zest Design. Don’t rush into choosing a contractor. That was another mistake we made. We were too much of a hurry to get started and hence, did not do thorough checks. Take your time, talk to many people, and don’t be shy to ask around for advice. People are always willing to share. I really hope the above tips will help you have a better renovation experience than we did. Good luck!

Hi, I went around looking for a suitable bathroom vanity sets (sink with cabinet) for my master and common toilets but have been unable to find a suitable one due to either design or price. I chanced upon a perfect one in a shop in JB but the shop does not transport/deliver to Singapore. Any knows if it's ok for me to do a cash and carry out of JB to Singapore. The item itself cost about SGD500 and it should be able to fit into my car. Just worried about customs regulations.