in my studio

Posts Tagged With 'decor'

Sep
07
2011

master bedroom 101

I probably need to write a separate post to my beloved husband just to thank him, a) for this house and b) for taking 3 weeks off work but instead of relaxing, working double the amount of time to get this house fixed, which he did most of it by himself Mashallah.

Every single room had a different patterned wallpaper, different patterned vinyl floor. Oh, it was terrible. My husband had to strip out the entire flooring in this house. Thank God he discovered original floorboards underneath it all, or we’d have to fork out more money to carpet the bedrooms. So now, we have polished timber floorboards. Yay. Alhamdulillah.

For our bedroom, I wanted something different from the rest of the house. I wanted to feel special. Glamourous. Dreamy. So I opted for a vintage glamour look. The first thing I wanted to do was – get rid of my low profile bed. Initially I thought of making my own bedhead but after some calculations and a bit of research, I finally found the perfect bed, with the perfect height + a high enough leathered bedhead that would satisfy my needs. Not to mention, at a very reasonable price too. So our current bedhead is about 1.2 metres off the floor.

Everything is in black and white. To break it up, I added a tang of sweetness by having some fresh pink flowers on the bedside table. I didn’t want to overdo on adding more colours, because the highlight/focal point of the room is the gorgeous wallpaper itself. And then everything else just falls into place. I even kept the sheets as simple as possible.

38 lovely comments
Category: bedroom, house 101, in my home

Aug
13
2011

Dining 101

This is our 40 year old house, well part of it. It used to be a small family area but we have transformed it into a dining space. The original interior decor is a typical 60’s style, retro modern (thats not too bad) but it was so gloomy (perhaps because it was a deceased property? Just kidding).

Now this house is speaking “I need to fit in the new era”.

So fast forward to 2011 with some new paint, stripped the old flooring, change of artwork and some furniture…ahh what a bright and fresh new look! Notice the pendant light? I didn’t change that one though. I thought I’d leave that hanging, the antique lamp that adds a sentimental value to the space. But the truth is, we just couldn’t afford an electrician with all the other reno expenses we had to cover. Maybe one day. Someday. It’ll be replaced.

1 lovely comment
Category: before + after, décor, house 101, in my home, in my studio, kitchen/dining

Feb
28
2011

event planning // my sister’s married!

I’m excited to introduce to you, my first wedding (as an event planner)!

A few weeks ago, I was literally up every night till 5am! I was busy working on my sisters wedding that I had planned, designed and executed. I spent countless amount of hours on the intricate details of her wedding. She is my only sister. She is very special to me. So it was an outdoor garden setting and the theme was a floral, vintage, DIY recycled wedding.

Event: Fairuz & Omar’s Garden Tea Wedding
Date: 27th February 2011
Time: 2.00pm – 5.00pm
Location: Warrenwood Private Estate, VIC
Guests: 40 family and friends

Upon arrival, guests were greeted with a sign that informed them where to head next. I wanted to create a journey to acquaint them with the relaxing ‘garden’ atmosphere before heading towards the actual ceremony . Using a blackboard sign coupled with a few “wedding” arrows, a pathway was created to guide them towards the event which was held at the bottom of the garden (guest had to take the stairs downhill). The fresh air, the beautiful flowers, the greenery and the rusticness of the wood; all combined for a unique adventure.

Entrance “welcome” for guests arrival greeting. Bride and groom’s name printed on doily and mounted onto brown paper cardboard. A rustic vintage elegance.

The end of the “journey” but the start of the ceremony. At the bottom of this lovely garden stairs, was where everyone gathered.

Spectacular view of the event before the ceremony (view from high above).

Lovebirds signage made out of wood and painted in white. The sign was placed in front of a birdcage on a little table with other ornaments such as a vintage bell, old books and a cup and saucer….and of course, flowers!

The end of the “journey” but the start of the ceremony. At the bottom of this lovely garden stairs is where everyone meets.

Since the theme was ‘garden’, I wanted to strip all the glamorous lifestyle that is usually associated with weddings and go back to nature. Hence the use of twigs. They were used for guests seating arrangements. Most of the stuff that I used for this wedding are found and recycled objects.

You wouldn’t call it a DIY wedding if the bride didn’t make anything…so these scrumptious and gorgeous cupcakes were made by the bride. Yes, you heard me. She made them. Check out her blog, Made with love and sugar!

This is her wedding floral bouquet. Its a bunch of blue and purple orchids tied around with some natural fibre string on a bed of green ferns. Rustic yet simple.

Bombonniere gifts for the guests. A piece of fruit cake wrapped with brown paper packaging that has 4 languages printed on it and tied with natural fibre string. It signifies the culture of the bride (half Malaysian/Chinese) and the Italian groom.

Italian – Grazie

English – Thank You

Malay – Terima Kasih

Chinese (cantonese) – Dojeh

It was such a special and unique event; the weather was perfect and it was a dream wedding that the bride & groom will surely treasure forever. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of it. It was a truly memorable day.

All wedding design/decorations; including table + flower arrangements and event planning: Iva Izman

Photography: Iva Izman

1 lovely comment
Category: do-it-yourself, graphic, in my studio, in my world, marriage, photography, relationships, wedding + engagement

Jul
01
2010

we’re moving…

Out inshallah! We get the keys to our new place on the 15th so we’ll be leasing this place through an agent soon. I am due in 2 weeks so hopefully we can have a smooth transition before I go to labour. (edit: I gave birth 2 weeks early, 3 days before we’re supposed to get the keys!). The good thing is, its only a 5 minute drive. So that makes it all a bit better as we don’t have to rush all in one go. I have been busy packing everything into boxes incase I give birth early, but usually they say first babies go over their due date. (edit:I didn’t manage to pack everything (due to early labour) so hubby had to chuck stuff into boxes and now I can’t find my things!). Notice the burgundy wall? No, I didn’t decide on that colour. It was already there when we first moved in.

Our new house needs a lot of work modernising. Though still in a very good living condition, I’d rather fix up the necessary such as, update the kitchen (more like demolish and re-build), strip out the ugly wallpaper and vinyl flooring etc before I move in with bubs. So the plan is to vacate this place before my due date. Get new tenants. Go to labour. Have bubs. Stay at parents for x amount of weeks until hubby finishes renovating. Move into our new home.

We got my sister to take photos so we can put it on lease soon inshallah. I really hope the new tenants will take good care of this house as much as I did. I am going to miss this place *sob*.