in my studio | category | architecture/interior

Nov
21
2011

back entry 101

back of house

Welcome. This is the back entry to our home aka the shoe room. Yes, we go in and out through the back door. Its much easier as this is where we store all our shoes. The front entrance has not been touched yet as we still need to figure out what we want to do with it. We’ll come to that soon…the joys of renovating are never ending!

photo before

This picture was taken just after my husband started ripping out the 40 year old wallpaper (that was glued on the brick masonry wall). Sorry for the poor quality photo, it was taken with an iPhone (of course). I am pretty dissapointed that I didn’t get a photo of the wallpaper while it was still attached. This shoe room/entry reno was a spur of the moment thing. I walked out one day and realised he started ripping it off. No time to get the camera out!

back entrance

A bit of scavenging from the garage and we have ourselves a wooden welcome rustic sign. Now this area has definitely brightened up 10 times more than what it was before.

Catch more glimpses of our home renovation with before and after photos, here.

1 lovely comment
Category: architecture/interior, before + after, house 101, in my home

Oct
31
2011

nursery 101 | update 1

This is Aliya’s room/nursery 6 months ago. Since then, we have installed rolled blinds and changed the curtains to a light grey blockout. Her room is still in a work in progress as I haven’t exactly finish what I had originally planned out . For example, this wall next to the toddler bed was supposed to be the feature wall painted in grey. But we didn’t get around to it, I don’t think it will (ever) get painted as she sleeps in this bedroom full time now. So toss away the idea and lets decorate it with something else. I was thinking of an oversized hand painted canvas. Hmm, am I going to get the time to sit and paint it myself? Maybe. Perhaps. Ok, I’ll try. I’ve already bought the canvas (over 3 months ago!) so I just need to find the time and inspiration. Any suggestions? Hubby was saying why not make it an Arabic canvas with Arabic alphabets, what a brilliant idea!

Right: DIY painted bedside table by hubby. White plastic pot and and flowers from Ikea. ‘Aliya’ painted wooden name sign, a sweet gift from CUE Designs and DIY curtains by me!

Left: Vinyl wall decal from eBay. DIY painted rattan hair by me, you can read the post here to see before/after photos!

After a long and tiring hunt for a nursery pendant lamp, I finally found the perfect one!. This was the second lamp. I originally bought another one but then had to refund it simply because it looked good at the showroom but NOT when it was hung up here. And thank God its one of those DIY, at least I didn’t have to call the sparky*! So it took me another couple of weeks to find this. I should’ve taken a picture of the other one that I returned. Oh well. But isn’t this pretty? Even prettier when lit up!

Stay tune for the next nursery update. Hopefully by then, we can see pictures of her cot/sheets, DIY clock that I recently made for her and her oversized canvas. Oh and her gorgeous white chic wardrobe! And rug!

*sparky is an Australian slang for electrician

4 lovely comments
Category: architecture/interior, baby, bedroom, before + after, décor, house 101, in my home, in my studio, nursery

Oct
24
2011

rmit | rmitis

RMIT or Monash?

That was me [thinking] back in 2003 after graduating from High school.

pamphlet islamic design

Interior Design. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. It has always been a passion of mine since I was 12. I just needed to choose somewhere that would fulfil my childhood dreams. I crossed out Swinburne Uni. So it left me with either RMIT or Monash. At Monash, they call it Bachelor of Interior Architecture. Sounds posh. And smart. But its just a name and the structure of the course is very similar to the one offered at RMIT, except they call theirs Bachelor of Interior Design. Monash’s IA has only been around recently whereas the course at RMIT has been around since way before the 80’s. In fact, one of my dad’s friend graduated from ID there and is now a very successful interior designer, and no he is not gay!

pamphlet islamic design

So I chose RMIT for many reasons. 1.-Established for a lot longer. 2- Recognised nationally and internationally. 3- A lot of successful designers graduated from that course. 4- Easy to get to from where we used to live (direct train line) 5-Loved the fact it was right in the heart of Melbourne CBD, so that means a lot of shopping and eating in betweeen classes! Now, when I look back, I loved every single moment even during the bad and ugly. Yes. There were times when I felt like my brains were ripped apart, my eyes became water bags and my body turned into a dead vegetable. That was how the course drained the energy out of me. But I still thoroughly enjoyed it. For those who aren’t familiar with ID, its not what you think it is. Its not about cushions or curtains. Its quite the opposite. Its about spatial architecture and design. Exploring the relationship with its environment/society and how it affects our sensory. They really do squeeze your brain to think outside the context of interior design. The course is heavily theoretical based than a practical one. But urm, if you’re into hands on stuff like colours, furnishings etc…RMIT Tafe offers a Diploma in Interior Decoration. Check ’em out!

Besides studying, studying and more studying, I had a social life too. It was the beautiful sisters (friends) I had met at RMITIS (RMIT Islamic Society) that changed me into who I am today. I started practising Islam. Not that I wasn’t practising prior to this, but it made me truly understand the beauty of this religion. I even met my husband through the society. So can you see how it has changed my life? Alhamdulillah, to a better one. I am forever grateful to Him.

The prayer room at RMIT became my second home. A place to hang out and to catch up on sleep (from those sleepless nights spent at the lab)! So if you’re at RMIT, join the society! Contribute a little for dawah purposes. Run some activities. We had the best of times during our years spent there. We organised paint ball trips, horse riding, sisters social nights, sisters lectures, games, bbq’s…oh and so many more! One of my small contribution to RMITIS are these pamphlet covers. Now these were from 5 years ago. If you’d like a copy of a current one with colour, IISNA’s pamphlet team (may Allah reward them) have developed their own set of pamphlets, printed and distributed hundreds and thousands world wide. You can check them out here. They have 15 titles so far and counting…

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Category: architecture/interior, graphic, in my studio, in my world, volunteer/charity work

Jan
03
2009

2.1 | thesis’08 | veils of visibility

“You immediately are lost in space and that makes you anxious. But at the same time, there is a sense of euphoria that you are almost free of the body whilst being returned to it in a new way”. Anthony Gormley

This is a quick post as I just came across one of many experiments I did for my final year thesis in 2008. I am slowly uploading my thesis. Click here to read more about it.

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Category: architecture/interior, in my studio, model making, thesis, uni stuff

Dec
31
2008

0.2 | thesis’08 | introduction

To be veiled is, to some degree, to be unseen; a condition of both great attraction and repulsion. It is one of the most visible parts of a religion practiced by more than a billion people around the world, and increasingly in western countries. Hijab, the Arabic term for a Muslim womens dress, refers to more than just the headscarf. Many think of it as an infinitely visual thing-a piece of cloth, without understanding what it truly means.

The veil has always been a huge part of my life. By drawing upon my interest in veils, this thesis seeks to explore further into the realms of veiling in its broadest context in hopes to understand, analyse and critique it in relevance to design. ‘As much as the veil is a fabric or a garment, the veil is also a concept. Veils can be beauty, architecture, deception, transformation, dream, metaphor, hallucination, silence and holiness. Veils may as well be ethers beyond consciousness, a sense of spirituality.’ 1

I wish to investigate the hidden dimensions and potentials of veiling through symbol, performance, materiality and surface. Veils will be looked at as a tangible and/or intangible; static and/or in motion phenomenon that teases our senses, our eyes in particular to shape perceptible shifts in the way we perceive and encounter our environment.

Essentially, this body of research will examine the veil as one that alters conditions of visibility to reveal and conceal relationships between the artificial & the natural and mundane & sublime to highten the sense of the viewer. The mini projects undertaken are categorised individually to form an area of interest within the topic of veiling, all, strongly related to each other.

By exploring the possibilities of veiling as a methodology for the production of space, the aim of this thesis is to produce interiors that promote a sense of shelter/belonging, where one can ponder in realms of ethereal to encounter sensorious moments in a state of separation from the everyday world.

1. Heath, Jennifer. ‘The veil, visible and invisible spaces’.

P/s: I am slowly uploading my thesis. Click here to read more about it.