Stay connected with us on our social media!&nbsp;Follow us on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sixidesasia">Facebook</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sixidesasia">Instagram</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Sixiderchannel">YouTube</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://t.me/sixidesasia">Telegram</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://t.me/sixidesasia">TikTok</a>&nbsp;for the latest design trends and inspiration!&nbsp;📸💬🎵

Stay connected with us on our social media!&nbsp;Follow us on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sixidesasia">Facebook</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sixidesasia">Instagram</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Sixiderchannel">YouTube</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://t.me/sixidesasia">Telegram</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://t.me/sixidesasia">TikTok</a>&nbsp;for the latest design trends and inspiration!&nbsp;📸💬🎵

It&rsquo;s easy to get carried away amidst the excitement of designing a new home. It signifies a fresh start, you get to decide every single detail in a brand new space you are going to live in with the people you hold most dear. What could go wrong? &nbsp;Oh, you&rsquo;ll be surprised.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1647573274244-1647573274244.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/home-philosophy">Home Philosophy</a>&nbsp;(buying the right furniture helps with the overall look!)&nbsp;1. Doing It Yourself&nbsp;We&rsquo;ve seen this happen over and over. Many homeowners, especially first-timers, assume it will be easier on the wallet to design their own home. Unless you are savvy in what goes into designing and building a residential space, you actually risk being penny-wise, pound-foolish by allowing yourself to possibly make mistakes that will cost you way more to reverse than if you had gotten a professional on board in the first place.&nbsp;Mistakes can cost far more to undo than if you had worked with professional <a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interior design firms</a> from the start. Plus, navigating things like <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/7-things-you-ll-need-permits-before-you-renovate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">residential renovation permit</a> requirements and choosing trustworthy contractors (ideally those with <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/guide-to-all-interior-design-renovation-verification-and-accreditation-schemes-in-singapore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CaseTrust renovation</a> accreditation) are areas where experts can save you from major headaches.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1647573274271-1647573274271.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/ethan-interiors-design-studio">Ethan Interiors</a>&nbsp;(knowing your own lifestyle and preferences will help the interior designer alot!)&nbsp;2. Not Knowing YourselfHow well do you understand your own lifestyle and the space requirements that come along with it? Take some time to observe your own living habits. Do you wash dishes messily - which may mean you need a deeper kitchen sink? Do you have the habit of drying your hair right after your shower? You should plan for a dry area in your bathroom with a vanity and electrical outlets for a hairdryer. Do you absolutely hate having the morning sun rise up on your sleeping face? You may want to plan for black-out blinds or drapes in your room. Do you wear more dresses than tops and bottoms? You will really want to plan your wardrobe space - especially if it&rsquo;s built-in - very meticulously so you don&rsquo;t literally leave room for regret. Take it from someone with yawning unused spaces in my hanging closet, and drawers that have folded clothes exploding out of them.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1647573274293-1647573274293.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/jia-studios">Jia Studios</a>&nbsp;(a great example of great design with great function!)&nbsp;3. Form Over FunctionIf it&rsquo;s pretty, but it&rsquo;s useless, then it&rsquo;s pretty useless. There is absolutely no sense in having a beautiful space that serves as nothing more than a white elephant. A home is meant to be lived in, you are not running a gallery here. With a good designer, your living space should be functionally harmonious with your lifestyle needs while achieving your desired visual appeal. Form and function are not mutually exclusive, but function should always take precedence. You can thank us later.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1647573274313-1647573274313.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/the-local-project" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Local Project</a>&nbsp;(do not block out your windows to allow plenty of natural light in!)&nbsp;4. Let There Be LightAnd not just overhead lighting. In Singapore, most of us HDB dwellers tend to rely solely on overhead lighting. It&rsquo;s the most convenient option and most of us grew up used to flicking on a light switch and that would be all the light we were going to get. What&rsquo;s new right? Oh, a whole new world, that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s new. From tri-coloured lighting to smart home lighting systems, there is a plethora of options to choose from - so why limit yourself? Experiment with standing lights and table lamps where necessary so you don&rsquo;t have to strain your eyes in a room that&rsquo;s trying too hard to seem cosy. Great lighting can help you experience a room differently, and shrewdly placed lights can highlight focal points or special features of a room.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1647573274337-1647573274337.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/13th-design-studio">13th Design Studio</a>&nbsp;(even the basics of doing site measurement will make a great design!)&nbsp;5. Measure EverythingNo matter how great you think your spatial visualisation is, don&rsquo;t wait till you&rsquo;re standing in your house with a couch that looked real tiny in the showroom but now takes up half your living room before you realise it was probably a good idea to bring that measuring tape along to the store. This applies to every space you need to plan for. The depth of your cupboards; will your hangers fit neatly in them? The height of your windows; are your curtains too long, or short? The length of your TV console; will your TV set fit on it? If you are really tall, does it feel like you&rsquo;re doing dishes in a kitchen sink built for a child? This is the most easily avoidable mistake, and all you needed was the measuring tape.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1647573274364-1647573274364.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/koze">Koze</a><a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/koze">&nbsp;</a>(white fluted panels paired with mirror textures and marbled feature wall!)&nbsp;6. Too Much White&hellip; Won&rsquo;t Look RightWe get that white is a popular colour to have in the room. White walls, white everything; it looks clean and minimalist, right? Not really. You run the risk of what is supposed to be a cosy living space looking very harsh and clinical. Break up the monotony with some colour accents. Interesting throw pillows on the couch, some hanging art, photos from your trips around the world. Your home should reflect who you are, and display some of your character and personality.&nbsp;

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It’s easy to get carried away amidst the excitement of designing a new home. It signifies a fresh start, you get to decide every single detail...

6 Common Home Design Mistakes That Will Cost You

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Space: the final frontier. Every apartment dweller craves the comfort and inviting living space that&rsquo;s neither cramped or cluttered. However, that extra square footage is exceedingly elusive (like Bigfoot). Not impossible though (unlike Bigfoot). Thankfully, there are tons of innovative minds out there that have figured it out.&nbsp;Some create the illusion of space, others actually create space &mdash; whether through smart <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/hdb-living-room-unleashing-the-charm-of-singaporean-lifestyles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">living room design Singapore</a> ideas, a clever <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/singapore-2024-renovation-budget-does-having-design-styles-affect-your-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">budget renovation</a>, or a full <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/singapore-2024-renovation-budget-condo-renovation-cost-forecast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">condo renovation</a>.&nbsp;Without further ado, here are six ideas to make your apartment larger (without breaking anything):&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1649316718807-1649316718807.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/aestherior">Aestherior</a>&nbsp;(White washed walls creates a visual effect to make a space bigger)1. ColourFirst and foremost, colour. Multi-coloured homes are fun but there&rsquo;s a reason why most people just paint their house white: white universally makes everything look bigger. Don&rsquo;t want to be like most people? Now you&rsquo;re talking. The trick is to stick to the same colour family, preferable light neutral colours. And if you&rsquo;re feeling fancy, little pops of bold colours will accent the home. It doesn&rsquo;t have to be limited to just paints; brightly-colored furniture can just as easily complement the home.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1649316718831-1649316718831.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/13th-design-studio">13th Design Studio</a>&nbsp;(let there be light!)2. LightEver looked at a basement (or dungeon) and thought, &ldquo;This looks nice and spacious!&rdquo; Don&rsquo;t worry if you haven&rsquo;t. No one has. The truth is, the more light there is, the more expansive a place looks. Go with light fabric curtains and block-outs that don&rsquo;t obstruct windows too much when open; these are great ways to flood the place with natural light.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not much sunlight where you live, you say? No worries: artificial illumination will do too. Go nuts with lamps, light fixtures, wall sconces, and all.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1649316718854-1649316718854.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/met-interior">Met Interior</a>&nbsp;(even seen such a unique kitchen table before?)3. FurnitureAt the risk of sounding contradictory: more is less. But less is more too. Let&rsquo;s explain. The more furniture you try to cram into a tiny apartment, the smaller it&rsquo;s going to feel. They clutter up the place. Less furniture there is, the more spacious the home becomes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Go with large furniture to make up for the lack of numbers. Just not too large; if they&rsquo;re too large, everything else will look small.&nbsp;&nbsp;4. Go UpHere&rsquo;s a little challenge. Stand up. Look at all your walls. Nothing on them, right? That&#39;s an opportunity right there. Floating storage like shelves, baskets, and boxes, can be mounted and/or hung there. No need for them to be on the ground where you can trip on them. And the fun part, your guests&rsquo; eyes now are naturally drawn upward, which, surprisingly, makes rooms look larger. Funny how that works.&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1649316718877-1649316718877.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/aestherior">Aestherior</a>&nbsp;(Mirror mirror on the wall! Can you spot the mirrors?)5. MirrorsCan&rsquo;t leave out mirrors if you want a bigger looking place. This simple device practically doubles the perceived size of the room. Large ones work especially well. You don&rsquo;t even need to mount it; just lean it against a wall. Just avoid the ornate ones because those take up space and make the place look smaller. Bonus: mirrors reflect light, which makes rooms look larger.&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1649316718895-1649316718895.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo credit:&nbsp;Apex Studios&nbsp;(who says huge furniture makes a space look small?)6. PositionIt might not come as a surprise, but furniture position can make or break the illusion of space. Don&rsquo;t just push them against the walls. Leave a gap between furniture and the walls; it gives the impression of airiness that you only get with larger space.&nbsp; Small But Mighty LargeEven though your apartment may be small, it&rsquo;s not doomed to look that way now that you are armed with these ideas. Now get out there and expand your home!&nbsp;Banner Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/home-philosophy">Home Philosophy</a>

Space: the final frontier. Every apartment dweller craves the comfort and inviting living space that’s neither cramped or cluttered. However, that extra square footage is exceedingly elusive (like Bigfoot). Not impossible though (unlike Bigfoot)...

6 Ideas To Make Small Apartments Seem Large

Singapore&rsquo;s blessed with many things but land mass isn&rsquo;t one of them. Farms took a back seat to urbanisation and, well, that meant that we&rsquo;ve had to depend on other nations to meet our nutritional needs. However, with advances in technology, this need not be the case. With the launch of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ourfoodfuture.gov.sg/30by30" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&ldquo;30 by 30&rdquo;</a>&nbsp;initiative, Singapore&rsquo;s moving towards supplying 30% of its own nutritional needs by 2030. And Tan Lay Hoon, co-founder of Intelligent Eco Farm, is one of many who&rsquo;s riding that wave&mdash; proving that even in a typical home or during an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/guide-to-all-interior-design-renovation-verification-and-accreditation-schemes-in-singapore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interior design &amp; renovation</a>&nbsp;project, urban farming can fit right in. The FounderBy day, Lay Hoon is a certified consultant helping food manufacturers improve productivity and meet ISO 9001 standards. By night (and weekends), she&rsquo;s a farmer and co-founder of Intelligent Eco Farm. If you&rsquo;re thinking of wide open fields and getting your hands dirty under the scorching sun, you&rsquo;re mistaken. All of this takes place in the comfort of an apartment &mdash; something many homeowners consider when planning a <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/singapore-2024-renovation-budget-condo-renovation-cost-forecast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">condo renovation</a> or working with an <a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ID firm</a> to maximise small spaces. And for the space it occupies, it&rsquo;s far more productive than traditional farms. The business includes supply of hydroponics systems (both indoor and outdoor), soil farming solutions /systems, other automatic growing systems and automatic composting machines. Miss Tan also runs&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/home-hydroponic-growing-tickets-324818529967?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hydroponic workshops!</a>&nbsp;Getting Into Greens&ldquo;I started off growing plants in my HDB corridor. I&rsquo;d put them there with nice pots because I love decorating them. The next thing, they&rsquo;d get stolen. When we moved house, my husband was very sweet. He deliberately picked a home that had a balcony and enough space for planting. So I started with flowers.&rdquo; From there, it wasn&rsquo;t long before she started thinking about growing fruits she could eat. &ldquo;I grew up in a kampung (village). We&rsquo;d climb up rambutan trees and eat fresh fruits. Since then, I&rsquo;ve never had rambutans as fresh as those.&rdquo; Not one to rest on her laurels, she moved on to vegetables but it wasn&rsquo;t without it&rsquo;s challenges.&ldquo;Vegetables aren&rsquo;t easy to grow. In Singapore, you need a greenhouse, otherwise they&rsquo;d either get burnt under the scorching sun or drowned under torrential rain. It was too much work balancing farming with a busy lifestyle. That&rsquo;s when I looked into hydroponics.&rdquo; And just in time too. With the &ldquo;30 by 30&rdquo; initiative, subsidised courses were easily available and she started learning how to plant vegetables in controlled environments. And it was perfect for her. &ldquo;With my consultancy background, I love how I can get maximum output with minimum effort.&rdquo;&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1651202268660-1651202268660.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> The Hydroponic Rabbit HoleThe hydroponic system that Lay Hoon uses comes with automated lighting and irrigation cycles. While that might be enough for most, Lay Hoon had dabbled in modding it a little more to take other measurements. &ldquo;The system&rsquo;s off-the-shelf but I wanted it to do more to increase crop yield. So I added in systems that would take care of nutrient dosing, and pH and EC (Electrical Conductivity) monitors. EC tells you how much nutrients are in the water solution. It&rsquo;s unproductive to have to measure all these by hand.&rdquo;&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1651202268687-1651202268687.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 1px;">Greener PasturesThese days, you can find all kinds of fruit and vegetables in Lay Hoon&rsquo;s apartment; fruit like jambu fruits, passionfruit, and bananas; vegetables like choy sum, bak choy, and lettuce; herbs like basil, mint, and pandan. Pests are not usually a concern when it comes to hydroponics. However, the same can&rsquo;t be said for her soil-based plants. &ldquo;I grow blue pea flowers out on the soil but I have to compete with people who would come in as early as 5am to help themselves to it. And then there&rsquo;s the occasional hornbill that would come get the fruits,&rdquo; said Lay Hoon.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1651202268709-1651202268709.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> Spreading The Hydroponic LoveLay Hoon now sells her vegetables and hydroponic units. She admits that not many homeowners are keen on hydroponics. At $1800 per hydroponic unit, most think the return of investment (ROI) isn&rsquo;t quite worth it. &ldquo;It shouldn&rsquo;t be about the ROI. If what you&rsquo;re after is vegetables without pesticide or freshly picked produce, it&rsquo;s really worth it,&rdquo; Lay Hoon adds. Interestingly, many offices have been more enthusiastic about installing a hydroponic system on premises. &ldquo;There are quite a lot of benefits to having the system. There&rsquo;s, of course, the fresh vegetables, but the presence of the plants also mitigates CO2 build-up in the office, and planting in general is therapeutic,&rdquo; Lay Hoon says. Lay Hoon also relates that in one office, there is a friendly competition to see which teams can produce better crops on their respective hydroponic systems.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1651202268727-1651202268727.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> Advice On HydroponicsFor those still contemplating on whether or not to start their very own hydroponic farm, either privately or commercially, Lay Hoon has this advice: &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be afraid. Just start. People spend too much time researching to the point of not doing anything. It&rsquo;s good to just kickstart and then learn along the way. If you fail, it doesn&rsquo;t matter; just find out why and try again. That&rsquo;s your lesson. As you fail, you learn more. As long as you observe and talk to your plants, you&rsquo;ll be successful.&rdquo;

Singapore’s blessed with many things but land mass isn’t one of them. Farms took a back seat to urbanisation and, well, that meant that we’ve had to depend on other nations to meet our nutritional needs. However, with advances in technology..

An Inside Look: Intelligent Eco Farm By Tan Lay Hoon

Growing up, mom did all the cleaning. Every time a mess was made, the cane would sometimes appear along with the cleaning cloth or the broom. I always wondered what the huge fuss was about until I had my own space to clean.&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh yes, now I get it.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you share your home with tiny roommates, especially those under the age of 7, you want to ensure it is as low-maintenance as possible so you don&rsquo;t spend your days on your hands and knees starring in a lousy remake of Cinderella &mdash; minus the prince. If you&rsquo;re ever planning a refresh or even reviewing <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/hdb-living-room-unleashing-the-charm-of-singaporean-lifestyles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">living room design Singapore</a> ideas with <a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interior design firms</a>, remember to check if any major works require a <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/7-things-you-ll-need-permits-before-you-renovate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">residential renovation permit.</a>&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597868-1652403597868.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/much-room-interior">Much Room Interior</a>&nbsp;(Unclutter the space to make it look clean and neat!)&nbsp;Living RoomClutter is your enemy. While a few accents here and there may break up the monotony of a minimalist space, if you&rsquo;re going for a bohemian or eclectic look&hellip; Well, don&rsquo;t. Cluttering your living room with too many accessories or unnecessary furnishings will make it a nightmare to clean, dust, and mop. Less is more; the cleaner the lines of your home, furniture, and furnishings, the lower your home maintenance will be. Also, lay off the textiles. Throws, cushions, carpets, rugs, these may make a home look and feel cosier but unless your hobby is vacuuming, this is going to get old real quick. Fabric couches also require higher maintenance than leather ones, so go for waterproof or dust proof materials wherever you can.&nbsp;&nbsp;Maintaining a simple colour scheme will lend to a visually cleaner space. You don&rsquo;t have to go all white, but keeping the colour palette to lighter neutral tones will go a long way to making your space feel bright and airy.&nbsp;&nbsp;You also want to keep surfaces sleek and smooth. Elaborate forms in furniture encourage dirt and dust to get trapped or accumulate in hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. This means cleaning a lot more regularly, probably with tools designed to reach all these crevices that may cost you more too. Who wants that? <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597891-1652403597891.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/posh-home">Posh Home</a>&nbsp;(Platform bed comes with extra storage!)&nbsp;BedroomGet a bed frame or divan without that gap between the bed and floor so you can do away with vacuuming or mopping under your bed. If you MUST have a gap, probably for feng shui reasons, make sure the gap is wide enough for your cleaning tools to reach in and clean thoroughly. A win-win situation is a floor-sitting bed frame with hidden storage space. You get to simultaneously hide clutter and avoid the hassle of cleaning under your bed. Opt for floor to ceiling closed wardrobes so you don&rsquo;t have to dust the wardrobe tops. Built-in wardrobes and closets may come with a heftier price tag but will give you bang for your buck; solving multiple problems like fitting beautifully into tricky corners in irregular-shaped rooms, and better catering to your lifestyle needs with custom shelves and hanging spaces.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597923-1652403597923.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/nj-concepts">NJ Concepts</a>&nbsp;(Natural light + natural ventilation = naturally beautiful!)&nbsp;KitchenSure, an open kitchen may seem like a great idea. You can even throw in a bar counter for those who love to kick back and relax with a drink after work in the comfort of home. But if you&rsquo;re also a great cook, and you can whip up mouth-watering Asian dishes, that means you&rsquo;ll be dealing with a lot of grease and oily fumes, both of which will definitely settle into all the spaces and fabrics of your attached living room. Go for a semi-open kitchen or use sliding glass panels so you can have your open kitchen when you can have your open kitchen when you want it, and conveniently section it off when the heavy cooking starts. A win-win-win situation; the third win for saving on mopping time. You are welcome.&nbsp;&nbsp;While granite and marble may be pretty options for your countertops, their porosity doesn&rsquo;t make for very low-maintenance choices. Non-porous options include quartz or KompacPlus or solid surface tops that can look just as classy as marble or granite. Stainless steel backsplashes and integrated or flush mount sinks also ensure a fuss-free wipedown. You can simply sweep all the filth from your countertops straight into the sink for an easy disposal.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597949-1652403597949.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/koze">KOZE</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/zenith-arc">Zenith Arc</a>&nbsp;(Large format tiles for lesser grout lines!)&nbsp;Rub A Dub Dub, Try Not To ScrubIf you absolutely must have tiles in your bathroom, go for large ones so you have less grout lines to deal with. Pick simple tiles with no patterns or textures so they look cleaner and trap less dirt and filth. You may want to install an exhaust fan or plan for a large bathroom window to keep this highly used and abused space well-ventilated. This reduces pent-up moisture which leads to mould and mildew, which are no fun to remove at all.&nbsp;Meanwhile, glass shower enclosures, while allowing for separate wet and dry bathroom areas, which we highly encourage, can be tedious to upkeep since glass requires regular cleaning to keep mould and grime at bay. Glass panels, as with kitchens, are a great option to partition your bathroom without cramping up the space or requiring laborious upkeep.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597968-1652403597968.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/met-interior">Met Interior</a>&nbsp;(Seamless surfaces like cement screed looks way too cool!)&nbsp;A Strategically Seamless SweepGrout is out, and seams are a pain in the bum. Tiles require way too much scrubbing, with the need to keep grout looking fresh. Go for seamless surfaces, which like flush kitchen countertops, are much easier to clean and maintain. By seamless surfaces, we also mean your kitchen cabinets, work surfaces, bathroom vanities, and any large areas that require wiping. By picking materials that are scratch and impact resistant, you reduce the amount of work that goes into maintenance. This means avoiding textured wall surfaces or 3D wall panels, fancy cabinet designs or any unnecessary built-in designs with recessed or protruding edges, so you can make your life easier.&nbsp;

Growing up, mom did all the cleaning. Every time a mess was made, the cane would sometimes appear along with the cleaning cloth or the broom. I always wondered what the huge fuss was about until I had my own space to clean. 

Hacks For A Low-Maintenance Home

I&rsquo;ll be honest with you &mdash; I&rsquo;m dreading the upcoming June holidays. Although COVID restrictions are lifting and more places of entertainment are opening up, as a parent who mostly works from home, I&rsquo;m not looking forward to having my quiet late mornings and afternoons completely disrupted with my little monsters constantly whining that there&rsquo;s nothing to do at home. My home is not equipped, and as such, neither am I&nbsp;&mdash; which is why I&rsquo;ve been tempted to rethink my <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/hdb-living-room-unleashing-the-charm-of-singaporean-lifestyles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">living room design Singapore</a> style or even consider a mini <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/singapore-2024-renovation-budget-condo-renovation-cost-forecast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">condo renovation</a> (if only I had the energy to deal with an <a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ID firm</a> right now).&nbsp;But here, I&rsquo;ve made a helpful list for parents who don&rsquo;t want to be breaking the bank having to go out and explore expensive little Singapore every day during June, trying to find some form of entertainment for the kiddos. &nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654188029073-1654188029073.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">&nbsp;1. Entertainment Systems You need at least a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/vendors/brands/prism">Smart TV</a>&nbsp;to survive June. And you need either a Netflix or a Disney Plus subscription while you&rsquo;re at it. For as little as $12.98 for Netflix and $11.98 for Disney Plus, you can just do a commitment-free subscription for the one month to keep them occupied so you can preserve your sanity. I&rsquo;d really recommend Disney Plus over Netflix; it appears to have way more kid-friendly shows and the portfolio is far more comprehensive.&nbsp;If you have gamer kids, having some kind of video games ready will also be extremely helpful. I&rsquo;m no expert on games but we have a PS4 that seems to do very well in keeping our older kids entertained, and it didn&rsquo;t cost us a fortune.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have kids who can&rsquo;t seem to pipe it down, have them unleash their vocal prowess via a home karaoke system. There are cheap bluetooth microphones you can simply connect to your Smart TV, fire up YouTube and have your tots sing along to their favourite tunes.&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654188029092-1654188029092.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">&nbsp;2. A Mess RoomIt could be a relatively unused room, your bomb shelter, your service yard; this dedicated mess room allows your kids to contain their crafts, toys, activity equipment, and messy items to ONE room in the house that you can reverse and scrub down when July swings around. You can pad the place with layers of newspaper, junk A4 paper, or even plastic sheets so your walls don&rsquo;t suffer through the abuse and require a repaint.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or you could take it a step further and line your walls in whiteboard film or blackboard laminate and break out the markers or chalk and let your kids spend hours and hours in this room going crazy with creativity. It&rsquo;s very much like a padded cell, but far more entertaining.&nbsp;3. Temporary Home LibraryConsider emptying out some shelves in the study and building your own home library. Heck, you don&rsquo;t even have to populate it with your own books! Just head to your nearest library, have a lovely afternoon enjoying the free aircon and profusion of kid-friendly literature, read to your kids, then take back what books they enjoyed the most to sit on your shelves for the next few weeks. Rinse, repeat, and you will always have bookshelves stocked with fresh reads to keep your children perpetually entertained, throughout June. So much better than spending a ton on self-owned books that they will read once and chuck aside to collect dust.&nbsp;4. Water Play AreaSimilar to the mess room, this is a space where your kids can make a splash without destroying any beloved furniture or flooring. You can create a water play area in the bathroom, the service yard or if you have the luxury of an actual balcony, that&rsquo;s your prime splash spot. If you have toddlers, throw in a few plastic jugs, or a little tea set and let them have an entire afternoon pouring away. Older children can amuse themselves with water guns, or play scientist with plastic bottles and old medicine syringes.&nbsp;&nbsp;If your play area is small, have a kiddy pool party with lego men, Polly Pocket dolls, or other waterproof toys instead of actually allowing your kids to get into water. If you want to be the ultimate sneaky parent, get them to scrub their toys clean in some soapy water with unwanted or spare toothbrushes and make a fun time out of it. Get them to dry their washed toys in the sun at the end of play time and you have yourself a win-win situation.&nbsp;&nbsp;5. Dress UpBefore the holidays start, drag out all the unwanted kids&rsquo; clothes you can find and leave them in a pile or in a trunk, chest, or box &mdash; whatever you can get your hands on. You can then have them play dress up with the old clothes, while simultaneously spring cleaning their wardrobes and possibly reintroducing long-forgotten pieces of clothing hiding in the back of their closets back into their daily ensembles.&nbsp;&nbsp;At the end of the holidays, simply pack off all those old clothes and ship them off to be donated to the needy or if you are really good with a sewing machine, consider taking them apart and giving them a new lease of life by upcycling what pieces you can with a redesign or some creative alterations.&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654188029114-1654188029114.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">&nbsp;6. Box It UpMy oldest child seems to be getting ready for June by turning into a rag and bone lady; she&rsquo;s been amassing and collecting huge cardboard boxes, and I&rsquo;m not about to stop her. At first, I thought she was building a fort, but it appears the child has stranger motives in mind, recreating objects from the dark, creepy online games that are trending among older kids these days. She has recreated a medieval looking lantern, and is currently making a pair of bat-like wings for her younger sister from another cardboard box.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether they are fort building or creating strange items, cardboard boxes are a great way to keep your kids entertained. Have them explore ways to recreate interesting items from their favourite shows and games and fashion them out of cardboard and scrap paper. It is also an environmentally friendly solution to disposing of unwanted boxes and junk paper and giving them a new purpose in your home!

I’ll be honest with you — I’m dreading the upcoming June holidays. Although COVID restrictions are lifting and more places of entertainment are opening up, as a parent who mostly works from home, I’m not looking forward to having my quiet late mornings and afternoons completely disrupted with my little monsters constantly whining that there’s nothing to do at home. My home is not equipped, and as such, neither am I.

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