To Art Or Not To Art : Not A Question
There’s really no question whether one ought to have art in ones home. For no home is really complete without some form of artwork, whether it be childrens drawings on the refrigerator, favourite photographs, magazine pullouts, art prints ordered online, favourite quotations printed off the internet, or anything else visual that brings us pleasure to see.
Websites like Society6, AllPosters and Art.com make it easier than ever before to have beautiful artworks in multiple styles and sizes, on paper or canvas, framed or unframed.
Prices range from usd$20 for Marc Allante’s minotaur head print ‘Philosopher’ or usd$22 for the rabbits tea party (Rabbit Chat) print on Etsy.com to a few hundred USD for original prints from Nanami Cowdroy or other original artists online.
NOTE : Art can be chosen based on your personal preference or themed around your interior style. If your interior style is Black & White then you’ll have to stick with monochromes, and Minimalist style will likely demand a single feature artwork or some well chosen and carefully arranged feature pieces. Glamourous style, Bohemian style and Romantic style invite as much art work as you like!
If you’ve never purchased art before, start by finding images that you like, whether in magazines, your own photos, or just online. It doesn’t have to be expensive and it’s for decoration – not investment – so see what suits your taste and go with that. Art is lovely when framed well or featured nicely, even if it’s in a creative way like being pegged up or put into a jar. The important thing is that it’s displayed well, because it adds warmth to a house that is missing without it.
Raven Tao is a real estate specialist and media personality based in Hong Kong. She loves arts and culture, is fascinated by fashion and luxury, and is passionate about all things house and home. For more updates, LIKE her Facebook Page or visit www.RavenTao.com
Interior Designers You Want To Know About
Here are the names of a few interior designers who have mastered the art of making spaces beautiful.
Raven Tao is a real estate specialist and media personality based in Hong Kong. She loves arts and culture, is fascinated by fashion and luxury, and is passionate about all things house and home. For more updates, LIKE her Facebook Page or visit www.RavenTao.com
So Beautiful, So Useless, I Love Them. Display Items In The Home.
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”.
~William Morris
To have sculptures, art and showerings of trinkets in the home or not to – this is the question.
The choice is made easier by knowing what your interior style is, and by seeing how much you collect these items already. If your walls are covered with art or your shelves house myriad happy little sculptures, then rest assured you love your home ornaments.
(Above : swinging sticks available from HOMELESS HK, bronze gold leaf bowls from LoadedTrunk and mossariums available to order from Lilliput Tales.)
The choice to collect items is a tricky one in Hong Kong, where space is limited. It’s best to know your interior style and then progress accordingly. Having a cohesive theme can really help to make a space seem larger and more homely- this a key area where many people misstep and subsequently feel frustrated with their Hong Kong apartments.
When you know your theme (which you can often gather from looking at the majority of your favourite items around you and guessing which theme most of them fit into. Eg. Mine is Glamorous, simply because I have framed art on every exposed surface, a much loved feature wall, will soon own a mossarium, and have a chandelier in my bedroom. Yes, really.) then it’s easier to choose items that only fit with that theme. Same theory as fashion shopping, which your wardrobe will thank you for!
Whatever items you choose, it is good to keep in mind that they are often of no practical use but can draw the eye where you want it to go and therefore make a very real impact to the feel of a home.
NOTE : Minimalist apartments will not suit bauble collectors very well. Romantic style, Bohemian style, Glamorous style and Black & White styles certainly will allow for trinket, sculpture and art collecting of all sorts.
If you are already a collector of items, having a look at the style of the items you have might help you to see what style of interior will fit you best. Seashells, for example, may suit bohemian or romantic styles, while a bowl of pure black pebbles would suit minimalist or black and white interiors.
Raven Tao is a real estate specialist and media personality based in Hong Kong. She loves arts and culture, is fascinated by fashion and luxury, and is passionate about all things house and home. For more updates, LIKE her Facebook Page or visit www.RavenTao.com
The Many Uses Of A Hanging Shoe Holder
Hanging shoe holders have so many uses – for storing toiletries, makeup, hair products and styling tools, travel goods, cleaning products, outdoor plants, childrens toys and crafts, clothing and amongst many other things, shoes.
Versatile and cost efficient, mastering the use of these hanging shoe racks around the home can ensure that your little Hong Kong apartment stays far tidier than it would otherwise!
NOTE : Best hung on the back of doors with the bottom corners secured, it is best to choose a fabric of holder that will suit your needs best. Clear plastic is good for items that need to be seen, netted can be best for makeup or shoes and cleaning products, and cloth is often safer for hair styling tools and other items which may get hot.
Raven Tao is a real estate specialist and media personality based in Hong Kong. She loves arts and culture, is fascinated by fashion and luxury, and is passionate about all things house and home. For more updates, LIKE her Facebook Page or visit www.RavenTao.com
The Best Easy Organising Ideas In One Article
Organising can be a pain, unless you have the knack, inclination or an excellent article to show you the easiest tricks to make your life that much simpler.
The best tricks I’ve seen from this amazing Buzzfeed article on house organizing are the following :
1. Using magazine racks. Whether wooden or metal or plastic, this seems to be the heavenly angel of cheap organising. It can be placed on the back of a bathroom door for housing hair electronics; used to store small canned goods on their side; turned on its side and made into a cute shelf, drilled into the wall as a small floating bookshelf or covered beautifully and drilled into the side of a standing bookshelf to give more space! The front can be removed to create dividers for pots and kitchen boards, and it can be covered in lovely fabric and used to store magazines – with a cork board glued to the side for pinning jewellery or photos onto. Really, the options are endless. And the price is low enough to use them all over the house, in case you’re interested to furnish your house beautifully but cost effectively.
2. Gluing magnets to items to use vertical space. This is perfect for makeup, notepads and other items that get a lot of daily use. The same theory applies to the magnetic knife rack, which would need to be a much stronger magnet. Sticking a magnet to the interior of a cabinet to hold tweezers, nail clippers and other such items is a great way to save space and keep these essentials in easy reach.
3. Hanging shoe racks on the back of cupboard doors. These hanging racks are great for storing all kinds of things – organising kitchen supplies or cleaning liquids, arranging makeup and hair accessories or tools, storing jewellery or stationery and any other household miscellany that just needs a place to be stored.
There are plenty more useful tips in this Buzzfeed article, and in my Storage and Space Saving Ideas category for maximised living in our small Hong Kong apartments.
Also, I reference Arianna Belle’s site a lot – she is worth subscribing to for beautiful organising ideas and inspirations.
Raven Tao is a real estate specialist and media personality based in Hong Kong. She loves arts and culture, is fascinated by fashion and luxury, and is passionate about all things house and home. For more updates, LIKE her Facebook Page or visit www.RavenTao.com
Writing On The Wall
Wall decals are very fun and can add a lovely dimension to a space. Eye catching and full of personality, wall decals are an easy touch of personality that are great for use in our small rental apartments in Hong Kong.
Many decals can be bought online and Ikea Hong Kong also often has a small selection. They look best on a blank or beautifully coloured feature wall and the eye is instinctively drawn towards them, so make sure that you want people looking at whatever space you place them in.
Placed to the side of a narrow corridor/area can help to make the space seem a little wider and placed higher can sometimes create the slight illusion of extending the height of the wall.
NOTE : It’s worth lining up a wall decal as carefully as you would an artwork on the wall, because once it’s stuck, adjusting and re-sticking it makes it lose its grip and smoothness.
With a big range of quotes to choose from and it’s recommendable to purchase these wall decal stickers instead of trying to graffiti it onto the wall yourself. Unless you’re truly a DIY superstar, in which case have fun creating your own quote in whatever style you like.
Raven Tao is a real estate specialist and media personality based in Hong Kong. She loves arts and culture, is fascinated by fashion and luxury, and is passionate about all things house and home. For more updates, LIKE her Facebook Page or visit www.RavenTao.com
Practical DIY So Useful You’ll Wonder Why You Didn’t Think Of It
Need a bookshelf? More shoe storage? A cool cork board for photos or to hang jewellery? Want your housemate to stop stealing your favourite mug? Or your house to smell like roasted coffee (or vanilla)?
It’s all possible! And cheap.
This is an article on Buzzfeed that you will want to read. Almost as cool is their article on brilliant bookshelves, which you will want to have a look at before deciding what essential items you’ll need if you want to design your home in Bohemian Theme, Black & White Theme or Minimalist Theme.
If none of those options suit you, there’s plenty of others to choose from!
Raven Tao is a real estate specialist and media personality based in Hong Kong. She loves arts and culture, is fascinated by fashion and luxury, and is passionate about all things house and home. For more updates, LIKE her Facebook Page or visit www.RavenTao.com
