H and I have moved into our (not so new) place for almost 7 months now and it is about time I get down to a home tour else the next thing you know, we'll be listing this apartment up for sale hahaha. We have settled in and no longer as fascinated whenever we enter the front door but I am still very much in love with the simplicity and clean design. Timeless neutrals definitely go a long way!

As mentioned previously (here, here and here), the main colours we decided on were white and grey with touches of soft wood. Though I would love to have black, we omitted it as it might seem a little too harsh for the overall soft and cosy look that we are going for.

We use grey homogenous tiles with subtle swirls for the living area and kitchen since we have an open concept kitchen.

Curtains are in white, of course ;) We have unobstructed view from our living area and no nosy neighbours so we opted for curtains with a little bit of sheerness 'cause sunlight is still very much appreciated!

My ceiling fan is from Spin Fans and it is superrrrr pretty!!! I had a hard time searching for a ceiling fan that is
- white in colour
- plain looking
- at least 50" in diameter
- and doesn't come with a light in the centre

So, so glad I chanced upon Spin Fans. It comes with a DC motor which helps to save up to 80% electricity by the way! It operates very quietly and comes with 6 fan speed. We set it to the highest speed since our living area is rather spacious, and it is windy enough for the both of us.

If you're wondering, our living area is bright enough if we switch on both the track lights since half the bulbs are facing opposite directions.

The mantelpiece is almost like my Paris altar lol <3

Our view from the couch looks like this:

Yup, the photo frame is left on the floor because the frame is in black...and I'm still not sure if I wanna hang it up and where exactly to hang haha.

The shelf and clock are from HomesToLife! I recently replaced the plant with a terrarium (see previous photo) as that's more suitable for indoors, and it requires almost no care.

This wall is directly opposite the kitchen/island.

The sideboard was custom-made and the colour of the light wood matches our shoe cabinet.

The lamp on the left is purely for display purpose because I ordered it from Taobao and realised how useless it is after I switched it on. I can't tilt the lampshade any higher so it doesn't brighten the house in any way so ahhh, I just left it there to look pretty. At least it's contributing in another way hahaha.

My cute teardrop vase in pink is also from HomesToLife and the wall flowers are from Francfranc!

The kitchen is still a little bare 'cause to be honest, we only cook a maximum of 3 times a week...which isn't very frequent. Besides, there's only 2 of us, I don't see the need to have a crazy amount of cutleries/kitchen accessories. What we have currently is really sufficient to survive!

Moving on to our bedroom...

We used this (not too dirty looking) white vinyl to fit the theme. It adds a little more character and texture to the overall clean concept.

For our bedroom, we chose to have day and night curtains (with approximately 80% blackout effect). The ladder is purely for hanging towels haha and I got it from Taobao as well. Our bed frame is custom-made. Maybe I didn't look hard enough but simplicity (when it comes to interior design) seems to be dead in Singapore. Our bed (frame + mattress) is the most expensive item in the house so I intend to use them foreverrrrrr. I better like the design forevaaaa too 'cause I'll upholster the frame when we move lol.

Also, please ignore the un-glam state of my nightstand. Don't ask me why I have so many bottles of moisturiser hahaha. Most nights, I use 3-4 different types of lotion (for whitening, Bio-Oil, hand cream and fragrance free body cream), taking longer and longer to prep for bed each night lol. #mad

Favourite pillow cases!!

And opposite the bed, this is what it looks like:

Our standing fan is from Dyson and there are 10 fan speeds! I love the blade-less design.

Our feature wall facing the bed. Previously shared about the Nippon Paint we used in this entry. I talked a little awkward in this video I did with Nippon Paint but you can find out the exact colours I used for my Momento walls here.

There is a little corner beside the bathroom which was the perfect spot for my dresser. The standing lamp is from HomesToLife, laundry bag from Stockholm, stool from Hipvan, dresser was custom made and mirror from IKEA.

Our shoe wardrobe. And there's the entrance to our wardrobe on the left.

If you're wondering why you don't see any men's shoes, *ahem* that's because H's shoes are on the bottom 2 shelves which are not pictured, AND he has his own shoe cabinet at the entrance. #defensive hahaha

My shoes are arranged according to height 'cause each latch is adjustable. Also, if you put your shoes one side facing in and the other facing out, you'd be able to squeeze in more shoes in each row!

Contrary to popular belief, I did not just leave a small corner space for H to house his clothes. He occupies quite a significant area which he cannot even fill up. #verydefensive hahaha

We have roman blinds for the wardrobe (white) and guest room (dark grey). Our wardrobe was built from scratch and yay to having lots of storage! The cute stool I'm sitting on is from HomesToLife as well. Sometimes when I'm packing the wardrobe or using the full-length mirror, I prefer to sit down haha.

Pictures by Vivien Tan for Scene.sg, and me (the uglier looking ones lol).

Secure Your Home with iHome3 Peephole Camera

It is no longer news that H and I have moved into our home but this newfound freedom we have been experiencing the past two months is definitely worth celebrating! Our bedroom and living area do not face any opposite blocks so it is extremely liberating not having to worry about peeping toms and the likes!

We are not living in a private property. So, to ensure maximum security for our home, H and I decided to get a peephole camera installed. He has been travelling regularly for work lately and I sleep alone on days when he's overseas. For a new neighbourhood, it is especially unsafe since not all residents have moved in yet, and there are still a lot of lurkers/workers/contractors around. I heard there is even a splash paint incident in the opposite block!!

Yes, Singapore might have low-crime rates BUT crimes are still occurring on a daily basis. Not publicised does not equate to a 100% safe country. Like how I would never leave my belongings on the table then leave to buy my food, I would not allow my home to be secure-less. Because you never know when you might be the next target.

So anyway, H and I ordered the iHome3 Wifi Smart Peephole Doorbell from Zenith Engineering. There are not a lot of peephole cameras available but we did our research and this is one of the best models in the market!

Zenith Engineering & Trading PTE LTD is a Digital PeepHole Viewer Specialist and Distributor who does sales of various models of digital peephole viewer to retailers and projects, as well as to individuals like myself. Installation services are provided by them too but to be honest, it is extremely easy to install the peephole doorbell so I'd say, DIY like what we (I mean, H) did!

What came in the package:

Why is this peephole camera the best, you ask?

Firstly, the peephole itself is already a security feature. With such a big and obvious peephole, anyone would know their presence is being recorded and they will actually think twice before trying to do anything illegal such as breaking into our house, etc.

The camera viewer replaced the old-school peephole and all we've to do is click the "Man" button to see who's on the other side.

Home screen - access pictures/videos taken of strangers/friends/ourselves under "Picture" and "Video". You can choose to switch on or off motion detection using "Motion".

The "Main Menu" icon will lead you to the above screen! You can choose to customise your preferences by clicking on individual icons.

Secondly, for every motion detected at the door, H and I will receive notification on our mobile phones in the form of an alert. This is especially crucial when both of us are travelling and we know we are not expecting anyone. If we want to identify the unknown character, H and I can immediately login to the live video screening on our phones using the app "Rollup"! From our phones, we are instantly logged on to see what's happening right in front of our home.

This is what the live viewing page looks like on the phone:

The iHome3 Peephole Camera works very well at night too with the infra-red night vision motion sensor. This is a screenshot taken at midnight on my smartphone with the remote viewing function. Makes for a pretty good evidence should it ever be required (but of course, that's H in the screenshot lol)!

Press the "man" logo (just beside the SOS button) and we'll see what's happening right outside. The camera detects motion up to 1.5m so our neighbours were captured at times!

Also, the iHome3 Peephole Camera is so much quicker and easier to install as compared to a CCTV on the ceiling. You can refer to the short clip above to learn how to install. The entire process only took H a couple of minutes to get it up and working!

Each fully charged battery for the iHome3 Peephole Camera lasts for approximately 7-10 days and I loveeeee that rechargeable batteries are used for this! Most of the other peephole cameras use disposable batteries which I don't think is as environmental friendly. Additionally, the battery holder is located at the top of the viewer which provides easy replacement and we don't have to remove the viewer each time a battery change is required.

Other functions embedded in the iHome3 Wifi Smart Peephole Doorbell you might be interested in are:
- 2-way video call
- SOS call to pre-set emergency number with a SIM card in the camera
- Runs on wifi connection
- Acts as a doorbell on top of being a peephole camera

All in all, H and I are very pleased with this new security gadget installed in our home. We feel very much at ease when the both of us are not in, and especially for H who knows I'll always be in safe hands when I am home alone.

I've always believe that security should be the number one priority for the home especially when most of us consider it as our safe haven. Hence, if you have always been thinking of getting some kind of security feature for your adobe, I would recommend the iHome3 Wifi Smart Peephole Doorbell or if you don't need the Wifi feature, you can consider the iHome 2 Peephole Doorbell which has all the same functions.

The kind people at Zenith Engineering are offering my readers a special rate of $288 (UP $368) for an unit of the iHome3 Wifi Smart Peephole Doorbell. To place an order, you can email them at sales@zenithengineering.com.sg or contact the owners at 82982157 / 9766 3890. Quote my name (Jessica Tham or tippytapp) when you place your order to enjoy this special price!

For more information and updates about Zenith Engineering Trading Pte Ltd, check out their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/zenithengineeringtrading) or follow them on Instagram (@zenith_engineering).

Happy National Day, my dear Singaporeans! :)

Our Housewarming Party

On the first Saturday of July, H and I had a small housewarming party and invited around 30 friends over. We had our food catered from Neo Garden Catering and a dessert table by Creme Maison Bakery. There was too much food and everything was delicious!! In between entertaining our guests, I was stuffing myself silly because everyone came up to me and told me they like so-and-so dish or such-and-such dessert. Of course I had to give them all a try for myself! In a nutshell, I lost count of how much I've eaten that afternoon haha.

We had a total of 11 dishes which included:

- Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

- Sweet and Sour Fish

- Wasabi Prawn Ball

- Signature Curry Chicken

- Mushroom Broccoli

- Chicken and Mutton Satay

- Breaded Scallops

- Mini Chocolate Eclairs

- Honeydew Sago

- Lychee (Cordial Drink)

- Nonya Laksa DIY Station

Opted for the wasabi prawn ball (not spicy by the way) instead of the cereal prawns 'cause I didn't think the guests would want to peel prawns at a housewarming party and these didn't disappoint. Ebiko never goes wrong ;)

The Pineapple Fried Rice was damnnnnn good by the way! I loved it so much I had two servings...with the absolutely yummy curry sauce. YUMS

Our friends loved the satays so much they were completely wiped out (one of them even dabao-ed the few sticks left)!

These bite-sized chocolate eclairs were a joy to eat! They weren't too sweet or too creamy, and I love the fluffy pastry.

The DIY Nonya Laksa station! I love the concept 'cause I can choose to omit bean sprouts from my bowl.

Hehe my nephew had refills of the pineapple fried rice!

We had a small dessert corner set-up at our kitchen island by Creme Maison Bakery. It was so pretty *heart-eye emoticonsssss*

It was catered for 25-30 pax and the rest of the desserts were kept in the refrigerator for top-up :)

Everyone's favourite - Salted Caramel Cupcakes. They were moist and sweet, just the way I like them!

My friends were crazy about the Blackforest Dessert Cups so I gave it a try and wow, super rich chocolate cake that keeps you wanting more. *thumbs up*

It was a really fun afternoon having a small group of friends over but boy, the before and after party cleaning-up was mad tiring! Actually no, entertaining guests was just as tiring. After the last guests left, H and I collapsed on the sofa and napped for 2 hours before I woke the both of us up 'cause I was hungry lol. And we heated up a bowl of nonya laksa each, a plate of pineapple fried rice + curry chicken we kept aside for dinner from the catering ;) It was such a good meal!