HomeDec08

KLCC was teeming with people on Saturday, rushing to and from the LRT station, as well as to and from the KL Convention Center.From the brightly lit tunnel, visitors were shunted through the relatively dark and busy car park, instead of gaining direct entrance to the exhibition halls. This, I suspect, was executed by management as a means of crowd control, which was uncalled for and particularly unsafe for the large numbers of children visiting the Aquarium. This type of unintelligent problem solving is a recurring malady of our organisations.

Home Decor 08 is a regular exhibition for Malaysian and foreign manufacturers to market the latest home improvement ideas, home appliances and building materials.

This locally manufactured surface is made of perspex embedded with ovum Jasper stones. As it is translucent it allows light transmission giving a unique effect. The claim is that this surface is non porous, non toxic and is scratch resistant.

Wallpaper is back in vogue, from floral to retro to Victorian designs, and can cost an arm and a leg.


Don't think of drapes only as yards and yards of fabric. These are panels of closely set cord giving a fluid-like effect. Be warned. Children love running their fingers (and bodies) through them and can be tempted to swing from them too!

This year I notice that doors have been given a fresh new look. The decorative glass panelled doors sport retro or Art deco designs, and the wooden doors have simple tasteful lines.

From the ornate to the garish. . .

. . . to sheer opulence.

Security must be problem as business is certainly brisk here. Hello has anyone heard of the global recession?You may also want to add a home safe to your shopping list.

The hard sell.

"How much per foot run?" Are they buying or just resting ? The tub of your dreams? Together with the bubbles, blue LED lights add to the experience.

We can't live without our telly's can we? You can get a 32" flat screen LCD for about RM 1500 now.

Malaysia is fast becoming a coffee drinking nation. Espresso gizmo must-haves.

If a device promises to purify the air in your bedroom (even though you spend 4 hours daily inhaling traffic fumes), or a humidifier that will cool your patio (despite spending 18 hours a day in dry air conditioning) there will be enough suckers who will want it and even influence their friends to buy one.

A new slant this year is the ID (interior design) clinic. A row of ID companies offering consultancy services are a popular attraction. I came across an unpretentious display of au natural teak wood furniture from Indonesia. The vendor is from Surabaya, and his two part time assistants, Hussein and Habiel, are Indonesian students studying in a private college in KL.

Zaini, an architect by training and an artist by passion, runs a studio in Bukit Bintang. Offering 'original works at reasonable prices' (his tag line) he aims to bring art to a broader audience. A brochure with prints of his work, biodata and inspiration are elegantly set in glossy white art card. There's fusion cuisine, this is fusion glass, so the artist tells me about his work. In 3 D, the picture is fused onto glass and embellished with colour. It's good to get out into the open after all that.