December 2008

What have I been up to this month with only 4 entries compared to 11 in November and 15 in October? Well lots, really. As you may have read, I visited Hong Kong and Macau in early December, but that's not much of an excuse is it? Ok then when I got back, the Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy occurred, so in sympathy I decided to start on a landslide spring cleaning project and complete all outstanding projects at home. The kids were due back on the 20th, and after procrastinating for months, I was now in a big hurry to get the apartment ready before their return. The last time all four of us were together was in February this year, where we converged in Melbourne from Tokyo, Edinburgh and KL for a close family friends' wedding. I had planned to repaint the wall accents to match the new theme of 'bright and light' furniture in lime green, fuchsia and turquoise and a touch of chrome in the new square dining table. Its a good thing I delayed the paint job, because the lure of wallpaper was beckoning fast and furious. I couldn't get enough of wallpaper browsing, but in the end made the final choice. After the recent dream holiday in Pangkor Laut, I never got over the serenity of billowing filmy drapes in the breeze, so the quest for filmy drapes began. Got those too.
Getting the wallpaper and curtains up first before deciding on the paint job was wise. Furniture needed to be moved around and around before it was deemed right.

The brown and red front door was painted over with metallic blue with just the right amount of brown showing through to avoid a flat solid effect. Initially I had intended to cover the red with silver, but it looked so good with the blue that I shelved that idea. Instead a thin trim of bronze was applied using masking tape to protect the red.

As it turned out, the doors now reflected the colours of the Balinese paintings without a conscious effort of doing so.

The process of change does not stop, but seeps around corners into other spaces. The terracotta walls and diminishing natural light from adjacent towering blocks had left the lift lobby rather dark. A splash of blue (Jotun paints can be mixed to any shade in one and five litre tins - odourless and fungicidal to boot) applied with a roller using the right pressure and a narrow brush for the edges and corners gets the job done without too much pain.

Now all terracotta walls needed a blue wash to pull the colours together.Of course after a back-breaking day of painting, my partner returned from work and caught me with my paint brushes down and remarked, "What was the colour of the wall last time ah? " And that my friends sums up a satisfying days' work.

So now with the kids home, the landslide makeover done, approved by loved ones, we can usher in the New Year with joy and hope that yoga is not banned and that hill slope building projects will be better controlled in the future. Amen.