The Ordinary People: Home for the Lunar New Year with @hellohomebodies
We took a peep into Kenny & Ruby's home this Chinese New Year, a retail manager and marketer but also self-declared cat servants who hold a passion in interior design and styling. They share their passion with likeminded souls on the Instagram community via their Insta handle @hellohomebodies, and sometimes document musings of life at home with their cat, Biru.
Ruby and Kenny wear our Custom Engravable Bracelets from The Ordinary Co and Ruby wears the Cotton Billowy Dress from Terrablush.
Hey guys! We love your home - tell us what the renovation process was like before you moved in.
It was long and frustrating at times but we honestly missed it once its done! From contractor selection to reconfiguration of the unit’s layout and deciding on finishes, colours, electrical points and dimensions of every detail, the decision-making seemed never-ending. But when the end-product started taking shape, the highs that come with it makes it all worthwhile. Looking back though, we would say yes to do it all over again in a heartbeat!
It's so rare to see high ceilings and a spiral staircase in Singapore homes, how did you find this place, and what made you decide on it?
We actually looked all over Singapore when we were hunting for a new place and this was one of the first units we visited. It was love at first sight for the apartment’s bones with its spiral staircase but it didn’t check all boxes of what we were looking for. Plus we knew it would be a lot of work to redo the place, including reconfiguring the layout. However throughout the house-hunting process, we realized we couldn’t shake this unit out of our minds. Bonus that there’s plenty of good food nearby and our Eastie friends were super pumped to welcome us to their hood.
Ruby wears the Printemps Ring and Printemps Chain from The Ordinary Co, and the Structured Maxi Dress from Terrablush.
How was the renovation like, was there any hiccups along the way?
As with every good reno story – everything that could have gone bad, did. Even though our main contractor delivered brilliantly, we experienced major shipment delays, inconsistent goods being delivered, roof leakages and even made a police report against a dishonest vendor (horror story for another day!). Since our renovation was without an ID, it was a lot of self-affirmation for the design process. At one point we were even breaking tiles and laying them at midnight by ourselves in order to execute our design vision.
That sounds tough! Other than an amazing home, were there any silver linings to doing your home yourself?
Having been through all these challenges make each end product even more special though. And of course, the other silver lining is that we got adopted by our cat, Biru. Biru was living in our carpenter’s workshop for about 5 years and he finally chose us as his humans after months of us frequenting the workshop to discuss carpentry details.
Ruby Wears the Printemps Studs
What Inspired your home?
Our travels to Japan and Morocco inspired the design behind this home to a large extent. The design influence of both countries meant a lot of organic, natural materials and shapes were introduced and we kept the colours relatively pared down to keep things timeless.
What do you love most about this space your two have created together?
Kenny: Our master bedroom with the ensuite bath is my fave – it is tucked away on the upper level which reminds me of loft boutique hotels – I think one of our first staycation as a couple more than a decade ago had a similar concept! The ensuite bath with bathtub is also a relaxation haven.
Ruby: I love the mornings in our home – the place glows in the warm orange light and I feel nothing but gratitude that we are able to wake up to this every morning
Ruby wears the Pane Necklace from The Ordinary Co, and the Longline Kimono and Highwaisted Shorts from Terrablush
Share with us your top spring cleaning and organization tips!
We are pretty chill when it comes to deep cleaning our home and find that breaking the chores down into smaller tasks that can be completed within 30 mins – an hour each time to be a lot less daunting. Baskets, especially the ones with lids, are a great way to organize your clutter and we recommend to use this opportunity to agree on an organization system with your spouse/family members so you don’t feel like you’re the only one who has to own all the chores at home all the time!
Have you been doing a lot of hosting in your new home?
We enjoy hosting in small intimate groups and have done so several times since we’ve moved in. We love that our kitchen-dining-living is laid out in a seamless manner and we can always be present with our guests. The large island had also quickly become a favourite communal table for guests to gather round while someone else busies in the kitchen.
Any tips to make the home inviting for the guests this upcoming Lunar New Year?
Skip the socials and focus on spending time with your guests! Keep the fragile and breakables out of reach if you can but don’t be too precious about everything in your home – you don’t want your guests to be stressed out. Our recommendation is to always have a large box of baking soda on standby because there’s little that this miracle powder cannot do!
Our Spring Collection is available in our New Arrivals.
Special thanks to Terrablush for dressing Ruby, join our mailing list by 31 Jan 2022 to receive a Lunar New Year discount code to their store!