by Montie Mahtani | Jun 8, 2017 | Design Tips
The Nautical design concept, also known as coastal or cottage décor, is about creating a beachfront home atmosphere so relaxing you forget that you’re living in a modern concrete jungle.
As the name implies, this design concept is based on the nautical themes. Think navy blue stripes on pristine white, soft beige and stone gray, or sand coloured foundation and seafaring equipment as decorative features. You can almost reimagine the traffic noises outside as the sounds of waves crashing against the shore.
Anchors, nets, refurbished boats, seashells, and paintings of aquatic life are all the “must haves” but use them in moderation. The trick to stylish nautical design is not in turning your home into a boatman’s cabin; instead, opt to have a central design element around one or two of these items to focus on. For storage, you can’t go wrong with a distressed wooden “treasure chest” or wicker basket in your living room. For a bolder touch, throw in one or two contrasting colors – such as a bright red throw pillow or a yellow vase.
If you want to push the design boundaries towards a more local flavour, you could consider a kelong cum resort concept instead of the usual New England beach house look that defines traditional Nautical concept.
Material wise, you can still utilise unfinished wood for tables or chairs, combined with white linen upholstery for your lounge seats and sofas. Your options for decorative accents would contain vintage 7-Up bottles, jute ropes, sampan rowing oar, and pre-70s navigational map of the region that shows Singapore in its pre land reclamation state.
by Montie Mahtani | Jun 1, 2017 | Design Tips, Trending Styles
Writing an advice on interior design for the artists must be the boldest attempt in this series. Artists by their very nature defy templates and stereotypes; bold, unique individuals, with a high threshold for things that the common folks consider ‘crazy’. The irony is that this thirst of uniqueness is also the unifying trait that defines the living space of an artist.
Eclectic Touch
If anyone can pull off a patchwork of different colours and themes, it would be you. The chronic rebel of style and taste, you are going to want to splash a touch of victorian to your modern living design, or even juxtaposing Warhol with an industrial look. Some artists shy from colours altogether seeing the world in a contrast of black and white and chrome. An artist who revels in eccentricity might sound like a stereotype, but the true artist knows better. We are not being different for the sake of being different. We just happen to find inspiration and beauty in the unorthodox.
Freedom of Space
It’s the sacred shrine where your best works are conceived. It could be a small stool in the cluttered corner of the room or even in the confines of the bathroom, an artist needs a space to connect with his or her muse. The freedom of space is critical for all creative individuals but unlike other design philosophies, the freedom of space is something an artist discovers organically over time.
Signature Style / Source of Inspiration
The devil is in the details, as they say. An artist will inadvertently leave clues of his personality around the home – a painter with pieces of his idol’s works on the wall, a fashion designer with a walk-in wardrobe as the centrepiece of the bedroom, a writer surrounded by books of his favourite authors. Whichever field you are in, your home will be an extension of your craft. Identifying your signature early during the home design phase will give your interior designer a better sense of imbuing your personality into the home.
Image Credit: Header Picture, Artiste’s House
by Montie Mahtani | May 18, 2017 | Design Tips
Are you a self-professed workaholic? If you are, there are high chances you are either an overworked employee or entrepreneur. Modern society has made it increasingly crucial for us to keep up with the fast pace of work. No matter which category of a workaholic you identify with, your home will usually double up as your designated work area — albeit a usually messy one. At M3 Studio, our Modern Condo Interior Design in Singapore solutions can help you to create a more conducive home office, thus increasing your productivity.
Read on for our 4 Modern Condo Interior Design tips on what you should consider when designing your dream home office.
Lighting
Modern Condo Interior Design for home workspaces often involve looking more in-depth into your lighting choices. Optimal lighting has been proven to have a significant positive impact on the brain’s ability to process information, and can come from both indirect (e.g. natural light) and direct (e.g. table lamps) sources. Yellow, fluorescent lights are great for illuminating entire room, but white lighting from sources such as halogen bulbs can aid in performing more detailed tasks (e.g. drawing and sketching detailed outlines) more effectively.
Did you know that your computer is a light source too? You should also take into the levels of light and glare that your computer screen emits, and where it may cast any shadows.
Colours
- Colours are another important aspect to consider in Modern Condo Interior Design for home workspaces. Colours can profoundly hinder or accelerate productivity; there is a fine line to tread here. For example, hues of red or orange can help stimulate your creative juices, but too much red can have a reverse effect and make you see, well, red. It can evoke increased levels of stress and anxiety. However, your M3 Modern Condo Interior Design in Singapore consultant can help you with selecting a thoughtfully considered red palette for locations in your home where you would spend the most creative and brain energy and time ruminating over important thoughts. This can be your home office, or even balcony! Likewise, a calming blue palette cdan be used in locations like your bedroom where you unwind from a busy day.
In your home office, we know that you’re going to want to amp up your productivity. How about a beautiful palette of muted green shades? There’s a reason why the presence of plants and greenery in the work area have been proven to increase productivity! If you have other ideas, or prefer a more vibrant colour, speak to M3 Studio’s Modern Condo Interior Design in Singapore consultants for their professional advice on how we can work to best suit your preferences.
Work Area
Where do you want your work space to be located? Workaholics enjoy working from home because they are not subjected to the confines of a cubicle and can work anywhere, depending on where they are the most productive. Think about the best location in your home for your designated work space. Is that in front of your favourite window in the living room flooded with natural light? Not only should you think about where to designate your working space, but also whether it has the space you need. If you film big production shoots on the side, would you want your working space to be your studio as well? Other than that, do ensure that you also have strong Internet access across all your devices in your work space and power supply, free from any noise and other distractions.
Finally, Your Chill Out Corner!
- Workaholics rejoice at the thought of a home workspace. They can work at their own pace in the comfort of their own home. The downside? It can be hard for to draw the distinction between work and home. No matter how understanding or tolerant your home partner may be of your workaholic lifestyle, you need work-life balance to avoid getting burnt out. This is where you need to find your chill-out corner— a place where you can disconnect. Our Modern Condo Interior Design in Singaporetip is to choose a location that is away from your workspace, and consider designing it a way that makes it stand out in stark contrast against your other work areas. May we suggest a mini wine chiller too? That way, you can reward yourself with a glass or two after you’re done with work.This is definitely not aModern Condo Interior Designtip for the books, but a chill out corner where you can enjoy a tipple or two after finishing up your work any day is universally enjoyed by every one!
If you don’t identify as a workaholic, that’s okay! Check out the rest of our Personality Series to find something that hits a little closer to your home.
by Montie Mahtani | Apr 20, 2017 | Design Tips, Travel Inspirations, Trending Styles
Nothing says wanderlust like having a collection of knick-knacks acquired from your travels. They form almost a story on their own and a great time capsule for your memories. Besides the decorative features that will most certainly adorn your shelves and walls, we want you to have a practical home design that is an extension of who you are.
Wall Feature
You would post pictures of your travels and leave thought-provoking notes on your Facebook wall, why not have that for real on your living room wall? Paint a giant world map and overlay that with photos from the countries you have visited. It’s the perfect conversation starter when you have guests over.
Go for Eclectic Design
Flea markets around the world are the best place to get a cheap, unique purchase that looks absolutely stunning on its own, but then you wonder where it is going to fit in your modern Scandinavian home. The trick is: go eclectic. It’s an organic design that can’t be replicated. Just like your traveling experiences.
Juxtaposition of Colours
If anyone can pull off utter disregard of conventional colour palates, it would the wide-eyed traveler. Bold colours interspersed with earthly tones create a sense of wild abandonment and adventure.
Thematic Rooms
From the rustic calmness of a Balinese resort to the hustle and bustle of New York City, a traveler has been there; done that. How about giving each room a thematic makeover and bring a piece of the world into your home?
Open Display Cabinets and Wall Mount Shelves
This last tip should be obvious but it bears mentioning. Treasures turn to junk when they are packed away in boxes. If space is a constraint, consider breaking down walls and use open display cabinets as partition modules. Wall mount selves are also a great way to save space too and it doubles up as design feature.
Next we look at the Personality Based Design: Workaholic
(This article is written in collaboration with Eugene Tay, founder of The Alpha Mind)
by Montie Mahtani | Aug 25, 2015 | Travel Inspirations
What better way to obtain design inspiration than to travel and explore? That’s exactly what the M3 Bloggers did! We went to Bali – not to surf, not enjoy the sun, sand and the sea (although that was awesome too!). No, we went there to study the Bali culture and why are they so famous for their rustic designs and art work. So we hopped on the nearest flight and off we were, to Bali – the island of the Gods. M3 brings you through our journey of exploration.
Bali is an island of the east of Java and it has been well known as a holiday destination for many of us who likes the beaches, surfing and all water sports. However what many people are unaware of is that Bali has a vast array of wood furniture and decorations including arts and paintings. Some of these are very traditionally done with the painter even just sitting on the floor at the back of the gallery, carrying on his work while customers walk in and out.
We visited places around Seminyak and we came across a vast number of shops selling very unique decor items that would be really difficult to obtain right here in Singapore. They came in all ranges of shapes, sizes and forms – table lamps to wall hangers to coffee tables to sofas and dining sets too. We were pleasantly surprised at our finds. We then decided to go one step further and explore the outskirts of the main town. Armed with only a motorbike and a phone camera, we searched high and low for traditional art galleries and antique shops.
And we were duly rewarded after hours of long journey. It was extremely satisfying to finally find art pieces that were simply stunning and all set up simply side by side in the gallery. We even met the painter responsible for all these works as he was just sitting down working on another of his masterpiece. We also managed to find a real gem – an old antique warehouse where they were taking and sprucing up old pieces for resale! What a find!!
Overall, we were extremely glad we managed to visit Bali and learn about their culture as well as appreciate their views on design. It was a great eye-opener for us and we shall strive to travel to more countries to gain more international and design experiences for us to grow and evolve as designers. Of course, visiting Bali would not be complete without taking a few snap shots of the landscape and it’s beauty!!
An exploration article by M3 Bloggers.
