~Inspirazion`

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

How I wished I lived in Indonesia. I would go crazy with all the amazing handicraft and decor I could purchase to jazz up the UndergrounD. I was simply amazed by how I could actually afford furnishings there and Indonesia does have amazingly beuatiful and exotic artifects. Unfortunately, the only thing holding me back was the fact that I couldnt carry it all back to Singapore by plane.

However, I feel change is in the air. There is this whole african-inspired theme Im working on now. Ive got cool little weapons to feature and some colourful african art.

This old school pistol is really fun... and I mean fun. Altough having it pointed right to your face with it corked can still be a tid bit unnerving.

You cant expect to go "african" without a bow and arrow now. These arrows are actually sharp! The arrows can also be used for the poison blow-dart I purchased. I really wanna try these out.

Well if thats all just too much violence for you then Im sure the african art pieces would be more colourful. My grandmother didnt like one of them, can you guess which one? But it doesnt matter anyway, she is 3 storeys above ;)

Well thats all for now. Im going material shopping tomorrow. I want some nice animal skins and Im also thinking on working on a retro corner. Arab street anyone?

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 5:47 PM =========~

Monday, April 17, 2006

WATCH THIS SPACE

COMING TO YOU 1ST MAY 2006

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 1:40 PM =========~

Sunday, February 19, 2006

The mid-terms are over and recess week has started. I wouldnt dare call it a holiday since holiday-ing is the last thing on my mind. Ive got a huge work load to seive through!
Anyway I there have been some substantial improvements made to the UndergrounD and I really cant wait for summer hols to throw my first ever bbq party! Counting down the days...

Meanwhile, take a look at the changes.... Remember this is what the corridoor used to look like. I didnt have enough cash to do proper flooring out here, so I had to leave it all natural...

However my mum came up with this amazing cost-saving idea and my dad, in the wee hours on sunday morning (for me 10am on sunday counts as "wee") took the trouble to cut the carpet into shape and apply it to the floor.

I was so amazed! It looked gorgeous and I now have my very own Red Carpet. So all you guys who wanna come to the UndergrounD, que up on the red carpet first. *Special people* get VIP passes!

Besides that, mum dearest also brought home this huge piece of faux zebra skin. She thought It would go great with my black and white theme and I couldnt agree more. It took me 2 days to decide where to place it.. but I finally got it right.

So with all these asthetic improvements going about, I just had to change that weird green-blue bedsheet. Now this black and gold bed spread goes so much better with the whole arabian theme.

Finally, I got myself another painting. A beautiful piece of arabic calligraphy in 3D! I think it deserves centre stage on the "special-mention" wall.

Step by step, the UndergrounD is becoming more comfortable. Its perfect for quiet naps or when I just wanna blast music. Its great to have your own space... a true blessing.

The UndergrounD

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 7:42 PM =========~

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

I was in ikea earlier today looking for a nice TV console, however I got distracted by the paintings section. I know my walls are bare and there is totally a lack of decor so I saw these 3 black and white posters for $25 and I thought perfect! If youve not realised.. I kinda got a black and white corner going. Theres this white tiger, and her cute baby cub on a striped carpet. Then I have all these black and white throw cushions. And now I got 3 posters.... of black and white zebras! Hahha.. I thought it was cool to have zebras compliment my tigers.

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Im thinking of moving the greenery (plants and such) from behind the TV to the black and white corner. Maybe make a lil savannah for the zebras and the tigers.

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rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 3:59 PM =========~

The house has got a brand new TV... that means that I get the old one, and the UndergrounD finally has a TV. Its a huge ass TV man.. SONY 38". It pales in comparison to the new TV but who cares? I hooked it all up and now ive got a screen and 6 surround speakers, not to mention one solid subwoofer. Man.. its one sweet deal, I just love the sound! Altough its a system put together with old components (some of em 15 yrs old), i love old school! No plasticy speakers but solid wooden casings. It all weighs a ton! All prepared for FIFA World cup 2006! Invites will be out soon...

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rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 3:54 PM =========~

Sunday, January 01, 2006

2006 was ushered in with a bang at the official opening of the UndergrounD.

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The simple basement evolved into a playground as mega-screens donned the wall and snacks galore lined the tables. Movies were screened into the wee hours of the morning only to be interupted by the adrenaline-pumping Need 4 Speed: Underground on the ps2.

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For those who desired a more quiet atmosphere, poker card tables and dart boards were available.

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But eventually at 6am, the UndergrounD closed its doors for the day. For the hardcore party-goers who simply did not want to leave, accomodation was widely available.

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Lets hope the new year, brings in more firsts for the UndergrounD!

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 4:39 PM =========~

Friday, December 30, 2005

Its about time I start thinking about decorating. Ive got all my basic furniture in, but the wall are still bare. So presenting my first artpiece:

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I love the way the wall frames the landscape artpiece. Know.. imagine with me... what if that artpiece was instead a 60" plasma TV. sigh... it would be sooo perfect.

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Too bad life aint perfect... but no complaints man :)

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 4:48 PM =========~

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Its been 4 months... 4 months of intensive uni life! And now that im back on track being a free man, Ive been getting requests world-wide to post some pics up and continue with my "basement evo" project. Well.. in the last 4 months this is what has happened...

Enterance to my dungeon...

Are you ready??

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Looks the same doesnt it...

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Now this is the main difference, I finally have a study! Trust me when I say this little corner has given me hours of quiet study time, not to mention numerous project group meetings. Thanks to my uncle for this beautiful gift.

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The kitchennete hasnt changed much, but my fridge is empty :(

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The bed still remains the focus of the room, altough as most of you know I still have yet to sleep in it.

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There is now a little reflective corner. Tranquility is essential, with a lil garden and water fountain, all gifts from my generous aunt.

Well, thats about it for now, Im amazed at how this basement has been transformed in the past 8 months. I just got to do a "Before and After" shot again... :)

BEFORE

AFTER

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 1:16 PM =========~

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
my dear Alysa

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 12:53 PM =========~

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Since Ive got the momentum going from yesterday and my mum is still hyped up about the basement, I decided to spend yet another day down under. Today I brought in a rosewood dining table from one of the other rooms into my room. I had two choices actually. A brand new round one thats in the basement for storage, it comes with 6 matching chairs and another 30 year old rectangular one. So guess which one I went for?

Well I decided that since my dream of a bar top counter wasnt within budget yet a nice dining table would be good to seperate the kitchennete from the rest of the room. Unfortunately the new round set would just take up too much space coz Id have to place it in the middle of the room, so I decided to use the ancient rosewood table. It matches the colour of my beams and it does a decent job of filling in the space my bar counter should have gone. I didnt put any chairs in yet, coz I feel the room is getting too cluttered.

Later in the day, the newly upholstered sofas for the house's main hall came back. They look really comfy and inviting. Together with the sofa's came my huge round cushion cover for that huge skeletal round chair in the the pictures form my previous post. The colour of the cushion leaves something to be desired, but nonetheless, its a huge comfy corner to enjoy a good book in.

Aisha posing in my new reading corner. Just got to add in a lil bookcase by the side and were all set.

You can see in the front right hand corner is the rosewood dining table. It would be good for buffets and parties. And in the back left hand corner is a cool little table mum found in the basement. I had a brainwave and decided to put my lava lamp inside the table, so you get a pleasent warm glow emitting from the screens that make up the table stand. You got to see it to appreciate it. Anyway, I'll take more pics tomorrow...

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 11:02 PM =========~

Friday, July 22, 2005

Sometimes I think I do my best thinking in the fleeting moments before I fall asleep. Those few minuites I spend tossing in bed, as thoughts and memories fly thru my mind. I usually think about my future and what Im gonna do tomorrow, next week or 3 years from now. Well last night I was thinking about my basement among the myriad of other thoughts. I have been troubled for weeks about my bed. I had a divan in one of the basement rooms already but I kept thinking what would I do for a headboard? A bed without a headboard looks really weird, without any definition. Then suddenly it hit me last night...

Well, unfortunately the picture is abit dull, but basically, I decided why not use the wooden screen I have in the basement as a headboard? And I was pleasently surpised with the result. I got a really regal and majestic looking headboard that is also really flexible. Flexible meaning that I could put my bed at any angle and still use the screen. At first I tried placing the bed at a 45-degree angle at the corner of the room with the screen behind it but my mum thought it took up too much space and she decided that it would look better as the centrepiece of the room. Well I couldnt agree more. Another milestone in the basement evolution...

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 11:52 PM =========~

Friday, July 15, 2005

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I proudly give you...
after months of toil and labour...

The Basement Evolution IX

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Thank-you

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 4:23 PM =========~

Friday, July 01, 2005

Ive finally installed my electronic sign-board outside my basement entrance. Im scouting around for a biometric access system so that people can enter only when their finger-print and voice pattern has been accurately matched to my system. Ive got a few quotations on my table now. Coupled with those taser-laser guns Im having installed at both corners of the stairway down to my entrance, I think Im quite well prepared for any intruders. Well, here's a picture of my electronic signboard. Ive already programmed it to warn any trespassers...

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 12:03 AM =========~

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Paint is so freakin expensive!

At $45 per 5-litre can of Nippon paint, its gonna cost a bloody bomb to paint the whole basement. Sigh, again im gonna have to cut back and rethink this whole plan. If hopefully one 5-litre can can paint 1/2 the length of my wall then Id probably go for just 2 cans first. The dark green and yellow. Since the remaining walls were all painted white only 8 months ago, its still clean. Wow, just for 2 tins of paint its gonna cost me $100. This whole project is one huge eye-opener. Its invaluable experience at such a young age.

Today I actually began scrapping off some parts of the wall and after that plastering the wall. Ive never handled plaster before, its a gooey white substance thats so darn sticky but it works well in flattening surfaces and covering up the holes in the wall. Thank god our ex-contractor left all his stuff here when he dissapeared last year. Hahaha.. i have like 30-litres of white paint, a bucket of plaster, smaller tins of other colours and some tins of wood and metal paint. he also left behind like 10 rollers and stuff. The white paint will come in useful when I paint over the plaster next week. After that, im probably gonna get the Nippon paint and go start off with 1 wall first. Any volunteers?

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 6:34 PM =========~

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Phase 7: Painting

After a well-deserved break and an amazing holiday, Im back! I wanted to take a break before starting off on the basement again, but my mum keeps pushing me to hurry up and finish it off before I start Uni. I have less than 6 weeks to go and that really isnt much time. So now, to one of the final major tasks left... Painting! Its so difficult to choose a colour scheme to go with and after so much thought and debate with myself, Ive decided to go with 2 main colours in 4 different shades. I wanted a bright creative colour like yellow for my living area and a soothing colour like green for my study, so the good thing is yellow and green can match, the hard thing is finding the correct shades of yellow and green to match.

I want my bedroom and study to have light coloured walls while the living room and bar area can have more vivid darker walls. So im going from light yellow, to bright yellow to dark green and rounding off with light green. Take a look at the colours im thinking about...

followed by...

and then...

and finally...

Im not real sure if this will work out or if im gonna turn my basement into a kindergarten, but what the hell, if anyone has any better ideas, I beg of you to enlighten me... Im in deep need of inspiration from above.

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 9:09 PM =========~

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Id like to close the first half of this project with a quick review on the progress thats been made.

BEFORE

AFTER

Its only proper to show gratitude where they are due. This has never been a one-man show.

Id like to thank god for giving me this opportunity. Winston and Andy for first springing this idea on me. My father for his excitement and words of encouragement. My Mother who was in initial denial but eventually helped me with all the cleaning up. Wasim for his continual support every weekend. My siblings for their anxiousness to throw me out of my room which only spured me on. My grandmother for being my very first financer. My aunty for her creative ideas, my uncle for his gracious supply of furnishings. Much gratitude must also go to Andy who helped me go light-shopping and Nuris for always offering to help with the manual labour or painting. And for all the rest of the people who have continually bombarded me with ideas like Nadia and Eugenia. I feel like Im getting an Oscar, but seriously, I know nothing would be possible if not for all the help and support Ive received from every corner and every person. I truly feel that this project is blessed with so many people coming forward from all directions and helping in so many areas.There have been times when Ive wanted to give up, when the problems outweighed the solutions, but thru the words of encouragement from my father and the simple miracles of every day life, things just seem to fall in place and the project moves another step forward. Now, im all ready, all set to take on the second stage!

rizone ~========= Inscribed in stone at 11:03 PM =========~