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Stay connected with us on our social media!&nbsp;Follow us on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sixidesasia">Facebook</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sixidesasia">Instagram</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Sixiderchannel">YouTube</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://t.me/sixidesasia">Telegram</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://t.me/sixidesasia">TikTok</a>&nbsp;for the latest design trends and inspiration!&nbsp;📸💬🎵

Growing up, mom did all the cleaning. Every time a mess was made, the cane would sometimes appear along with the cleaning cloth or the broom. I always wondered what the huge fuss was about until I had my own space to clean.&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh yes, now I get it.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you share your home with tiny roommates, especially those under the age of 7, you want to ensure it is as low-maintenance as possible so you don&rsquo;t spend your days on your hands and knees starring in a lousy remake of Cinderella &mdash; minus the prince. If you&rsquo;re ever planning a refresh or even reviewing <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/hdb-living-room-unleashing-the-charm-of-singaporean-lifestyles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">living room design Singapore</a> ideas with <a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interior design firms</a>, remember to check if any major works require a <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/7-things-you-ll-need-permits-before-you-renovate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">residential renovation permit.</a>&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597868-1652403597868.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/much-room-interior">Much Room Interior</a>&nbsp;(Unclutter the space to make it look clean and neat!)&nbsp;Living RoomClutter is your enemy. While a few accents here and there may break up the monotony of a minimalist space, if you&rsquo;re going for a bohemian or eclectic look&hellip; Well, don&rsquo;t. Cluttering your living room with too many accessories or unnecessary furnishings will make it a nightmare to clean, dust, and mop. Less is more; the cleaner the lines of your home, furniture, and furnishings, the lower your home maintenance will be. Also, lay off the textiles. Throws, cushions, carpets, rugs, these may make a home look and feel cosier but unless your hobby is vacuuming, this is going to get old real quick. Fabric couches also require higher maintenance than leather ones, so go for waterproof or dust proof materials wherever you can.&nbsp;&nbsp;Maintaining a simple colour scheme will lend to a visually cleaner space. You don&rsquo;t have to go all white, but keeping the colour palette to lighter neutral tones will go a long way to making your space feel bright and airy.&nbsp;&nbsp;You also want to keep surfaces sleek and smooth. Elaborate forms in furniture encourage dirt and dust to get trapped or accumulate in hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. This means cleaning a lot more regularly, probably with tools designed to reach all these crevices that may cost you more too. Who wants that? <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597891-1652403597891.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/posh-home">Posh Home</a>&nbsp;(Platform bed comes with extra storage!)&nbsp;BedroomGet a bed frame or divan without that gap between the bed and floor so you can do away with vacuuming or mopping under your bed. If you MUST have a gap, probably for feng shui reasons, make sure the gap is wide enough for your cleaning tools to reach in and clean thoroughly. A win-win situation is a floor-sitting bed frame with hidden storage space. You get to simultaneously hide clutter and avoid the hassle of cleaning under your bed. Opt for floor to ceiling closed wardrobes so you don&rsquo;t have to dust the wardrobe tops. Built-in wardrobes and closets may come with a heftier price tag but will give you bang for your buck; solving multiple problems like fitting beautifully into tricky corners in irregular-shaped rooms, and better catering to your lifestyle needs with custom shelves and hanging spaces.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597923-1652403597923.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/nj-concepts">NJ Concepts</a>&nbsp;(Natural light + natural ventilation = naturally beautiful!)&nbsp;KitchenSure, an open kitchen may seem like a great idea. You can even throw in a bar counter for those who love to kick back and relax with a drink after work in the comfort of home. But if you&rsquo;re also a great cook, and you can whip up mouth-watering Asian dishes, that means you&rsquo;ll be dealing with a lot of grease and oily fumes, both of which will definitely settle into all the spaces and fabrics of your attached living room. Go for a semi-open kitchen or use sliding glass panels so you can have your open kitchen when you can have your open kitchen when you want it, and conveniently section it off when the heavy cooking starts. A win-win-win situation; the third win for saving on mopping time. You are welcome.&nbsp;&nbsp;While granite and marble may be pretty options for your countertops, their porosity doesn&rsquo;t make for very low-maintenance choices. Non-porous options include quartz or KompacPlus or solid surface tops that can look just as classy as marble or granite. Stainless steel backsplashes and integrated or flush mount sinks also ensure a fuss-free wipedown. You can simply sweep all the filth from your countertops straight into the sink for an easy disposal.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597949-1652403597949.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/koze">KOZE</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/zenith-arc">Zenith Arc</a>&nbsp;(Large format tiles for lesser grout lines!)&nbsp;Rub A Dub Dub, Try Not To ScrubIf you absolutely must have tiles in your bathroom, go for large ones so you have less grout lines to deal with. Pick simple tiles with no patterns or textures so they look cleaner and trap less dirt and filth. You may want to install an exhaust fan or plan for a large bathroom window to keep this highly used and abused space well-ventilated. This reduces pent-up moisture which leads to mould and mildew, which are no fun to remove at all.&nbsp;Meanwhile, glass shower enclosures, while allowing for separate wet and dry bathroom areas, which we highly encourage, can be tedious to upkeep since glass requires regular cleaning to keep mould and grime at bay. Glass panels, as with kitchens, are a great option to partition your bathroom without cramping up the space or requiring laborious upkeep.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1652403597968-1652403597968.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/met-interior">Met Interior</a>&nbsp;(Seamless surfaces like cement screed looks way too cool!)&nbsp;A Strategically Seamless SweepGrout is out, and seams are a pain in the bum. Tiles require way too much scrubbing, with the need to keep grout looking fresh. Go for seamless surfaces, which like flush kitchen countertops, are much easier to clean and maintain. By seamless surfaces, we also mean your kitchen cabinets, work surfaces, bathroom vanities, and any large areas that require wiping. By picking materials that are scratch and impact resistant, you reduce the amount of work that goes into maintenance. This means avoiding textured wall surfaces or 3D wall panels, fancy cabinet designs or any unnecessary built-in designs with recessed or protruding edges, so you can make your life easier.&nbsp;

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Growing up, mom did all the cleaning. Every time a mess was made, the cane would sometimes appear along with the cleaning cloth or the broom. I always wondered what the huge fuss was about until I had my own space to clean. 

Hacks For A Low-Maintenance Home

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I&rsquo;ll be honest with you &mdash; I&rsquo;m dreading the upcoming June holidays. Although COVID restrictions are lifting and more places of entertainment are opening up, as a parent who mostly works from home, I&rsquo;m not looking forward to having my quiet late mornings and afternoons completely disrupted with my little monsters constantly whining that there&rsquo;s nothing to do at home. My home is not equipped, and as such, neither am I&nbsp;&mdash; which is why I&rsquo;ve been tempted to rethink my <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/hdb-living-room-unleashing-the-charm-of-singaporean-lifestyles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">living room design Singapore</a> style or even consider a mini <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/singapore-2024-renovation-budget-condo-renovation-cost-forecast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">condo renovation</a> (if only I had the energy to deal with an <a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ID firm</a> right now).&nbsp;But here, I&rsquo;ve made a helpful list for parents who don&rsquo;t want to be breaking the bank having to go out and explore expensive little Singapore every day during June, trying to find some form of entertainment for the kiddos. &nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654188029073-1654188029073.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">&nbsp;1. Entertainment Systems You need at least a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/vendors/brands/prism">Smart TV</a>&nbsp;to survive June. And you need either a Netflix or a Disney Plus subscription while you&rsquo;re at it. For as little as $12.98 for Netflix and $11.98 for Disney Plus, you can just do a commitment-free subscription for the one month to keep them occupied so you can preserve your sanity. I&rsquo;d really recommend Disney Plus over Netflix; it appears to have way more kid-friendly shows and the portfolio is far more comprehensive.&nbsp;If you have gamer kids, having some kind of video games ready will also be extremely helpful. I&rsquo;m no expert on games but we have a PS4 that seems to do very well in keeping our older kids entertained, and it didn&rsquo;t cost us a fortune.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have kids who can&rsquo;t seem to pipe it down, have them unleash their vocal prowess via a home karaoke system. There are cheap bluetooth microphones you can simply connect to your Smart TV, fire up YouTube and have your tots sing along to their favourite tunes.&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654188029092-1654188029092.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">&nbsp;2. A Mess RoomIt could be a relatively unused room, your bomb shelter, your service yard; this dedicated mess room allows your kids to contain their crafts, toys, activity equipment, and messy items to ONE room in the house that you can reverse and scrub down when July swings around. You can pad the place with layers of newspaper, junk A4 paper, or even plastic sheets so your walls don&rsquo;t suffer through the abuse and require a repaint.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or you could take it a step further and line your walls in whiteboard film or blackboard laminate and break out the markers or chalk and let your kids spend hours and hours in this room going crazy with creativity. It&rsquo;s very much like a padded cell, but far more entertaining.&nbsp;3. Temporary Home LibraryConsider emptying out some shelves in the study and building your own home library. Heck, you don&rsquo;t even have to populate it with your own books! Just head to your nearest library, have a lovely afternoon enjoying the free aircon and profusion of kid-friendly literature, read to your kids, then take back what books they enjoyed the most to sit on your shelves for the next few weeks. Rinse, repeat, and you will always have bookshelves stocked with fresh reads to keep your children perpetually entertained, throughout June. So much better than spending a ton on self-owned books that they will read once and chuck aside to collect dust.&nbsp;4. Water Play AreaSimilar to the mess room, this is a space where your kids can make a splash without destroying any beloved furniture or flooring. You can create a water play area in the bathroom, the service yard or if you have the luxury of an actual balcony, that&rsquo;s your prime splash spot. If you have toddlers, throw in a few plastic jugs, or a little tea set and let them have an entire afternoon pouring away. Older children can amuse themselves with water guns, or play scientist with plastic bottles and old medicine syringes.&nbsp;&nbsp;If your play area is small, have a kiddy pool party with lego men, Polly Pocket dolls, or other waterproof toys instead of actually allowing your kids to get into water. If you want to be the ultimate sneaky parent, get them to scrub their toys clean in some soapy water with unwanted or spare toothbrushes and make a fun time out of it. Get them to dry their washed toys in the sun at the end of play time and you have yourself a win-win situation.&nbsp;&nbsp;5. Dress UpBefore the holidays start, drag out all the unwanted kids&rsquo; clothes you can find and leave them in a pile or in a trunk, chest, or box &mdash; whatever you can get your hands on. You can then have them play dress up with the old clothes, while simultaneously spring cleaning their wardrobes and possibly reintroducing long-forgotten pieces of clothing hiding in the back of their closets back into their daily ensembles.&nbsp;&nbsp;At the end of the holidays, simply pack off all those old clothes and ship them off to be donated to the needy or if you are really good with a sewing machine, consider taking them apart and giving them a new lease of life by upcycling what pieces you can with a redesign or some creative alterations.&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654188029114-1654188029114.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">&nbsp;6. Box It UpMy oldest child seems to be getting ready for June by turning into a rag and bone lady; she&rsquo;s been amassing and collecting huge cardboard boxes, and I&rsquo;m not about to stop her. At first, I thought she was building a fort, but it appears the child has stranger motives in mind, recreating objects from the dark, creepy online games that are trending among older kids these days. She has recreated a medieval looking lantern, and is currently making a pair of bat-like wings for her younger sister from another cardboard box.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether they are fort building or creating strange items, cardboard boxes are a great way to keep your kids entertained. Have them explore ways to recreate interesting items from their favourite shows and games and fashion them out of cardboard and scrap paper. It is also an environmentally friendly solution to disposing of unwanted boxes and junk paper and giving them a new purpose in your home!

I’ll be honest with you — I’m dreading the upcoming June holidays. Although COVID restrictions are lifting and more places of entertainment are opening up, as a parent who mostly works from home, I’m not looking forward to having my quiet late mornings and afternoons completely disrupted with my little monsters constantly whining that there’s nothing to do at home. My home is not equipped, and as such, neither am I.

Is Your Home Ready To Entertain Your Kids These June Holidays?

<h1> </h1><h1> </h1><h1 id="isPasted">Inspiration For This Year&rsquo;s Renovations</h1>The past couple of years have been rough. Everyone&rsquo;s been forced into a more intimate relationship with their homes and, well, there&rsquo;s a lot more room for improvement than anyone cares to admit. That&rsquo;s what living and working in the same space does. As Covid-19 transitions from a pandemic to an endemic in 2022, and you finally decide it&rsquo;s time to redo the home, you might be wondering, &ldquo;What&rsquo;s trendy now?&rdquo; Before diving in, make sure you&rsquo;re working with an <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/guide-to-all-interior-design-renovation-verification-and-accreditation-schemes-in-singapore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">HDB licensed renovation contractor</a>, and if you&rsquo;re comparing styles, a <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/guide-to-all-interior-design-renovation-verification-and-accreditation-schemes-in-singapore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">list of interior design companies in Singapore</a> or firms with <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/guide-to-all-interior-design-renovation-verification-and-accreditation-schemes-in-singapore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CaseTrust renovation</a> accreditation can help you pick someone reliable.To answer the question, here are seven interior design trends you should look out for in 2022: 1. Biophilic DesignA holdover from our primitive lizard-part brain, but every man, woman, and child inherently feels a lot better, happier, and relaxed around nature. That&rsquo;s why biophilic design will be big in 2022. Natural lighting, materials, and plants goes a long way to producing a healthy, mood-boosting, air-improving environment at home. After two years of living in relative isolation (thanks a lot, Covid-19), most have come to appreciate the world outside a whole lot more.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654831385465-1654831385465.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/ovon">Ovon</a>2. Organic ShapesBoxes, right angles, and the like are inherently not sexy. People just love curves. Can&rsquo;t get enough of it. That&rsquo;s why, in 2022, curves will continue to &nbsp;trend. It&rsquo;s just a matter of finding new ways to apply curves, like stonework and carpentry. &ldquo;Imperfect&rdquo; waves are the new black. Try them on consoles, workstations, or even your furniture. Think drum tables and circular rugs.&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654831385491-1654831385491.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/u-home-interior-design">U-Home Interior Desig</a><a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/u-home-interior-design">n</a><a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/u-home-interior-design">&nbsp;</a> 3. Multifunctional SpacesJust realised you haven&rsquo;t got a mansion with every room imaginable? Of course you did, what with the pandemic. However, don&rsquo;t be dismayed; there are plenty of ways to get your existing ones to do double duty. Think kitchen/dining, living room/office, and bedroom/workout area. And with furniture that can serve double duties, such as sofa beds, storage bench, and wall beds, it isn&rsquo;t as hard as you think.&nbsp;4. Sustainable DesignYes, mankind is still destroying the Earth. Fortunately, we&rsquo;re getting better at being less destructive i.e. by going green and reducing our carbon footprint. And so can your next renovation project this year and beyond. Look out for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/climate-change-energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency/household-sector/the-energy-label" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Energy Labels</a>&nbsp;when shopping for appliances. Think sustainable, eco-friendly materials; there are tons of choices these days. Glass, bamboo, natural stones, cork, reclaimed wood, textiles, linen, hemp, recycled aluminium&hellip; just to name a few.<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654831385525-1654831385525.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo credit:&nbsp;MynMyn Studio 5. Vintage DesignAntiques. Old-timey. Retro. No matter what era they&rsquo;re from, they instil nostalgia and transport the mind back to an age that many romanticise as being more beautiful, meaningful, and simpler. And they&rsquo;re totally in vogue this year. There are two schools of thought on how to best include vintage artefacts; picking one era and include only things from that time for continuity, or mixing it all up to make rooms ageless. 6. Pantone Colour Of The Year: Very PeriIf the company that standardises the world&rsquo;s colour palette says it&rsquo;s so, who are we to complain? Use it in everything from paint to fabrics. And all you have to do it just quote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2022" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PANTONE 17-3938</a>&nbsp;when looking for that very colour.7. Minimalist InteriorMinimalist design is here to stay. The clutter-free, smooth and relaxing style is just as timeless, safe and classy as it has always been. The only way to make it better is to throw in come curves (see &ldquo;Organic Shapes&rdquo; above).A style for youPick one, two, or all of them. Whatever your choice, find one that best reflects you because, ultimately, you know you best. Then run them through your interior designer who knows how to best mash it all together.&nbsp;Banner Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers/aestherior">Aestherio</a>

Inspiration for this year’s renovations. The past couple of years have been rough. Everyone’s been forced into a more intimate relationship with their homes and, well, there’s a lot more room for improvement than anyone cares to admit.

Interior Design Trends Of 2022

<h1> </h1><h1> </h1><h1 id="isPasted">Catching False Ceilings Before They Fall</h1><a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/we-could-have-died-says-mother-of-three-after-100kg-false-ceiling-crashes-down-onto-family-bed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Last Thursday</a>&nbsp;marks just one more, among&nbsp;<a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/part-of-false-ceiling-falls-from-building-in-ntu-no-injuries-reported" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">many other cases</a>&nbsp;in the past six months, of spontaneous ceiling collapses. Enough to make you think, &ldquo;Is mine next?&rdquo; The good news is that these things don&rsquo;t just happen; it&rsquo;s stress that&rsquo;s built up over time and there are usually warning signs. Here are four main signs to look out for before you call in someone to fix up your false ceiling.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654933637005-1654933637005.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.homehow.co.uk/problems/ceiling-damage" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Homehow</a> SaggingNothing good ever comes out of sagging. Saggy pants, saggy fats, saggy b&hellip; you get the idea. It&rsquo;s no different for false ceilings. A small inverted bump or &ldquo;pillow&rdquo; is the first sign of ceiling strain. Act fast &ndash; get it inspected immediately!&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654933637024-1654933637024.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/ang-mo-kio-family-endures-leaky-ceiling-3-years-despite-numerous-repairs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Asia One</a> LeaksUnless you&rsquo;ve got a habit of shooting water guns up into the air, there shouldn&rsquo;t be ANY water on the ceiling. Ever. Plaster ceilings happily drink up water. And if you&rsquo;ve ever picked up a bucket of water, you know that water is HEAVY. False ceilings and excess weight are not friends. Act fast &ndash; get it inspected immediately! Cracking SoundsHear creaking, cracking, and popping? It&rsquo;s just the building settling, you say? I COULD be the building just getting old. But never assume so. They could be signs of an imminent collapse. Act fast &ndash; get it inspected immediately!<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1654933637048-1654933637048.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo Credit:<a href="https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/34kg-limestone-falls-hdb-flat-ceiling-nearly-misses-tenant" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/34kg-limestone-falls-hdb-flat-ceiling-nearly-misses-tenant" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Asia One</a> Visual CrackingThe thing that&rsquo;s worse than cracking sounds are cracks you can see. No, they aren&rsquo;t just cracked paint. They&rsquo;re a sign that something is straining the structure itself and, therefore, the ceiling. Act fast &ndash; get it inspected immediately!&nbsp;Structural issues are not something you want handled by the wrong people, especially not a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/how-to-avoid-disappearing-contractors-and-protect-your-dream-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blacklisted renovation company in Singapore</a>. I See One, So What Do I Do?If you haven&rsquo;t already got the idea, ACT FAST &ndash; GET IT INSPECTED IMMEDIATELY. The faster potential problems are identified, the faster they can be repaired &mdash; and that&rsquo;s far cheaper in the long run, even when you&rsquo;re conscious of your&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/singapore-2024-renovation-budget-condo-renovation-cost-forecast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">condo renovation cost</a>. Found none but still concerned? Grab a measuring tape and spirit level. Measure the height where the ceiling meets the wall. Then measure the height in the middle of the room. A difference of 12mm or more could indicate the something has come loose. Using a spirit level over areas of the ceiling will confirm any unevenness in the ceiling. Either way, call in the experts. Call your contractor. And if you&rsquo;re not satisfied with their assessment and recommendation, you could call in a qualified building inspector. Just make sure the people you engage are reputable &mdash; go for the <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/best-renovation-contractor-in-singapore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">best renovation contractor in Singapore</a>, not the cheapest. <a href="https://www.sixides.com/equote">Try our eQuote here!</a>&nbsp;Banner Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/could-have-died-mum-collapse-false-ceiling-renovated-bedroom-1920841" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Today Online</a>

Last Thursday marks just one more, among many other cases in the past six months, of spontaneous ceiling collapses. Enough to make you think, “Is mine next?” The good news is that these things don’t just happen

4 Warning Signs Of Spontaneous False Ceiling Collapse

1. Au NaturaleSingaporeans love their aircons. It&rsquo;s our natural go-to solution to beat the tropical heat of our sunny island. Many of us grew up with very thrifty parents, and true to their nagging, the aircon doesn&rsquo;t just jack up the electric bill, it doesn&rsquo;t do the environment any favors either. While fans may be friendlier to the climate and our wallets, the best sustainable way to keep our homes cool is to maximize natural ventilation. Having open concept plans for your communal areas will help create a cross-ventilation breeze, which is Mother Nature&rsquo;s free of charge natural cooling method for your home.&nbsp;&nbsp;With global warming being a very real and present concern, sustainable design that reduces aircon usage is becoming a core focus in <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/guide-choosing-an-interior-designer-in-singapore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interior design &amp; renovation</a> today. Many homeowners are adopting ventilation screens to keep the sun out while letting cool air in. In our packed window-to-window urban city, these screens also serve as privacy filters. This works beautifully whether you&rsquo;re exploring <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/wabi-sabi-is-not-wasabi-design-la" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wabi sabi design</a> for a more grounded, natural aesthetic or planning how to create a smart home&nbsp;with automated ventilation and climate-friendly features.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1657854343123-1657854343123.jpeg" alt="Beautiful shot of a modern house kitchen" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> 2. Cooler, Bright, CheaperOn the same note, there are homeowners on our sunny island who absolutely must have their air conditioning, and many pick the lesser of two evils, partitioning their homes with sliding panels or screens for quicker cooling and lower energy consumption.&nbsp;&nbsp;Air conditioners control both room temperature and humidity. It is crucial to pick the right cooling capacity for more efficient use and to save energy. While an oversized system costs more both in purchase price and electrical bills, it may also inefficiently dehumidify your space, cooling the air too quickly and powering down before reducing humidity sufficiently. On the flip side, an undersized aircon will not cool or humidify adequately.&nbsp;&nbsp;Here&rsquo;s where you may need a larger aircon &mdash; in rooms with higher ceilings, large windows that let the sun in, windows that face the sun, or in rooms with additional heat sources like a mini fridge or computer system that you keep running very often.&nbsp;&nbsp;Other popular sustainable designs also aim to incorporate LED lighting, which lasts longer and consumes less energy, as well as motion-sensing lights so you only use it when you need it. Picking light colors in your home for large surfaces like your walls, window fittings (blinds or drapes), and cupboards or cabinets will help bounce light better, making your room brighter with the same amount of lighting. Smart positioning of your TV and digital screens away from your windows also minimizes glare and the need for you to increase screen brightness.&nbsp;&nbsp;Smart ways to remind yourself to save energy include placing your electrical outlets in easily accessible and visible spots, so it is easy to remember to turn them off after each use. Allowing sufficient spacing around your refrigerator also makes for better ventilation, which helps with its cooling efficiency and lowers your energy usage.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1657854343141-1657854343141.jpeg" alt="Carbon footprint green environmental paper background with wind turbines trees and people" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> 3. Lower Your Carbon FootprintIn Singapore, we&rsquo;re all guilty of leaving at least some form of carbon footprint, given our very urban lifestyles. To help alleviate your footprint, responsible selection of materials for your home is important. However, it is essentially impossible to have an entirely sustainable home, unless you lived in the wilderness, and even then&hellip; Anyway, given that even natural renewable resources like wood, natural stone, gypsum, and wool require appropriate use and application, sustainable design nearly always requires the professional input of a skilled designer, one that has been properly schooled in green design.&nbsp;&nbsp;Recycled steel, reclaimed wood, cork, and felt are only a few of the popular materials used in green design. Bamboo is also a great choice, given it is a completely biodegradable, anti-bacterial, plant species that grows in abundance and can regenerate within 3 to 5 years. Vetiver, a tropical grass species that can lower interior temperatures (sounds like a godsend), reduce indoor pollutants and keep air fresh, is also trending in urban homes. Knowing where your materials come from, what they can do, the length of their life cycles, and how they are disposed of when they cease to be of use helps us understand the footprint we leave behind and make responsible decisions towards sustainable design.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1657854343159-1657854343159.jpeg" alt="Closeup of young girl and woman hands with brushes slowly painting very old wooden closet drawer in blue color reuse of old things sustainable ecofriendly actions for planet future" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> 4. Waste Not, Want NotNo matter how &ldquo;green&rdquo; you try to be, you will produce a certain amount of waste. While you may try to reuse whatever you can, like boxes, takeaway containers, or plastic bags, there is only so much you can do about the inevitable waste you are going to create.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sustainable design trends are seeing certain design themes like retro, rustic, or even Victorian styles that celebrate the use of vintage or old furniture so more upcycling or reusing of old furniture can be incorporated into home interiors. Old, and even broken furniture is either retouched or repurposed, and used items like tins cans, mason jars often add a whimsical flair to hipster homes. The shabby chic look is also making a comeback in the wake of sustainable design themes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Another smart way of reducing wastage is to choose biodegradable synthetic raw materials in your home design and furnishing. Faux leather, for instance, often uses recyclable waste, giving old material a new lease of life. It is a wonderful method of reducing both your waste output and the carbon footprint you leave.&nbsp;Going green isn&rsquo;t just kind to the environment, it very often is also gentler on the homeowners pocket. It creates a guilt-free environment where your mental and physical well-being is optimized and increases energy-efficiency, which ultimately helps you enjoy savings on your utilities, a win-win situation all around.&nbsp;

Singaporeans love their aircons. It’s our natural go-to solution to beat the tropical heat of our sunny island. Many of us grew up with very thrifty parents, and true to their nagging,

Hacks For A Low-Maintenance Home

Growing up, mom did all the cleaning. Every time a mess was made, the cane would sometimes appear along with the cleaning cloth or the broom. I always wondered what the huge fuss was about until I had my own space to clean.

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