If you have any doubt about how important the bedroom is, let this fact sink in: According to a study involving 2,000 Americans, it turns out that we spend nearly half our lives laying in bed. That’s approximately 11 hours a day or, collectively, 36 years over our lifetime. Now, you may argue that Malaysians have different sleeping habits and that may be true. But even if it is just reduced to sleeping time alone, that is still probably an average of 8 hours a day.

Lighting is one of the most crucial elements in a home — and more so in the bedroom. This means that elements that control lighting quality (type of lights, window size, curtains) are particularly important in the bedroom. The ability to control lighting will likely determine your comfort level for all sorts of activities that take place in the bedroom. For example, if you are someone who likes to read at night, a bedside lamp or wall-mounted reading light will allow you to read comfortably without causing much disturbance for your partner.

To most of us, curtains are simply something — a piece of fabric, maybe — that we use to cover or adorn our windows. When we shop for curtains, we probably look at colours, prints, and general design before anything else. And that is okay because we have to like how it looks; curtains are usually long-term investments and we do not want to be stuck with a colour or design that we do not really fancy.

However, there are some homeowners amongst us who are connoisseurs. They want a certain look for their home and would prefer if everything is unified under a general interior scheme. For instance, some people may prefer the natural, quirky, and free-flowing vibe of a hipster decor. So, they may select curtains in neutral colours or blinds made of recyclable bamboo, for example.

I will let you in on a secret -- one of the things that interior decorators, architects, or other designers often do is shop. Or rather, window shop, since we mostly do not end up buying anything but add yet another catalogue (or catalogues) to an already excessive collection. These will take up precious space but it will be something that we are ready to forgo because you really need to, first, be aware of what is in the market and, secondly, have a large number of materials to work with.

To the layperson, a sheer fabric is just that -- a sheer fabric. But as designers, we look at how dense the weave is. Is this too sheer? And, hence, does it let in too much light? Does the fabric feature any kind of grain and will it go with the decor? What material is it made of and will it be easy to care for and will it drape nicely after a year or so? Is this fabric suited for layers or will it look better on its own?

When we moved to our new home recently, my husband and I spent a couple of weeks without curtains. Part of the delay is due to the Movement Control Order that has been enforced due to Covid-19 -- it was near impossible to shop for fabrics and invite a consultant to our place. In those days, however, we learned that curtains are one of the most essential elements in our home.

For one, it ensures your privacy. Those weeks spent without curtains made me feel so exposed and I do not recommend dashing from one spot to another while wrapped in a bath towel to avoid being seen by the neighbours.

When people speak of design and interior decorating, the word “modern” often comes up. It is also common to use it interchangeably with the word“ contemporary”. But what does modern design mean, exactly? And what are some of its defining characteristics?

First, if you are thinking that modern means current, you could not be further from the truth. Modernism, as a school of design, surfaced and proliferated during the early to mid-20th century and it is, in part, an offshoot of German and Scandinavian design. This period was marked by the invention of new machineries, which made the mass production of furniture and housing possible.