DECEMBER 2021

DEC 2021

Great gift ideas for the whole family!

20 restaurants for your festive feast

Happy Homes Rug Reviews Chic Chairs

Power Workouts Sustainable Fashion Kids & Cavities

Cruises & Bucket Lists

Win a $3,000 table setting!

EDITOR’SNOTE I just had another email pop up about how artificial intelligence is the way forward. And I wondered what had happened to just plain intelligence. Then, when I accidentally spelt artificial with a “v” instead of an “f”, the autocorrect function came up with all sorts of alternatives, including “ altricial ”… but not “ artificial ”?! Which made me more convinced that we are on a strange path. Birds and animals communicate perfectly with each other through the ether using their intelligence. Fish, penguins and turtles know exactly where they have to go thousands of miles away to breed or nest following their instinct. And most living creatures heal themselves without any external help. I think the more dependent we are on AI, programmed information and maps, the less we are using our own intelligence. The other day, an elderly lady in a “cash only” store in Arab Street knew that my shopping was going to be less than the $7 I had in cash just by looking at it. I was about to get out my phone to add it up! Could it be, as in George Orwell’s Animal Farm , that the animals will take over? I reckon we could be taken over fairly easily by anyone or anything at the moment. Many of us are already following external and subliminal messages rather than our own intuition. No one really knows how long humans have existed for, but even if the research that says we’ve had our current brain size for about 130,000 years is true, it’s been a while. Are we getting any better at using it? What would you like for Christmas? We’ve got plenty of great physical ideas in this issue. I have my eye on a new pair of trainers … my old ones are starting to walk on their own. And, I would also be happy learning to communicate better through the ether and in person. If the animals can do it, then so can we! A little more conversation and a little less doubt – sounds like the perfect Christmas song …

REBECCA BISSET Editor-in-Chief

The natural world seems to

be way cleverer than us!

12

DECEMBER2021

Editor-in-Chief REBECCA BISSET Group Editors SHAMUS SILLAR | JULIET KEYS | LEANDA RATHMELL Editorial Team HEALTH & FITNESS: AMY GREENBURG LIFE & FAMILY: PATRICEA CHOW WINE & DINE, LIFESTYLE: DINESH AJITH FASHION & BEAUTY: LOUISA LIM HOME & PROPERTY: AMY BROOK-PARTRIDGE Online & Digital Content MICHAELA BISSET Production Coordinators NUR HANANI KAMAL LUDDIN | JUDIT GÁL Graphic Designers MICHAEL BERNABE | JEANNE WONG Marketing, Circulation & Administration ANNA TSERLINGAS | VEENA GILL | SITI SHAHIRAH KHIRUDEEN Advertising Sales KARIN GALLEY | DANIELLE ROSSETTI | LARA SAGE | JACQUI YOUNG Events & Partnerships SUSAN KNUDSEN-PICKLES IT & Web Support RENE YUTIAMPO | HANADDI REY DIAZ MAMBA Chief Operations Officer COLIN PURCHASE Contributing Writers HARSHARAN KAUR | DEE KHANDUJA | MELINDA MURPHY | MELANIE BROWN Contributing Photographers DELON HO (DELONHO.SG) KEN TAN (MISTERKENTAN.COM)

CONTACT US Call or WhatsApp: +65 9112 0652

General Enquiries: info@expatliving.sg Advertising Sales: sales@expatliving.sg Subscription: subscription@expatliving.sg Production: production@expatliving.sg Editorial & Media Releases: editorial@expatliving.sg Calendar of Events: calendar@expatliving.sg Events: events@expatliving.sg Websites: expatliving.sg | expatliving.hk Printed by Times Printers Pte Ltd (timesprinters.com) Published by Expat Living Publications Pte Ltd 36 Carpenter Street, #02-01 Carpenter Haus, Singapore 059915

Cover: Sonia Blockley’s home Photography: Katie Martin-Sperry

14

DECEMBER2021

CONTENTS

NEWS 22 What’s on in Singapore 24 This month’s letters to the editor 26 Subscribe and join us at an event or online talk HOME & PROPERTY 30 New furniture finds and store updates 33 Win $3,000 in beautiful home décor! 34 Festive Decorations: Old ornaments and memories 42 Buying Guide: Chic chairs and places to perch 46 Christmas at Sommerville Park 52 Reader recommendations on rugs 54 Street Talk: Living in Punggol

34 Melinda’s memories

77

82 Not sure what to get him?

LIFE & FAMILY 62 The latest news for parents and kids 65 How an educator followed her dreams 66 Noticeboard: Baby births and dogs for adoption 69 Seasonal shopping at Cluny Court 72 The school taking extra steps on wellbeing 74 Meet a returned expat and influencer 77 Christmas gifts for him, her, the home and the kids! 90 What to watch and read this month

Great gifts of every kind

92 All the details you need on divorce 96 Singapore Pages: Explore the island! 98 Who’s behind the Butterfly Letters?

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DECEMBER2021

CONTENTS

126 Need a new view?

WINE & DINE 102 Foodie news, restaurant updates and more 107 Our giant festive dining roundup! 118 Master Christmas classics at this culinary school 119 Another great recipe for your repertoire 120 Superstar cocktails on Craig Road TRAVEL 124 Trip-planning inspiration and hotel news 126 Living the high life on the high seas 129 Fab Five: A 2022 travel bucket list

107 Christmas dinners in and out!

90 Italian eats

18

DECEMBER2021

CONTENTS

137 Dressing up!

STYLE & BEAUTY 134 Fashion news and advice 137 Party wear for December 142 Our Q&A with a sustainable stylist 144 New and notable beauty buys 150 Which hair-styling 152 Tried & Tested: We review sunscreens 155 Top laser and light treatments in town HEALTH & FITNESS 161 Medical updates and health tips from experts 164 Power workouts to boost your burn! 166 How to keep little teeth healthy 168 Supporting the kids through the holidays 170 Why a sprained ankle can be serious 172 A different approach to weight loss 174 Do you have a leaky gut? products do we love?

164 Workouts that burn

REGULARS 178 See how well you do in our Puzzle Pages 180 What’s in the stars in our December horoscopes? 182 Important contacts and this month’s advertisers 184 Parting Shot: When it’s time to leave Singapore

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DECEMBER2021

CALENDAR

WHAT’SON

Flipping Creative Collective Holiday Fair (10 & 11 DECEMBER) Looking for unique, handmade and upcycled gifts for Christmas? There’s plenty to choose from at this fair. This is the first collaborative event by Flipping Creative Collective, a group of female-led boutique brands in Singapore. The fair is at The Hollandse Club and runs from 9am to 4pm on both days. More information and vendor profiles can be found at flippingcreativecollective.com . Reservations for slots are highly recommended due to current restrictions. HCA Vertical Challenge 2021 (UNTIL 12 DECEMBER) Gather friends and family to compete in the HCA Vertical Challenge 2021 as a team. Registration for the challenge is free but participants are encouraged to raise a minimum of $300 for HCA Hospice Care. This amount funds one free home visit for one terminally ill patient, and the hospice aims to raise $400,000 to fund 1,333 free home visits. You can run anywhere and anytime up hills, nature parks or even staircases. Finisher entitlements await those who compete as well as raise the minimum amount. Head to events.hca.org.sg for information and registration. Reignite – Kit Chan “Live” in Concert (16 TO 18 DECEMBER) Singapore’s beloved Kit Chan returns to the stage at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands this month. Centred on the themes of restarting and renewing, the performer’s show aims to inspire positivity through her brand of heartfelt ballads, eclectic stage repertoire and engaging live performance. Audiences can look forward to the “star on the tree” – a special Christmas segment, which is a first for Kit. Tickets: $88-$198 from marinabaysands. com/entertainment/shows . Boom Boom Room (UNTIL 19 DECEMBER) Singapore’s legendary cabaret club returns as an all-new show at a new venue. Well-known diva drag queen Kumar leads a cast that includes Helda and Liz, the original drag queens of the club, plus newcomer Vanda Miss Joaquim, a veteran drag artist in Singapore. Their elaborate routines and performances are rounded out with acts by Volta Wheel, the world’s first holographic Cyr Wheel, and peformances by mentalist and magician Mark Wong, BomBoxx Dancers and local celebrity Nat Ho. Sands Expo and Convention Centre Hall C. Tickets: $98- $188 from marinabaysands.com/entertainment/shows .

Boom Boom Room

Echoes of Anticipation (UNTIL 23 DECEMBER)

Presented by FOST Gallery, this group exhibition features works by Singapore artists Ong Si Hui, Grace Tan, Wyn- Lyn Tan, Sebastian Mary Tay and Ian Woo. While previous editions only included works of the current year of the exhibition, this year’s edition explores the dialogue between works made prior to 2021 and current creations. This also includes artworks by the artists that have never been exhibited before. fostgallery.com

22

DECEMBER2021

CALENDAR

Sunset BBQ at Professor Brawn (UNTIL 25 DECEMBER)

Dalam Southeast Asia (ONGOING)

Weber Asia Pacific has partnered with Professor Brawn Bistro @ Redhill for an à la carte barbecue on their new Weber BBQ station. An inclusive staff of special needs folks will work alongside passionate teammates to serve your orders of a barbecued seafood platter ($79) or meat platter ($89). Look forward to thick cuts of tenderloin, deep red lobsters, Portobello charred with cheese, delicious wines and refreshing draught beers. Sessions are from 6.30pm to 9pm (last order 8.30pm) on Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations via WhatsApp 8321 2204. profbrawn.com.sg Held at the public art space on the second level of the Pan Pacific Hotel’s atrium, this is a presentation of works by Singapore-based Japanese artist Tsuyumi Miwa. She uses acrylics to reflect her interpretation of colour and light to paint her subjects. There is a mix of original works and giclee prints of originals in limited runs. All pieces are for sale aside from three works that are on loan from private collections. The public is invited to leave their mark on a mural by local visual artist Sam Lo, which covers the hoarding that surrounds the Singapore Art Museum buildings. Using stickers, viewers are encouraged to obliterate the letters “CON” in the statement and thus contemplate the reality that while the future may be uncertain, the power to shape it lies in each of our hands. This commission reflects the artist’s desire for a more socially conscious and inclusive society, which is a recurring theme that stems from and acknowledges a lived experience as a member in a diverse community. Fleeting Moments (UNTIL 26 JANUARY 2022) Our Future Is In(con)clusive (UNTIL 6 FEBRUARY 2022)

The National Gallery Singapore has opened Dalam Southeast Asia, its first project space that features under-studied artists from the region, and innovative curatorial approaches in the presentation of Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art. Debut show “The Tailors and the Mannequins: Chen Cheng Mei and You Khin” is the first of four rotating exhibitions slated to roll out every six months until 2023. A majority of the artworks will be drawn from the National Collection, including many never-before-seen acquisitions and donations. nationalgallery.sg Children’s Biennale (ONGOING) Let your child embark on a multi-sensory experience as they explore on-site installations at the National Gallery Singapore’s Children’s Biennale. The nine art installations are guided by the inquiry Why Art Matters, where artists seek to convey the importance of art during unsettling times. The artworks will explore themes of Home, Diversity, Environment and Time. Children are encouraged to touch, move and interact with the pieces, which foster skills such as curiosity and critical thinking as they learn through play. childrensbiennale.com

Sunset BBQ

Fleeting Moments

23 DECEMBER2021

LETTERS

HOME & PROPERTY

Insiders These readers tell us what inspired them to adorn their walls with these special art pieces.

Stephan Amling, German

We have been art lovers for many years and always lived with art around us. When coming to Singapore five years ago, we were looking for local artwork and found this wonderful painting of a black-and-white house, which we immediately fell in love with and brought home. Our real estate agent, who assisted us during our house search, introduced us to Gallery 278. We liked them due to the warm-hearted and friendly people working there and the high-quality and hand-picked styles in their portfolio. We ended up using the store to kit out our entire house, as we had arrived in Singapore without any furniture.

Rosie Thompson, Scottish

BY AMY BROOK-PARTRIDGE PHOTOGRAPHY KEN TAN

I have admired DeborahMcKellar’s artwork for many years and have often bought her smaller prints for friends as leaving presents and her tea towels and glass platters as birthday gifts. I always liked different parts of different pieces of her work. So, for my birthday, my husband gave me the gift of a bespoke piece from Deborah, picking out my favourite parts and colours from all her various pieces. I also had cards made of the painting, which she named “Rosie’s Shophouse”. Deborah’s work is very well known and admired among the expat community and I often see her pieces displayed in peoples’ houses. She uses many different and evolving techniques, so each piece is unique and tells a different story about Singapore. I had a specific wall in mind for my bespoke piece. To fit the area, I commissioned a traditional Chinatown shophouse as the centrepiece, including details of Chinese lanterns, bamboo window bars, hand-painted frangipanis and bamboo in my favourite greens and gold leaf, and a double happiness symbol. Deborah also had some beautiful Christian Lacroix fabric and batik that was sewn onto the painting to add dimension.

Owner Felicia Koh provided us with very professional and elegant advice in building our new home. Along the way, if anything needed some maintenance or was to be replaced with a different item for redecoration purposes, she and her teamwere extremely courteous. Based on all our experience in collaborating with Gallery 278 over the last five years, we can definitely recommend them to anyone aiming to build a cosy home that leaves an impression.

Gallery 278 203 Henderson Road, #11-01/02 (Wing A) 6737 2322 | gallery278.com | escoleasing.com

Making Changes Dea r ed i t or and team, I just wanted to 54 OCTOBER2021 I visited Deborah’s studio and she spent lots of time with me, listening to my ideas and likes. She created a mock-up piece that I could then edit as desired. Different framing options were also presented. I’m not an artist at all, but I know visually what I like, and I was very impressed at how easily Deborah interpreted on paper what I was visualising in my head. My husband Alistair was born in Singapore and spent the first few years of his life here. We have now commissioned Deborah to create a painting to reflect his memories of that time, including family photos as well as Alexandra Hospital and Jalan Pemimpin where he was born and lived. We can’t wait to see it. Deborah’s husband Shawn is also an artist and they have been collaborating on some fantastic pieces of new art using different techniques. He loves to paint cars and boats; if you visit their lovely studio in Joo Chiat, you can admire his work as well. Talking Textiles To book an appointment to visit the studio, contact talkingtextiles@gmail.com.

Juliet Kelly-Wong, British

We had just moved house and had a very large wall space that needed one large piece of art to be featured in it. I already knew of the artist Eleftharia Lasthiotaki and loved her art. We ended up purchasing two paintings of hers from LivingwithArt. One is called “Sometimes The Sky Is Pink”. This reminded us of a certain port in Greece that we love. The colours are gorgeous and, indeed, sometimes the sky is pink! The other painting is called “Lines And Fragments”. The colours of this painting just transfixed us from the moment we saw it. It draws you in and transports you to another world. It’s now in our living room and there is not a day that goes by where I don’t immerse myself in it; it literally transports me to a place of calmness, serenity and happiness.

BEST LETTER We want to hear from you! Send us your thoughts on any subject and you could win a bottle of Paper Lantern Gin ( drinkpaperlantern.com ) featuring botanicals sourced from Asia – and no colours or additives – to add a dash of flavour to your life.

The service we received from LivingwithArt was fantastic and we would definitely purchase from them again!

LivingwithArt Singapore #02-05 Tan Boon Liat Building, 315 Outram Road 9826 4172 | livingwithart.com.sg

OCTOBER2021

55

say that I like your new edition! Your magazine looks refreshed, with lots of changes – and the City Guide too. I suspended my subscription two years ago after getting the magazine for a year when I first moved to Singapore, but I started again as I was missing some relaxing reading time during the pandemic. I’ve been out of my home country and a trailing spouse for more than 13 years. Subscribing to a local magazine is one of the best things you can do to get settled in. However, after the first year, those regular magazines can be less interesting, as they focus on typical expat life rather than local life. With this edition, though, I’m still finding new aspects of Singapore in it, and I’ve put them on my to-do list. I guess the pandemic has changed your magazine concept; it’s so good to see these changes! Ayako Hashiguchi Ed: Thanks so much for your lovely feedback – glad you’re enjoying some fresh content. We’re trying to mix it up a bit!

New Discoveries Hi, I received my first issue of Expat Living a week ago and have found it an absolute delight to read from cover to cover. In these highly stressful times, your October edition has inspired me to spruce up my home, cook a steak for the first time (using the marvellous tomahawk steak recipe), before ending with a comforting silent mental retreat. The way the articles were sequenced really brought me on a fun ride of discovery – all from the comfort of my living room! Kudos to the team – I look forward to next month’s edition! Daryl Lim

WINE & DINE

Grilling a quality piece of meat is, for some people, an intimidating prospect. But making a great steak at home is easy! All you really need is some seasoning and a meat thermometer to hit the perfect doneness. Here’s a quick guide to cooking a tomahawk (a thick bone-in ribeye) from the grill gurus at Weber. Instructions #1 Heat an outdoor grill or preheat your oven to 190°C. #2 Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper, using about one teaspoon per 450 grams of steak. #3 Sear the steak for three to four minutes on each side. #4 Transfer the steak to a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until the steak reaches an internal temperature of 52°C. This will take about 30 minutes, but use a meat thermometer for best results. #5 Let the steak rest for five to ten minutes before serving.

Tips • How to tell when your steak is done: 50°C rare; 55°C medium rare; 60°C medium; 65°C medium well; 70°C well done. • Don’t have a grill? No problem! Sear your steak on the stove before placing it in the oven. Use a large heavy skillet, preferably cast iron. • If you want to keep your steak in the grill to finish cooking, you’ll need to cook over indirect heat. Keep the lid of the grill closed and adjust the flames to keep the temperature at 200°C.

weber.com/sg

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OCTOBER2021

Ed: Thanks for the lovelymessage, Daryl! As with all things in life, it makes such a difference when you get good feedback. Thanks for being one of our readers, too; let us know if youwant us to cover something in particular and we’ll see what we can do.

Farewell to SG Many thanks to Siti at EL for helping to cancel our subscription. We’ve now left Singapore with lots of tears in our eyes. As a farewell present, it was great to be portrayed in front of one of our favourite pieces of art in the recent issue of Expat Living. Best regards from Europe. Stephan Amling HOME & PROPERTY Stephan Amling, German We have been art lovers for many years and always lived with art around us. When coming to Singapore five years ago, we were looking for local artwork and found this wonderful painting of a black-and-white house, which we immediately fell in love with and brought home.

Short Stories Firstly, congratulations on your magazine! We’ve been in Singapore for 12 years and I was first introduced to Expat Living in our welcome pack at our temporary housing; I now look forward to the new issue each month. I wanted to enquire if you’re interested in publishing short stories from teenagers in Singapore? My daughter regularly writes stories and I wanted to see if I could get one published! Finuala Hattori Ed: Hi, yes, please send something in! We have our regular Parting Shot feature (on the back page) where readers canwrite in, andwe sometimes run longer ones from contributors depending on the topic.

Insiders These readers tell us what inspired them to adorn their walls with these special art pieces.

Our real estate agent, who assisted us during our house search, introduced us to Gallery 278. We liked them due to the warm-hearted and friendly people working there and the high-quality and hand-picked styles in their portfolio. We ended up using the store to kit out our entire house, as we had arrived in Singapore without any furniture. Owner Felicia Koh provided us with very professional and elegant advice in building our new home. Along the way, if anything needed some maintenance or was to be replaced with a different item for redecoration purposes, she and her teamwere extremely courteous. Based on all our experience in collaborating with Gallery 278 over the last five years, we can definitely recommend them to anyone aiming to build a cosy home that leaves an impression.

BY AMY BROOK-PARTRIDGE PHOTOGRAPHY KEN TAN

Gallery 278 203 Henderson Road, #11-01/02 (Wing A) 6737 2322 | gallery278.com | escoleasing.com

Juliet Kelly-Wong, British

Rosie Thompson, Scottish

Ed: Enjoy your new home!

We had just moved house and had a very large wall space that needed one large piece of art to

I have admired DeborahMcKellar’s artwork for many years and have often bought her smaller prints for friends as leaving presents and her tea towels and glass platters as birthday gifts. I always liked different parts of different pieces of her work. So, for my birthday, my husband gave me the gift of a bespoke piece from Deborah, picking out my favourite parts and colours from all her various pieces. I also had cards made of the painting, which she named “Rosie’s Shophouse”. Deborah’s work is very well known and admired among the expat community and I often see her pieces displayed in peoples’ houses. She uses many different and evolving techniques, so each piece is unique and tells a different story about Singapore. I had a specific wall in mind for my bespoke piece. To fit the area, I commissioned a traditional Chinatown shophouse as the centrepiece, including details of Chinese lanterns, bamboo window bars, hand-painted frangipanis and bamboo in my favourite greens and gold leaf, and a double happiness symbol. Deborah also had some beautiful Christian Lacroix fabric and batik that was sewn onto the painting to add dimension.

be featured in it. I already knew of the artist Eleftharia Lasthiotaki and loved her art. We ended up purchasing two paintings of hers from LivingwithArt. One is called “Sometimes The Sky Is Pink”. This reminded us of a certain port in Greece that we love. The colours are gorgeous and, indeed, sometimes the sky is pink! The other painting is called “Lines And Fragments”. The colours of this painting just transfixed us from the moment we saw it. It draws you in and transports you to another world. It’s now in our living room and there is not a day that goes by where I don’t immerse myself in it; it literally transports me to a place of calmness, serenity and happiness. The service we received from LivingwithArt was fantastic and we would definitely purchase from them again!

LivingwithArt Singapore #02-05 Tan Boon Liat Building, 315 Outram Road 9826 4172 | livingwithart.com.sg

I visited Deborah’s studio and she spent lots of time with me, listening to my ideas and likes. She created a mock-up piece that I could then edit as desired. Different framing options were also presented. I’m not an artist at all, but I know visually what I like, and I was very impressed at how easily Deborah interpreted on paper what I was visualising in my head. My husband Alistair was born in Singapore and spent the first few years of his life here. We have now commissioned Deborah to create a painting to reflect his memories of that time, including family photos as well as Alexandra Hospital and Jalan Pemimpin where he was born and lived. We can’t wait to see it. Deborah’s husband Shawn is also an artist and they have been collaborating on some fantastic pieces of new art using different techniques. He loves to paint cars and boats; if you visit their lovely studio in Joo Chiat, you can admire his work as well.

55

OCTOBER2021

Talking Textiles To book an appointment to visit the studio, contact talkingtextiles@gmail.com.

Email us at info@expatliving.sg

OCTOBER2021

54

24

DECEMBER2021

CALENDAR

Don’tmissourmonthly events! Register at expatliving.sg/ELevents

EL WORKSHOP

Christmas Workshop Creating beautiful table centrepieces with Wildflower Florist

8 December 2021 7pm Zoom Online

EL PARTNERSHIP

Flipping Creative Collective Holiday Fair A curated collaborative fair for female-led local boutique brands

10 & 11 December 2021 9am – 4pm Hollandse Club

26

DECEMBER2021

Get our monthlymagazine and annual guides delivered to your door

for the year and receive our annual guides for free! $69 Subscribe for just $82.80 Your subscription will also include free access to the digital edition so you can read the mag when you’re out, as well as save and share your favourite articles.

DEC 2021

December 2021 Issue 233 S$6.90 MCI (P) 076/02/2021 CHAIRS & RUGS • CHRISTMAS DINING • REMOTE DESTINATIONS Power Workouts Sustainable Fashion Kids & Cavities Happy Homes Rug Reviews Chic Chairs

Great gift ideas for the whole family!

DEC 2021

December 2021 Issue 233 S$6.90 MCI (P) 076/02/2021 CHAIRS & RUGS • CHRISTMAS DINING • REMOTE DESTINATIONS Power Workouts Sustainable Fashion Kids & Cavities Happy Homes Rug Reviews Chic Chairs

20 restaurants for your festive feast

Great gift ideas for the whole family!

20 restaurants for your festive feast

Cover-DEC21 RB2 JK SS.indd 2 SAVE 15%

Win a $3,000 table setting! Cruises & Bucket Lists

Cruises & Bucket Lists

Win a $3,000 table setting!

Cover-DEC21 RB2 JK SS.indd 2

15/11/21 9:53 AM

15/11/21 9:53 AM

expatliving.sg/subscribe Scan or visit Offer ends 31 December 2021. Our annual guides include our City Guide and Kids’ Guide, which are published at different times within the year and will be mailed with your copy of Expat Living.

Get our latest CityGuide! Whether you’ve just arrived or have been here a while, our guide will help you make the most of living in Singapore. It’s filled with handy tips and advice on neighbourhoods to live in, property, healthcare, education and all the things you need to get started.

Share this if you know someone new in town!

Scan the QR code to read the digital edition or get a copy delivered to you. expatliving.sg/guides

27 DECEMBER2021

HOME & PROPERTY

42 Buying Guide:

Chic chairs and places to perch!

Originals

33 Competition Time: Win $3,000 in beautiful home décor

34 Festive Decorations: Old ornaments and Christmas memories

52 The Right Rug: Readers tell us about ther favourite carpets

HOME & PROPERTY

WHAT’S NEW

EAST COAST COLLECTIVE GinkoCollection, a newhomeware store inKatong, has been launched by a collective of female-led business owners. Their aim is to offer customers a place to find beautiful pieces for the home as well as gorgeous gifts. Located on the second floor of the newly refurbishedKatong Point Mall, it has everything from candles, fine art, bone-inlay frames and soft throws, to jewellery and clothing. So, if you’re on the hunt for a gift for yourself or a friend, head to Level 2, Katong Point Mall and get shopping!

Fabulously Festive Don’t you just want to sit down at this table with a glass of bubbles and tuck into some turkey and trimmings? (Or maybe that’s just us!) The Augusta Costa Nova dinnerware range, available at House of AnLi, is perfect for a festive setting. In fact, if you make your way to the store, you’ll find plenty of Christmas décor ideas, from Flamant Christmas accessories and mood-setting Fatboy lights, to delicious Dolce & Gabbana x Flasconaro Panettone Christmas cakes, which fly off the shelf. Check out the range at houseofanli.com/ collections/festive-picks – or, better still, see for yourself at #03-17 Tanglin Mall, 163 Tanglin Road .

Trees to Last Masons, purported to be Singapore’s largest Christmas store, stocks amazingly real-looking artificial fir trees in a huge range of different styles, colours and colour variations. The store’s German-engineered trees, FirTECT, are made to last a lifetime, and are seriously strong – you can hang more decorations and lights on them than you could ever imagine! Also available is a great selection of sprays for tables, tree baubles and decorations; in fact, Masons brings in 100 new designs of ornaments every year! Find out more at mason.com.sg .

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DECEMBER2021

HOME & PROPERTY

RETRO RANGE With a hint of contemporary sleekness mixed with real retro style, the new Voet range from Born In Colour is a cool collection that should work in any home. The retro brown coffee table comes in a unique diagonal shape with black metal racks underneath. The television console is not only stylish but practical with its two drawers and two flip-out doors on either side, as is the five-tier ladder bookshelf rack. Find out how you can get your hands on one of these pieces at bornincolour.com .

Orchard Opening Courts, the electrical, IT and furniture retailer, has launched its Courts Nojima flagship store at 260 Orchard Road . The first three levels open this year, with the remaining floors slated to open in the first quarter of 2022. Customers can expect to find top-of-the-range bedding collections from Serta, Sealy and Simmons, as well as premium ovens from Bertazzoni. Had your eyes on a robotic vacuum? Here you’ll find products from six popular brands, and there’s even a fully equipped-sports gaming room capable of hosting e-sports tournaments. courts.com.sg

Decorating for the holidays and beyond

#1 Hurricane lanterns filled with seasonal décor and fairy lights are key to entryway or table set-ups. Outside of the season, replace the lights with standard candles for everyday elegance. #2 Anything with a metallic or reflective finish is holiday- appropr i ate. Decorat ing a buffet table? Spray-paint a large foraged branch for a statement centrepiece. Or use vot ive candles in ametallic vessel, which work seamlessly year-round too! #3 White or silver faux flowers create an ethereal , winter wonderland look without relying on the usual poinsettia or fir. Smaller petals or coniferous- looking leaves feel airy but festive and can also be repurposed throughout the year.

Arete Culture’s founder and creative director CAROLINE CHIN GEYLER shares her professional tips on home design and décor.

Arete Culture | 20 Depot Lane, #01-01/02 | 9640 3829 | areteculture.com

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DECEMBER2021

HOME & PROPERTY

Find Magical Moments by Arete at Atelier by Arete 20 Depot Lane, #01-01/02 magicalmomentsbyarete.com The pieces on offer include an exquisite two-tone linen runner, jute and cotton runner, duck egg blue and silver gradient glass vase, and four natural agate coasters with live gold edge. Then there’s the tall silver cage lantern to give your entertaining setting a natural glow, along with a gorgeous acrylic candle holder and mirror lantern. The hand-crafted white capiz clam shell table piece adds a sculptural element to a stylish table as well. Find out how you can win this entire stunning table setting worth over $3,000 – courtesy of the newly launched Magical Moments by Arete. Party season is upon us, so what better time to get in with a chance of winning over $3,000 worth of beautiful home entertaining accessories! Magical Moments by Arete is stocked at Atelier by Arete, which offers a striking selection of table and home accessories for any special occasion, from morning brunches to dinner parties. The range is there to help you create a striking setting for home entertainment. Stuck for a Christmas gift for a loved one? These pieces also make gorgeous gifts. Home Décor

How To Enter

Keen toget your handson thesegorgeousgoodies? Just go toexpatliving.sg/competitions; and be sure to enter before 31 December. Good luck!

33 DECEMBER2021

PHOTOGRAPHY KEN TAN

34

DECEMBER2021

HOME & PROPERTY

Our sentimental attachments to old things mightseemabitsilly,yetforMELINDAMURPHY, old things are the bridge to Christmases past.

You’re bringing all that?” my husband asked when he saw the crates of Christmas decorations I had packed to bring to Singapore. “Really? I mean, that’s a lot of stuff!” To be fair, it was only four big crates – the best four crates of stuff we carted across the ocean, if you ask me. The way I look at it, this is our children’s one childhood; their one time to experience the magic of Christmas. And all these baubles are a way to connect them to my own childhood. Yup, they were a

must-bring, plain and simple. Nine years later, I’m so glad we have them with us. More so, the decorations are a way for my children to know my parents. This is the twentieth Christmas without my mother – unthinkable, really. She loved Christmas, spending days baking goodies for us and decorating. So, as I gently unwrap each ornament and hang it on the tree, she springs back to life. I can hear her laughing and – for just a bit – my mom is with me again.

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Snow globes My mother’s snow globes are now the centrepiece of our dining table. Most of them were gifts and have a Christmas theme, but a couple are different. As a reporter, I once covered the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City and the parade director gave me a special parade globe complete with moving parts. One is of the pre-9/11 New York City skyline, where I lived for most of my adult life. For years, my kids were too little to handle the globes and, yes, they broke a few. But now, they gently wind each one up, eagerly listening to the various tunes, debating which one is best. Last year, I gave each of my kids their own snow globe to add to the collection. Baubles I always give our kids an ornament on 6 December, Sinterklaas. My husband is Dutch and so, long ago, I started giving him ornaments on the day the Dutch version of Santa comes to visit. The idea was to balance out the zillion ornaments I have so that Christmas wasn’t just mine, but ours. And now the

Sinterklaas tradition has expanded to the kids. My daughter’s favourite is a wolf ornament (though I like her My Little Pony ornament – Pinkie Pie – because she loved it so when she opened it). My son cherishes his soccer ball and NY Giants helmet. My husband has his holiday memories too. We have several of his mother’s speculaaspplanks , traditional woodenmoulds theDutchuse tomake yummy speculaas cookies. And there are a few Dutch ornaments on the tree and around the house that we picked up in the Netherlands, such as a burlap Sinterklaas bag. The ornaments I gift them join themany ornaments we have picked up on our travels over our 20-year marriage. Some, such as the blown glass ornament of a gondolier from Venice, are beautiful; others are a bit odd, like the weird papier-mâché ornament fromMyanmar. Many are handmade, capturing the handprints of my babies or a fun afternoon at Girl Scouts. Several were made by my grandmother too. So while our tree isn’t breathtakingly beautiful like the many I admire, it’s beautiful in its own way: a tree of beautiful memories.

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The table Our Christmas dinner table is also full of memories. It always includes our wedding china, my parents’ Waterford crystal, my grandmother’s silver and my mother-in-law’s beautiful crystal bowl. This year, I added some greenery and candle holders picked up at Ji Mei, my favourite flower wholesaler. The candle holders are the same ones three of us bought for my friend’s surprise 40th birthday. We all liked them so much that we each bought the same. So now when I look at them, I’ll think of my friends, too – they are my Singapore family.

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Christmas stockings Mr and Mrs Claus turn 75 this year; they were my parents’ very first ornaments as a married couple, and I always hang them up last, together. But the old couple aren’t the oldest decoration. That honour goes to my dad’s Christmas stockings – very simple red socks that his grandmother knitted for himwhen he was a little boy. He would have been 98 this year so the stockings are almost a century old now. My father grew up quite poor, getting only an orange every year, hidden in his stocking. The stockings are as plain as they get, but they mean a great deal to me. My dad was really affected by his childhood poverty, so every year he bent over backwards to make sure we had a special Christmas. It was my father who stayed up past midnight, wrapping gifts, putting together bikes, making a Barbie house with working lights for me. He loved Christmas as much as my mother did. He was the one who put the lights on the tree, too – a job he hated. In fact, he hated it so much that he came up with an idea to pre-light fake trees and he even got a patent for it. He was on his way to China to get them produced when we had a death in the family. He never made it to China and, by the next Christmas, the pre-lit trees were being sold everywhere. Collections mean memories My father’s sister lived in Washington DC and for years she sent me White House ornaments, each one incredibly intricate and beautiful. Aunt Ann was an amazing woman, moving as a trailing spouse to Hong Kong more than 60 years ago when it was unusual to be a Western expat in Hong Kong, living there long before email and Zoom calls. I always felt a special connection to her, made all the stronger when I found myself a trailing spouse in Asia decades later. And then there was my father’s best friend, Louis, who was a bachelor until his sixties so he spent every Christmas with us for most of my childhood and travelled with us across the globe. Each year, Louis gave me a Wallace silver bell and now I have a small tree of nothing but silver bells. They remind me of him and his wife Jane who continued to send the bells after he died. Last year, Wallace issued the 50th anniversary bell. I bought one for my daughter so she could start her own bell collection too. My son also has his special pieces. He fell in love with nutcrackers in Germany when the two of us were travelling alone. He now gets one each Christmas and they all remind us of our special mother/son vacation.

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HOME & PROPERTY

Every year, I watch as my daughter carefully places each character in the manger scene

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Making new memories When my daughter was one, my sister-in-law gave her an Elf on the Shelf that we named Zirkle. The kids love flying around the house each morning to see where he’s landed when he’s returned from his nightly visit to the North Pole. Zirkle has done a few naughty things over the years. Once, he even drew a moustache on my face with eyeliner! Overall, though, Zirkle is a pretty easy-going elf, mostly just hiding and leaving little presents in our elf advent calendar each morning. A few years ago, we took our kids to meet Santa in Lapland ( Expat Living , February 2018).There, we picked up a beautiful glass Santa candleholder as well as some gnomes, each one representing our family. My husband is a big guy and his gnome is gigantic, standing about a metre high. Otto is his name and I spotted him in the airport when we first arrived. As we travelled, I looked for another one I liked better, but didn’t find one, So, as we were leaving, I literally ran through the airport to buy Otto. I love him. He’s so big that we can’t store him, so the gnomes sit out always andwe have a bit of Christmas throughout the year. I don’t mind: they just make me think of that magical look on my children’s faces when they met the man in the big red suit. Singapore specials There are so many ornaments from Singapore too. The Santas from different countries are such fun – we bought them from a pop-up booth at Cluny Court. We have one representing the US, the Netherlands and even Texas. There’s also “Merry Christmas, Lah”, a cheapie ornament I picked up at an ornament exchange. And, when I was chair of USA Girl Scouts Overseas (Singapore), one troop made me a wreath that I still adore. One incredibly special Singapore decoration is a gingerbread house made by the “Joss-Stick Man”. My friend and I took our daughters to his shop years ago as part of a Girl Scout badge. Turns out, they make these incredible gingerbread houses so we both bought one, picking out the decorations we wanted on our own houses. Mine is an incredibly personal memory of Singapore. And it makes a really great little village when added to some houses we bought in Germany, in the cute town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Our banister now has greenery that I bought at Kinex Mall, a great place for picking up fake trees, wreaths, greenery and lights. In the US, we got lots of cards from our friends with photos of their families and stories of their past year. Here we

tend to get email cards so I now put our own family cards up attached to the greenery; it’s a fun way to track how the kids have grown from Christmas to Christmas. My favourite is a photo of my kids on Santa’s lap: my daughter is beaming from ear to ear and my son is hysterical in tears. Funnily enough, some of my favourite ornaments are cheap strings of paper stars I picked up at IKEA. They’re magical at night. IKEA has great extras and the cheapest candles in Singapore. I’ve also picked up candleholders and table coverings at Lim’s, another great source for inexpensive decorations.We usually get our tree at Far East, though one of our best trees was from Prince Landscape. Here’s a tip: order your trees in early November to get a better price and ensure stock.

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Keeping the religion Of course, Christmas is a religious holiday, a point that sometimes gets lost in all the fun. I was mortified years ago when my very young son (who knew a lot about Buddha from all our travels) said, “What does Jesus have to do withChristmas anyway?”We doubled down on reading the Bible and I bought a special advent calendar of small books that tell the Christmas story.We read one book every day inDecember. Our most religious ornament is our nativity scene, which we bought in Jerusalem. We travelled there when my daughter was one and I was pregnant with my son. It’s made out of olivewood and is one of my daughter’s favourite holiday decorations. Every year, I watch as she carefully places each character in the manger scene. I also have my parents’ manger, a simple piecewith just Jesus, Joseph andMary. ButMary shattered as we took down the decorations in January of 2020. I should have known it was going to be a bad year. On the hunt Another sad 2020 omen? Our tree topper broke, a topper my husband and I bought when we were dating more than 20 years ago. I remember thinking, “Wow, this guy likes me enough to buy a tree topper together!” No worries; we’re keeping our eyes open for the right one. Making Christmas special is a job never done. We’re always adding to memories past to make sure our Christmas future shines bright.

International Santas Cluny Court, 501 Bukit Timah Road Christmas decorations and fake trees Kinex Mall, 11 Tanjong Katong Road

Fresh flowers and greenery Ji Mei Flowers, 5 Joan Road Fresh trees fareastfloral.com Special gingerbread house Joss-Stick Man, facebook.com/TGHwoodclay

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From benches and bar stools to funky upholstery for that accent armchair you’ve beenwanting,we round up the latest trends in seating solutions!

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1 Ottoman in leather, birch wood and stainless steel, $6,899, Taylor B Fine Design 2 Upholstered dining chairs from Caracole Classic collection, $1,519 each, Taylor B Fine Design 3 Mesmerize upholstery fabric from Weitzner, price on request, Altfield Interiors 4 Jia dining chair in solid ash frame in walnut finish, $300 each, WTP

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5 Home furniture and styling by Arete Culture 6 Nile upholstery fabric from Weitzner, price on request, Altfield Interiors 7 Pelagonia fabric armchair, $1,450, Originals 8 Home furniture and styling by Arete Culture 9 Coco rattan egg chair, price on request, Gallery 278 10 Gramercy dining chair in walnut wood, $499, Black & Walnut 11 Sling chair in teak wood and leather, $529, Island Living 12 Avril dining chair in teak wood, $520, Originals

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13 Connors dining chair, price on request, Gallery 278 14 Baca wing lounge chair in rattan, $650, The Furniture Makers 15 Driffield dining chair, $369, Black & Walnut 16 Otti armchair in mango cane, $2,122 for set of two, WTP 17 Bok bench in oak, WTP, Soul & Tables 18 Raphie armchairs in teak, $295 each, Soul & Tables 19 Summer Light lounge chairs with customisable upholstery, price on request, OHMM 20 Sol lounge chairs with customisable upholstery, price on request, OHMM 21 Chester chair, $895, House of AnLi 22 Saka lounge chair in synthetic wicker, $690, The Furniture Makers 23 Wicked lounge chair for indoor and outdoor use, $1,450, House of AnLi 24 Canggu bar stool, $229, Island Living

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Directory Altfield Interiors Central Mall Office Tower, #07-10 1 Magazine Road 6909 2768 | altfield.com.sg Arete Culture 20 Depot Lane, #01/02 areteculture.com Black & Walnut

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43 Keppel Road, #W1-01/02/03 6781 3201 | blackandwalnut.com.sg Gallery 278 278 River Valley Road 6737 2322 | gallery278.com House of AnLi #02-21/22, #03-17 Tanglin Mall, 163 Tanglin Road 6235 5193 | houseofanli.com Island Living #02-05 Henry Design Centre, 5 Eunos Ave 8A 8780 5139 | islandliving.sg OHMM #03-09 Riverside Point, 30 Merchant Road 6836 2747 | ohmm.sg Originals 1 Bukit Batok Street 22, Level 5 6471 9918 | originals.com.sg Soul & Tables #02-03 Tan Boon Liat Building, 315 Outram Road 9272 1545 | soulandtables.com.sg Taylor B Fine Design 65 Mohamed Sultan Road 6206 9736 | taylorbdesign.com The Furniture Makers #05-01 Joo Seng Warehouse, 1 Upper Alljunied Link (By appointment only) 9234 4966 | thefurnituremakers.co WTP 3 Kung Chong Road 6235 2760 | wtpstyle.com

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… from Sommerville Park

Seasoned expat SONIA BLOCKLEY welcomed us with Christmas cheer to her festive-chic Sommerville townhouse. The powerhouse female entrepreneur and workingmumtellsushowshe does seasonal celebrations with her two daughters.

Tell us about your Singapore journey so far. I arrived here in 2007 working for a global recruitment company. I ended up setting up KS Consulting, a financial services employment agency, then having my two daughters Eva and Mia, and settling into life here. My plan to come for one year turned into 13! Where have you lived on the island? I started off in a condo on Leonie Hill Road before moving to the East – first I was at Tanjong Rhu, and then I bought a modern three-bed apartment on Meyer Road. After I had my second daughter, I felt we needed more space, so we moved to Pebble Bay. Then, for my second Singapore stint starting in 2018, I moved to Sommerville Park.

BY DEE KHANDUJA PHOTOGRAPHY KATIE MARTIN-SPERRY

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What do you love about being in this spot? I really love the feeling of being in a house. The split-level layout allows space and privacy – it reminds me of living in the UK, with the concept of having stairs in the home and a little garden. I love that I can walk around the Botanic Gardens. I can walk up to Holland Village, and pop over to COMO in Dempsey and have dinner. So much is accessible within walking distance. People say it’s very “shiny”! My style has definitely changed. When I first got here, our furnishing style was quite Balinese, with a lot of dark brown wooden furniture pieces. Then, when I bought my apartment, I had it all interior designed. And I really didn’t want dark wooden furniture. People also describe my style as “decadent”. I love velvet, beautiful fabrics and mirrors. What’s your home-furnishing style?

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