Inject a mix of industrial and zakka style into your home with less than RM10,000

HAVE you ever been stressed out about how to improve your home environment through design while worrying about the cost? Perhaps you can get a few useful tips from Zoe Chan, a software engineer who only spent less than RM10,000 to spruce up a home filled with industrial and Japanese zakka style.

Both Chan and her husband, who works as a piano tuner, do not have design background, but they managed to bring stunning interior design into their first home — a 980 sq ft apartment in Seri Baiduri, Setia Alam.

The couple started to plan the design when they bought their home, spending some time to do research, setting direction and survey for material sources.

The cosy and tidy unit is filled with industrial-style lighting and zakka style furniture. The bulk of the work was done by the couple over a period of seven to eight months, which includes research, planning, sourcing and renovation, Chan tells TheEdgeProperty.com.

“Our home is a mix of industrial and zakka style as we really love industrial style and Japanese culture; we also seek ideas when we travel.

“We did all the work except the kitchen part because we could not find a contractor that understood what we wanted, so we actually drilled the ceiling to install wires and removed a ceiling fan to install these industrial style light bulbs,” Chan explains.

Chan adds that instead of copper pipe, they sprayed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes into copper colour and use it to cover the wires. “We chose PVC pipes over copper pipes as the latter is very costly and has a smaller diameter, which will not look as nice as PVC pipes.”

She notes that the bookshelf in the workroom and the cabinets in the living room are all do-it-yourself (DIY) as well. “We only spent RM1,000 to get the wood pallet from a friend and made the furniture by ourselves.”

On the other hand, the kitchen was built with help from Chan’s father-in-law, who owns a hardware shop.

“My father-in-law helped us to find a worker who built the concrete kitchen countertop and made the spaces below, then we bought cupboards from Ikea and put them into the openings.

“Except the cupboards, the kitchen cost only RM1,000, so this is why we love cement and concrete because they are very cheap and solid,” she enthuses.

Overall, the couple spent less than RM10,000 on interior design, which took them about five months to complete. Including decoration and furniture, the total cost came to around RM30,000.

Chan says it does not cost a lot of money if one uses DIY. However, she strongly suggests investing in good material as it will last longer.

“My husband and I grew up in a traditional Chinese family and we’ve seen furniture broken gradually, so we started to look for long-lasting materials, such as steel, wood and stone,” she adds.

“There are many home and decoration fairs here in Malaysia, so you can compare the pricing and find the one with the lowest price.”

Chan points out that one should set the direction and budget before looking for materials that match with one’s design style, such as wood, lightbulbs and cupboards.

“Do not be afraid of failure, the process is very fun and you will have good memories of your efforts,” she concludes.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on Dec 2, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.