Project Mono: List of Furniture Stores, Part II.

For the furniture breakdown of Project Mono, go to the Furniture Room-by-Room, Part I.

Following Part I or if you skipped straight to Part II, this part will consist of the entire list of furniture stores that I purchased from and noteworthy stores that I've visited. Most of the stores are within the Klang Valley region and a few online stores.

The List of Furniture Stores in Project Mono:

In no particular order, here's a list of stores that I purchased from for Project Mono:

1. Urban Edge Home Gallery

Website: urbanedge.com.my

Location: Lot 3-57, 3rd Floor, Quill City Mall, 1018 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur

The origin of my Melanie Bed. Urban Edge is a bespoke furniture gallery; home to a vast collection of contemporary modern designer furniture. The items displayed are undoubtedly of high-quality with intricate workmanship. With luxurious products, comes luxurious pricing - so set your expectations and budgets accordingly. The staff are kind and happy to assist you if you have any inquiries. I would highly recommend you visit their showroom and view the quality of the items firsthand.

There are few places that as I enter and I immediately want everything being sold, Urban Edge is most definitely one of them.

2. Timeless Design

Website: timelessdesign.com.my

Location: 17-G, Jalan LGSB 1/4, Pusat  Komersial LGSB, Off Jalan Hospital, 47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor

Timeless Design is a mid-to-high end store with a diverse catalogue; from retro to industrial to minimalist. Their 'urban store' holds a great selection of their products for anyone to view and Nick, who I inquired several times about certain products, was always happy and willing to answer my questions. Even though I only purchased the dining table from Timeless, their website always tempts me to make more impulse purchases - especially that Cassidy Mirror.

3. Ruma

Website: ruma-home.com

Location: Ground Floor, G52, Jalan SS 22/23, Damansara Jaya, 47400, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Ruma is home to a vast collection of chic, contemporary, cosmopolitan furniture and home decor. From full dining set to display candles, Ruma sells a wide variety of products at a reasonable rate. It's no surprise that, aside from IKEA, Ruma became the source of a lot of products purchased for the project including the L-couch which despite an initial hiccup with the delivery, managed to resolve the issue on the same day - excellent customer service. Their collection of products are updated quite regularly, so it's worth multiple visit or visiting their website regularly.

4. IKEA

Website: ikea.com

Location: 2, Jalan PJU 7/2, Mutiara Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Speaking of which... IKEA is such a staple to home furniture that I probably don't even need to talk about them; so instead I'll just share my experience. IKEA, by a mile, is the place I made the most number of purchases and had I known I'd buy so much, I would've joined their "Family" program. However, their customer service and delivery services (who I assume are an outsourced third-party) are atrocious. Anyone who follows my social media, knew I had a long rant about it BUT credit to IKEA, after 4 customer service calls and a next-day home visit, it was resolved.

Pro-tip: Go weekdays, never weekends. Always double check that you got the right items and required components before and after purchase (before leaving the premise). Always self-deliver, borrow a friend's truck or rent your own, anything but their delivery services.

5. Joy Design Studio

Website: joyd.my

Location: 6, Jalan Setia Dagang, U13/AJ, Setia Alam 40170, Shah Alam, Selangor

Bang for the buck! is basically how I'd summarize Joy Design. With a wide selection of contemporary and Scandi furniture selection, the studio provides great quality products at a reasonable rate. Their large show unit at Setia Alam display is a joy (hah!) to visit especially with their welcoming staff. Best of all, they regularly host clearance sale to make way for new stock and it's a great way to score a decent bargain - like my Chesterfield. Often they do bundle packs of furniture at an affordable price, so if you're looking to fill up a room quickly, visit Joy Design.

6. imhomestylist

Website: imhomestylist.com

Location: 1, Jalan Kajang Perdana 2/2, Taman Kajang Perdana, 43000 Kajang, Selangor

The reason I include my rug as part of my home furniture rather than just home decor because the rug tied the living room together and made it feel whole - and that is thanks to imhomestylist. Perhaps the only contemporary abstract rugs store [amongst the sea of Persian rug stores] in the whole region,  imhomestylist selection was exactly what I was looking for. Despite the showroom being in mid-redecorating during my visit, their wall of rugs was a sight to behold and the customer service was friendly and helpful - even manage to help squeeze a 2 meter long rug into a Mini. imhomestylist started selling furniture recently and couldn't recommend them highly enough.

7. nesthouz.com

Website: nesthouz.com

An online-only store, nesthouz.com is home to great-quality modern contemporary furniture at an affordable price. The VITO TV console I ordered was immaculate, beautiful, and met my expectations exactly without ever seeing the product in person - a worry from most online purchases. My only and biggest gripe is the poor customer service and delivery management was horrendous.  Missing initial scheduled deliveries and unresponsive customer service ruined an otherwise amazing product. I would still recommend nesthouz for their products but warn would-be buyers to be patient, very patient.

8. BoConcept

Website: boconcept.com

Location: Bangsar Shopping Centre T112-115, 3rd floor, 285 Jalan Maarof, Bukit Bandar Raya, 59000 Kuala Lumpur

BoConcept had always been known for high-end designer furniture and their BSC showroom is no exception. Beautiful selection of modern contemporary collection and great customer service, it was difficult to visit the showroom (during a sale event) and not pick-up anything - so I perhaps bought the most affordable thing there, the Tear Drop sculpture. Again, with premium quality comes premium price tag and if money was no object, BoConcept would be one of my first visits.

The List of Furniture Stores I Recommend to Visit:

Basically my honorable mentions list. These are the stores I had visited, and despite not purchasing from them, had a great selection and service that I would recommend:

1. Noir Home & Entrér

Website: noirhome.com & entrer.com.my

Location: S11, Level 2, East Wing, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpur & L2-017, Level 2, MyTOWN Shopping Centre, No. 6, Jalan Cochrane, Seksyen 90, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.

Noir Home and Entrér are sibling stores/showroom to the previously mentioned Urban Edge and are both home to premium contemporary collection of home decor and furniture. Noir home to more contemporary classics and Entrér to slick Scandinavian design, I could get lost in these 2 galleries all day. The Noir Diffuser was a tempting impulse decor almost-purchase; had it not been for either stores' premium costs.

2. DoYoung Malaysia

Website: doyoung.com.my

Location: C-3-7 & 8, VANTAGE, Jalan Desiran Tanjung, 10470 Tanjung Tokong, Pulau Pinang

Whilst technically not an online-only store [they have a showroom in Penang], DoYoung's website has a robust selection of contemporary furniture and decor including premium designer replicas at such affordable prices. Their online customer service are friendly and responsive - oh the amount of times I've almost purchased my dining chairs from DoYoung are too many to count. They do deliver to the Klang Valley region at a reasonable price. Though I can't vouch for the quality of the goods, I can say their website is a joy to visit on a bored weekend afternoon.

3. More Design

Website: moredesign.asia

Location: 11a, Jalan Apollo U5/194, Taman Pinggiran Subang, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor

With good quality products and gigantic selection of items,  More Design is a one-stop shop for all your furniture needs at an affordable price. The showroom in Shah Alam is a little remote but quantity of items displayed is astonishing. Any owners hoping to kit out their unit to an Airbnb accommodation need not go anywhere else. My only gripe, a minor gripe, is the quality. Whilst it is decent and very affordable, some of the items (especially replicas) felt a little 'cheap' materiality-wise and a little too stiff/firm. Though it won't be a cause of concern for anyone staying in the units in short-terms.

If you have any recommended stores or online-shops for me to visit, you can e-mail me at izzat.osman@gmail.com or contact me at my Contact page.

Click here to return and read Part I for the room-by-room furniture breakdown of Project Mono so far.

Project Mono: Built-In Wardrobe & Kitchen Extension

The following item in the to-do list for Project Mono was the Built-In Items. Keeping renovation/carpentry works to a minimum, the only built-in items were concentrated on the Master Bedroom & Kitchen. So I began by simply looking at the "Brochure Layout" for my unit and went from there,

Left: Proposed Layout for the unit Type 3A1. Right: My proposed layout.

As you can see the kitchen layout are basically the same, with the exception of the cooktop and basin orientation, as well as the length of the island. The bedroom wardrobe layout are vastly different; the developer proposed 2 seperate wardrobes at the entry to the ensuite and my proposal is a single long wardrobe next to the bedroom door - the intent is that the circulation from the bedroom door to the ensuite is not interrupted and creating a partition for the ensuite and bedroom with the wardrobe space.

1. Kitchen Extension by Signature Kitchen

Left: Propose Kitchen Extension. Right: Existing Kitchen during Handover

With most of the kitchen already complete, the extension is quite minimal. My proposal is to create a slot for the fridge with accompanying shelving above it and a small breakfast island (underneath the pendant lighting) just for additional counter space and also works to separate the kitchen and the dining area.

The existing kitchen was already made by Signature Kitchen (Projects Team), so rather than shopping around for kitchen manufacturers and since I initially wanted the same material,s why not go to the same source, Signature Kitchen (Subang). From where I was introduced to Diyana who helped me with my material selection and convinced me to go for a contrasting colour for the island rather than matching the existing [the Silverino was chosen], and Fadzli who later supervised the installation. And the results are:

The overall outcome blended together quite well; the fridge and its compartment felt almost like a single piece and the contrasting island actually fits nicely with the curtains in the background and didn't seem alien (as initially feared).

Contact: Signature Kitchen Subang (Happy Maternity Leave, Diyana!)

2. Open Wardrobe by FS Design Furniture

Above: my proposal for the Open Wardrobe for the Master Bedroom design.

The intent with the long single wardrobe was to create a partition between the ensuite and the bedroom; so you enter the "walk-in" wardrobe area rather than the bedroom straightaway and you could go to the ensuite without having to go through the bed area (unlike the proposed layout in the brochure) - so you can avoid looking at my messy bed.

The idea of the Open Wardrobe was because I wanted to avoid making the bedroom feel smaller; despite the wardrobe cutting into the bedroom, the open concept didn't make it feel too enclosed. Materiality was important, light thin frames were required and timber shelving to meld with the flooring.  There were 2 options initially, one with a metal frame and wooden shelving and another is a standard wooden shelf with no doors or backing. 

Option 1 was the main intent and after several weeks of searching, FS Design Furniture, was the most reasonably priced, had made similar shelving previous, and was highly recommended (Thanks Syireen!). During the course of manufacturing, several discussions with the founder Fazli Shah about the colour of the frame either in anodized black or brass was a constant toss-up and finalized with black to follow suit with the lighting and bed frame which were also dark.

The main issue with open concept wardrobe for some people is that people can see your clothes - which is true, careful curation of clothes to be displayed for when your guests come to visit are required or if you're like me with not that many clothes, display them all anyway. The results are:

The overall outcome was as the desired intent and fits quite comfortably in the room; the Bedroom did not feel like it lost a quarter of its space and timber shelving blended perfectly.  I would highly recommend FS Design Furniture, they also have a great selection of pre-packed furniture with similar timber and metalwork finishes - tell them Izzat sent you and hopefully they'll give you a discount.

Contact: FS Design Furniture and visit their Instagram for more of their work.

3. Open Wardrobe by IKEA

Bonus! Following the same Open Wardrobe concept of the master bedroom, IKEA offers a similar product called the ELVARLI Post system which comes in a modular layout that fit my Spare Bedroom/Study quite nicely. It's a great system that fits to varied ceiling heights (see far right post in the photo above) and can suit your desired layout.

Tip before purchasing is to figure out your desired layout on their website before going to IKEA to purchase it. Because the whole thing is modular, once you've selected your layout, the website will list all the required components for you to pick up - ask the attendant at the store for assistance.

Website: IKEA

Next post for Project Mono is FURNITURE, coming soon-ish.

Project Mono: Lighting & Fans

For the list of recommended stores, scroll below.

The ceiling work for the unit became a slight issue because only certain areas were covered with plaster ceiling after the handover - the kitchen, the toilets, and partially the bedroom where mostly done to cover the ventilation/ducting of the unit - the rest of the unit's ceiling are just painted soffit of the slab. So this made concealed lighting difficult without installing additional ceiling (as per previous post, not within the budget).

Here's the layout of the lighting (and the first look at the apartment floor plan): 

As a result, locations with ceiling already provided, recessed downlighting were introduced. I wanted to avoid surface downlights because the extrusion made it too noticeable; with the exception of 2 places, the balcony where ceiling level was higher and utility where its not visible from the the living room.

Where there was no ceiling, I elected to go with Pendant Lights at the kitchen island and Track Lighting for two main reasons - modularity and focus - I can orientate it as how I see it fit and change the intensity of the lighting by simply swapping the lights out or adding more lights with minimal invasive works to the soffit. 

The living room. Much of the room illumination comes from the spotlights "reflecting" off the wall. The drop of the ceiling at kitchen and towards the bedrooms could be seen here.

Master Bedroom Lighting.

Master Bedroom facing the En-suite. Here you can see the drop in the ceiling.

Ceiling fan selection was an afterthought as result of the light selections. Since the lighting introduced were in dark casing, ceiling fan should as well: black base and dark timber blades.

Living / Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Study / Guest Bedroom 

Selected Lighting & Ceiling Fan Stores in the Klang Valley Area

Here's a list of stores that I purchased from and stores I highly recommend if you are lighting shopping.

1. Top ten lighting sdn bhd

Location: 1, Jalan Bandar Tiga, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47100 Puchong, Selangor

Practically everything installed were sourced from Top Ten. Easily the best bang for your buck store if you're looking for affordability and quality. From designer replicas to basic utilitarian, extravagant to minimal, Top Ten has widest selection of lighting (and ceiling fans) of the list; shopping here was a breeze and the staff were happy to help if you have any questions. One thing to note is that they only supply the items; if you require installation,  they will recommend you some the technicians they often deal with.

2. lightcraft

Location: 98, Jalan Sungai Besi, Chan Sow Lin, 57100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

If you are looking for premium, designer light selection, look no further than Lightcraft.  Their showroom itself is a sight to behold with bespoke lighting from an array of designers and even a "sample room" to show the lighting effects from specific light selections in curated conditions. With premium selection, comes premium prices; so set your expectations/budgets accordingly. Their staff are also well-versed in lighting options to help you with your selections, just bring your floor plan and your desired feel for the space.

3. Sparkling Electrical Trading

Location: 34, Jalan SS 21/35, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Much like Top Ten, Sparkling is a great place if you are looking for quality items on a tight budget. While the selection isn't as up to par, Sparkling still holds a decent selection to view and with friendly staff, they assisted me with my initial selection and provided recommendations to suit my budget.

4. one living sdn bhd

Location: 31G, Jalan Bandar 3, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47160, Selangor

With retails all over the region, One Living is probably the most convenient for all your housing needs - electric goods, hot water systems, lighting, etc. Though selections of lighting were limited, they were the only ones that had stock for the set of pendants lights I was looking for. I'd recommend you to keep a look out for their sales or be prepared to haggle as their store prices can be slightly hefty.

Project Mono : Introduction

Project Mono is an ID project I've been working on as a side distraction on my free time. The project is for a two bedroom & two bath apartment unit that was recently constructed on a very, very tight budget.

Plot twist: The apartment is my own. Recently received the keys to my unit.

Due to the restrictive funding of the client [me] is almost an exclusively limited to just furnishings and home decoration; aside from a kitchen extension, wardrobes, lighting, and mirrors - no changes are made to the finishes or renovation of any kind. Included with the apartment was an already built kitchen, water heater, and air conditioning.

The whole concept behind the brief is addition not revision - rather than change the existing conditions of the unit(renovation/repainting), components can only be introduced (furnishing, decor, carpentry).

Stay tuned! I'll share my progress soon.