Are we right? Have you made lots of changes since our last chat?
I should start by saying just how grateful I am to have been able to stay in my little house on the East Coast, which I love. The rental increases have affected so many people in the past couple of years, with some having to leave as pricing became out of reach. I considered a move, too, but anything within my price range required some serious renovations, and as I had already done that here, it didn’t seem to make sense to start over.
I was very lucky: my relationship with my landlord is good so the renewal went quite smoothly. I did have to deal with a considerable rise in the rental, but as an empty nester now, and with my daughter Sophie firmly settled in Sydney, I decided to consider having a housemate. This may sound crazy to some of you, and I never thought I would be back in a house-share situation in my 50s, but it just seemed like a fun idea to try, and has worked out really well. There are so many single people here, some who are overpaying for tiny apartments where you couldn’t swing a cat. I thought, why not share what I have, have some help with the rent, and have some fun along the way!
Once this decision was made, I was ready to make some changes and threw myself into action. The first step was to remove the pool; it was great during COVID, but it just wasn’t getting used very often. So I created a decking area instead, adding an outdoor teak bar, and a range of new furniture, accessories and plants to create a fun and lush entertaining area.
The living and dining rooms have had a complete change in furniture, colour scheme and style. I’ve made these areas more minimal. The space feels much bigger, even with a dark midnight navy paint for the accent walls. These areas flow seamlessly out into the outdoor entertaining space, resulting in a much bigger open space.
Esta historia es de la edición October 2024 de Expat Living Singapore.
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Esta historia es de la edición October 2024 de Expat Living Singapore.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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Keeping Regular!
Constipation and haemorrhoids are common, but they're often taboo topics of conversation. Here physiotherapist YIP WAN HUI explains how she helps to reduce the symptoms fora more regular and pain-free motion.
NURTURING Nimble KNEES
As people age, knee issues often stem from wear and tear. Here, orthopaedic surgeon DR HAMID RAZAK talks about the knee preservation techniques he uses to help people maintain healthy knees for longer.
Haute Healthcare
Hospital visits are an inevitable part of life, whether it’s for a routine checkup or an unfortunate ailment. While necessary, the hospital experience isn't always the most pleasant.
Sweet Tooth
DR SHERILYN LOH, a dental surgeon at Dental Essence, chats to us about bringing smiles to faces whether that’s from the dentist’s chair or her kitchen!
Au Balcon
Hidden in an Art Deco conservation building within the Singapore Botanic Gardens is Au Balcon, or “on the balcony” in French.
Climb of a Lifetime
AYAN MEHRA is in Grade 11 at the Singapore American School, and while he's now back toa regular term routine, his summer was little short of actionpacked. Along with attending asummer school at Yale University in the US, he joined his dad on an ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro. He tells the story here.
A Hole-in-one Holiday!
We all love a tropical escape, but for many travellers the cherry on top of this kind of ultra-relaxing holiday is a round of golf or some pampering at a spa. We take a look at one destination on the Thai island of Phuket where you can tick all those boxes.
Let's Play Outside!
Playing outside of the classroom helps children to develop useful motor skills and stay active while learning at the same time. Four preschools share with us how they incorporate the outdoors into learning and we hear what the parents think too.
Impacting lives
SJI International's fundraising dinner in August of this year brought its community together to successfully raise funds in support of the school's Scholarship Programme.
Music Movement
Canadian International School (CIS) has a new Academy of Music! DANIEL HARTIG, the K-12 Music Coordinator, and TOM ANDERSON, the Choral and Instrumental Lead, share how it will create new musical and performance opportunities for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
