Lights, camera, action
I went back to Great World City for the umpteenth time to (window-)shop. I like GWC for the wide range of homewares: kitchen appliances (Mayer), budget furnishings (v.Hive), higher-end furnishings (Lifestorey) and lighting (DIY Lighting). I neglect to mention Barang Barang as I've never managed to identify anything buyable there.
I particularly favour DIY Lighting among the GWC shops as they (most of the time) leave you free to browse, unlike smaller stores in the Balestier Road stretch where every salesman is desperate for commissions. As an aside, I've always preferred the American sales attitude of "have a look around, I'm over here if you need me". Singapore salespeople can be like little forlorn doggies yelping at your heels.
On my third visit to DIY, I managed to buy bathroom ceiling lights for the 2Bears' upstairs and downstairs bathrooms for $300. I finally baulked at paying more than twice the amount for the lovely Lightdiscs available on Ambiente Direct, but am fairly happy with my compromise purchases.
After DIY, I crossed the hall to Lifestorey and managed to drop $2000 on a TV console and a floor lamp
(pictured). I had been vacillating on the former for weeks until I realised that simple unobtrusive white consoles were really hard to find. The salespeople informed me that there was a waitlist for the next shipment and only 2 were left for booking, so I jumped at the opportunity. Next conundrum: should I buy the table versions and the Kartell E Wall Lamp (below) ? Hmm, decisions decisions.
One thing I've come to realise in my shopping adventures is that good design can hail from unlikely sources. Take the floor lamp I bought. Its pedigree is Chinese and you can check it out at http://www.summergroup.cn. Looking at the quality, we're kidding ourselves if we think all the European brands on offer are made in Western Europe.
I particularly favour DIY Lighting among the GWC shops as they (most of the time) leave you free to browse, unlike smaller stores in the Balestier Road stretch where every salesman is desperate for commissions. As an aside, I've always preferred the American sales attitude of "have a look around, I'm over here if you need me". Singapore salespeople can be like little forlorn doggies yelping at your heels.
On my third visit to DIY, I managed to buy bathroom ceiling lights for the 2Bears' upstairs and downstairs bathrooms for $300. I finally baulked at paying more than twice the amount for the lovely Lightdiscs available on Ambiente Direct, but am fairly happy with my compromise purchases.
After DIY, I crossed the hall to Lifestorey and managed to drop $2000 on a TV console and a floor lamp
(pictured). I had been vacillating on the former for weeks until I realised that simple unobtrusive white consoles were really hard to find. The salespeople informed me that there was a waitlist for the next shipment and only 2 were left for booking, so I jumped at the opportunity. Next conundrum: should I buy the table versions and the Kartell E Wall Lamp (below) ? Hmm, decisions decisions.One thing I've come to realise in my shopping adventures is that good design can hail from unlikely sources. Take the floor lamp I bought. Its pedigree is Chinese and you can check it out at http://www.summergroup.cn. Looking at the quality, we're kidding ourselves if we think all the European brands on offer are made in Western Europe.
posted by 2Bears at 8:09 PM
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