How to Make Your Home Look like a Million Bucks

There are some reason why you are not yet fully satisfied of your full furnished home. It may have already provided a comfortable living space for you, bedroom for sleeping with a walk-in closet and its own bathroom, a complete kitchen where you can cook and eat a decent meal and a living room where you can sit with your guests or just enjoy being alone and watch TV. There is nothing to complain about but there just seems to be something lacking. 

The Peterson Group, matchmaker of the best homes for our expatriate members living in the hearts of successful cities of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jakarta, Indonesia and Hong Kong, must admit that even though we are providing luxury homes to our clients based on their needs and specifications, each room would still need a private touch of home owners for them to claim the place as their own. 

For some who would want to make their space look like a million-dollar space more than what luxury it already exudes, the following tips may help you:

1. Choose the right color

Choosing colors are sometimes overlooked by many individual as long as they can choose their favorite or have a color shade which is safe to go with. Contrary to what so many people think, deciding and reviewing colors is one of the most challenging struggles by the most expert interior designer. The color palette should match the furniture used. If elegance is what you are after without jeopardizing safety, black is mostly advisable.

2. Know the basics of fabrics

Throwing in some furs or sheepskins can help enhance the quality of the room. It is an easy thing to add on your coffee table, just makes sure the color fits the theme of the room. A sumptuous fabric for a new curtain or for throw pillow covers can provide an upgrade your sense of style in the living room or bedroom. Decorate the pillows or curtain swags with satin tassels or other luxurious trims. Splurge on a few thick, thirsty luxury towels to give your bathroom an instant upgrade.

3. Create  a focal point

Focus on something peculiar and unique which can attract the attention of your guests. This center piece is common in luxury homes and can boost the impression of your artistic taste. The right piece can give the room a "wow" factor that instantly upgrades your decor. 

An Expat’s Arduous Life

For years, The Peterson Group Bespoke Condominium and Residences is aiming to provide quality luxury housing for our member expats in Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our main goal is for them to live like they have not been away from home by providing bespoke condominium, apartment or residential units with their own choice of room, interior designs and convenience. We even offer chauffeur, pet and cleaning services. However, we also realize that the services that we offer may not be enough for them to feel at ease.

We have heard complaints of different weather conditions, language barriers and cultural variations from our expat members. Perhaps, the difference of situation makes it harder to adapt.

For many expatriates who seek bigger opportunities in other countries, the challenges are boundless. There are only two choices: either settle abroad or return back home. The latter may not even be considered an option as it would mean starting all over again.

To make migration easier, we have reviewed our members’ behavior and asked their own opinions as well.

1. Accept the Change

Acceptance is the first step to embracing change. Failing to accept change can induce difficulties. Hence, you should be ready to face changes in yourself, other people, places and lifestyles, as the result of the move itself and the effect of time.

2. Find a Mentor

TPG has included in its services mentoring of expatriates. Based on our reports, mentorship has been effective for new expatriates since mentors can help them organize legalities and may somehow ensure help on administrative and logistic issues. They can also be family members or friends

3. Focus on Continuity

Despite being in a different country with different culture, traditions, religions and beliefs, there will always be factors which you can find similar in your hometown. Focus on it and it can help you manage your transition.

4. Find Similar People

TPG has been building a community of expatriates and has held its first convention last October, 2014. Our main goal is to provide new camaraderie to businessmen and foreigners who can share their experiences. Finding a group of people with similar international experiences can be a good way not only to debrief but also to broaden your existing and establish a new social circle.

5. Plan ahead

Surely you have made plans about living arrangements, jobs, social activities and so forth when moving abroad. It may be that your planned schedule only includes home-office routine. This may not be advisable when you want to adapt to the new country. Take time to go out, explore and find out new things. Who knows, it may help you accept and appreciate the country more.

Feng Shui Reading for Your New Home

I know what you are now thinking. How a luxury cans bespoke residential service start lecturing its clients of Fueng Shui? The Peterson Group Bespoke Condominium and Residences has a long-time reputation of providing homes for expatriates in only the convenient places in Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and only offers primary locations. Is it possible that all those services are accompanied by good fortune of feng shui? 

Feng Shui is one of the first things people look into when they are looking for a home. It’s not that we do or do not believe in Feng Shui. It’s just that we have hundreds of clients who have been requesting the right feng shiu tips from us that is why today’s article focuses on the feng shui readings applicable for new movers. 

According to a review written by one of the most famous feng shui expert, Rodika Tchi, the most basic rule in attuning your homes is to find a good vibe for positive chi to enter. Universal energy should be allowed to freely flow into every room and crevices for you to achieve comfort, peace of mind and ample amount of fortune.  Here are the following steps you can review:

1. Place the most significant piece of furniture in the command position. 

2. Keep the entry way open to allow the negative vibe to enter freely from the foyer to the overall surround of the place.

3. Make a clear division for a multi-purpose room. A curtain or a display cabinet can visually separate a room’s function to another.

4. Unify your environment with a consistent and harmonizing color scheme even when you are using different shades of single color.

5. As much as possible, use functional equipment and furniture. For condo living for instance. There are available couches which can be used as a bed later on or a writing desk which also has drawers underneath it for extra space.

6. Enlarge the Room with Mirrors since it can invite more positive energy in

7. Do a vertical cabinet for an upward success. You may also be surprised how every inch can be helpful for storage.

8. Clear cutter daily and make this an everday routine.

Feng Shui or not, we believe every condo owner should follow these steps. Positive energy can be summoned especially when you keep things neat and organized. When you take these steps in your small space you create your own private sanctuary: a welcoming environment you’ll be glad to come home to every night.

Living Abroad Is Not As Easy As Other People Think

Living abroad may seem a very big opportunity for many people. It actually is but it can also get a little disadvantage for many. Aside from the language barrier, there are also issues involving a different culture, tradition and customs that need to be adjusted with. A lot of expatriates and foreigners give up before fully adapting because of the communication issues and adjustment complaints.

Undoubtedly, expat life can be very exciting. The experiences and challenges of life abroad develop one as a person, teach new skills and enhance capabilities, create new meanings in life, and generally translate into valuable memories, which are worth remembering for many years ahead.

Thankfully, today’s modern age is providing more opportunities for broader communication options. This generation is indeed a borderless world as so many claims. What was once months of travel and seemingly impossible journey is now 15-hour plane ride away. Still, no real time chatting or any advanced invention of hologram can take the place of a real loved one.

One of the dark sides of an expat’s life is being lonely. Businessmen and workers leave homes to expand their opportunities in other countries. Students are being sent to foreign land mile away for a better future. The reality of repatriation turns out to be as not easy as expected.

Hundreds are being listed under the Peterson Group Bespoke Condominiums and Residences. The company provides keen and detailed home attributes for these expatriates according to their own specifications to help them ease loneliness brought by being in a foreign land. But no luxury apartment in the heart of the majestic Singapore, the busy city Jakarta, Indonesia, the vibrant Hong Kong or the rich Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia can fully exude the feeling of home.

Reviews has stated that for young people who are sent miles away in a foreign land, they may sometimes feel somewhat stuck in a limbo which makes them uncertain of either being there nor here.

This feeling is quite understandable given that for many, life in the host country is perceived as temporary, however as time passes ‘home’ in the native country becomes more distant. The main concern is that while being temporarily abroad, the lives of one’s peers, relatives and friends back home move on too: families get established, careers progress and house mortgages get paid. And even though equipped with new skills, experiences and prospects, at the moment of repatriation the recent traveller finds him/herself in a situation where a job needs to be found, new accommodation arranged, and social ties renewed.

How to Keep your Home from Looking Cluttered

Some of us may have the habit of keeping things that are considered clutter for some people. With proper organization of these things, we can certainly do a creative system and at the same time not put to waste the things that we have invested in.

Matchmaker between expatriates of Jakarta, Indonesia, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Hong Kong and the best luxury residential and apartments, The Peterson Group Bespoke Condominiums and Residences has these following tips on how to keep your home from being cluttered:

1. Layering
There are just certain rooms that look incredibly rich, full and interesting. These are the kinds of rooms that seem to tell a story in every turn of your head. But layering can go wrong if you don’t have any idea on what pattern to match with another.

a. Start with your vignette
Rich spaces feature things on top of other things, most often framed art leaning on top of each other, then small knick knacks partnering with stacks of books to create more layers. But don't stop there. Bring a plant into the mix, and have a branch or two just overlap your layering work, adding even another layer into the mix.

b. Obscure and Conceal
There is a reason why your friends’ plant is on top of a book. You may have noticed it since they have intentionally obscured it from your view yet still turn out to be a very good design. Don’t be afraid to match your things on top of the other. It can also be a good game for your guest to discover something which lies hidden yet totally exposed on top of another.

2. Be Vertical
Wasting those precious spaces on top of your wall can be a shame. Create further storage on top of your cupboards. There will always be an extra storage spot on top of something. You can also take advantage of empty high spots with a simple stick on hooks. Review the hidden nooks and cranny of your home and you might find something.

3. Create Dividers
Instead of putting a thin divider, take advantage of a bigger one like bookshelves which can be convertible to another storage space. A good divider can help you get organized with your things and minimize complaints of extra clutter.

Creating a Bigger Space out of a Small Bathroom

Having your desired bathroom may be a big challenge. Trying to make everything fit into it is even harder. Among the challenges is on how to configure the toilet and sink, have the desired space for a shower and where to put your towels. 

Good thing The Peterson Group Bespoke Condominiums and Residences has been able to provide the best homes for you with your specific qualifications on the detail. Expatriates from Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia do not need to worry anymore on achieving the best home for them.

And for the rest of you who would want to personalize their bathrooms using your own craft and creativity, we have prepared some tips to designing a picture-perfect bathroom for you to review and incorporate with your own ideas:  

1. Shower Curtain

A shower curtain that moves back and forth saves space over a glass door. It also comes with different designs and patterns, enabling you to choose the best one that fits your personality

2. Corner Sink

The small space in the corner of the room is oftentimes neglected when it can provide the precious space needed in a bathroom. Decide on a corner sink to maximize space and make your bathroom more unique than others.

3. Floating Vanity

Despite mirrors being able to create an illusion of a bigger space, it can still take some space away. You can hang your vanity on a higher level and still create the illusion needed. Your only complaint in this is when you are small and can’t reach the height on which your vanity is hanged. Well, before you install the vanity, make sure, it can still be useful.

4. Expanded Mirror

In a very tight space, extending the mirror, instead of just relying on a small vanity can help make your space look even bigger and brighter. In less-than-ideal space conditions, every inch helps.

5. Large Patterns

Just like the mirror illusion, using big patters can also give a wider scope of your bathroom. A large-scale pattern, like this wide stripe, can trick the eye into seeing expanded space. The square footage might stay the same, but the bathroom will feel bigger.

6.Towel Bar

If you are wondering where to put your towel, why not take advantage of the space in your door and put a towel bar there? This way, it would be easier to take it and hang it again.

Now You Can Have an Office in Your Home

Experts always say that you shouldn’t be bringing your work at home. But in this demanding world where you cannot be left behind if you want to maintain your stature in society and those working hard are the ones who reap more, you can’t just sometimes ignore the fact that you still have things to do and it would be better to work at it while at home.

The Peterson Group Bespoke Condominiums and Residences, matchmaker between work-driven expatriates and luxury homes in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jakarta, Indonesia and Hong Kong totally understand your situation. In response, we prepared some special tips for you to try and review as it would be vital while you are working at home. Why not make an office in your home? Although you might not need it always, at least you have somewhere to camp into when you need it most.

A metal desk and a wooden chair is not enough for you. You deserve more than that. Besides, living in a luxury home in a city like that of Jakarta, Hong Kong or Singapore would require you to get a more high-end home facility as an extension to the luxurious furniture you have in the office.

1. Location
As per the term “bespoke” itself, TPG can provide you with a certain place for your personal office space in your home. Since you are expected to spend hours on that space, you shouldn’t stiff yourself. Would you like it to be near the windows? By the door? Or would you want it locked in a room so you can get privacy? For sure, you would have some place inside your condo if need be.

2. Form or Function?
Your desk, shelves, and storage should serve you, not the other way around. Consider your workflow and what items you need at your fingertips before investing in furniture, and then look for pieces that are both beautiful and functional. Home office furniture should complement other rooms in your house instead of screaming "soulless cubicle." If your home has traditional décor, warm wood and soft, comfy chairs or a loveseat are ideal if you have the space. A contemporary home office can feature artistic pieces or modern metal furniture.

3. A great chair
You spend hours parked in your office chair; a beautiful, ergonomically-correct, comfortable seat is worth every dime. It doesn’t hurt when you don’t complain on comfort resulting to productivity.