Things You Can Do While Staying Home During This Global Pandemic

March 21, 2020 Dolly Hioe

Working from home is not something new to me or to most designers and content creators. For some, it could be very boring and annoying. In early January, I was in China for a work project and had to evacuate to Hong Kong, then I had to self-isolate myself for 14 days in Bali! Now that I am back in Jakarta and have cancelled my flight back to Melbourne, I have to practice another form of self-isolation. So let’s just stay calm; I have been here before. Don't panic and buy every toilet paper and food; we could do something simple at home that would be beneficial for us!

Clean space is essential for working from home.

CLEAN YOU ENTIRE HOME + BE ORGANISED

We can start by cleaning our own space. Things that we touched the most and sometimes neglected, for example, our door knobs, keys, every cabinet’s handles, curtain, and door mat We could try to vacuum the bed as well to suck off those dust mites and dead skin cells. Personally, I clean my home every day, and it always makes me feel good about myself. This time around, my cleaning has been more extreme, often with disinfectant products and more anti-bacterial spray all over my house. COVID-19 is a virus, and it won't be prevented by anti-bacterial spray, but hey, we might as well use it and stay clean in our own space during this self-isolation! A clean space equals a clean mind.

Never quit learning! Online tutorials are available everywhere!

LEARN NEW SKILLS

Yes, you read that correctly. Skills as in plural. In this digital era, there are so many things we could learn online! From language apps, new cooking and baking recipes, videography, photography, and even designing! I have used Duolingo to practice my Mandarin for over a year now; it’s free and effective! Some other websites, such as Skillshare and Masterclass, also offer plenty of lessons we could try (but you have to pay for a monthly subscription; it is worth it to invest in ourselves!). Or, Youtube is always the answer for everything free and full of tutorials. I have learned how to apply make-up by watching a lot of YouTube beauty gurus.

#socialdistancing with the world but not with the e-world!

BINGE-WATCHING / READING / PODCASTING

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, Apple TV, you name it! Working from home means we could fit a lot of TV shows or new movies into our schedule. I’m not a big book reader; I have stopped reading since I was in high school because I spent too much money on fiction novels and, of course, manga. But if you are a big reader, there are plenty of book recommendations out there from your favourite influencers. Podcasting is another thing to binge on, and the fun part of podcasting is that you can do it anytime while multitasking. Perhaps we could do podcasting while cleaning the house? Hell yeah!

DIGITAL CATCH UP

There are so many platforms we can use to reach out to anyone! Let’s do catch up by calling those friends you haven’t heard from. I texted and DM quite a lot of friends in the past weeks, just to make sure they are okay and healthy wherever they are. Check-in with some facts and situations in their country or city too. A friend in Tonga is very well because there is no case there, some friends are furious with their PM in the UK, and some friends back in Melbourne are frustrated to even get toilet paper in the grocery store. P.S., Do not text your exes!

WORK OUT + EATING HEALTHY

If we only do eating and cooking, surely we would all gain some weight and invest in bad habit. A light exercise is very recommended. Why light exercise? Because we can’t risk any injury to actually go and get the treatment. We can start looking at those Youtube’s videos of exercise and some training images are available on Instagram as well. For those of you who doesn’t like to do exercise, we can start from a basic 10,000 steps a day. I used to go to the gym 5 times a week for 18 months until I found out a thing or two about my metabolism and gym doesn’t help much. I decided to stop to going to the gym, and not only it saves me money every month but also gives me freedom to choose the right exercise for my type of metabolism. Eating healthy is one way to do it. I avoid junk foods and never was a fan of soft drink but I do love cakes and pies which are some of the dangerous things to eat. Know your body type and your nutrition intake while keep doing light exercise. For me, I lost 3 kg just by giving up rice for 1 month!

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS

Thank God for food delivery! While staying at home and cook our own food, we would definitely craving something. In my case, I was craving sticky date pudding. It’s very easy to make but kind of hard to find dates in the supermarket. Luckily, some of the local cafe has sticky date pudding and they have food delivery! During this uncertain time, local restaurants, cafe and other small businesses are struggling. So keep in mind to help them while we can, we could order food from them but we need to make sure they have applied the health protocol in their outlets. Simply check their website or Instagram account to see if they have made any announcement regarding the health protocol. To make sure none of their kitchen staff is sick or has any flu symptoms. Not only that we help them to still able to run their business, but we also help those online driver couriers to deliver our order.

I could write more of what we could do while staying at home during this global pandemic. From things that related to meditation, spiritual practice, sexual health activities or even doing side hustle to maintain passive income. But for the time being, let’s just focus on those things above! Stay healthy and stay calm! Don’t forget to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds as often as you can!

Thank you for Rawpixel with all of these beautiful photos!

How to Style a Shelfie

August 13, 2019 Dolly Hioe

Have you heard the term Shelfie before? It’s a pretty picture of an organised shelf! According to Urban Dictionary, a Shelfie is a common term to describe a portrait of beautiful and organised bookshelf and kitchen shelf or pantry. Not to be confused with selfie (self-portrait).

In this article, I’m gonna show you how to style a stunning wall shelf or bookshelf that would be an Instagram worthy photo! We will learn how to mix and match texture and ornaments. Let’s get started!

Obviously, my Harriet & Co’s shelf is full of my own brass and gold products. I chose a wall shelf because it looks clean and simple, and also doesn’t take much of floor space as my design studio is quite small. The elements play an important role in here, play around with textures and colours to add a personality to your shelf. I added faux plants for the greenery, some copper decor, glass dome, marble coasters, marble clock, and earthy tones like rattan basket with pine cones in it. I also like a little bit of colour so I put faux pink roses, pink jade stone and blue hydrangeas.

Start with the Books

If you are a book reader or just like to collect them, try to gather all of your books of the same size or organised them in specific colours. Some people don't like to see the title of the book because sometimes it looks messy or if none of your books has the same match colours - what you can do is simply turn them around to show just the pages. Play around with the placement of the books and consider mix and match with horizontal lining and vertical lining.

Mix and Match with Textures Ornaments

As I mentioned before, play around with different textures, it could be an earthy element or choose your favourite texture to display. Some like it brass and gold, some like its natural colour like woods and simple white marble. I’m going to show you one of the shelves that I adore by Shay Cochrane below. Not only that she uses geometric gold and brass ornaments (which I love! it’s so Harriet!), she also uses an earthy element like that odd-looking artistic wood, granite book-end, greenery plants, some memorabilia of her family’s portrait, a hint of black colour from the frames, and inside-out book covers.

Lovely shelfie that I adore so much by @shaycochrane

Colour Coordinated your Bookshelf

If you’re not a fan of brass and gold colours, try to keep it monotone and stay in the neutral coloured items. You can even make a colour coordinate shelf by using the same colour palette throughout. Here is an example of Ambers Interiors and she 's done it! The colour palettes she uses were black, white, earthy warm tones like brown, cream and green. Yes, always put greenery! Whether it is faux plants or real, it's up to your lifestyle and how you can keep the plants alive. I like the way she put the blue cover book inside-out so she still managed to have the same coloured palettes throughout her shelf.

Colour Coordinated Shelfie with earthy tones and neutral colours by @amberinteriors

Add your own Personality

How to add a personality to your shelf? Easy! Just pick any unique object or your own interest to the shelf. An item that you like whether you found it on your travelling, flea market, or Etsy or your own handmade creation. Consider various shapes and colours that represent you, this could be a vase, a vintage camera, handmade pottery or your childhood toys/dolls. Another example of a colour coordinate shelf by Glitter Guide, not only that she keep the blue colour around the shelf, she added her own unique objects like wooden shoes, sheep figurines and artistic vases.

Another example of personality shelf by @glitterguide

There you go! I hope these tips and examples will help you to rearrange your shelf! Have fun decorating!

Workspace Organisation featuring Gold Accents

April 22, 2019 Dolly Hioe

April is almost end! Have you stuck with your New Year resolution to keep your desk tidy and organised? One of my pet peeves is a messy desk, I try my best to keep it together so I have this calmness during my brainstorming time or when I am working on my laptop.

Here’s are my favourites must have workspace organiser that Harriet has or used to have since most of it already sold out! But, don’t worry; there are some that I would restock based on their popularity. And yes of course it’s always gold!

1 & 2. Wire Magazine / Book Organiser

If you are like me, then you would have some of your favourites magazine. Whether is an interior design magazine or fashion book that you would like to organise it just beside your workspace. In other case, the Magazine Holder number 01 is perfect to put in the living room as well.

3 & 4. Wire Pen Cup Holder

This is definitely a must! There were times where we were just using an unused glass or plastic tube, it’s a no no! Upgrade to gold accent as a pop up colour on your desk! Harriet has 2 different shapes, one is round and also the square shape. Personally, I like the square one better because the gap is much smaller.

5 & 6. File / Letter Holder

Ahh,.. this is the place where I usually put on my billings envelope or contract files. It’s chic and so multifunction too. I have one customer that use Letter Holder number 06 as her eye shadow storage! As for me, I also used File Holder number 05 as a wall art display when I had my pop up store.

7 & 8. Paper Clip

Paper clip is one of the essentials piece as workspace organiser. We need these cuties as our binder, separator, memo hanger and in some case as our flatlay attributes. Whether you like Novelty Paper clips like number 07 or just a simple Bulldog Paper clip like number 08. Both serves its purpose and pretty to look at.

9 & 10. Memo Grid Board

As a designer, having a Memo Grid Board is not a must because most of us would prefer to have a giant foam board to create a mood design board. But this particular board is so cute that I couldn’t resist it to put it on my wall. The shape it self is not a boring rectangular or square; the round shape & hexagonal shape could be an art on display. With a help of Bulldog Paper clip, we could hang any memo or colour palette sample beautifully on our wall for inspiration board.

11 & 12. Wire Rubbish Bin

Don’t get me started with lining this rubbish bin with plastic bag! These beauties should stand alone and only for paper rubbish. It comes with two models, one is Rose Gold Wire Rubbish Bin (number 11) with no base but comes with gold colour as well, second is Gold Round Base Wire Rubbish Bin with just gold colour.

13 , 14 & 15. Wire Document Tray

Unlike Magazine Holder and File Holder, these trays has a different function. Number 13 & 15 are the same when it comes to purpose, it’s only for us to put whatever we want on top of our table to make it nicer and separated from clutters. Number 14 on the other hand, is stackable. So you can stack more trays on top of it and it would serve like an open drawer on your desk. For me, I used this to store my books and blank paper for print. Some of my customers use Document Tray number 15 as their stationery storage or make up storage inside their vanity drawer.

That’s it for Harriet’s Workspace Organiser! I hope this would inspire you to have a pretty workspace! Leave a comment in my Instagram’s DM to let me know which one is your favourites and if I should restock them as soon as possible?

Mini Galley Kitchen DIY Renovation Under $500 (Before & After)

October 1, 2018 Dolly Hioe

Recently, I just rented a small studio for my creative space. A place where I can do my design quietly and take some photos for my products. The studio is small at 32 sqm. It comes with an ugly kitchen that supposed to be a functioning kitchen for the studio. But, as I don’t need stove in my creative area, I decided to turn the kitchen to a cute spot for me to make my coffee and tea.

The before photo of the kitchen / pantry. Pardon the rubbish, I forgot to take it out.

As you can see, the kitchen only comes with a sink. The storage underneath has no cabinet doors and no storage on top. My first idea was to build a cabinet on top for more storage, but it would look heavy as this is a small studio. Especially because the kitchen is located next to the entrance and opposite to the bathroom. Okay, let’s do this DIY mini renovation!

First thing first, let’s measure the storage underneath to build the cabinet doors! I have a construction worker that helped me to build the complete doors for just Rp.1,800,000 (AUD$166) I know, I know, it sounds expensive but that’s the cheapest custom-made board I could get to make the cabinet doors.

The finished look of my DIY gold look faucet

Second step that I did was to spray painted the faucet. I was thinking to get a new brass gold look faucet in IKEA but it’s out of my budget! I don’t want to invest in a place that I rented, maybe one day when I have my own place, I would definitely get it!

Here’s what you need:

Gold spray
Primer (could be spray or paint)
Any unused paper for cover
Coarse grit sandpaper
Tape
Clean dry cloth

Make sure to clean the faucet, cover the tiles at the back with unused paper, in this case I am using the used packaging I got from online shopping. Then use the coarse grit sandpaper to rub the surface. Once you have the right texture, spray paint with primer. Wait for 15 minutes, and then spray paint it with the gold spray, keep repeating every 15 minutes until you get the right colour and shine! I only sprayed twice as and it looks good enough.

Instead of storage cabinet unit, I decided to use floating shelf / wall shelf that I got from a local store here in Jakarta. I chose 2 white wall shelf, they are only come in 3 sizes (80 cm, 100 cm and 180 cm) So, I used the 80 cm wall shelf because the wall is only 98 cm in length (damn right).

Installing Cabinet Drawers after I painted the wall and installed the wall shelf on top.

I bought the paint from ACE hardware and chose the colour code “Lovely Pink” to create the cute feminine pantry that i visioned. After I finished painting the wall and installing the wall shelf, then I let the construction worker to drill the wall to install the custom-made cabinet doors. I chose the high glossy white finish for the cabinets to match my wall shelf.

I still feel like the tiles really bugs me. The tiles are actually nice and clean but I want to create more dramatic look. Hence, I used my own product to replace the visible tiles. I used White Marble Look Vinyl Roll, the size is 45 cm x 2 meter and I needed at least 2 and a half roll for this kitchen size. It is very easy to apply, but you will need another person to help you with it. The Vinyl roll is a sticker that you can peel off once you are done with the rental place or when you are bored with the look. It is water resistant and easy to peel with no marks behind.

Voila! The look is done!

Total cost of all of these are:

Custom-made 3 cabinet doors for underneath storage Rp.1,800,000 (AUD$166)
Spray paint, primer, sandpaper Rp.210,000 (AUD$19)
1 litre of pink paint, 1 small brush and 1 large brush Rp.350,000 (AUD$32)
3 White Marble Rolls Rp.750,000 (AUD$69)
2 White Wall Shelf Rp.250,000 ($23)

This mini renovation only costs Rp. 3,360,000 or roughly AUD$309. Then I added some gold accessories and glass ornaments to create the whole look together! Featuring Harriet’s Brass Tube Vase, Harriet’s Gold Frame, and Harriet’s Gold Salad Server.

I even add Rose Gold Dish Rack! If they have come in Gold, I would buy it in a heartbeat!

5 Tips on Styling a Small Space

May 19, 2018 Dolly Hioe

Let's be honest, styling a small space can be frustrating and less desirable! The limited space to play around and renovating could be a nightmare! Here are 5 tips on how to style a small space.

1. Light it up!

Keep things light, bright and cheery. Darker colour have the tendency of making space appear smaller, whereas lighter colours open things up. White colour paint is always the best option! You can choose between off white, beige or bright white with a hint of blue tone that we could warm it up with the right LED light. Be careful not to choose colour that is too cream or too grey because in time, the colour would look tired and wash off.

Not only that a white painted wall is the key to bright room but also a soft colour furniture too. It will help to lighten up the space. I recommend white or beige colour furniture, especially for female clients. If you like to incorporate black or dark coloured furniture for a monochrome look, try to have an open shelf and slim line furniture instead of heavy build-in cabinet.

An open wall shelf is great for a narrow small kitchen, it opens up the area and looks clean. Try to avoid showing too much of your glassware and dish, it could look clutter and dusty. Just showcase the things you used the most on your daily life.

2. Invest in Multifunctional Furniture

Multifunctional or multipurpose furniture is a game changer. A table that can be easily rolled out for use or tucked away if unneeded. IKEA range has a lot to offer when it comes to a multipurpose furniture, from a 4 seater dining table onto a 6 seater, or a folding wall table that is perfect for a studio apartment's workspace area. Personally, I would use a round marble table for both dining and workspace! Clever and yet still sophisticated.

3. Zoning the Area

Small spaces require a certain level of definition to avoid things looking messy. Furniture and rug are both great ways to create zones. It is important to have a room divider to create a sense of space, so it looks like every pieces are belong to their space. For example, by putting the right size rug on the living room create its zone even though it is placed next to the study desk or workspace area. We could use a console table to divide the room by putting it behind the sofa or next to the end of armchair.

4. Look up!

Adding artwork to your home that stretches from the floor to the ceiling will distort the perception of the height, making the space feel larger. Avoid using too much of colourful artwork and heavy frames, it will create a unwanted focal point that makes the space looks narrow.

Another great tips shown on the image: A mix and match artworks that frame up the television would create a perception of height and also illusion to make the television part of the gallery wall.

5. Less is More

Make time to go through your possessions regularly, you'll be surprised at what a difference it can make to a space once you clear the junk out. Do you really need those stacks of folders you had back in the Uni days? or those old magazines and plastic drawers? Keep it simple, keep it clean!

10 Chic Table Lamps with Gold / Brass Accents

March 26, 2018 Dolly Hioe

Harriet & Co is nothing without showing more gold or brass accents into interior! I have been obsessed with home decor since I was a teenager. The idea of having a great house with wonderful interior is one of my goal in life. When other girls was spending so much money on new clothes and make up, I spent it on home decor and furniture! I like to rearranged my bedroom every year and table lamp is one of the essential thing that I have changed quite frequent. Here are my current picks for gold / brass accents table lamps:

1. Grey Table Lamp from Kmart, $15. A great choice for task lighting, our table lamp is a contemporary decorative accent for any bedroom. It comes with 2 colours, gold and black.

2. Mirabella Hudson Table Lamp from Big W, $10. Brighten up your living space with this Mirabella Hudson Table Lamp. This contemporary and sleek lamp features a simplistic round base, skinny neck and a classic round globe. This stylish table lamp will easily compliment any existing decor, perfect for your minimalist bedroom!

3. Bloomingdale Spoke Desk Lamp from Pillow Talk, SALE to $69. This oddly shape scallop wire base lamp is perfect for any room! It comes in 2 colours, gold and rose gold. But obviously I'm going to choose for the gold one.

4. Brass Bourke Table Lamp from Interior Secrets, $155. Add a bit of contemporary luxe mixed with vintage appeal from this lamp. White marble round base for good looks and lasting sturdiness. Spherical glass with a smoky grey finish to diffuse harsh light.

5. Tobin Table Lamp by Home Republic, available in Adairs, $95. Solid ceramic with metallic polished for the luxe style. This type of table lamp is great for living room and hallway. Place it on the console table next to the mirror, perfect!

6. Band Table Lamp by Home Republic, available in Adairs, $60. Concrete has been trending for almost 2 years now. Additional of gold accents on the bottom makes this simple lamp into a stunning luxurious piece for your room.

7. Kent Table Lamp from Bunnings, $269. When it comes to table lamp, people wont think to find it in Bunnings because Bunnings is a hardware store. But I went to Bunnings a lot to check some material and found this hidden gem! A French fold polished finished metal base lamp with a black linen drum shade. Finished with a rolled edge, with gold lining. Perfect to style a minimalist and contemporary apartment or house.

8. Pillar Table Lamp - Marble from West Elm, $349. Another stunning table lamp collection from West Elm. I can't get enough with them as I always featured their products on my blog. Love this design, it's straight and narrow. Featuring a marble-finished base and white linen shade, the Pillar Table Lamp looks right at home in a mid-century room. Its size and scale are perfect for a bedside table or living room console.

9. Millie Brass Table Lamp from Bunnings, $102. Back to Bunnings, this stylish brass table lamp adds a modern metallic accent to any living space or bedroom. Matching pendants available as well! The size is pretty big with 44 cm diameter, make sure to have a wide table for this gem!

10. Geometric Gold Table Lamp from Target USA, $29. This last one is my favourite table lamp! Target USA has done it again, we have the similar one in Australia but I couldn't find it online (hence there is no link on this one). Some other brands has also released the same model with black and rose gold colour. Since Harriet is all about that sexy geometric shape, this table lamp is Harriet's choice for sure. Perfect in any modern and contemporary room!

Blush Crush

March 12, 2018 Dolly Hioe

I have been obsessed with blush colour for an armchair or an ottoman. It would look perfect in white interior and pair it with light grey sofa or white sofa. What I like the most with blush colour, it is one of the perfect fabric colour with gold accents on it. Here are the list of my top 7 blush armchairs and ottoman!

01. LEXI VELVET ARMCHAIR, $999 from Freedom Furniture Australia. As seen on The Block 2017, The epitome of elegance and glamour. Brushed brass forms a beautifully structured base that cradles the feather-filled cushioned seating, while plush, velvety fabric brings warmth to the modern shape. Lexi’s deep reclined seating boldly welcomes with wide-angled arms for an inviting spot you’ll never want to leave.

02. METAL FRAME UPHOLSTERED CHAIR - DUSTY BLUSH, $999 from West Elm. The modern structure of our Metal Frame Chair is the perfect contrast to its cush, tailored cushions, for a look that manages to read both industrial and glam. It's the armchair we all have our eyes on.

03. VELVET OCCASIONAL CHAIR, $49 from Kmart Australia. This affordable blush velvet occasional chair from Kmart is a steal! The size of this velvet chair is perfect to pair it with round dining table or occasional chairs in the living room.

04. ROAR + RABBIT GEO OTTOMAN - OCTAGON, $429 from West Elm. Compact and lightweight, the Roar + Rabbit Geo Ottoman defines multifaceted—it easily transitions from ottoman to entryway bench to coffee table when topped with a tray. (Hint: arrange it next to the longer version for a modern living room set up)

05. ROAR + RABBIT SWIVEL CHAIR - DUSTY BLUSH, $1,299 from West Elm. Creative firm Roar + Rabbit™ designs textiles, furniture and home accessories that blend modern style with whimsical details. Upholstered in super-soft velvet, this swivel chair's subtle shine gives it a modern feel, with pleating on the back for extra charm.

06. VELVET OTTOMAN - BLUSH, $29 from Kmart Australia. Another steal from Kmart! I just can't have enough with Kmart's product. There is nothing like coming back home after a tiring day and putting your feet up on this velvet ottoman. Its made from plywood with medium-density fibreboard frame and pine frame.

07. MERCER + REID MANDARIN CHAIR BLUSH, $199 from Adairs Australia. Simple and sophisticated, the Mandarin chairs feature thin metal legs with a rounded upholstered seat and back. The Mandarin Chairs from Mercer + Reid are the perfect complement to a bedroom or living space. The soft colour palette of silver or blush allows you to style it with almost any colour of decorator cushion or throw.