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5 November 2008
by Michelle Cheow
Lawrence Wong, Full-time 'Freelance Arts Practitioner', as he coins himself, is one bachelor who knows how to tidy his space. Having been in Singapore since Primary 1, this Malaysian-born dude keeps his house spick-and-span without part-time help. Or maybe he's not letting on some secrets? Michelle Cheow tries to pry into the bachelor pad but the easy-going one still keeps some rooms locked, literally.
Michelle Cheow (MC): When did you move in?
Lawrence Wong (LW): Around March 2008
MC: TOP?
LW: Dec 2007
MC: Did you scout around a lot while househunting?
LW: I did, I went around areas like Hillview etc. but the units were all quite small. I like space.
MC: Do you keep track of the property market?
LW: Not really but I do get updated by agents.
MC: What is your ideal location?
LW: My next property is hopefully landed. I like what I see in Chip Bee Garden (Holland Village). I've also seen landed HDB houses at around Whampoa and Jalan Bahagia. It's my dream to have a garden and landed housing. There's this quaint, rustic charm about those houses.
MC: Speaking of quaint, rustic charm, do you have a source of inspiration to draw from in terms of your home's design?
LW: No designers, I like light tones and not stark colors. After a while though, I realized that my designs and furnishing seem to revolve around my pet's color theme (white, grey, beige) My design concept is simple. Fuss free! Haaa.. I'm a bachelor staying alone with only my cat so I try to design the place so that it's low maintenance. I don't really want to have to do too much.
MC: Do you hire a part-time housekeeper or do you get.. 'help'?
LW: Haa.. No, I clean the house myself. I vacuum it everyday with this ‘electronic broom'.
MC: There shouldn't be too much to do since you're alone.. or so you claim.
LW: Well, my cat sheds a lot of fur so I do need to clean up everyday (at this point, Esky strolls to us and Lawrence starts speaking to it in Japanese)
MC: So.. Esky 'speaks' Japanese?
LW: Haa.. no la, I speak to it in Japanese so it only understands me and can only take commands from me.
MC: Does your home reflect your personality?
LW: Ya I think so. It's simple, fuss free.. I'm quite chin chye (Hokkien for easy going) and this house is like that too.
MC: Some people child-proof their house. Do you pet-proof yours?
LW: Not really. However, I won't buy expensive furniture. I am prepared to throw away my furniture after a few years cos Esky scratches them up.
MC: Any accent pieces in your house that is there to define your space?
LW: No, not really. My furnishing tends to serve very functional purposes. However, I do like to have fresh flowers in the house. I'm also planning to deck up the window ledge with flower pots so that I can grow plants.
MC: I noticed some Feng Shui ornaments at your door when I was entering. Are you big on that?
LW: No, that's the only thing I have. It's supposed to bring me wealth but so far it's not working haa.. (well, Lawrence, from what I can see, you're not doing too bad!)
MC: What about the wind chimes hanging outside your window?
LW: Oh those I just bought for fun. Purely ornamental but I do hear that wind chimes channel good energy into the house.
MC: What is your favorite room or part of the house?
LW: My bedroom. Cos it's where I sleep. I also have a weak spot for luxurious bedding.
The dude sleeps on Egyptian cotton bedsheets costing over $2000 that is pure white!! I did a straw poll in the office with a bunch of lady colleagues and the maximum amount I gathered anyone would spend is $100+. When I told the ladies the price of Lawrence's sheets, the sentiments is aptly summed up by a colleague's declaration, "Kill me please!"
MC: Such expensive beddings! Hmm.. any interesting things happening on it?
LW: Guffaws.. THAT is a secret.
MC: OK. So let's talk about something not so secretive. Would you consider yourself someone who is savvy with the procedures of property purchase?
LW: Erm.. roughly yeah..
MC: So if it's the first time I'm buying a property, what would you tell me to do?
LW: Hire an agent haa...
MC: Right.. you just answered my next question. So you're the 'pay and hire someone else to do it' kind of person?
LW: Depends. If it's something simple, like changing the light bulbs or if I know exactly what the problem is, I'll fix it myself. But if I don't, I'll call in the expert. But since this place is still very new, I don't have many problems.
MC: You've rented a lot before purchasing this first property. Would you have any advice to dish out to our readers?
LW: Buy. If you have the funds to, just buy because at the end of the day, it's an asset. If you rent, you're paying potentially the installments of a property that you can buy, except that you don't own anything at the end of it when you rent. This asset can also potentially become a source of passive income, for example, if you rent it out.
MC: Finish this sentence for me please. My house..
LW: ..is my cat's playground.
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