Four years since our Waldorf Tower apartment in Kuala Lumpur had been ready and four years of staying there whenever we were home and finally I felt I had to do something about the morning sun. Actually, I mean something MORE.
Our living room, the study and the two bedrooms all face the morning sun. And we made the big decision of tinting all the windows and the living room door to the balcony – just like you’d do with car windows – with V-Kool! It did cost a little bomb and a half but I think, no regrets at all.
Everything went well except the morning sun where the living room and study were was really intense. From about 8:30am till 11am or so every morning, the sun shone so strong into the living room that I’d be forced to draw the curtains. Which, of course, made the room dark. And when I wasn’t there, Danial would be at work when the morning sun came in and there would be no one to draw the curtains. Of course. 
It took its toll. Year after year of the sun coming into our living room damaged my conversation piece, “organic” sofa. It was supposed to be leather and suede – well, at least that’s what the guys at Cellini told me – but who knows. Anyway, the large piece kidney shaped piece had to be thrown out. When I tried to have it fixed at Cellini, they told me I had to reupholster the whole set. They wouldn’t fix only the damaged part. That was so unfair. It would cost me much more than a new set. I was so upset and you know what happens next – that’s the last time I ever buy anything from this store. I asked my maid Siti to ask her husband who worked with the apartment maintenance team to remove it. It didn’t seem to matter at the time what they did with it. I think they used in the staff room.
I kept the other two pieces trying to make the most functional use of it. The round ottoman went nicely in the reception – you sit on it when you want to put your shoes on or you put your stuff on it when you get home . And I put the crescent-shaped one in a corner of the dining area which had looked a little empty. And then I bought a new sofa. I was happy to find an acceptable, inexpensive one for the time being. It was the best I could do in a hurry. It was ok.
Then I thought I’d better solve the sun issue because anything I put there next to the balcony door would get damaged by the morning sun. I seriously considered some weather-proof sunscreen blinds on the balcony which would keep the sun out AND even the rain. I had seen it at a friend’s home in Serene Kiara. I got quotes and would have gone on with it, except for a couple of hitches. One, our balcony was curved and they couldn’t fit it in without encroaching on some of the balcony area, and two – the fantastic management at Waldorf Tower wouldn’t give me permission to do it UNLESS I chose this awful dark brown bamboo blinds! What? I wanted a sunscreen which would let in the sunlight BUT keep out the intensity of the sun and they wanted me to put these awful dark blinds. They said I had to abide by the “house rules” if I wanted to install anything outside the apartment, like the balcony, but I could install any kind of blinds inside the apartment.
So that was that. I had no choice but to call my faithful contractor Lau and asked him to install some roller blinds inside the apartment. It worked. It kept more heat out and my sofa etc had a better chance at a better life!
It wasn’t that bad, in fact it was quite practical as it certainly kept out the glare. My curtains seemed dysfunctional there right now but that’s going to be another story. Hubby says when we move back for good we’ll do some renovation and repainting etc and that’s when I’ll change those things.
For now, the sunscreen blinds work for me.
and the induction hobs. No wasted area. The relatively small workspace to the right of the hobs is ideal for placing spoon rests, pot covers, ingredients etc. We chose a “flush” hood / extractor which together with the flat induction hobs gave the kitchen a clean and uncluttered look.
