Sarah: "I work in tech, and at home, I'm the procurer of goods and services, as well as the conceptualizer (while Grace is the actualizer)."
Grace:"I work with data, and I'm the painter, artist, and handy person at home.
S: “If we had to name the aesthetics of our home, I’d suggest ‘Small Things’. It's a collection of things we love, for the life we love. We’ve lived together in various apartments for seven years, and for quite a bit of that time, we couldn’t afford the things we wanted. Now that we have a permanent spot, we only buy things we love. If we both immediately love it, we go for it. It’s how we bought this apartment actually.“
G: “I wanted the home to feel like a hug. All I asked for was an open kitchen, a round table, some green tiles, and plenty of rugs."
S: “My mantra is, the way you do small things is the way you do all things. The small things really, really matter. So there are small lamps everywhere.
G: “Sarah is always moving things around. When it comes to revamping a corner of the house, all concepts seem to come to her at 3am when I’m sleeping, and I’ll wake up to a flurry of messages and links.”
S: “I used to have to discuss it with Grace ASAP because the idea might slip away. Now I’ve learnt to make notes. We usually shop at Finnish Design Shop, Studio Yono, Aa Furniture, Carousell, Ebay, Etsy. Oh, big fan of Tanchen Studio right now. And we actually pop by SOJAO’s Home Goods Store at Joo Chiat quite often too.”
G: “We’ve also learnt that we can’t be precious about stuff. Because of Arya, there’ll be fur everywhere, some drool, little scratches on things. Regular dog stuff.”
G: “My favourite nook in our home is the reading spot Sarah created for me. It’s the corner where everything else melts away.”
S: “To create that spot, we replaced a huge (and super heavy) full length mirror and a standing desk with a Vitsoe setup and tub chair.”
G: “Sleep is most restful when my day is mentally and physically fulfilling (but not draining) and I actively feel like going to bed.”
S: “Going to bed has to be a super inviting experience for me. Everything has to be right in terms of visuals, tactility, and temperature. I also need it to be cool all night. SOJAO sheets are amazing and we’ve been having fantastic sleeps.”
S: “The meaning of ‘Home’ has changed over time for me. When we were renting, ‘Home’ was to be some form of permanence and security. My bar’s a little higher now. I love being home so much it’s been difficult for me to leave the house.”
G: “Right now, ‘Home’ is about safety- safety for both of us (and the dog) to unfold and explore ourselves, and I don’t think either of us take this lightly. Sometimes I think we’re very lucky to have this home, and it shouldn’t be about luck. Queer people struggle with housing everywhere, and it’s particularly apparent here where access to housing is so tied up with a particular sort of familyhood.”
S: ”Sometimes I wish I could open our home to our wider community, but I don’t know how implementing that looks like.”
S: “Viscerally, home is a sigh of relief and a breath of contentment as I step through the door.”
G: “Something about the space makes me want to do better, not in an eternal upgrading way, but it makes me slow down and be intentional about the kind of life I want us to live. It has helped me to be more discerning about what I invite into my life and our everyday practices.”
S: “For the year ahead, I promised to halt the lamp procuring for a bit. We’re hoping to do a lot more DIY this year, we’re thinking about building a shoe castle for example!”
G: “I’m always excited about Sarah’s next idea. Even if it comes at 3am.”
