Making a home in Singapore



Apartment on move-in day -- a blank canvas.

I have personally boosted returns for IKEA's shareholders by 15 percent since arriving in Singapore. Before moving to Singapore, I never stepped foot in an IKEA; in my eight weeks here, I've been there five times.
Furnishings and apartment-related items have comprised the bulk of my spending thus far. My one-bedroom apartment came furnished, which essentially means it came with washer/dryer, fridge, stove (no oven), king sized bed, two sleek but not-made-for-lounging leather sofas, a 42-inch flat screen, pretty overhead lights, a dining room table + chairs, and coffee table that wins the "world's ugliest coffee table" award. You think that would take care of everything, right? Not quite. A non-exhaustive list of things I've had to buy: end tables, lamps, area rugs, a full-length mirror, a better coffee table (duh), a comfy chair, sofa pillows and silk covers, bedding, nightstands, clothes hangers, iron, hair dryer, candles, and various kitchen, cooking, serving and cleaning accessories. Fortunately, I brought many key pieces with me from Chicago: nice chopping knife, grill tools, pasta tongs, cheese grater, martini shaker, dish towels, bath towels and other such necessities.



Blank living space. The infamous coffee table.



I have to admit, IKEA is a good spot for most of this. But I have found some other go-to places as well.

Top places for furnishing an apartment in Singapore

• IKEA: Good for the basics if you don't want to spend lots of $$ yet -- rugs, pillows, shelving, plants  (large and small), kitchen and cooking utensils (cutting board, colander, etc), basic plates and drinking glasses, bed pillows and comforters. IKEA is chaotic but not unbearable -- nevertheless, I try to go on Sunday mornings right when it opens at 10 a.m. Buy as much as you want -- a taxi home is cheap, or they deliver bigger stuff for like $50. I've done most of the trips myself but taken advantage of the delivery twice.
• Tang's: A local department store with an amazing housewares section in the basement. You could find everything here, but I found IKEA to have MUCH better prices. What I do recommend buying at Tang's -- pots/pans (they always have good sales, or "offers" as they are called here for nicer quality than you wil find at IKEA), flatware, nicer wine and drinking glasses, and serving ware. Some items were ridiculously over-priced -- e.g., $100 for a clothes drying rack ... I bought one at IKEA for like $12.
• Robinson's: A large British department store, with everything you could want. It is pricier than IKEA and Tang's, though they have a wide variety of higher-end stuff. One location also has a special bedding shop, where they charge exorbitant prices ($400 for a mattress pad) to ex-pats who want to recreate Western beds here in Singapore.
• Yue Hwa: A Chinese product department store located in Chinatown. To be honest, the only thing I have bought here was a really pretty shawl but I spent a lot of time looking through their antique furniture upstairs. The prices weren't bad for beautiful wood (elmwood, teak, chickenwood, etc) pieces but I want to explore more before purchasing.
• Chinatown: A stroll around Chinatown always results in a cheap but necessary accessory purchase -- silk cushion covers, decorative vase, Asian prints, etc. There also are several shops that sell gorgeous chests, tables, benches, screens, paintings -- more to come, as I've only just begun to explore. Friendly negotiating is generally welcome, especially at the stalls.
• Furniture Mall: A mall of furniture stores on Beach Road. If you are aiming to make your apartment Euro-inspired, modern and sleek, this (plus Park Mall across from Plaza Singapura) is your spot. There were a couple shops that sold lovely teak, elmwood, etc, pieces but the high prices gave me pause.

We now have the basics. Our next focus will be buying nice local (Chinese, Balinese, etc) pieces that we'll eventually take back with us.