Malaysian engineer, wife, and mom, Ashikin Amran, did not let an old house deter her from building the home of her dreams. Drawing inspiration from the popular American reality television show, Fixer Upper, Ashikin knew she could breathe new life into an old terrace house in Kuala Lumpur.
After a terrible renovation experience in 2013, Ashikin knew she wanted to get hands-on with the renovation this time. Together with her husband, they designed and transformed their old house into an impressive all-white home during the pandemic.
Aesthetics aside, Ashikin has built a home that’s well-organized and functional for her family of three. A good example of this is her Instagram-famous kitchen. There is a designated spot for each item in the kitchen – from her built-in pantry to her hidden appliance garage.
As it turns out, you don’t need a new property and an unlimited budget to turn a house into a home. With proper planning and extensive research, Ashikin is a real-life example of the saying, “Design is not what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
Ashikin now shares her passion for home interiors and childhood education (plus lots of useful advice!) on her Instagram. Follow her journey here.
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Name: Ashikin Amran
Location: Kuala Lumpur
Type of home: Terrace house
Number of rooms: 4
Size: 1500 sqft / 18 x 65ft
Years Lived In: 7 years
Rental / Owned: Owned
How would you describe your home style?
Our house is a mix of English modern with a touch of Scandinavian. Since our house is quite small, we prefer white and bright colors for our walls. Besides that, we own fewer decorative items to give the illusion of a bigger and wider space.
What inspired your home decor?
We really love the Fixer Upper TV show. We re-watched most of the episodes repeatedly before we decided to renovate our house last year. It’s our belief that a small and old house is not something that can prevent you from making your house feel more homely and cozy.
Did you renovate your home?
We designed our house ourselves. Since we have a limited budget, we learned how to use Sketchup software. Plus, we were 100% involved during the renovation stage. I was on maternity leave, thus I could focus and monitor our contractors during the renovation stage.
We started designing in March 2020, and renovation started in June 2020. We moved back into our house in Nov 2020. So, it took around 4-5months for our renovation.
If you have the budget, I would definitely recommend hiring an interior designer since they are the experts. With that being said, you have to choose an interior designer that can deliver your style.
Tell us about your favorite room or element in your home.
I love my daughter Hana’s playroom. We installed a big wide glass window to have extra natural light. We combined that with plenty of wooden elements, which gives the area a perfectly natural concept. Hana really enjoys and spends most of her time there.
What is the best investment you’ve made for your home?
We spent half of our renovation budget in the kitchen area. We removed the partition wall between the wet and dry kitchen, and our kitchen space ended up bigger and more spacious.
Besides, we also removed another partition wall between the living room and kitchen area. We have an open-style home concept just by removing an element of the house.
Name one thing you would like to change about your home.
Since our concept is white and bright, I think adding some wooden beams on the ceiling would make our house feel more alive. But unfortunately, we can’t since we have a low ceiling.
If I could redo the renovation, I would like to add extra height for the ceiling and add wooden beams.
Where do you shop for furniture and home decor pieces?
We shop from a variety of stores. Some of them are from Malaysia like Harvey Norman, SSF, and Ashley. There are also some shops at Viva Mall that always have sales for furniture. We bought our dining table there, but I forgot the name of the shop.
For decorative items, most of them are from overseas like Magnolia, Target, and Wayfair.
What will be your next home project?
No big project, but I’m trying to organize our utility room. It is so messy and will take some time to clean and organize. I may need to let go of some of my preloved items too. I’m still finding that “mood” to organize and home edit the utility room!
Any advice you would like to share with others?
Don’t rush when it comes to designing your home. Plan well, and do lots of study and research. Don’t be shy to ask for others’ opinions.
List down what you like and create your own wish list. Focus more on functionality, then add the aesthetic details to your design as the final step.
Again, always remember, do your best and do it for you and your family, because at the end of the day, you’re the one who will live there!
What do you love most about this incredible home transformation? Share Ashikin some love on her Instagram here.
Love the white cabinet refinishing!
Thank you, Sara!