One-Stop Shop:
The mall with it all
Is one of your resolutions to top up your home with fresh furniture? Then a visit to this mall-with-it-all may be just the thing to get the ball rolling.
I’ve gotten to where I just plain dread breakfast. Oh, it’s not the food or the company – I actually love hanging out with my family in the morning. My kids make me giggle.
Nope. It’s our dining chairs. They are killing my back. I eat my bowl of oatmeal or yoghurt and leave the dining table like a hobbled centenarian. The chairs we brought with us when we moved here didn’t like the humidity so we bought used chairs from a repatriating expat. Big mistake. They’re awful.
My husband isn’t too fond of our dining table either. We bought it off eBay, sight unseen, when we were living in the US. It’s an old Indian door and, while it looks super cool, it’s not practical. The surface is uneven so cutting up a piece of food becomes a whole exercise in plate balance management. What fun it was teaching our toddlers how to properly place their plates so they wouldn’t wiggle throughout the meal. Also, big metal decorations underneath mean that if you put more than one chair on the same side of the table, somebody’s legs are getting squished.
No, mealtimes at our house are not for the faint of heart. Guests should turn down dinner invites.
Solving the problem
I think I’ve found the answer: The Furniture Mall. This place has a mind-boggling 40 stores and 70 brands under one roof. It’s like furniture-shopping nirvana – and, frankly, nothing makes me happier. I don’t know about you, but I hate schlepping from place to place looking for something I need.
True, The Furniture Mall is not smack dab in the middle of Orchard, but that can be a good thing. Located at 10 Toh Guan Road, it has room for a bunch of stores under one roof. That means shopping here is a super easy adventure. Parking is easy, walking around in the air-conditioned mall is almost as good as a candy store, and I don’t have to troll Singapore driving from store after store.
Of course, dining tables and chairs are just a bit of what you’ll find here; beds, desks, tables, outdoor furniture – this place has the works. Like a contemporary look? It’s there. Looking for teak furniture? Check. Maybe country is more your taste. Or Victorian. Check and check. There are even units to organise your closet or your laundry. Hmm… maybe my whole home needs an upgrade.
The 25-year-old Furniture Mall is part of the Singapore Furniture Association and it’s really a carefully curated co-op with stores for all tastes and budgets. Because it’s been around for such a long time, you know the vendors are trustworthy. Businesses that aren’t trustworthy don’t stay around, do they?
Tips for buying
But I don’t want to make the same mistakes I made before. Furniture needs to do more than look good. It needs to be comfortable and practical. So I did some research and there are actually well-studied specifications for table and chair heights to maximise comfort. Here’s what I learned:
• A standard dining or kitchen table height should be 76cm. Dining chairs are generally between 40 and 50cm.
• The real key is the distance between the chair and table. Here’s the scoop: there should be between 23 and 33cm between the top of the chair and the bottom of the table. Why? Because otherwise your legs don’t have room. Like to cross your legs? go for more distance. If you’re short, you might want a lower table. Really tall? Go for a taller one. Remember, though, you may have guests sharing that table so don’t go crazy either way. You don’t want a table for a 225cm giant and then have a guest who can’t reach the floor when she sits. • Want arms on your chairs? Make sure they allow you to scoot close enough to the table.
• Plan on having lots of guests? See how many chairs you can get around the table comfortably (and that includes having elbow room to properly cut your food).
• Don’t fall in love with the look of a table or a set of chairs and look past the limitations. That’s like falling in love with the guy across the room only to find out he makes you uncomfortable.
• As for the room placement, make sure there is 90cm between the table’s edge and the wall so people have room to push out their chairs comfortably. If you have a tiny space, don’t buy a giant table. Maybe opt for installing a booth instead.
• Think of materials. Chairs should be firm and comfortable. Have kids? Maybe don’t go for white wool; it doesn’t like spaghetti sauce. If you buy leather, make sure you’re a fan of air-con, as leather doesn’t like humidity.
The Furniture Mall is at 10 Toh Guan Road, Level 1, and is open daily from 11.30am to 9pm.
6898 2272 | thefurnituremall.com.sg