I first started CosyRumah in 2016, it was a means for me to share more on my interest and curiosity for interior design and decor. I remember back then, I was on a gap year where I was taking a break from management consulting, rethinking my corporate career and whether to stick it out or head back to law. In between this quarterly crisis (yes, I regarded it as that), I finally had time to tackle organising and do something in the house I was living in.
You see, I’m fortunate to be living right smack in the middle of Kuala Lumpur courtesy of my arwah nenek (late Grandmother’s) home. This house is special to me and our family. It’s where my mother grew up and where we would make trips, driving from our home in Johor to Kuala Lumpur. This is my kampung (village/hometown).
It’s an old house, but very charming in its own way. Nevertheless, it was a well-lived home. Naturally so, things just pilled up over the years. Living here, the place already had furniture and was complete, but nothing felt like me. It took a few years in fact before I could feel that this house was a home. It was unsettling. Which was why, during that gap year, I was determined to remember my nenek and ensured things were rightfully put in place. I did major clean-ups (and I still do to this day, there is just that much stuff), donated many items, called on family members to allocate heirloom pieces and so on. This was when I could also make some bold choices on refreshing the space – pick new lights, paint walls and invest in some new furniture. It was nothing major really, but at that time, it was something.
I finally found the answer I was looking for – remember the gap year was about finding my passion for work? It ended up being sustainability. Since then, I never looked back. I re-joined management consulting for a role in sustainability and since then, have been a sustainability practitioner assisting corporations to be more sustainable. The career change was demanding as I had much to learn and work for. Which is why this platform, CosyRumah was abandoned. Abandoned is such a harsh word, but we must face the truth head on. The only place which was somewhat active was my Pinterest platform. I continued to pin things that inspired me ever so often.
During this ‘leave of absence’ as I call it, I continued to dive deeper into interior design and decor. I continued following many interior designers on my personal platforms, watched shows on Netflix and made changes to the space I was living in. I also got married in September 2019 and my husband, came to live with me here – in our little home in Kuala Lumpur.
No longer was I a single woman living in Kuala Lumpur and could do whatever I wanted at home. I had to share this space now with another. This was such a blessing as it just propelled me to do more with my home. The good thing also is that my husband is pretty handy with these things. He’s very resourceful when it comes to finding quality and value for money items. So with his project management and sourcing, and my creativity and design – we were able to do much more!
CosyRumah’s Comeback
In June 2020, I decided it was time to come back to CosyRumah. I felt ready and was yearning to share my passion here with others. I wanted to find more like-minded people as well. I did not however, want to stress myself. Having learnt my lesson, I knew I needed to pace myself so that this comeback would be sustainable. So I limited things to Instagram at first, slowly getting back in the groove of taking pictures of my home and pinpointing my thoughts to share with others. I also discovered a local interior decor movement in Malaysia #ighometourmalaysia! I’ve met so many wonderful Malaysians through this movement. We inspire one another and there are many useful tips! Honestly, it’s been amazing.
For 2021, one of my resolutions was to revive the CosyRumah site/blog. I wanted to be able to write more so I can go into more detail on many things. Again, I do not want to stress myself out. So I will be pacing myself. But for now, I welcome you back to CosyRumah and look forward to seeing you here! I hope you find the space useful in any shape or form.
Sincerely,
Diyana
CosyRumah 