You’re getting the keys to your new apartment, which means it is time to start shopping and decorating your dream home. 

Home furnishing could not be easier with Harvey Norman’s superstores, like the one at Parkway Parade which was recently expanded to two floors. 

The retail offering now goes beyond its existing electrical and IT department - there is also a new furniture and bedding section on the ground floor. 

As a quick guide to help you navigate the superstore, go to the first floor for homeware, audio visual, cameras, computers, games hub and Photo Centre, where you can print digital photos or customise gifts such as photo coffee mugs or photo frames.

Go to the second floor for all your home and kitchen appliance needs. 

Let’s start with the living and dining rooms where most of your hosting will take place. You’d want it to look the most presentable and not to mention, effortlessly stylish. 

Want your space to look like this? 

Go crazy at Harvey Norman as it carries an amazing collection of modern furniture from full leather and fabric sofas, recliners, dining table and chairs to homeware accessories.

There are plenty of styles to pick from to suit your theme as Harvey Norman carries brands such as ALF, Saporini, Stellani and Oliver B. For the uninitiated, these furniture brands are famous from Italy and their collections are on-trend and trusted for quality. 

Also, look out for Harvey Norman’s in-house brand such as Lifestyle by Harvey Norman that offers chic and affordable pieces. 

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If you are shopping for the perfect recliner to chill at your reading corner, Harvey Norman has a good range from La-Z-Boy (USA) and IMG (Norway) too.

Where comfort matters most in the bedroom, you can also shop for mattresses and bed frames at Harvey Norman Parkway Parade from trusted brands such as Hilker, King Koil, Sealy, Simmons and Tempur. Entry-level range starts from $699 for a Queen-size mattress to premium brands at over $20,000.

At Harvey Norman, customisation services are also available for bed frames. You can customise to a certain size or with a fabric of choice. This is a great solution for those who want to tailor bed frames to fit their bedrooms in order to make the best use of space.

In addition, Harvey Norman Parkway Parade is also the place to go for children’s bed frames. Whether your child is into fairytale princesses or race cars, you’ll be able to find something that will tickle their fancy. 

Serious home entertainment buffs would be delighted to know that Harvey Norman Parkway Parade has a Games Hub, which is a zone dedicated to gaming hardware, showcasing PlayStation and Xbox game consoles. 

At this gamer’s paradise, you can try out selected gaming devices before making your purchase. So no pressure there. 

You can create a state-of-the-art entertainment room from Harvey Norman’s extensive range of the large screen TVs with the latest specifications. The room will not be complete without good speakers, so remember to check out the wide selection of sound bars and wireless speakers there too.

Designing a kitchen can be challenging, especially when kitchen sizes in some of the newer apartments these days are shrinking. The intelligent use of space is vital.  

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The entire second floor of the Harvey Norman store is dedicated to your kitchen needs. 

You’ll find a showcase of different built-in kitchen concepts from six major brands such as Miele, Smeg, Brandt, Bosch, Electrolux and Fisher & Paykel. Great for stealing style ideas, but more importantly, you’d want to be able to visualise the size and how well appliances will fit into your kitchen.

Other than that, go nuts over the other small kitchen appliances and home accessories available such as coffee and espresso machines from brands like Nespresso, Nestle, Krups, Delonghi, Breville and more. Truly a cooking aficionado’s playground. 

Besides all that, Harvey Norman’s prices are unbeatable. 

So there you go, you’re almost set to move in. 

Harvey Norman is located at Parkway Parade, #01-35 and #02-34. Opening hours are 10am to 10pm.

This article is sponsored by Harvey Norman.

For more stories on home-styling ideas and inspiration, check out AsiaOne's Home Works special section.

A teenager in Singapore has taken to Reddit to pen a letter to her neighbour, who lives in a semi-detached house behind her family, for allegedly mistreating maids.

Redditor button-holed, the teen, has a domestic helper named Elina, who was confronted by the neighbour for speaking to the latter's own maids.

This was witnessed by the teen, who said the neighbour "dismissed her presence entirely".

According to the teen, her neighbour told Elina: "I'm having problems with my maids. They all talk to you, and they say that you have a high salary and that you go on holiday with your employer.

"I can see that you are good at what you do, but, please refrain from speaking to my maid any more. Not everyone can be paid as much as you."

Unhappy with the "arrogant and entitled" tone that her neighbour had used, button-holed wrote in response: " Domestic helpers are not citizens, but they are people.

"They are living, breathing human beings with rights and needs and desires. They deserve dignity, and no matter who you are you do not have the right to impose upon that."

In her letter, button-holed also said that her neighbour's "domestic helpers haven't stayed any longer than a few months" and is also allegedly mistreating her current maid.

She wrote: "Can you really blame your maid, then, for talking to Elina?

"You confiscate her phone so she cannot call her family or her friends, or even a helpline if she wants to leave.

"You don't let her have off-days, so she is confined to the house.

"You only give her bread and instant noodles and the leftovers from your own dinner, so she practically starves.

"Then, you ask, what has Elina been doing?

"Elina is the one passing your maid food through the holes in the fence when you sleep.

"Elina is the one who helps her send money home, when she can't leave the house.

"Elina is the one who offers her support, when she's crying and can't call home.

"Have you ever wondered why your maids don't stay any longer than a few months?"

At the end of her letter, the teen also added: "Please, refrain from speaking to Elina like that again. I don't suppose you can understand, but she's part of my family."

You can read the full letter here.

In response, netizens, while agreeing that it was a well-written letter, have implored the Redditor to "do something about it other than post about it here", such as telling her parents or informing the authorities.

One user commented: "We all know that this sort of treatment is horrible. Your open letter won't change anything. It won't change the opinions of those who don't agree with you, and is more virtue signalling than anything.

"The only way to get anything done is to actually do something, not posting somewhere on the Internet where your target audience probably doesn't even frequent."

Button-holed later updated her post and added: "I'll talk to my parents, I'll try to make tangible change. but don't you see?

"Flaming me for being a keyboard warrior impacts this situation even less than an open letter sent to no one.

"So sure, I may not be one for direct confrontation, but I'm doing my best, and I hope you understand."

In a bizarre occurrence in Singapore, a woman walked onto a road at Aljunied, blocking vehicles and even kowtow-ing to the drivers.

The incident happened along a road near Block 113, Aljunied Avenue 2, on Tuesday (Aug 22) at around 8.30pm.

A passer-by told Shin Min Daily News that the woman started kowtow-ing on a pedestrian crossing, before standing up to block vehicles from moving forward.

She said: "The woman first asked an auntie passing by if she had seen a little girl.

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"After the auntie told her that she hadn't, the woman suddenly knelt and screamed that someone framed her."

According to the witness, a motorist who was passing through stopped his vehicle and got out of his car in response to the debacle.

The woman started kowtow-ing to him.

Another witness, a worker from a nearby book store, told reporters that the woman stalled at least six vehicles, and the process lasted for nearly 20 minutes.

He added: "There were around 15 people who were present, but we didn't approach her as we were worried that she might be emotionally unstable.

"One of the passers-by called the police."

Most children have their eyes glued on the computer screen because of online games nowadays, but for Jake, it is not to play, but to design them. 

Jake is only 9 years old, but he is already designing his own computer games. He goes to an advance coding class meant for older students, but he aces with ease. 

Asked if it is too early to let his son learn coding, Jake's father, who is an IT engineer himself, thinks Jake should have started at an even younger age. 

Last year, Jake designed and coded a voice controlled game for his father as a birthday gift. This time round in "A Little Somebody", Jake receives the challenge to design and code a more complex mobile game for his younger brother. 

Will he succeed? Get the answer and more in this episode of "A Little Somebody". 

About "A Little Somebody":

“A Little Somebody”（我是小某某） is one of 10 SPH-produced short form digital video series as part of a pilot Public Service Broadcast initiative. In this 13-part series, children between the age of 7 and 12 are given the opportunity to showcase their talent in different fields. While encouraging the young to pursue their interests, this series also hopes to inspire viewers to continue learning in life. 

“A Little Somebody”is also available on the zaobao.sg website and mobile app. All episodes come with Chinese and English subtitles. 

Like a serpent that molts and sheds its skin to renew itself, Bulgari's Serpenti Form art, design and jewelry exhibition in Singapore is not exactly like its first instalment in Rome in 2016.

"Such as the snake changes its skin, this exhibit will also be evolving all the time," Lucia Boscaini, Bulgari brand and heritage curator, told Lifestyle at the exhibit's preopening last week at the ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay Sands.

ICONIC SYMBOL

For starters, the show in the Lion City is nearly three times larger than the first edition in Rome, and boasts over 150 pieces of antiquities, contemporary art, photography, costumes, and jewelry all inspired by the snake.

Serpenti is one of the Italian jeweler's most iconic brand symbols, interpreted in watches and jewelry since the 1940s, and now also appears in leathergoods, accessories and eyewear.

Bulgari's connection with contemporary art is deeply rooted. While putting together a coffee-table book called "Serpenti in Art" two years ago, Boscaini and her team were faced with so many fascinating materials that couldn't go into the tome, that they decided to stage an exhibit.

"A book can be beautiful but static," Boscaini said. "An exhibition is a very immersive and emotional experience. In Rome, we didn't expect the immediate positive feedback from both the press and the audience; we even had it extended. When we saw the interest, that's when we conceived the Singapore exhibit."

With the limited space they had in Rome, Boscaini had to exclude the works by Asian artists. She finally got to show them in Singapore.

POSITIVE INTERPRETATIONS

While the snake is a universal symbol, Boscaini found most interesting in her research the different, sometimes conflicting values linked to it by different cultures.

"In my personal background, it's a negative symbol, [it stands for] temptation," she said. "On the contrary, there are many positive interpretations-a talisman, protector, symbol of fertility, healing, medicine, eternity, circle of life. Frankly I didn't imagine [to find out all of] that at all, it was enriching."

The exhibit, which runs until Oct. 15, features antiquities from the East and the West, like a statue of an Eastern Han dynasty tomb-guardian deity holding snakes and a statue of a young Hercules strangling snakes, both from the 2nd century AD.

There are also snake jewels from ancient Rome.

There are various works by eminent artists, from Joan Miro to Marc Chagall to Keith Haring, as well as photography by Robert Mapplethorpe and Helmut Newton.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

"Snakes have so many interpretations, not only in terms of value-rebirth, healing, evolution-but the aesthetic interpretations are also so different," Boscaini said.

"That's the main criteria we followed in the selection of artworks here. There had to be different perspectives, and the provenance of the artists was very important-East, West, and by country as well, because the Japanese interpretations are so different from the Chinese. There's also a variety of materials-wood, bronze, marble, paper cuts, textile, photography, ceramics. We also considered the techniques."

A couple of her favorites are those by Chinese artist Wu Jian'an, "The White Snake hid immediately," that appears like a textured oil painting from afar, but is actually of the traditional Chinese art of paper cut, with intricate images of three-headed serpents, dragons, skulls; and contemporary artist Niki de Saint Phalle's playful snake figures of painted fiberglass or polyester.

Boscaini also included various costumes from cinema and theatre-from Jaye Davidson's Ra costume from the 1994 movie "Stargate" and a robe from Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor," to an elaborate opera costume for "Turandot" from 1926 and a snake mask made for Lady Gaga.

"It was so fun. Majority of them were borrowed from private collectors and museums, so it was a mix of everything. We wanted some irony, some lightness to the darkness."

In Bulgari, the Serpenti evolved from the minimalist Tubogas watch with a very tiny head to the more realistic contemporary interpretations featuring the scales of the reptile and, most recently, the focus on its head and eyes in designing jewelry. Now there are also leather bracelets that feature the viper's head.

DELICATE, FEMININE 

At the exhibit opening, guest star and Academy award-winning actress Alicia Vikander wore a Serpenti necklace with a large snake's head pendant. It complemented her earrings-a snake's head on each lobe.

"It's a versatile kind of icon," Boscaini said.

"The snake is very daring, but this ring [featuring a viper's head] is very delicate, very feminine, and wearable. Our Tubogas watch is daring and cool as well but it's very now. It's discreet. I also like that the attention now is all in the head and eyes. It's completely different from the past, but is an example of how Bulgari is able to go farther. The icon is the same, but it's a revolutionary design."

At the Serpenti Form exhibit, one room is devoted to pieces from the brand's heritage collection showing the evolution of the Serpenti. Included also are a couple of one-off high jewelry pieces, a necklace of uniquely cut chalcedony with diamonds and rubies, and a two-headed Serpenti watch of pink gold and diamonds.

Boscaini dispels any ideas that the exhibit is only for jewelry and art connoisseurs and collectors.

"We're not an art foundation or museum, so we don't want to offer a didactic experience," she said. "We want an emotional experience, a form of entertainment but with content. It's not at all addressed toward intellectuals or art historians and art experts, but for anybody interested in beauty."

Those who will see it in Singapore shouldn't expect the same when Serpenti Form moves to Tokyo in November, said its curator.

"The exhibit is evolving. We don't intend to replicate it. In Bulgari that's our normal attitude. We will keep adding. While we maintain the theme, the content will evolve with new artworks, research, digital displays."

A car ended up in the sea along Ocean Drive in Sentosa after an accident with a ranger today afternoon (Aug 25).

Stompers Dean, Dadie and Alex alerted Stomp to videos of the accident scene, which have been circulating online.

One clip shows the moment the vehicle dived into the water.

The police said in a Facebook post that they were alerted to a traffic accident involving a car and a Sentosa ranger at 2.08pm.

"The car subsequently ended up in the sea," added the police.

It is unclear what led to the vehicle being in the water, however.

The 36-year-old driver was rescued from the car and the ranger, who sustained slight injuries, were both conscious when conveyed to Singapore General Hospital.

The driver was subsequently arrested for a rash act causing hurt and criminal trespass.

Police investigations are ongoing.

A kind woman not only threw a birthday party for her domestic helper, but even went the extra mile by inviting all her friends.

Stomper Lelit, a friend and neighbour of the birthday girl, was among those invited to the party last Sunday (Aug 20).

The party, which consisted of a big feast, was held at the employer Mrs Agnes Tan's terrace house in Upper Serangoon and attended by many of the maid's friends.

According to Lelit, her friend has been working for Mrs Tan for six to seven years.

Said the Stomper: "Allow me to share about this one-in-a-million employer in Singapore. She is rich but super kind and humble.

"Mrs Agnes Tan and her family live in a big bungalow that welcomes people from all walks of life. I live nearby and visit them often.

"We, the helpers, enjoyed the birthday party that we attended there.

"A big thank you and and may God continue to shower blessings on this family."

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has been visited by a barn owl at the Istana for the third time.

He posted a photo on Facebook that showed the cute creature nestling in the overhang along the Istana's exterior and wrote: "#guesswhoo's back?"

He added: "Quite an easy one, if you’ve been a long-time follower of my Facebook Page!

"The Istana appears to be a regular stopover for owls, with latest one dropping by after visits in 2015 and 2013. (It is rather curious why they only visit every two years!). 

"True to their reputed wisdom, they seem to have learnt not to fly into the Istana building (and then need help from Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore and Jurong Bird Park to extricate themselves).

"Our latest visitor was quite content to perch itself on the overhang that runs along the exterior of the Istana, keeping a silent watch over the main entrance."

A barn owl had also made previous appearances at the Istana, in PM Lee's Sri Temasek, in 2013 and 2015, and it is possible that this one is the same bird.

Police have arrested a 60-year-old man for making a false bomb threat.

On Aug 26 at about 7.30 pm, the police received a call from a security personal of Singapore Indoor Stadium stating that he had detained a man who claimed that he had a bomb with him. 

At the time of the incident, a Wakin Chau concert was on-going at the stadium.
 
Following the call, officers from Bedok Police Division arrested the man. 

Preliminary investigation indicated that the suspect had no intention or means to carry out his threats. 

The police warns that they treat all security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against anyone who causes public alarm.

Any person found guilty of committing such offence shall be punished with a maximum fine of $100,000 or be jailed up to 5 years, or both.

a1admin@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE - The US Navy on Monday confirmed recovery of the remains of all 10 sailors killed after the warship John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel in waters near Singapore and Malaysia.

The guided-missile destroyer collided with the Alnic MC east of Singapore last week while approaching the city state on a routine port visit.

"The US navy and marine corps divers have now recovered the remains of all 10 USS John S.McCain sailors," the Seventh Fleet said in a statement on its website.

The news follows the navy's Thursday announcement that it had suspended wider search and rescue operations after finding and identifying the remains of one sailor.

The navy found the remains of missing sailors inside sealed sections of the damaged hull of the warship, which is moored at Singapore's Changi Naval Base.

"The incident is under investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the collision," the statement added.

Aircraft, divers and vessels from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States joined a search-and-rescue operation for the missing sailors over an area of about 5,500 sq km (2,124 square miles) around the crash site.

The pre-dawn collision, the fourth major accident for the US Pacific Fleet this year, has prompted a review of its operations.

The Navy has removed Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin from his post, citing "a loss of confidence in his ability to command" after the run of accidents.

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Rear Admiral Phil Sawyer takes command of the fleet from Aucoin, who had been due to step down next month.

The US navy has also flagged plans for temporary and staggered halts in operations across its global fleet to allow staff to focus on safety.

In a one-day operational pause last Wednesday, officers and crew of Seventh Fleet ships deployed at a facility in Yokosuka, Japan, received fresh training in risk management and communications.

The Seventh Fleet, headquartered in Japan, operates as many as 70 ships, including the US navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, and has about 140 aircraft and 20,000 sailors.

The two Singaporean men who were sentenced to one year imprisonment for cross-dressing in conservative Abu Dhabi had their punishment reduced to a fine yesterday (Aug 27), according to The National.

Now, fashion photographer Muhammad Fadli Abdul Rahman, 26, and Nur Qistina Fitriah Ibrahim, 37, have to pay a fine of Dh10,000 (S$3,690) each. Both were nabbed by the police on August 9 in a mall "for wearing women's clothes in public and for behaving indecently", according to court documents.

Article 358 of the UAE penal code criminalises "indecent attire" as an act of public indecency.

On Sunday, an official told The National that the charges had been reduced, so they were fined instead and would be deported to Singapore.

Rights activists in Singapore met their target of raising $25,000 in an online crowd-funding campaign to help pay for their legal fees and related expenses last Friday, according to their Facebook page.

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Nur Ibrahim is a transgender who had legally changed her name in Singapore but has yet to undergo a sex-change operation. Nur was accompanying Muhammad Rahman on the trip. Muhammad arrived in the United Arab Emirates capital for work the day before the arrest.

Officials from the Singapore Embassy in Abu Dhabi have met them four times "to ensure their continued well-being while in custody", according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last Friday (Aug 25).

"Singaporeans are also reminded that they should respect and abide by the local laws when they travel overseas," MFA added.

chenj@sph.com.sg

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