Note from the editor, Diana Khoo:
Forget about the overused “New Year, New You” malarkey. It’s now all about the new normal — although, looking back, “normal” is hardly the adjective I would use to describe the year that was. As 2021 is upon us, let’s look ahead with all the knowledge gleaned from the past months to make our present and future a much better place.
For starters, all of us spent much more time at home, without a doubt. Perhaps it is time to take stock of all the things you’ve done to make the house a better place in which to live. How is your garden growing? Did you use the added hours saved on commuting to streamline your storage? What the pandemic has done is strip things back to basics, revealing hidden or ignored truths and, generally, removing all distractions so we can focus on what was once overlooked as well as what is truly important.
Having spoken to a variety of contacts and acquaintances, it was clear that friends and family are the most cherished and precious things in life. Also, what ranked high was the simple act of sitting down to a meal around the table at home, all too often sidelined by the modern convenience of eating out or endless commitments to corporate entertaining.
In this light, we are pleased to have found homes anchored by multigenerational families who wish to live under one harmonious roof and private dining rooms that are always welcome spaces for people to come together and partake in the time-honoured ritual of breaking bread with loved ones.
By the time we present our Spring 2021 edition to you, dear reader, we would have celebrated Christmas and ushered in the New Year as well as the Lunar New Year. As such, we have also compiled a multitude of ideas for the different festive seasons and we hope you find both inspiration and pleasure within every page. Yes, nothing goes away until it teaches us what we need to know, but it equally does us no good to worry about what the future holds such that we mindlessly squander our present. May the days ahead be a gift to us all.
Haven is complimentary with every copy of The Edge Malaysia (Dec 7 issue). Get the Winter 2020 edition at your nearest newsstands now.
