A Minimalist Touch

YOU WON'T FIND a profusion of kumquat trees or bright red scrolls decorating Rachel Tan's Bukit Timah home for Chinese New Year. Not for the entrepreneur whose design studio Urban Li'l retails its own festive decorations which are designed in-house using laser-cutting and printing techniques.

Instead of ornate trinkets hanging from pussy willow branches, there are slim laser-cut hanging ornaments with a rat motif to symbolise the Year of the Rat.

And rather than the ubiquitous good luck scrolls or even pineapple lanterns, a sleek wooden plaque customised with the family's name that takes pride of place.