Get Prim And Proper With Fay Hokulani

17 December 2011,
Her infectious laugh fills cars, offices and homes all across Malaysia every weekday morning. The voice behind Hitz.Fm’s “gettin’ down and dirty” celebrity gossips, Fay dishes her home living habits and styles with us in an exclusive interview for our first ever ‘Revamp’ issue.

Google three letters: F-A-Y. Click on nothing and see the name that comes up at the top of the list. Ms. Hokulani, a model, host, writer, fitness junkie and Malaysia’s reason to want to be stuck in a jam, packs a lot more than a powerful punch in her hands. Her reputable charms and professions aside, Fay is a homebody with a mild case of OCD. “When I was 7 years old, I’d clean the house instead of playing with Barbie,” says the multi-cultural Singaporean. “I like when things are clean—everything organized, magazines stacked in order.” With a busy schedule to upkeep, it’s a bit wondrous how Fay transforms into her own housemaid. “It’s not a juggling act at all. I prefer to stay home and I spend a lot of time at the gym, which my loft has.”

Fay’s Interior Cues
1 Shelves and storage spaces are musts. They are lifesavers and help minimize clutter. Things that are kept out of sight are less distracting than something left right out in the open. This also applies to containers.

2 Give leather a try. Hokulani was never a fan of leather couches until it moved into her home. Now she’s in love with the sofa she once thought gave off psychiatric vibes.

3 Once upon a time she rearranged her room’s furniture and was advised that it’s bad ‘Feng Shui’ to place the bed directly in front of the door. That very night, the wall that held her T.V., hanging clock and shelf caught on fire. Since then, she’s been a Feng Shui advocate.

4 Make sure the living room area has everything you’ll need within arms’ reach. Fay spends a majority of her time in the living, so it’s important to her to have all the technologies she’ll need within easy access.

Fay’s first passion is fitness and since starting her blog, withlovefay.com, the 24 year old has since inspired many Singaporean and Malaysian women to live healthy, look good. Currently, Fay stays in a loft near Kuala Lumpur which offers everything she could have asked for. “There’s an awesome gym where I live, two in fact: cardio upstairs, equipment downstairs. They have a pool with underwater music, a cafeteria that sends food to order to your apartment, and a mini-mart. I never have to leave my building,” she shares excitedly. The inside of her home is simplistic. It came semi-furnished so there was little she had to personally account for. However, she managed to add little touches of herself into the two-bedroom apartment. “The first object I wanted in my house was a big picture of a beach,” she says. “I don’t like the city, the traffic or all the lights. I’m an island girl.”
Hokulani’s blog started back in 2008 but didn’t take off until late 2009. Now she averages roughly 1,500+ hits per day, which keeps her inspired and motivated to update as much as possible. And perhaps there’s one thing not many know about Fay: She’s the art director and designer behind the entire layout and content of her successful blog. “I love design because it’s unrestricted. You get to be creative,” she says. “Design is personal, so when people start telling you how best to do it, it’s a bit crushing.”

Fay translates her passion for the arts and fine living into her living quarters. No matter where she may go in the future, you can be sure there will be a big portrait of a beach hanging as a feature wall, and a hint of lavender in the little things.