Two coffee enthusiasts visited the inaugural Singapore Coffee Festival last month to learn more about java, but also found ways to spruce up their homes with new furniture.
Singer-songwriter Lin Si Tong and examinations officer Claire Audrey Lim were named winners in a furniture giveaway organised by the festival and home-grown furniture company Castlery earlier this month.
Participants had to snap photos of themselves with the Hanford sofa or Miller coffee table, both designed by Castlery, in the ST Reading Room and post them on Instagram with the hashtag #SCFxCastlery.
More than 40 entries were received and those that garnered the highest number of "likes" over 10 days were selected as the winners.
Lin won a charcoal-hued Hanford Sofa (worth $1,099), a Scandinavian- style couch that has tapered, walnut brown-stained ashwood legs. The 29-year-old went to the festival with blogger friends on the first day of the event when it was opened to members of trade and media.
Her prize comes at the right time - she has been looking to replace her sofa set at home. She says: "It is almost 30 years old and the leather has started to peel, so my mother has been nagging at me to replace it."
Lin, who is single, adds: "The new sofa is easier to match with other furnishings at home and it is so comfortable."
The other winner, Ms Lim, 26, won a Miller coffee table (worth $499) with a timber tabletop that is supported by an industrial-style black metallic frame.
The self-confessed "coffee addict" went to the festival with her husband and had her eye on the coffee table two months ago, when they bought a sofa bed from Castlery.
However, they did not buy the coffee table as they thought it was too expensive.
Ms Lim was "so happy and excited" with her prize that she bought a matching television console for their cafe-themed four-room Housing Board flat.
The inaugural Singapore Coffee Festival, which celebrates Singapore's vibrant coffee culture, is organised by Sphere Exhibits, a subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings, presented by DBS and hosted by The Straits Times.
