Renovation By The Valley

[Berried 2]

Hello all, after stalking this forum for a good six months. it's finally my turn to share how I am turning my inspiration to fruition.

First up, floor plan. This is a 33 yo, 76 sqm flat located behind River Valley road. OTP the same day I saw it, because it checked all my requirements (corner, second highest). It was also the only unit that my dad had the least complaints about. (He's in the construction line, so he has a keen eye on quality and workmanship, but he didn't want to be the "project director" of my place, lest we have a dramatic fallout...lol) There was another interested party, so I quickly passed the cheque to the agent. *fastest fingers!*

I purchased this under the SSC scheme, and had only considered units in Queenstown and Bukit Merah. Having lived in Queenstown for the past 2 decades, I can't see myself moving to other towns. My new place is only a 5 min bus-ride from my parents' place, it's also part of my regular running route. And a 3 bus stop ride to Orchard (or 15 min walk, I tried)

As you can see from the floor plan, this is the older generation of HDB where there is only 1 bath and 1 toilet. It's a tight space, which means quite a bit of limitation. I decided to combine both bath and toilet, since I'd be staying alone most of the time. The opening to the WC from the kitchen remains, while another opening is created from my bedroom directly to the bathroom. The bathroom door at the kitchen would be sealed up.

The good thing about old units is that it's fully livable (no household shelter, no aircon ledge, and of cos, no extra bathroom). But it helped that this unit went through MUP in the late 90s and the space adding item (utility room) was added. So that's the one place I'm not touching. This will also be my laundry/ storage area.

In terms of inspiration, I'm looking at clean lines, scandi-industrial mix. Functionality is important too, so I'm not doing fancy features like craft bricks, cove lights or false ceilings (The flat has extremely low ceiling).

Edited December 30, 2015 by Berried

[Berried 2]

Finding ID

When it comes to finding the right ID/contractor, I didn't want to repeat myself too many times, hence I only approached 3.

K**** from Q. I - Recommended by a friend. She seemed eager, and gave a lot of ideas. However, what struck me odd was that she refused to give me the hard copy of the quote, after breaking down the cost for 2hrs . I asked around, and seemed like she was the only one who worked that way. How would I know what I need/ want if I don't have a quote to work with? Her design fees were high too, close to 5k.

KL from MHJ - Also recommended from a friend. I like her design ideas, quite in tune with what I wanted. She was also willing to compromise. However, she tended to be quite overwhelmed by work as she's a one-woman show, and would only reply a week later whenever I had questions. As I needed someone to be responsive, I had to drop her.

Mr Foo - After reading reviews of him here, I sensed that he would be able to achieve my needs of creating a functional space while remaining aesthetically pleasing. I liked that he planned my space before giving me quote, something I think many IDs don't do. So I went ahead with him eventually.

[Berried 2]

Works to be done

I'm keeping the floor in the living and bedrooms intact. These are the vintage broken marble flooring, and in pretty good condition. Would have been quite a waste to hack it off. I decided to just cover it up with an overlay of vinyl tiles so that it goes with the look that I'm going for.

The old kitchen space is huge, the former owner even extended his kitchen out to the living area. So I'm moving the space back in, and install built-in cabinets all over. I had thought of installing standalone shelves, but I'm not that dedicated when it comes to everyday cleaning, so covered storage is still best solution for me.

My initial plan was to reduce the size of bigger bedroom (brm2) so that I can dedicate half the room as wiw, and leave a tiny space if visitors decide to bunk in. Or integrate it as an extension of the living area. Mr Foo came up with a better idea. As I would be the only occupier in the flat most of the time, he decided to swap the wiw with my room. This means that the wiw will face the windows and is nearer to the new bathroom entrance, while my actual bed area will spread across the larger brm2. Brm2 will be divided by a door. If there are no visitors, I can keep the door open and the entire space will be mine. And when someone visits and stays over, I can close it up with ease.

[Berried 2]

Kitchen appliances

I'm jumping straight into this because I got this at staff rate (a family member works there)

Fridge

Microwave oven

Oven

Hood

Hob

[Berried 2]

I confirmed Mr Foo in early Nov and most of the hacking works were quick. His team hacked away whatever was approved within a week. But because HDB delayed in approving the hacking of wall between the w/c and bathroom, further demolition works were pushed back for a week.

Tile selection

Mr Foo arranged a meet up to choose kitchen and bathroom tiles. I'm glad that there's someone like him who can advise me on colour selection, because I can be quite aesthetically blind. I told him that I just want a clean look, and make the toilet appear bigger than it really is cos it's just so tiny. I ended up with these from LHS, after visiting its shop and Hafary.

Bathroom works.

Floor tiles will be a darker grey, while wall tiles will have wood like grains, but in a light shade of off white/grey

Kitchen tiles

I'll be using cement screed look tiles for the whole place, including walls. When I say I want a fuss-free look, I mean it. Lol.

[Berried 2]

Other appliances

Washing Machine

Chose the latest washing machine from Samsung because it has the built-in sink function. I am a gym rat, and hand-wash my workout gear, so having this convenience helps. Regular price is more than $800, but because I got them during Harvey Norman's relocation sale at Millenia Walk, . It was only $660, including a 2 year extended warranty and delivery charges. I have never felt the need for dryer cos our weather is the perfect dryer!

TV

I'll be lugging my TV from my parents'. It's a LG 47" SMART TV. Only 2 years old. Saw no point in buying a new one when my current one works great.

[Lazyfatcat007 5]

Hi Berried! Another 3 roomer Almost similar layout but your kitchen and bath are bigger! Waiting for more updates!!

[Berried 2]

Hey LazyFatCat! I've been following both yours and Luxeplorer's T-blog too! Because we have similar layouts and live near town.

And it's just typical of me to zoom into my buys rather than actual reno works...hahah

[Berried 2]

Living Room

I have been trying to decide between a fabric sofa and leather sofa for the longest time. Both have their pros and cons. While I initially geared towards a leather sofa, my friend's experience of having a cracked leather exterior put me off. And while it is tougher to clean fabric sofa, the look seems to tie in with the rest of my flat, so I ended up with Castlery's Hanford Sofa ($1099) in light grey. I am still undecided on my dining set. Was eyeing Commune's signature set, but Mr Foo reckoned that he can do something similar smaller and at a cheaper price. So we shall see.

Castlery Hanford Sofa in Light Grey

Commune Tusk Dining Set (still deciding)

[Lazyfatcat007 5]

Hahaha... similar taste in sofa.. but I gave Hansford a miss eventually.. how much does Mr Foo charge for fabricating dining set? I still havent found a dining table..lol

[Ks Toh 74]

"There was another interested party, so I quickly passed the cheque to the agent. *fastest fingers!*"

One would never know if there was really another interested buyer but this is a favourite tactic of agents. I fell for it before.

[Berried 2]

Hahaha... similar taste in sofa.. but I gave Hansford a miss eventually.. how much does Mr Foo charge for fabricating dining set? I still havent found a dining table..lol

Hahah, since he said that the Commune set is expensive (at 1.6k), I told him to do something like that less than 1.6k lor....I will check with him later to see what he has up in mind. I really like the oak wood grains in the dining set from Commune, so I might still get it after all.

[Berried 2]

"There was another interested party, so I quickly passed the cheque to the agent. *fastest fingers!*"

One would never know if there was really another interested buyer but this is a favourite tactic of agents. I fell for it before.

I agree! But the agent showed me the cheque that the other party issued, and i accidentally peeped and saw that both of us gave the same offer. I probably got it cos I passed the cheque that bit earlier.

[Luxexplorer 2]

Hello Berried! So excited to see your t- blog is also up and equally nice to have another 2 roomer resale flat kaki..I think no BTO ready this few months so the reno t blog is getting quite quiet

Interested that you can knocked a entrance to the toilet which unfortunately I have no such luck.

Chop chop. More photos soon.

Kstoh - "the another buyer interested tactic" - we all have been through this and with current flat also same same but I was very firm with my offer. Up another 5k which is in my budget but I was very clear I will not accept the ding dong bargaining. 1 offer and that's it. ( but deep inside my heart , already die die want the unit .. lol)

Edited December 29, 2015 by Luxexplorer

[Berried 2]

Here's the gory stuff, hacking....

Created opening to bathroom from the bedroom

Created a new door opening for the downsized room