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Finally starting my own t-Blog! Have learnt a lot from fellow renotalkers and enjoyed reading abt all the reno journeys! Hope to get some suggestions/opinions for my reno as well! Home is a 5I flat in Jurong West. Bought it 6 yrs ago and did minimal furnishing so now we're ready to do a major overhaul! So excited!! We do not have a specific theme.. Initially wanted a modern resort look but we felt like we have some decor items which may look out of place so we started leaning towards: industrial / rustic / mid-century ... Simply put: ROJAK! Lol Thankfully, my other half and I have similar tastes so it's not so bad.. Both of us love ethnic decor stuff hence the title of this blog.. Ethnic Chic. Will be having some balinese, indian, peranakan touches and we also have some antiques like the gramophone, steel trunk, some vintage posters.. So we just have to see what fits. Most importantly, we want the house to look spacious and bright, has to feel cozy, giving us the feeling like we're relaxing in a villa. Okay now on IDs/contractors. We have approached at least TEN of them. Will comment on some: 1) Chew Interior Too ex! I don't need my home to look like a showroom! The ID was also quite reluctant to give ideas and had the yaya papaya attitude.. Maybe we looked like we couldnt afford his services?! -.- 2) Add S p a c e (met at expo) A lady attended to us and kept pushing to sign up a package as there were only "3 slots left". BS! 3) Unimax Creative (met at expo) We spoke to a lady then halfway a guy joined her and started giving "creative" ideas. But they never got back to us on the quote. Waste time! 4) Rezt & Relax (met at expo) Spoke to a soft-spoken lady. Never got back to us too. Waste time again! 5) Ciseern (expo) Asked us our budget. Told him 35k. "Oh not possible". ?!@@@? We walked off. 6) Inspire by D'Trenzo (recommended by friend) Quote was not bad but we felt that they are more specialized in modern designs and would not be able to achieve the look we want for our place so.. Dropped. 7) D'zign Station Met up few times and even went to check out ID's other completed projects. Quote was not bad too. Almost wanted to sign up till we saw the 3D drawing. Felt that ID either did not understand what we want or he forgot. Dropped. We got tired of sourcing for IDs but thank God there's Renotalk! Quite interested to go for the famous Alan or K but was afraid they might be too busy and hiccups will arise. Then I came across June's and Stinz' blogs.. Love what the ID did and met up with him. My other half was not comfortable with the fact that this ID works from home and he's quite young.. But when we stepped into his house and started discussing, the other half was impressed! I just gave the "I told u so" look. LOL Alrightey then! Sorry for the long story. Let me figure out how to post pix then I can post my floor plan on the next post.

I'd used Blum in almost all hinges and runners in the house, except for some minor carpentry where usage is not high. Asked my carpenter, he has experience with other make but still find Blum the best in terms of quality. But I do agree with you that they are pricey, however per hinge set is about $2 if I rem correct. Hinge set meaning hinge and soft closing. And by hinge, referring to those open to 90 deg and not those 120 deg or more. Then again, you wont need so many hinge set. A HDB full height cabinet needs about 4 hinges and 2 soft closing is enough. So meaning, 6 parts a door. Base on this, you can add up and make an estimation of the quantity needed. I had extreme amount of carpentry, I was told by my carpenter to get 180 hinges but 90 soft closing. Still the sums adds up. The killer is actually the "Aventos" hydraulic arm, one that is commonly fitted at the dish rack that use to conceal the dish rack.This piece alone is SGD$100 plus. Then comes the runner, think mine are using Movento, can hold up to 40kg per drawer, good for kitchen for keeping bottles of oil, sauces, seasoning. If one roast and bake, those cast iron ware are pretty heavy but these runners can hold them up if kept in drawer.

Hi can you PM me Contractor J's contact. Thanks

I think the work done is ok, considering that it is FOC. As requested by Kenneth (the sales officer for Evorich flooring), they did leave a 5mm difference in height between the bathroom tiles and passageway, and no height difference between kitchen tiles and living room as we intend to lay HERF in the kitchen too. Between bathroom and passageway ">http:// Between kitchen and living room ">http:// Basically, I dont have much to complain about the cement work except for this... ">http:// There is a lump of cement sticking out on the floor between the kitchen and living room. Does anyone know how to remove it? Or should I get HDB to come and remove? Will it affect the HERF when placed on it?

Your heart is yr altar. Love the Lord your God with all your HEART and with all your SOUL and with all your MIND. Let your MIND see,hear, think and process Let your HEART feels Let SOUL....anyone?

Cheers!

Hi Cj8888, to be fair, I'm not quite sure if my contractor would like me to share the contact details of his electrician cause I believe he works for him. I need to check with him on this at a later stage. Secondly, I would prefer a lot more to share Contractor J's contact when I finish or am halfway through doing my place to give everyone a more thorough review of the final workmanship and service he provides. I think it's only fairer that way to introduce genuinely good contractors to people on renotalk than some who just keeps telling you their contractor / ID is so good so good but the reason why they tell u it's good is because they want u to sign with their contractor to get a referral fee or discount for their EC. I've met so many people who do that but their contractor/ID is really just not that good as they claim. I believe in only authentic referrals thus for those who PMed me for Contractor J's contact, I think you guys need to wait at least a month on before I decide to share or not share his contact (:

Choices of taobao agents If you are poor like me.. or just want to save costs.. you would shop on taobao. So to help everyone and share my limited knowledge, here are the agents that I have found out of.. If you are experienced or can read chinese, you can use forwarders. Some of these agents I have used... some I havent but have researched on. I am going to touch only on SEA shipment and those tt require agent to help them buy. 1) China Agent (YF) YF is a shortform of his name. Was intro-ed by a friend who has used his services. Language spoken: Chinese only Communication mean: QQ Based in: China Shipping rates: 550rmb/cbm or 480/cbm depending on which the frequency of his ships GST: he will assist on GST. ( dont understand pm me) Commission: 4% or capped at S$40 Rates: 4.67 is to 10rmb Transporter: Forwarder's own (can make appt to deliver) Review: YF is someone who you cannot order too many items one shot. I ordered 60 items one shot, and he got a few items wrong and has given me some white hair in the process. Abit careless and calculated wrongly on the total cost. To be fair, its not all that bad also. YF is transparent in a way whereby, he took snapshots of everything he bought so that I can see the costs black and white instead of charging me one lump sum. He tried his best to rectify the mistake he made (not without some blaming of others tho) Pros: cheap, transparent. Cons: can be careless. ordering through email, no specific format. Does not work for the forwarder. Does not have a warehouse. not able to personally check goods for you Use: Use only when ordering a few big big expensive items, when ordering, choose items that does not require customization for a pleasant shopping experience. 2) Oops.sg I knew about him from Hardwarezone. Language spoken: English Based in: China/ Singapore. Shipping rates: 550rmb/cbm GST: you have to key in the value yourself Commission: S$50/cbm Rates: 4.79 Transporter: dragonlink (deliver own time own target) Review: nearly 24 hours online. Speaks in english, and always online (skype and chat in their website), so never need to be afraid that you cant find him. Very popular in HWZ. his order format is very clear and computerized. Never had the chance to use him as his past charges were S$250 flat/cbm. Now his rates change le, most likely will use him for next shipment. Pro: Speaks English, always available, owns the warehouse (i think or at least works there), have more control on ordering process and transparent on shipping process. Cons: his nonchalent attitude about checking of the item condition. They will only check the exterior. Use : For big expensive items or items that require customization 3) Trading one Language spoken: enlgish Based in: i dunno Shipping rates: about S$ 200-250/cbm (last check) GST: will not assist Commission: 5% or 4% (depending on value. higher the value, the cheaper the rates) Rates: not sure. Transporter: dragonlink (deliver own time own target) Review: used them once. nearly drove myself crazy. Only able to communicate with them through email although they are prompt in replying. Honest. Some items on the page was cheaper than shown, they were honest enough to let me know instead of charging me what was shown. Pros: speaks english, honest Cons: expensive. 4) Alvan Language spoken: English Based in: Singapore Shipping rates: S$150/cbm GST: may not assist Commission: nil Rates: 4.7 (if i rem correctly) Transporter: nil Review: I like alvan. They are a singapore based company that assist ppl to buy items. You can show him items you like, and he wil assist you in finding them. That means you no need to have the link. Their ordering system is also either by excel or web. Up to you. Because they are in singapore, any problems, just call them. He is responsive. If you are ordering an item that has bad reviews, he'll find an alternate seller for you. or inform you that the item has bad reviews. Pro: responsive. Mostly online. Fast reply. speaks english. will advise you on things. nearly same price as Opps.sg. Cons: no delivery. Use: for big and light items that easy to carry and transport from their office. 5) Peeka Language spoken: English / Chinese Based in: Singapore Shipping rates: depends on volume. the more volume the cheaper it is. GST: does not assist Commission: 5% Rates: 4.71 Transporter: depend on item Review: I ordered from them 2 weeks ago for my fragile and lighting items. They have a warehouse in China and singapore. Ordering is simple and very straightforward. Shipping process also very straight forward. There are phone lines to call if you need help. Staff will help you translate messages from China side if required. Everything is very transparent. Pros: expensive if you order alot of items Cons: they will open up the cartons to check for damages to the items Use: best used for lighting goods or fragile glass items. 6) Amcon (thankfully contributed by OceanEleven) Language spoken: English / Chinese Based in: Singapore with few warehouses in China (Guangzhou,Shanghai etc) Shipping rates: RMB550 per cubic meter plus documentation plus GST GST: does not assist Commission: Think is 10% per item or free if you order and pay yourself but deliver to their warehouse Rates: unknown Transporter: depend on item Review: I had ordered and paid myself but items still lying in their Guangzhou warehouse. Pros: Pretty ok freight if you are ordering bulky items. Cons: They DO NOT open up the cartons to check for damages to the items Use: Best use for bulky items or consolidating numerous items before shipping So there you go. review of the agents that I have researched on and at certain points used or wanted to use. Hope this helps!!