mmycheng

Yeah...smooth plastered wall DEFINITELY looks much better than the spotty one...yucks.. haha Looking forward to more pics! heehee

I like the one with the elderly folk...really captures their state of mind at that time... wow, I wish I could take such photos.

3 words sort of sum up my feelings right now... Excitment-----cos i can 'smell' the end of my reno process Anxiety-----furniture will come in this sat and I'm not sure if I made the right choices and whether it will all blend in nicely Frustration-----my wallpaper seems to be ill-fated, first the original design had to be changed to fit the feature wall dimensions and second, the newly ordered batch fell short of the length required length and more had to be ordered, so it's back to the waiting game, again! Progress today has been good so I have more pics to share. My study table flip-up cabinet with new piston hinge installed so that it stays up when opened. MBR toilet carpentry done! WIW accessories drawer WIW Open shelves for me to put t-shirts, shorts, towels, bags etc WIW area for hanging clothes (rods for shirt and pants and rod for dresses) MBR suspended bedside cabinets

Wow...so many price requests... I feel like a 老板娘 but too bad I'm not...haha Rainshower set - $450 Kitchen tap - $219 PLC light - $40 (from *** at Balestier) Prices before discount Study table length is 12ft. Share a tip: a reasonable rate for normal carpentry is about $90 per ft run.

I agree with BunBun...no such thing as really free one...it's all worked in the package price already...more important to go with someone that can provide you the service you need and the person has to be someone you think you can communicate well with.

Hi, thanks for the compliments. Actually, I would have preferred the study table to be wider though but at that time when my ID gave me the measurements it didn't really register...a 1.5 - 2ft width would have been better...Anyway, I will bear that in mind the next time I do renovation again. Hehe The customisation for study table was 1.2K before discount.

Sure sure...won't be so fast tho cos the guy from MGL is only free to come to my place to take measurements on the 15th. Anyway, I've got a few more photos of the completed parts to show you guys. Common toilet with shower set (from Poh Joo) and shelves (from *** Gallery), wall mirror (from Poh Joo) and single towel rack (from Weimi at Song Cho), Joven 35L storage heater (from Poh Joo) MBR toilet with rainshower set (from Poh Joo) and corner racks (from Weimi brand at Song Cho), bidet spray and toilet roll holder (both from *** Gallery) Kitchen sink complete with tap (Whole set from Bellari) Study table - need to drill 2 holes through the table for wires to go through and finally top it all off with a piece of clear glass to prevent scratching MBR feature wall...not bought TVs yet...hb wants to wait till SITEX on Nov 27

Sorry to hear about your loss Applefreak... I understand that feeling...had 2 pets die in my arms too... it was heart wrenching but I take comfort in the fact that I had provided them the best I could when they were alive. I'm sure Wolf is now in doggie heaven. Hugz...

Hi pinkpetter, just to share, when u look for contractor, I think no need to get them to do haulage for you cos it has to go through the town council and you pay them directly anyway.

Haha...my hb and I also spent half an hr selecting our tile...only 1 type for the living so it was easy... Anyway, congrats! Soon we shall see pics of your reno works liao!

The pop-up waste is fixed at about 1/3 distance from one side of the bathtub. What he meant is that the workers should have installed the bathtub 180 degrees turn from its current position so that pop-up waste is nearer to the wall with the shower head.

Your place is very tastefully done! I'm sure you spent not just a lot of money but also time in choosing all those little pieces of furnishings to go with it. I have got lots to learn from your example! A big thumbs up!

Hi cute, you a deserts person or just a cake lover? Me love sweet stuff... Hee! Must share any other good lobangs...

Love the limegreen wall! Very cool! How about some oriental lamps and more antiques to spice it up even further? You can plough through Sungei Rd flea mkt for real good finds and bargains for the antiques.

Curtains! Curtains! Armed with advice and recommendations, my hb and I went curtain hunting today and we decided to get them from MGL. Nonetheless, I shall briefly document my finds based on 3 curtain shops for your info or reading pleasure. 1. Chai Eng Seng Trading @ Jurong West St 41 - Friendly old towkay Mr Ui served us - Very willing to pull out book after book of fabric designs to show us; even bothered to show us the workmanship - Found a nice textured curtain fabric from Royal Urban collection; listed price was $26 per m - Prices for roller blind collection we were interested were from $7.50 - $11 per sq ft - Will come to house to take measurements and provide a quote with no obligations from owner Overall evaluation: pricey for a neighbourhood outfit 2. Blinds Gallery @ Jln Berseh - Boss Robin served us; friendly greetings and showed us to his fabric collection and told us to feel free to browse through his books - Found same textured fabric from Royal Urban; listed price was $23 per m - For roller blinds, able to provide black coloured tracks plus small weight added to the drawstring - For tracks, will provide better quality materials as well - Made it clear to us right at the start that he was not willing to do house visits to take measurements unless we showed we were serious buyers, provided a quote based on floorplan instead. Overall evaluation: Not for window shopping but a good place to go if you have narrowed down your favourite fabrics from other places and would like to throw in little 'extras' in the finishes. Prices are reasonable for those not on a tight budget. 3. MGL Curtain & Furnishings @ Eminent Plaza - Young friendly chap called Andrew served us - I told him I wanted to look for the same textured fabric from Royal Urban and was very willing to spend time searching his collection for it. When he eventually found it, he also suggested similar designs for comparisons. - Provided a quote from floorplan - Price for same fabric was lowest at $22 per m. Prices for same specifications were comparatively lower than the others. - In the end, for the same budget, we were able to get better quality fabrics from Europe instead of just Taiwan. Overall evaluation: Excellent for budget conscious people. Don't expect any frills tho. Our buy today came up to $1580 after discount and they include: 1. Installation of double tracks + full length night curtain for living room (German fabric from Sutra collection) 2. Installation of single track + full length night curtain for MBR (German fabric from Sutra collection) 3. Installation of L-bracket roller blind track + half-length blackout roller blind + black coloured tracks (European fabric from Solar collection) 4. 2 sets of half-length roller blinds + white coloured tracks (Taiwan fabric) All in all... it was a tiring but satisfying day.

Thanks guys! Will be looking at curtains over the weekend and provide more updates later.

Thank you...these are really useful advice! Not nec to have blackout materials...my preference is to have day and night curtains for the living rm but only the single type for the MBR. However, if the cost is the same for the single or double track for curtains, then can do the latter so I have room to manouvere if I change my mind later. Hee Porkypig, where did you get your curtains done? BunBun, can you pass me the contact for your curtainmaker in JB? Thanks!

Nice storage bed. My hb and I wanted to get one at first but somehow didn't come across a design that we liked and so in the end we settled for a normal bed frame without the storage... What you can do is to leave the door unlocked but buy a padlock for your main gate. You keep a key and give the other to your contractor. When reno finished, just get the key back so no worries of someone breaking in later or having to be there all the time to open the door for the workers.

I think it's a busy season for them and they all cannot manage with so many enquiries i think. Just add that to your reject list lah. I remember I went to 5 different ID companies... 2 of which the designs I liked and had a good feeling about (of which 1 of them i selected eventually) 1 quoted very quickly but didn't get a good vibe from salesperson 1 didn't reply after 1st round discussion when they found out my budget was too low for their liking 1 didn't even reply despite waiting for 1 month and sending 3 reminders (a very popular company somemore!) 1 left the original company i approached for a quote, took my contact to his new company and quoted me from there...after 2 weeks, he emailed me with another quote from another new company! Win liao... So don't worry pinkpetter, we all have our 'experiences' with IDs...i hope some of them are reading this and learning that service and first impressions are very important...Anyway, IDs are aplenty out there...throw a stone and you can knock on a door so just continue searching and let go of those cannot make it ones...

Thanks all for your inputs. BunBun, good suggestion...I will try to narrow down a few favourite fabrics and compare prices. Mwerkz, thanks for the useful rec, I will go and check them out. I have a modest budget for curtains, around 1.5K for: 1. Full length curtains for living rm 2. Full length curtains for MBR 3. Roller blinds for WIW and Study room You think the budget is reasonable enough to find something nice? Also, how do I judge the workmanship of curtains?

Yup, black black...i love black...if I had it my way...my whole house sure full of black..haha... Anyway, today I went to window shop for curtains for the first time...have read the various forum entries on curtains but all say the same thing...the price of curtains is very dependent on the kind of fabric chosen so it's rather difficult to get a good gauge on whether you are getting a good deal or you're a potential 'carrot head' being 'chopped'... pardon my expression...haha Today's experience was in a neighbourhood curtain shop in Jurong west...boss was this friendly old uncle who knew his stuff and was patient in showing us his samples. I was browsing through various sample books and noticed that the average price of curtain material was about $26 with the more expensive ones in his shop going up to $39 per sft. Prices for roller blind material was around $9.50 for the average type. Anyone bought curtains before pls share if these prices are reasonable? Also, I find that looking at the flat piece of fabric sample doesn't do justice to the eventual outcome when the curtains are folded when hung up...how do I judge properly? Appreciate any thoughts on this. Cheers!

Hi Redang, Congrats on getting your new place. It's a lovely location, my first home was at Bukit Merah and I still love the southern parts of Sg the best. Anyway, just to share, my reno for 116sm flat cost me $37K and that's with a fair bit of carpentry. However, if you just wanna do the basic (i.e flooring, simple L-box or false ceiling for living rm, living rm tv feature wall, toilet vanity, kitchen cabinets and MBR tv feature wall), it should be no more than $20K I think. As for the toilet tiles, I prefer to hack cos then you ensure that the new tiles are properly sealed to the walls and floor. Overlaying is more risky cos it depends on the wear and tear of the previously laid tiles and their workmanship. Nonetheless, people choose it because it's a lot cheaper. Perhaps you can consider it based on how long you think you will be staying in your house. The lifespan for toilet tiles usually 5+ years before wear and tear kicks in...

Thanks everyone for your inputs. Will write them all down on a list. How do you check the laminate flooring and glass works (e.g. glass panels, doors etc)? Wifur, I'm not too sure of the std practice but I do know that my ID company offers 5 years guarantee for the renovation works.

Your wallpapers really glammed up the house. Very lush! Congrats on the good work done!

Thanks pinkpetter! I'm happy too. Hehe Happy Deepavali guys! Long weekends are the best!