adrian_john

Hi Skyblue, Read about the episode with your mother and I can emphatise with you. I live with a mother who unfortunately has deteriorated mentally, and she just thinks and see things in only her way. Funny, I seem to have a MIL like that too! Oops! Like everyone said, I guess its also a generation gap thing whereby our parents and us somehow have ideas in their heads which are as similar as chalk and cheese. For the 2 chairs, as what someone has mentioned, an alternative is to change the colour. Just a suggestion - Rattan can be quite easily stained so perhaps you could get it done in a walnut stain. That way, the colour will be at least similar to the laminates and the wall colours. There's a nice uncle and aunty-run rattan shop along Joo Chiat road. If you need the addy and contact, I'll go find it for you. For Curtains, perhaps you can just suggest to her that you'll install one for her? Hope you're feeling better. I guess after awhile, despite the initial frustrations, we all get numb about such stuff. Happy moving in!

Hi Skymars, Looks like you've got your layout figured out pretty well already. Just to share an idea for the Living Room. I was thinking, you could do a mid-height partition where the sofa is now, with your TV console behind it and have the Sofa facing the Main Door. This way, got abit of privacy as people move-in and you can also allocate some space on the side facing the door to have some niches to place shoes.

Heya PJ, I'm meeting him this Thursday and we'll be going to the new house so he can have a look-see and take some measurements. I'll then seek his recommendation and advice on the tile laying. Actually, since its only for the 2 bathrooms, even though the tiles are laid horizontally and in line, the look is still not too bad. At the showroom, they had a few of the tiles laid on one display slab so it looked ok. Design-wise I guess, its pretty much like marble flooring - varying tone and pattern but somehow it still gels. Heya Wendy! Choosing the contractor was one of the toughest calls I had to make indeed. Mr Yeak was also nice enough to accomodate us despite his very busy schedule. I guess his being able to help us oversee the reno in detail would be very much appreciated as there may be times that I'll be away during the 2-month reno period.

Wendy, the green dandella decals at the kitchen looks really nice!

Some update from a Tile-recce trip to Sin Lek and was served by a nice lady called May. I think we've found a suitable tile to fit in a more hotel and luxe feel for the MBR and perhaps also the Common bathroom. We quite like this tile cos' it really gives that very marble wall and floor look. Planning to use the brown one for both floor and wall of MBR bathroom, while I'll use the beige one with a strip of the brown for the Common bathroom walls, and brown for the floor. The tiles come in 60 X 30cm size. The good thing is, the tiless for wall will be glossy, while those for floor, has a rougher non-slip surface while retaining the same look. Was advised by May that it'd look good if the wall and floor tiles were placed vertically at staggered intervals.

Born_Again - Ah, you convent Girl ar... Cool! I'm also from infamous Catholic Boys' Schools since Primary School. I think its a perennial problem that quite a number of mission school kids have problems with CL2 cos' English is usually the strong point. I remember in my Chinese 'failures' class, it was mostly Eurasians, Babas and Indon-Chinese kids, so you can imagine lah. But good thing for you that you pass your Chinese and prove your teacher wrong. Actually, when I had a good Chinese teacher, I did pass my Chinese - That was in P6 (Thank God, so I got no F) and in Sec 2. But after that, we had teachers who really didn't bother or care so everything slid downhill. I'll never forget my Sec 2 teacher, Mrs 'Tiger' Tang - She was **** fierce and strict, beat hands with ruler, and shout/scream at you till you cry type, but she was also caring and encouraging - which explains the rare pass.

@Iapena Thanks for all the insights once again. Am pretty impressed about the part of the delicate handling of the laundry. Yesterday, while waiting for my son, I took a walk around the Mega Discount Store outlet at Katong Mall and was introduced to the Bosch range of washers and dryers. Bosch seems pretty decent as well - Their models have the teardrop and honeycomb drum thing that supposedly gentle on clothes. Wonder how this compares to the Electrolux ones.

Yeah, the thing about some HDB flats, there's always slanted door frames and also walls, which cause the furniture to look uneven. My old place also has this problem of slanted door frames, and it affected the false ceiling in between the 2 rooms. I think some plastering can minimise it or sometimes they also use gypsum board to try to even out as much as possible.

@XiaoBB, Booy and Roamca Heya Neighbours and Roamca, yes it is indeed great to be able to confirm the contractor. So at least things are settled on this end and moving. I'll be meeting Yeak next week at the new place for him to take measurements and view the site. Hopefully, the owners not in lah, so not so pai seh to take more photos. @Pet Yes, I did take Chinese in school, but could never grasp it properly cos' I was always in the 'hopeless case' class where the teachers (and I guess also the students) don't care and don't bother cos' we all know we're gonna fail anyway. Furthermore everybody at home speaks English, Malay and Bahasa and nobody knows Mandarin so that didn't help either. I actually meant to take Malay, since my sisters took Malay for 2nd language but unfortunately at that time some MOE ruling stated that I couldn't cos' under race I'm classified as Chinese and only Malay, Indian, Eurasian or Ang Moh can take Malay. So too bad for me lor ... Hmmm ... you're right about the layout looking abit like CSO counter. Maybe I should not have the table but instead have one of those off-the-shelf glass working tables instead. @KC Thanks for your compliments. Er, really lah, not pro man. Most of it not to scale/proportion and some perspective also salah. I'm sure your design and drawing skills are super too since you're in design. Show some leh!

Yup, saw the EWN14991 too and thought it'd make a fantastic washer. But even the salesperson was telling me that its not point spending so much when the EWF1495 will be good enough.

Wah, Chinese teacher. Good, now I know who to look for if I ever need mandarin lessons. Ahahahaha! Whenever I speak Chinese, people around me laugh, say I speak like ang moh.

Hi mumu, Really nice place you've got there. Absolutely love the kitchen, very stylish yet functional. The clean, all-white theme makes your house very bright and neat!

Hey Iapena, I definitely need a dryer just in case we have extended runs of wet and cloudy weather, particularly for the place. My current house is East/West facing, so I get perpetual sun, which is ideal for drying. But for the new place, the service balcony window is in an airwell of sorts, hence very little direct sun. I've never used a dryer in my life so this will be a first. Thanks for the heads up on the promo! Wah, I tell you if my wife reads this post, I'll be dragged to the Miele showroom rightaway. Does the promo apply at the Winsland House showroom .... Hmmm, wonder if I can shave off more of the cost if I don't take the vacuum since I've already got a Miele one already. BTW, does the Miele washer allow you to stop halfway to soak or let's say add more items?

Thanks Pet, Angel, Born_Again and Blue_Diamond for the suggestions and also the chinese phrases to improve my CMI mandarin. Angel: I'll need to cater to both a laptop and a desktop. I did a rough sketch and was wondering if this was the alternative layout you guys were mentioning?

Thanks again everyone for the feedback. Cromodora and Iapena, the reviews and information are really extensive and well-balanced. Glad to hear your viewpoints on the overall picture of washing manufacturers too. And yes, it is a pity that nowadays, consumers are just subject to buying consumer goods which are not as lasting anf of good build quality as their predecessors before. I love Miele stuff too as I have some of their stuff and am totally pleased with it as well as the very good after-sales service. Unfortunately, my budget's rather tight to get a washing machine that's almost $4K... which will mean sacrificing other things...

Kcsek, Nice layout, especially with the Pool Table! I think the huge expanded bathroom will be a really interesting thing to do up as well!

What's up with this rapister? Gosh... It seems every now and then every forum got this kind of weird psychos...

Skymars, One point I noted about some IDs is that they always present to you a lower quotation to make it appeal to you by having it close to your budget. Some do this to make it seem like it fits your budget or to make their quote appear lower than other competitors so you'll sign quickly. However, as the design process moves along and the ID or yourself come up with more ideas of what you'd like, you'll find that slowly, more incremental costs (e.g. the tiles or carpentry options) will be added to the initial quote, and thus increase the total amount of your renovation. For carpentry works, if you have not specified the type of wardrobe you want, they will base it on the standard swing-door with laminate format with standard internal layout. So, if you wish to have glass/mirror sliding doors, the cost may be different. Before you sign with any of the IDs, it'd be good to visualise and conceptualise what you'd ideally like for your place and then share it with the ID to quote. Its always easier to work from the highest specs and go lower. Rather than work from the lower specs and have them use that as an excuse to keep increasing the price for a certain item, which some enjoy doing. A contractor would definitely save you a fair bit of money compared to ID, and thankfully, this forum has a couple of good, honest and reliable ones like Ah Soon or Mr Yeak.

Hi Skymars, Welcome to the forum and Congrats on your new place. Its good that you did your homework in terms of searching for IDs. Which one did you decide on? Its a nice, practical proposal for a re-work of the layout. Once it's finalised to your liking, I reckon it's easier to move along and enjoy the reno process. One thing to highlight though, as Pinkpetter mentioned, I noted in your quote that the tiles cost quoted's based on $2.40/psf, to be honest, the selection will be very limited as most of the better quality and nicer tiles will usually hover at the $3/psf and above mark. If you can, do try to take a look at some ongoing work done by the ID to get a better gauge of workmanship quality.

Yaya! Nice stuff at the Basement! I can't find Thai MP3 online leh, very hard to come back. Sometimes I just watch on Youtube. Next time you going Thailand can help me to get Nat Myria CDs?

Yeah Rondy, lotsa good food there man! I love the Pasta at Pasta Planet. Been their regular there for some time. Then there's Linda Thai Food, The Beef Noodle Store, Ah Balling and the Malay Food downstairs too... not to mention the fantastic Thai Food and groceries/sundries and also CD shops (if you're a fan of Thai music) across the road as well! I think KC will have a fun time eating to his heart's content!

@Pet I don't really follow Feng Shui, but what people tell me that one should always face the door. I did the same thing and re-arranged my office workstation the same way too. I guess for me, I prefer to be able to see the environment in front of me rather than suddenly kenna surprise or shock from behind. @Angel and PJ Thanks for point out about the possible screen glare. Its a great tip, and thus perhaps I could explore putting the monitor alongside the wall or change the table's orientation to one that's L-shaped so I sit with my back to the wall and face the bookcase?

Hi KC, Welcome! Congrats on the nice place you've got. Good location too, especially if you're a foodie! So many nice food stores around at the Army market and at Golden Mile. Look forward to seeing your reno progress!

Hi Agus, Thank you to you and Cindy for hosting my wife and I yesterday evening. Nice to meet a neighbour and fellow 'countryman'. Your place looks really fantastic. Very nicely thought out layout and choice of colours and laminates. And all the furniture falls into place so well. The carpentry work is really tops too. Your MBR is really cosy and nice with the platform and wallpaper touch.

Booy, the marble really looks very nice! Agree with Pet, Marble's great in the sense that you can just keep polishing to retain its bling gleam. It also adds more value to your place during valuation! Just need to maintain continuously and be careful with water accumulation. Glad to see you got your LCDs! It'll be cosy to watch your Anime and shows in the MBR on a 32"!