p3nguins

haha, maybe some flowers or chocolate will 'speed up' the approval Hong Tar is somewhere in Jurong West if I'm not wrong.. got the link to their address back home (don't think they have a website). If you don't mind I'll pass ya the info later this evening when I get home

Haha.. this weekend got "amazing race" and pottery glazing but definitely if got chance will wanna follow you, and find out more before our turn for furniture / accessory hunting comes.. It's as good as yours! Ask & you shall be given!

Just one of the proposed floorplans Ray had came up for us... will list down details of the renovation when I'm not feeling too lazy but of course this is based on our rather strict FSM requirements.. so really thankful that he was patient and open to our concerns Any positive feedback or 'constructive comments' are most welcomed hee

Blacklisted a couple already, but so far they are those one-offs feedback hee... nvm, have all you guys for advice right *wink wink* haha Where ya headed off to this weekend? Getting ya Franke package?

Ahhh... yes... I am guilty of that as well, not on the photos though, but on other stuffs hehe.. most men probably tend to get carried away we need wives like you to keep us 'in check' haha Franke.. hmmm probably too early to start sourcing for my accessories right now though... I keep seeing loads of recommendations on where to purchase lightnings and furnitures - Plush, Extreme Lightnings etc... Any pointers on the not-so-ethical sellers to note? Anyone had experience purchasing furniture from Life Storey, and air-cons from Hong Tar in Jurong West? 'Cos been seeing a fair bit of comments on the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry....

Haha so cute.. blue and pink diamond.. in june.. that's like... 1 weeks time~!~! any recommendation for the kitchen appliances? we know nuts about it... hehe, esp the stove & oven.. other than the fridge & air con has to have 4 Ticks hee

Hi k20, Rightfully it should be 5%, but we explained our situation to Ray and he was kind enough to work something out for us so we paid the minimum deposit of $1,000. So where's your new home gonna be at?

Thanks ashes hmmm maybe your dad has his own reasons for turning you down the first time round? We did encounter some difficulty (and hesitation) before we approached our families for a loan, and we took our time to work out & explain to them our reasons for doing things this way Parents are...just being parents, doing things their way that they feel will benefit us, & teaching us a thing or two on the lessons of life.. which we may not always see it, but they mean well in their own unique way Just my 2cents worth.. let us all work hard, and save hard for what matters to us most... if all else fails, there's always Singapore Sweep and the next ToTo / 4D draw!!! Huat ah! So where's the special venue for your AD? how's preparation coming along? After all the stress for the reno and flat is over, we're gonna have to deal with the stress for our pre-wedding shoot, and once that's over we have the ROM stress, followed by.... VG stress... and the ultimatum - AD stress.... and all of us here are actually paying strangers to give ourselves stress....

Haha, have been, am still, and always be mama's little boy , and yesh that's actually part of our plan - to go back to parents' and 'leech' on them for meals *ssshhhh* haha kidding.. But yeah, we're really fortunate that our parents are willing to loan us the cash for reno so that we both may concentrate on saving up for the AD dinner count my blessings we both have understanding mums, definitely made our long term planning a lot easier and a chance for both families to be closer to one another. Haha, pls don't.. it's nerve wrecking having to come up with a speech, come to think of it, i'd better start taking notes for my own hee.. Just like yourself, we're both paying interest to our mums though they didn't ask for it either but we feel it's only right that we pay them interest, as they would have earned interest on the funds otherwise instead of loaning it to us...and totally agree with you! Why let the banks earn the interest... we'd gladly let our own family members earn that interest Hmm waddya mean by "restraint during photo selection"? For your wedding pics, ya afraid you might pick a lot more pics and have to cough up more cash?

It's beyond scary, it's terrifying & stressful on the heart haha.. esp when we're doing the reno, ROM, AD, pre-wedding shoot, wedding VG all within the span of 1.5 years.. our bank account statements are pretty much stagnant at the current level When's your reno finishing? Any pics to show for hee *poke my nose around a little*

It's the speech that's gonna give me butterflies in my tummy... thank goodness for mummy's love (& lower interest rate ) Actually I'm the hubby haha, and I'm living in Tamp. Gona shift to Cck 'cos that's where my in-laws are staying... suits our arrangement 'cos once my mom retires, moves in with us, we'll have both families within walking distance (3 blocks away only) of each other and will be able to look out for one and other, especially after the kids are born

MrsPiglet, you got a unit in tampines? Which part? Im currently staying in Tamp hehe

Yes!~! I know what you mean... initially there were a couple of zeros in the account statement, then slowly 1 cheque here, 1 cheque there, before you know it half the zeros are gone~ Sobzz.... Nothing too flashy for the ROM though, something simple but cosy for the family.. we're waiting for the ROM package from the cafe Quite thankful our parents are supportive, but only after much assurance to them that the workmanship can be trusted, and price is reasonable for the amount of work that we'll be doing. Initially they were quite skeptical, but they were convinced after Ray brought them to one of the units that he was currently working on.. *sings; Shi Shang Zi Yo MaMa Hao....*

Haha, apparently so... maybe not the sky, just the Singapore flyer Sighz.. don't remind me, im in a constant state of denial. For the reno, we're taking 'family loan' hehe, so that means for our AD, ROM etc we're both on our own...

Not sure if this thread is still alive, but we've also decided to go with Ray from 2Form. Just paid the deposit on Sun...now waiting for the 3D drawings... so nervous...wonder how it'll look..

Hi folks, hope the week's been kind to you so far.... 'cos it sure hasn't been to us as we've been banging our head 2 little odd-pear shaped heads together on which ID to use ....but it's been decided, and we've pretty much set our frosty little hearts with Ray from 2Form, 'cos his enthusiasm and ideas won us over ..not to mention the initial 'diva' impression he gave when we first met him..will never forget his words in his bright stripped green toe socks and funky-nerdy specs.... -.- "Do not give me a budget; i do not like to be restricted by it, let me work my best, and from there we'll see how it goes"... Who on earth says that to a young couple, dressed in Red Bull / Singha Beer singlets from Bangkok, who looked completely clueless as to what was going on and had no more than S$50, combined, in their wallets, and only 10 minutes into the conversation??? but.. being the 'fan qian' couple that we are... that attracted us in a twisted sort of way (well, my WTB will protest out loud that it's I who was attracted by that) , and so far it's looking pretty good...we've paid the deposit just yesterday and anxiously awaiting his 3D drawings of our igloo.. *fins crossed* it should be ready sometime next week... saw another couple with their little girl who seemed to be finalizing their decision at 2Form too... are you guys here? if you are, drop us a message eh hehe... Now the challenge is how are we gonna break the news to the sweet bubbly Sara that we've decided to engage Ray... hate having to play the bad-a**penguin... Any suggestions ...or better yet,any volunteers

Hi folks, been a while since there's been any update For those who're curious, we've pretty much narrowed our choices to a few IDs. Reason for picking and ID instead of a contractor (like the ever so popular Ah Soon; thanks Pinkpetter and PinkBerry for recommending your contractor and ID) is because we're totally clueless to how we wanna do up our ice berg, but are adventurous to consider anything an ID can throw at us.... as long as we can afford it of cos Quotations are quite similar in terms of price range, so the factors we are keeping a look out for are the 'feel and connection' with the IDs, the design and theme, and the workmanship / quality The 2 IDs that stood out are Sarah from XX, & Ray from XX. I shall hold back the temptation to comment on some less-than-glamorous dealings by some of the IDs we've been to, simply by giving them the benefit of the doubt that it was a one time incident and/or injustice done to the company 'cos of a black sheep Although... i do have them to thank, 'cos w/o them as comparison, it would not have helped us realize the 'value' of the IDs we've shortlisted...... ok, i'm just being sore and bitchy about the experience... Sarah from XX is an extremely cute, sweet and bubbly gal; bless her sincerity and effort to put in her best effort in coming up with all the various designs and patience in explaining to us her proposed concept, all this despite her young age (she looks like she's in her early 20s but don't quote me on that ) Ray from XX is confident, accommodative, and experienced. Likewise, he's been patient, meeting us on several occasions to take time in explaining to us his concept and working around the 'restrictions' as a result of us engaging a FSM. From our very first meeting they have both been most proactive and sensitive to our needs and comments on the concept, taking care and patience in hearing our concerns, and addressing them the best they could. We feel reassured working with them both and are confident that should we engage either of them, they will deliver what they promise. Her ideas are unique and personalized, with a slight hint of conservatism with much potential (what do i know...i scored a D for my arts during Sec Sch). His ideas are bold and adventurous; 'experimental' The ideas generated by them both are worlds apart, yet captures our heart equally (not to mention our bank accounts). No major concerns on their workmanship; price tag wise bit of a competition and the same goes for the 'finishes' of the carpentry and other misc items. Been scrutinizing their quotations, and comparing every single item listed on the contract. Significant differences between the contracts; each has its own pros and cons (can't expect to have our cake and eat it now can we... ) decisions decisions..... In case ya wondering.... yes.... the price tag for the reno of our ice berg (basically an overhaul of the entire home; will list down what we're doing once we've confirmed on which ID to engage) is >45k *gasps* We'll leave it at that for now...

Hmm try not to be pressured by those IDs/contractors to sign up immediately to 'lock' in their so called special promotions etc.... sometimes cheap may not necessary be a good thing, but of 'cos that doesn't mean you should break the bank to do your reno. Take your time to source around for various quotations from different IDs and contractors, compare, and also to see which ID or contractor you are able to 'click' with 'cos that person is the one whom you are gonna be speaking to a lot once the reno starts. Being on a tight budget, maybe you should try to minimize the built-ins etc for the other major stuffs.. sometimes it's the deco / loose furniture that makes the difference... that adds the personal touch to the place We're having a tough time too comparing the different quotations, keeping in mind what we would like to have and what we can afford... at the end of the day, we want to avoid a situation where we're paying through our teeth from all the loans and debts, and feeling miserable

oOo.. lucky you Our FSM happened to be a close friend of the family, hence he was quite thorough with his advices which we appreciate it heaps! but now we'll have to bear with the costs that came along with it

Haha... in a way i guess; no fuss no hassle... That's what we were thinking of too - dress up the pillar with a nice big flat screen TV but not all good things are meant to happen...as in the world of Fengshui... that pillar has to disappear - *poof* Actually all these Fengshui considerations are giving us, and our budget, a real stretch.... not that we regret seeing a Master, but wasn't expecting this much restrictions.... and you know how these things are, once you hear them, you can't simply ignore them... *drops head*.. not literally, though it feels that way sometimes

Looks like you've got quite a big living cum dining area...hee Do you guys intend to do a lot of reno work?

Not to worry girl, it looks very nice!

Hahaha oOo... so exciting... never knew i'll get so excited over renovations lol but i guess it's different when it involves your better half and yourself

Haha i kinda like it too actually. but it'll have to go as we're putting the wall back up so the flooring will definitely be affected. Same goes for the panels, but only because they are just so-yesterday hehe... We should be keeping the balcony... 1 of the ID suggested building a platform, so by leaving the balcony we'll have 'layers' and will b able to simply sit on the platform while doing our activities/chilling @ the balcony Irritating is too mild a word to describe how we feel about those beams.. sighz...They are giving us and the IDs a hard time conceptualizing a theme/concept for our home.. MBR is huge, but it's gonna become normal again cos we'll be putting the wall back for the extra bedroom for my mom

More Pics; Current MBR pics Irritating pillars.... The 'wet' and 'dry' area