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Umaisarah

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Posts posted by Umaisarah

  1. Posted

    Okay, almost 3 months into my new home, and here's my final review of my contractors. Last but not least, my main ID - Inner Room!

    Inner Room

    Service: Interior 'Designer' and Main Contractor

    Note the 'designer' in inverted commas. Nothing original in their designs, most were re-hashed from previous or someone else's designs but at least they were practical and functional and not unpleasant to look at. I hired them because the ID, Cadine Lim, had given positive vibes during my window-shopping period, and she was prompt and well-prepared during our initial meetings. You can read my earlier postings about my search for an ID.

    Inner Room prices are on the high side because supposedly their materials are of higher quality. The materials do look good, especially the wood laminates, but workmanship can be improved. All the carpentry is from Malaysia - which should help keep costs down and the savings passed on to customers - which means that my ID is not there to supervise and instruct while they're fabricating the furniture. This is a disadvantage coz she can't point out if they went wrong with the fabrication. Not that anything major went wrong, but there were some things which were not to my satisfaction. One major thing was the bedroom set for my daughter. And for this, blame falls 60-40 to Cadine and the carpenter. Cadine because she didn't modify my original concept (very rough and squarish) and put in her designer inputs. The bed turned out to be impractical in some aspects, and 'dangerous' in others. It had very sharp corners just waiting for kids heads to bump into. The loft bed was difficult to get to coz the ladder had no holders or handles.

    The only other thing I was not satisfied with was the bay window ledges. I had slanted ledges, and I think because they haven't done it before, the workmanship was quite bad. The joints were finished very roughly and some looked unfinished. And the carpenter scratched the bedroom floor when he was cutting some of the laminates.

    Other than that, in terms of project management, can't find any fault with Cadine. She is very organised and pleasant to work with. She is quick to catch what you want and will offer good ideas, and advise you what will work and what won't. She will admit her mistakes (not that there were many) and make up for it.

    Inner Room is a sister company of Rest and Relax, which offers lifetime guarantee on their reno. I'm supposed get a cert or something from them. Which reminds me to give Cadine a ring and ask her about it.

    Verdict: 6.85 out of 10. Just short of getting an A :P

  2. Posted

    Hi Umaisarah,

    Able to email your quotation from inner room, if price is ok, might look for your id. kenlim_76@hotmail.com

    Really appreciate it

    Hi Ken! Do you want the breakdown by items or the total? For the total, I think it was abt $18k.

    I pm you the breakdown once I find the quote at home.

    Oh, that reminds me, I still hvn't done the review on Inner Room yet :P

  3. Posted

    How much for serta mattress ? Nice house..

    Hi Leslyn

    Sorry for the late reply. Was bz preparing for Hari Raya, only now got time to check.

    Here's my original post about the mattress.

    I think I paid about $3,700 for it, with all the freebies thrown in.

    I saw a Serta ad about a week ago in this papers and they were having officers for Micro-something pillows and bedsheets costing abt $300++

    Maybe you can bargain to get them for free if you buy a mattress from them :)

    Happy renovating and shopping!

  4. Posted

    Hi folks

    I intend to make a claim against this person/company and wish to get help and advice from those who have similar experience.

    I placed an order for a custom-made bookcase from a shop at Park Mall in April. After agreeing on the price, I placed a 50% deposit to confirm the order. I got an official order form/receipt from the salesperson there who I shall call AK. AK is also one of the Directors of the company as he also designs the bookcase for me. Because the design was complicated, AK was only able to confirm the design with me in May. Delivery date is supposed to be 8 weeks from May.

    About a month later, I sent an email to AK asking about the status. He replied more than a week later with the excuse that the design was complicated and so it will take longer than usual. Then he also told me that the shop has closed down under Director's resolution, and he has resigned to join another company. This new company will take over my order. AK also said shipment of my item will be in mid August. As I was in no hurry, I said ok but told him that September is the latest I can wait.

    I sent AK another reminder in early August. He replied to say the shipment is now expected to be in end August.

    End August, I sent AK another reminder. He replied to say that EDD is now 15 October, and it's based on his 'speculation of the current status of production.'

    That's it. I have had enough of waiting and waiting and being patient. I sent AK 3 demands and an ultimatum:

    1. give me photographic evidence that production is in progress

    2. compensation for delay

    3. delivery by 15 September, failing which he must return my deposit.

    Ultimatum: if he doesn't agree, I will make a claim in SCT

    Question:

    1. do i have a case? I think I do.

    2. do I make a claim against the original company (the one which closed down in Park Mall), the new company, or the individual?

    3. Anyone make a claim before? Is it easy?

    4. How much can I claim for? $900 + mental distress? :-)

    The good side is I hv everything in writing, plus the address of the new company he joined.

    I really hate to do this cause AK seemed like a nice fellow, am not sure if he's trying to pull a fast one on me, or it's a genuine case of production delays, so I'm hoping this ultimatum will wake him up a bit. I expect him to offer me an alternative, ie another bookcase in similar quality, let's see if he does.

    Any tips, advice or help appreciated. Thanks!

  6. Posted

    I hate "bay windows".

    I use quotes because proper bay windows are supposed to protrude out of the structure, and is meant to increase usable space in a room without taking up floor space.

    In Singapore, our "bay windows" are *gasp* inside the apartment!

    They take up valuable floor space in our already space-challenged apartment.

    They are part of the structure; so you can't hack them away or convert them into storage space.

    They completely useless in space challenged Singapore.

    Rant aside, I would like to ask the members of renotalk, what have you done to your bay windows to turn them into usable living space?

    In my case one of them would be converted into seating in the dining area, but the others just seem to be absolutely useless.

    I have these bay windows all over my bedrooms.

    What I did with them:

    1. Build a bed over it.

    2. Build a desk over it.

    3. Build a slanting ledge on one side which can be used to store things, and also a place to lounge around

    My bay windows come with almost floor to ceiling windows, so you can also build cabinets all along the windows, like what my neighbours did, and still have good views from the window. My helper currently sleeps on the bay window in her room since it's quite comfy and wide enough for her (even though I've bought her a foldable bed).

    Check out my blog for pics.

  7. Posted

    Wow, it's been exactly 2 months and 1 day since I moved in, and I think it's time for me to do a review on the contractors I engaged.

    1. Styleline, Kitchener Road

    Service: Bamboo decking for balconies

    I wanted to deck up my balconies and was looking at a few options - Chengal, Teak, and then I found out about bamboo flooring. I think Styleline is one of the very few companies in Singapore which specializes in bamboo floors. Kent - the salesguy who handled my work - was friendly and patient. There was a slight hiccup during the installation, other than that, the service and workmanship is satisfactory. Need to call him up to ask about oiling the balcony though coz my living room is all discoloured due to the rain, and there's a lot of scratches coz SOME people are not as careful and appreciative of the outdoor deck as me (I'm looking at you Hubby and Helper :angry2: ). My MBR balcony is still in pristine condition, though.

    Verdict: 3.5 out of 5. Recommended if you're into living green.

    2. Euro Furnishing & Renovation

    Service: Electrical Wiring and Fixtures

    Regular readers would have known about the trouble I had with the electrician whom I eventually fired. Euro Electrical was the back-up plan. Their prices are average, meaning it's not cheap, nor is it exorbitant either (go read the topics on Electricians to find out about the horror stories). But I'm very disappointed with the service and workmanship, given the price I paid. Though they are very prompt, and supply a lot of manpower (there were about 5 workers at one time in my house), their work is shoddy and most of the workers were inexperienced. They had to be told what to do by this very loud Supervisor (local Indian) who had a careless attitude about things, in my opinion. There was also another Supervisor (a Chinese) who didn't do anything much except look on and go out to buy supplies. But he's the one who will ask me for payment. Back to the workmanship, it's kind of shoddy, eg switches were placed the wrong way, not properly aligned, etc. They were also quite messy in their work, eg the Indian Sup cut off the blunt parts of his pen knife and just leave the cut-off part on the floor! Quite poor organization and planning of work. Likes to blame others if things don't work, eg they install dimmer for my MBR light, even though I never asked for it, and when we tested the light, it flickered continuously. So, when I asked, they said the problem is with the bulb. But when I asked them to remove the dimmer and replace with a normal switch, the lamp worked perfectly. Duh! They 'destroyed' half of the bulbs that came with the downlights and other lights, because they fixed the lightings wrongly, and me and my Hubby had to go out and buy them ourselves! And the Sup helped himself to some canned drinks in our fridge without permission!

    Verdict: 2.5 out of 5, and I'm being generous.

  8. Posted

    Hi,

    Did u assemble the light? Was it easy to do? Are they easy to maintain? I'm wondering if I should also get a couple of them.

    Thanks!

    TnJ

    Have PMed you the reply. Let me know if you want to try your hand at assembling the lights :)

  9. Posted

    Aiyah. You should never use your own child as a guinea pig.

    Heard from people in my old office [i'm still trying to figure out the logic behind it..]

    Put a 金钱龟 in the middle of the apartment.

    If it makes a dash for the main door, don't buy that unit.

    If it finds a comfy spot to rest, then most likely that's the wealth spot.

    That apartment can consider.

    Worth a try. Only thing is, better bring old newspaper just in case it decides to do its big and small business at someone else's house.

    Err sorry....what's a 金钱龟. I not Chinese leh....is it a dog?

  11. Posted · Edited by Umaisarah

    Just realised that I missed out on a very important shop :rolleyes:

    5. lightings.com.sg, 515 Balestier Road

    Items Bought: Light fixtures and ceiling fans

    There's been a lot of positive reviews about lightings.com.sg in RT. For me, it's 50-50. In terms of price, other places can probably match them, especially if you buy a lot of stuff from them. Range-wise, nothing to shout about, pretty standard fare. Service? So-so lah. The ballasts I bought with the downlights were poor quality, according to the electrician, and it's pretty true coz there're a lot of flickering before the lights come on. These ballasts are from M'sia, so if you're buying those lights, choose the Australian-made ballasts which I presume would be better, and it's only a few $ more.

    And if you're buying from lightings.com, do bear in mind that the price doesn't include installation. Repeat, it doesn't include installation. You have to arrange for it yourself. They do hv their own in-house electrician who can do the installations for you, and they're quite transparent in that they show you the fees that the electrician charges to prove there's no mark-up on their side.

    I had to change the LED spotlight they recommended me because the combination they recommended didn't work (the bulb was too big for the casing) which was frustrating coz they should know their own products right?

    The plus point was that I won a PS3 in their lucky draw (I haven't mention that, have I? :D) but this has not influenced my ratings on them.

    Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars. Recommended if you want transparency in your pricing, and have your own electrician to install the fixtures for you.

    Edited: Finally remembered the lights u install in the false ceiling are called downlights! My poor memory, it is go, going, gone.....

  12. Posted

    Do you have the contact for the Dempsey road one? :D

    There's a lot of furniture shops at the Dempsey Road village, selling antique and teak furniture. The one where Patysg bought her dining set - Pasardina - is not bad. Can't remember all the names, but I remembered a whole row of shops not far from the entrance.

    can check out the website at www.dempseyhill.com or www.tanglinvillage.com.sg

  13. Posted

    Been a month and 1 day since I moved in, so I thought I'll give a review of my contractors/vendors/shops that I used for my reno as a way of giving back to all the helpful RT forummers who had helped me in my reno journey.

    Disclaimer, hor. Pls don't come after me if the tips and advice I give here don't work for you, ok? Different ppl, different experience, mah?

    Let's start with the easy ones, shall we?

    1. Serta Mattress, IMM Lvl 2, Salesperson - Kevin

    Item Bought: Serta Sierra Hills King-size Mattress

    Don't be intimidated by the stories you heard about Serta mattresses being very ex, like I was. Well, they are quite pricey but don't get turned off by the original price which is sometimes 100% more than the final selling price. My personal opinion is that the RPP has never, ever been the serious selling price. It's just there to make their discounts look good. And discounts seems to be a 365-day offer. Bargain hard for freebies if you can't lower the price further. The salesguy - Kevin, if my memory hasn't failed me - is very nice and accommodating. Make friends with him and he can throw you four free pillows :) The pillows are **** syiok.

    Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars, Highly recommended

    2. Natural Living, Park Mall & Upper Bt Timah Road

    Items Bought: Coffee table and King-Size Bed Frame

    Well, I have a 'natural' bias towards them. If you're into affordable resort-theme furniture, my view is that they're a place to seriously check out. Their service is nothing to shout about, but generally I find them very patient and accomodating, especially the one at Park Mall. Negotiate on the price, sometimes they're willing to give good discounts, even on offer items. Don't be afraid to offer a price which is like 30-40% lower. I learn from experience. Delivery is also prompt, and no problems with items upon delivery.

    Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars, Highly recommended (if you're into resort themes)

    3. Barossa Furniture, River Valley Road

    Item Bought: Dining Set

    Actually I didn't buy a dining set from them, but I got my existing one varnished and upholstered. Well, what can I say for good ole D? Nice person during the marketing part, but quite rude and nasty after he's sold you his item. Had a bad experience about delivery dates and long silences in between. In the end, he's just a middleman coz the person doing the actual work is another contractor which he deals with. Anyhow, if I can rewind, I would have probably tried my luck with another cheaper (but by not much) vendor. Barossa's quality and workmanship is good though. If you can tahan his quirkiness, and be firm on your demands, you can try this company out for varnishing and upholstering works, especially for wooden furniture. The stuff in his shop is not bad too but you can get equally nice ones over at Dempsey Road.

    Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars, Recommended if you're a quirky and eccentric Brit yourself :rolleyes:

    4. J & S Design Services, Tanjong Katong Complex

    Item Bought: Curtain-making services

    Oh, if only I knew better, sigh...! I'm not complaining about their quality, workmanship or service. Just their price. Can't believe I paid that much $$ for curtains. It's hard to compare curtains coz it really boils down to your choice of fabrics. Maybe the ones I chose are pricey but then again I don't think there's a cheaper version of the same design/brand elsewhere. They probably charge about the same? Am not sure :unsure: . Perhaps others more experience can comment. Anyway, in terms of range and variety of fabrics, J & S has an excellent selection but do be careful about the price. They did say the cheapest fabric they had was $28 per metre. Workmanship and mechanisms they use is very good, although I did find the cord for the roller blinds quite flimsy, like can snap any time but the rolling mechanism is very smooth.

    Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars, Recommended if you have set aside big budget for your window treatments.

    Next up will be the contractors I used.

  14. Posted

    Hey Man Utd fan! For once, I thought the t-blog has transcended into some cooking blog instead until I saw the pictures above.

    Nice job, it's like new.

    Cheers.

    Hey England!

    For the next few weeks, I am a fan of England but looks like they'll be joining Cameroon soon :(

  15. Posted

    gotten a scanteak dining set ytd, 1 table, 1 bench n 2 chairs

    elements series

    believe it shd match the modern resort theme n our sofa

    Hi FZ!

    Belated welcome to Renoblog. Hv u got any info on your modern resort theme yet?

    I'm not sure if mine will classify as modern resort but I use a lot of wood and natural materials in my furniture and fittings.

    I tried to marry resort with modern when I had wanted to get those modern looking metallic and plastic chairs with my solid wood table but my RT frens advised me to stick to the classic look, and I didn't regret it. But I dunno - mbe you'll be braver and try to pair a modern white minimalist sofa with solid teak coffee table, perhaps? :)

    I see that you've already bought your dining set. If you're still looking for furniture or small furnishings, you can try out Natural Living. They hv a lot of nice resort-theme furniture there. Another good place for a look-see and inspiration is Zen Living.

    Anyhow, do post more pictures of your reno story! Your place is super-convenient but I wonder if it will get too busy once everybody starts moving in?? I can imagine parking there is a nightmare. I once had lunch at the new market and had to wait in queue for nearly half an hour - not to buy food but to get out of the carpark!!

  16. Posted · Edited by Umaisarah

    My sideboard after varnishing, courtesy of Umaisairah.

    It's beautiful ..

    4697791943_72d46bdeb5_b.jpg

    Awww! It's like seeing an old childhood fren, all grown up, sniff sniff. :~

    Anyway, happy that it has found another home. Does really look great, doesn't it? :D

    Edited to add the Before pic of the sideboard.

    4562341075_1650d861b7.jpg

  17. Posted · Edited by Umaisarah

    wah, you managed to not notice the repositioning of the sofa? lol..that's quite a big change..

    the dining chairs look so much better after the re-upholstery..good move to do that. you went to laminate the table? or is that a new table?

    Heh Heh, was so excited to see the table until didn't notice the sofa is rearranged.

    As Ngunadi said, I had the table revarnished and recoloured. Ngunadi also had some varnishing works done by the same place. Show pics quickly leh.....!

    Oh, sorry, sorry, just saw the pics. Very nice, so tt D not all hot air lah...he good in his work too :P

  18. Posted · Edited by Umaisarah

    I assume her solid wood chair is very very valuable, possibly a custom made from a very good teak wood. Buying a new set to replace them woudl cost a bomb. Hence, she upholstered it.

    But like you said, if your bed frame is a standard bedframe frm normal shop, u can consider buying new one.

    Correction, correction. My chair not very very valuable lah :P ....buy cheap, cheap tt's why the wood turn moldy after a few years' use coz they never varnish and dry it up properly. But the wood is still good since it's teak.

    Paid $275 per chair to varnish and upholster it. Similar chairs with that kind of upholstery will set me back at least $300 I think.

  19. Posted

    Sorry gt to ask some questions abt those oven. I'm a seldom cooker at home. (Mayb once a month?) But i would like to get a oven to bake stuff like cakes, muffin, roast meat like the chef grilling in AFC. :D Actually more for more gals to have fun baking.

    But my husband was saying that it will seldom be used cos due to my busy work schedule then waste money and space in getting those built-in oven. So is the microwave + convection oven enough to bake and grill? I also have limited storage in the kitchen, only 13 ft in total (plus the hood, hob).

    You don't need to get those built-in oven.

    You can get a stand-alone convection oven. Baby Belling ovens are supposed to be very good for cookies, cakes, muffins etc. Not so sure abt grilling and roasting though.

    If you don't hv a microwave oven yet, or intend to upsize your current one, then you consider getting a multi-function oven, which can microwave, grill, bake, roast, etc. Make sure it uses convection heat, rather than microwave for all the other non-microwave functions. I hardly ever use microwave, except to reheat food :P

  21. Posted

    Hubby gave me a surprise when I came home on Thursday. He did a little rearrangement of the sofa, I didn't notice it until my daughter asked me if I noticed anything different abt the living room :P

    From this

    4680837568_d8a1a2766f.jpg

    To this

    4688310126_1d7d485bee.jpg

    It does make the living room appear more spacious but watching TV will be a pain in the neck, literally.

    So everyone's fighting over the little armchair now :D

    And that two-seater bench is going to go to the balcony, so looks like I can save some $$ buying outdoor furniture for now.

  23. Posted · Edited by Umaisarah

    My dining set is finally here! In all the excitement over AFC, I forgot to post it in my blog :D

    Table turned out beautifully :wub: So all that waiting and hand-wrangling was worth the wait :P

    The chairs were unrecognisable but I'm quite scared that it'll dirty easily coz the fabric's white.

    Already after less than a week got stain here and there. Part of the joining of the upholstery could have been better but overall I'm happy with the price I paid for the work.

    Here are before and after pics!

    4552213069_59c8c19b01.jpg4688315774_67d379038c.jpg

  25. Posted

    Reza? Never heard of him before.. is he on AFC too? I also don't know where is Kerala.. hehehe....

    Not sure if he's a proper chef but he cooks on the show. I think I saw the show on AFC or was it Discovery Travel & Living? :unsure: .

    I also not sure when the show's on. Happen to switch channels and there he was!

    Kerala is in South India, home to houseboat cruises.....

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