Ely1

oh GAWD reglxt! The things my knees got weak for. Evil woman.

It's simply a consignment merchant linked with Citibank, if not, use vPost, which provides the same service - giving you individual US/UK/JP addresses to make purchases online which does not normally allow international transactions/delivery. Very, very handy. You can check both of them out online - registering is free, save for Borderlinx which requires a Citibank credit card. As for HTS, you're best to seek the advice on the very popular 3K HTS budget thread in the Electronics directory of this forum. Got a lot of useful input from there, and went down to Aldephi to check them out for myself. Got floorstanding speakers in the end, and upgraded to a Onkyo 93 receiver due to the NTSC restrictions. I have several media players, but will use the AC Ryan as the main one, wirelessly, as a NAS that allows external HDDs. Will run a DLNA program on my laptop like Nero Media Home or TVersity to sync everything so hopefully it won't be too complicated. I want to stream music, videos seamlessly throughout, and will have dedicated iPod docks in my bathroom/walk-in-wardrobe because my singing should seriously be only be contained in the shower.

Yarrr, I totally LURVE eBay. I probably need some eBay support group at this point. I've seen some of reglxt's purchases and they're awesome! I have Borderlinx delivering to my place monthly haha! (I don't know how the husband tolerates this, but he cringes everytime there's some huge stack of DHL packages) Being in the IT field, I'm going to assume some level of geekiness, what HTS will you be getting?

Hmm, thanks for input - guess it's only me then! LOL May build a countertop just for aesthetics which still allow ventilation when the dryer is in use.

<== Self-confessed eBay fiend It's bought online at £85 including postage. I tried to find the listing online but the seller hasn't relisted it yet since I purchased so here's the eBay shop: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/FOTOFaucet?_trksid=p4340.l2563

Also got my wet kitchen tap and mixer today, I like that it has the conventional tap option should I not want to use the pull-out: And steel traps: Will coat one in black to match the master bathroom tiles.

He was telling me they are on par, and that it's simply advertising and that the Time Manager is the only one that allows customisation of time, unlike the Bosch WAS28444ME which was about $1399, I'm limited to the wash programmes, even though they have the 15min super quick wash but I won't be able to change water temp, spin speed etc as I like. Basically, it was the flexibility of the washing programmes that got me sold. They are about the same price really, only about $150 difference. He claimed it was a little cheaper as the Electrolux is "made in Thailand" (he literally did quotation fingers everytime he said this), but with all major conglomerate companies now outsourcing their parts or assembly, I should not really take it into account? He claimed the dryer performed as well, if not better, with a bigger opening. I was going for the Bosch dryer (can't remember which, 7kg vented) which was on discount at $700, so it's about the same price too, and I thought I might as well be all matchy-matchy since I decided on the Time Manager. Now my husband is asking me to reconsider because he doesn't want to hear of my cognitive dissonance ad nauseam, as we still have time to change the order. From reviews I've read, as long as you're careful about coins or zippers in the dryers/washers, the Electrolux ones perform just as well. Now, my dilemma is whether I want to build some form of concealment like a cabinet to house them both side by side (we're not stacking them). It's extra carpentry ($$) or an eyesore... The ID says it's fine as long as they look nice and "branded" but not being Miele, are they considered display-worthy?! Have no idea really, I just don't like the look of them. Either just a countertop or in a cabinet, which would need to be open as long as they're in use - they would serve as counter space for folding clothes etc, or to house detergent and house cleaning supplies. What do you guys think? See designs like:

Ooh, don't know about fengshui - try not to know so what I don't know won't hurt me, or else the renovation would be more problematic than it already is. Choosing tiles was monumental k, I seriously felt sitting for the Mensa test was less stressing. Good thing it's for the guest bathroom then, so I won't be frightening myself, especially when I'm alabaster pale and don't really look my best with bed hair and no make up haha!

Not so excited about the whitegoods (HN salesguy did some Jedi mind trick and I ended up not getting the Bosch I was initially after): Our hob: Hood: Oven:

Media Player: Awaiting IT show to complete our HTS with a 46" TV: Exciting times indeed for the geek in me

Our HTS (mmmm): Blackwood floorstanding speakers: Center speaker: Our subwoofer: Blu-ray player: Receiver:

Heya Martin It's not THAT big haha. I think it just looks bigger than it really is, as it's only a 2-roomer. Already had a good sit-down meeting with our ID, and everything is on track. We discussed the design more thoroughly, and made a few changes. ID is very receptive to our needs so happy all around. Hopefully tiles we picked won't turn out too ghastly. Everything is in such a mess so there's hardly any pictures worth taking So, Day 15: Tiles are being laid: View from wet kitchen: Living room tiles as seen above, and wet kitchen tiles: Master Bathroom tiles: Guest Bathroom tiles: A little hard to tell but the shower walls will be a matte in-laid floral print, with bronze splashback and natural floors with the infinity mirror. We're now going with a swing door for the shower screen as we realise it's much easier to contain less-than-enthusiastic animals during bath time. Project schedule is out, and we're aiming for end of April to move in.

Gorgeous 3Ds, and nice selection of shower fixtures! Can't wait to see how the renovation process unfolds. Good luck!

Great design at a great cost! Congrats, hope it all goes smoothly. Your use of colour is really bold - looks awesome!

Modern resort bathroom:

Think red/white kitchens are pretty common and rather eye-catching. Just keep one consistent element, like splashback, red so it won't look too out of place with the rest of the modern look. Single strip of red cabinets: Red wall + splashback: Red countertop: These will flush well with the rest of the modern black/white look of the general living areas. Master bed and bath can be modern resort - something like this?

I totally second that. Lots and lots of panadol. Seriously. I feel like I'm so totally boring picking black/white/wood grain stuff.

Yep, got it online from eBay. £210 altogether, so about S$432. You can also make it yourself. Here's how: http://www.ehow.com/how_4826008_create-infinity-mirrors.html

Whee! Got my mirror -will be shipped from the UK. The ones I found at IMM only had blue lights and was $480 (retail). The Crizto ones all comes with a pull cord and did not have the infinity look I wanted, and was going at $325. Here it is:

@Friends78: Thank you SO much for your valuable advice. I'm glad to know I'm not the only stressing, because the ID sometimes makes me feel like I'm a worrywart and I don't want to be annoying. Because the ID is so busy, he doesn't have a lot of time to sit down with us and really go through all the finer details, so your idea of blowing up the floorplan and noting everything down is indeed very practical. Will do that tomorrow so I can have a proper meeting with the ID and not waste any of his valuable time. Great idea about the downlights and the switches that turn them on respectively - never thought of that because I don't know where the downlights are... @Bluefly: Thanks for the compliment about the pictures I use a point-and-shoot really, but I do love animal protraits Thank you so very much for the advice - all greatly appreciated. Will heed your advice about the points. I'm a stickler for concealment - I really hate exposed wires and really obvious trunking (hate clutter!!) - one of my biggest pet peeves as a Virgo. Rewiring is already done... so will have to make more appointments with the electrician should I want additional points or change them. Will go down to the house tomorrow to see what's been done and re-do the electricial/SCV/telephone points on the floorplan. Thank you both for your reassurance about Poh Joo's fixtures. Not sure about s/s ratings - but we picked brass and chrome fixtures as much as we could. The only film-coated plastic is the shower head bracket, which we, eventually, bought 3 of (in anticipation of having to change it) because we couldn't find any chrome/brass ones we liked. /huge sigh of relief.

Oh dear. That doesn't sound too good, especially when you think you've done all your homework by reading reviews etc. Not even sure what to trust anymore, so will just hope the Wharfedale stand the test of time and don't fall apart on me.

Thanks for stopping by, Bluefly, and for the warm welcome - actually it's 25yrs old and everything in its original condition but that was what we were looking for - a barebone place we could do up to our liking. Nothing can really be retained except for the parquet in the bedrooms. Will definitely take your tips about built-in appliances in consideration. We ask for no kerbs for the fridge/washer/dryer so we won't be restricted by size later on. We, unfortunately, had no real say about the cooker hood and had to pick an island hood which is so much more expensive /cry. Ovens tend to be quite standard size so that isn't so worrying. The electricial points are the ones that are worrying us now, because we were pressured to make them by yesterday and we have no idea how it's all going to turn out - just randomly picking spots we think we'll be utilising. Sigh. I was reading the thread about materials homeowners regret using and it got me kinda worried, especially about how Poh Joo's fixtures all started rusting within months! Will definitely invest in better sinks/toilets, but we've already purchased all the shower fixtures like shower arm, rainshower and mixers. Easy to change all the external stuff like hoses and shower heads but shower arms/brackets will need to be exactly the same size etc, and will definitely need to hack wall to change the built-in mixer. Ugh. Cannot even think about that at the moment. -Ely

Some stuff I'm hunting for the pets

LOL Thanks lazybum, I felt it imperative to add the icons haha! Here they are in real life: Actually, a lot of the design was incorporated to accommodate safety measures for the cat (making sure he doesn't jump out from the balcony etc). It's a little tedious but well worth it in the long run Will DIY most of the features with Ikea stuff, inspired by: --cont'd

Hi Green Giraffe, Thanks for stopping by! Good to know it's easier to construct, but the ID has no idea how and he would be trial-and-testing should we ask him to do it. I'm doing away with the plants and fish since I think they're all going to die on me... Best to stick with the hardy succulents imo! This is the "intended" look: -Ely