Ely1

Gorgeous, gorgeous place! LURVE how you put the Scandinavian look together with so much thought - the result is precious! Your location is also awesome - house-hunted the entire Joo Chiat/Telok Kurau/Kembangan/Siglap area without much success as everything we liked was too expensive or too small. Really job well done! - Ely

LOL! I think I have a hoarding habit - still wearing clothes when I was 18! The wardrobe also includes my husband's stuff though, even though I'm now persuading him to use the 2-door wardrobe in the other room as his personal own... My shoe cabinet is also 8ft but made in a U-shape so can store more keke!

True, doors are misleading - it's about 28ft altogether, including my shoes (I like my shoes with my clothes so I can make sure they match!). Not sure if I should disclose ID - he may prefer his privacy, but he's from I**** H****.

Hi Vicenzo, Great to hear - I'll be getting my OPPO83 tomorrow! YAY!

keke, same, I get a lot of my movies online, hence the media players. Getting the additional AC Ryan because the NAS Network and wireless capability. It's like a dongle - http://www.playonhd.com/en/?upn=products&a...nfo=accessories

WOW Marshmallow, you sure have an excellent memory! Yes, that was me some months back, and I regret not hounding ID firms earlier. We kept thinking we had a lot of time, but now find everyday so stressful from the purchases we have to make. Then there's my wedding too omg, even more stressed! Haha - perpetually stressed! It's an ID we engaged.

I totally understand your concerns. As well as Froggy's and El Loco's very valid concerns. I trust, however, that the ID is quite honest - he tells us upfront if something we're now suggesting is going to be additional, and then we agree/disagree on the addition. Because we started out without a solid design, it's hard NOT to make changes as we see more space planning solutions after everything is hacked. How this works also positively for us is that if we realise something is no longer needed, the funds would be redirected to something else. I definitely don't have the budget for it to get anywhere near 100k!! Even the purchases for the house are killing us. The only problem is that he sometimes "forgets" what he said is included, and we made the dire mistake of not reiterating our discussions on email. However, when we do remind him of what was promised, he would usually relent. He has also been really helpful in trying to save costs. The wardrobe is a huge portion of the cost as it's quite big - about 8 doors...

We were given the quote based on the barebone construction (hacking, tiling, plumbing, basic carpentry of kitchen cabinets/wardrobes etc), and now adding as we go along...

Water wall feature: So, does anyone know if it's easier to purchase from a landscaping company or easier to contruct? I'd like a water wall feature in my balcony, with a letterbox type containment, some uplights - simple. Something like this, but half the size:

Haha! No. Like I mentioned, very, very few IDs actually replied to me. I was quite upset that no one wanted to take on our project even though we were quite open to budget suggestions. Actually only met 3 - one was perpetually late (like 2.5hrs late each time! Managed to polish off an entire bottle of wine before the ID arrived, and would go home dog-tired after midnight) and I felt that was the deal breaker for me; another was strangely elusive and only spoke of life philosophies (no discussion of the house AT ALL) and gave me a ballpark quote of 100k without even working on it and no follow-up; we simply picked the last because he seemed reliable and openly honest, and we didn't have the time to go make appointments with more. (Do I dare mention the name?). His quotation was rather reasonable (abt 50k)and was very accomodating to our cost-saving by supplying some materials ourselves, but he's juggling several projects at a time and too busy to give us some undivided direction, which we sorely need as we're sooo new to this. Now we're facing a little trouble, as we don't have a design and trying to work on a day-to-day basis is rather stressful for us, especially when pressed to make decisions like lighting points when we have no idea how/where something is going to be, or how much of a wall to hack because today is last day of hacking, etc. We're trying to be as fair as we can to our ID, but still expect some form of direction. Is it normal to proceed with works without a 3D design and a project schedule or a discussion of it?

Perhaps I didn't do enough shopping. KEC was the only place I went, since it's so highly rated here on the forum. Purchased immediately. The husband did have a listen to the B&Ws the day before and was completely smitten, however they cost about $4k w/o receiver so I refused to try them out since what I do not know will not hurt me! I'm quite a geeky girl so asethetics mean a lot less to me.

Oh gawd, does it mean Wharfedale is not known for its durability? >< I'm assuimg you owned Wharfedales before, can you tell me about your experience?

Hey Martin, It seems we DO have a lot in common! Such a strange, comforting coincidence! The Oppo 93 cost about US$499 on eBay (brand new, factory sealed). The Oppo 83 (used, but "mint" condition) is about US$350, so am still a little uncertain which. I'll be getting most of Blu-Rays from eBay (I'm an eBay fiend) and Amazon (they have lots of daily deals that are really good - US$9.99 for Magnolia) - and so far, looking at boxed Batman collection, 300, Black Hawk Down, S.W.A.T, Spiderman 3, The Departed, Resevoir Dogs, X-Men, Ultimate Bourne collection, LOTR Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel & Original Trilogy collection (pre-order, blu-ray only available Sep'11), Mission Impossible, Band of Brothers, BBC Planet Earth 5 disc set. I agree that Blu-Ray should be exclusively reserved for firm favourites, or pure action. I also hear that the Oppo player makes every DVD looks like Blu-Ray so yay! I think that's an adequate start-up collection, and will continue to build over time. Would love to have Amelie, Magnolia, Amerian Beauty, Godfather Trilogy, Requiem for a Dream, Snatch, Fightclub, Lucky Number Slevin, The Pianist, Shooter, American History X, Sicko, City of God, I Am Sam, The Hours, etc - so would have to decide which is worth the Blu-Ray investment, or a DVD, or a downloaded HD version How's your collection looking so far?

Hey Martin, Yes, I totally agree! We tried several setups with different brands and models, but the Wharfedale floorstanding speakers blew me away when it came to 2.1 music. I, however, resisted the urge to listen to the MT30s lest I succumb (already on some rubber-band budget~). It's odd too when I read that floor-standing speakers rank low in WAF because I think they're awesome. Tiny bookshelf ones just look kinda sad imo. You're spot on about how Alan is superbly customer-focused and seem to know what customers want. At every slight expression, he would tune something accordingly till he sees some sort of valium-like grin. I was told to ask for him at KEC after speaking to Scott, so am very grateful for the referral. The other guys at KEC couldn't be bothered to ask if we needed something. :/ How funny too, that I'm planning to get the AC Ryan Playon haha! Already own the Western Digital Media Player (it's great), but am planning to use it for the Masterbedroom or spare bedroom. I'm hoping for an Oppo-83 Blu-Ray player, but will see how the prices fare at the upcoming IT show. I'm so excited I'm already trying to build a Blu-Ray collection! Will also take up Alan's option of AudioQuest HDMI cables but still deciding if the iPod/iPhone dock for the Onkyo is worth it. Let me know how it goes!

@friends78: Your 3D designs are very cool indeed! Did your ID come up with the ideas or did he/she simply follow your direction? Really looking forward to seeing how it all turns out, and I hope it runs smoothly for you! @creatrixnator: Thank you! Will make the very far trip to IMM to check!

1) Onkyo TX-SR 608 Receiver 2) Wharfedale 10.6 Front Speakers 3) Wharfedale 10.0 Surround Speakers 4) Wharfedale 10.0 CC Center Speaker 5) Velodyne CHTQ8 Subwoofer We just got the EXACT same setup from KEC (also served by Alan). Initially was planning for the Def Tech 800 but was quite disappointed - the sound wasn't as rich and crisp as I liked. Came home and read some reviews about the Wharfedale Diamond 10.6 and they seemed very positive. May I know why we might have made a mistake? ><

I love the clean, spacious look of your apartment, and how practical everything is! I agree about the TV feature/console - but it looks great in the natural sunlight, when it's tinged lighter and flows better with your minimalistic theme. It's a job really well done! Grats!

Had some astronomical quotations but went with the ID we felt gave us a fair price. Checked your t-blog, and it's lower than what you were quoted (>50k). What I'm obsessed about finding out is those LED sensor illuminated mirrors! Where to find!

Hi May, Realised we have two things in common: a lot of clothes, and the love for art! I love the layout of your place! I can't wait to see more pictures. I intend to DIY most of my pictures, or blowing them up on canvas and/or framed. Also got 3 huge paintings from Bali when I was there last, and would most likely do custom decals. If there's certains prints you like, you can try having them blown up - might be cheaper. Several places online do this for a reasonable price.

Hi Green Giraffe, May I just say that your t-blog is one of the most enjoyable to follow? You have a gorgeous home, so well thought-through and personality-infused. You should be so proud - it's a place even for the shyest and most elusive snow leopard to bask in!

@May - Yes! I love the idea of an integrated walk-in-wardrobe and had always planned to hack down a room for it, but no need in this case. We hacked the false partition the previous owner put up to create the long corridor to the bedrooms (but it leaves a column in the middle), all the planter boxes, the balcony railings and some of the wall dividing the wet/dry kitchen to replace with glass.

Hi May, Thanks for the warm welcome! It's 1,527sqft - but the apartments are so old, they don't have proper floorplans so we had to measure everything ourselves. Here's the best we could do:

Wow, you have such a nice space! Love the high ceilings! /envious

@berry_surprise: Thanks! It's only a 2-bedder though, but it'll suffice even with the planning of a little one in the near future, and lots of pets! It's trying to balance your desires with the wallet that is really the toughest part isn't it? Haha!

Now on Day 10: Hacking is completed, air-conditioners installed (though rectification needs to be made – GAH! ), tiles have been chosen, plumbing and electrical outlets are being determined (intuitively I suppose..) Things we’ve purchased – our bank accounts have never seen such activity! /cry Hob: Electrolux 3 Gas Burner Hob Hood: Bosch Stainless Steel Island Hood Oven: Electrolux 52l built-in Fridge: Panasonic Inverter 551 Washer: Electrolux Time Manager 8kg Dryer: Electrolux Vented 7kg Mattress: Dunlopillo Elizabeth King (w/ bedframe, 4 pillows, 2 protectors, 1 bolster) Vacuum cleaner: Miele Anniversary Model w/ HEPA Filter Handheld Vacuum: Dyson DC31 HTS: Wharfedale Diamond 10.6 floor standing speakers, 10CC front speaker, 10.0 back speakers / Velodyne CHT-8Q Subwoofer / Onkyo TX-SR608 Receiver Aircon: Mitsubishi MXY-3A28VA Inverter - MSY-GE24VA & MSY-GE10VA + Mitsubishi MU-AD30VB Non-inverter - MS-AD30VB Bathroom fixtures: Poh Joo 35x35cm Rainshower w/ RAF bath mixer + Shower Rose & union/bracket | Poh Joo Tennis shower head w/ vertical shower arm & mixer Now just waiting on the IT Fair for TVs! Yay! And sanitary ware. And furniture. And kitchen appliances. Gawd.