vicx1234

Hi Harriette, We will only really be moving in at the beginning of March since that's when my wife returns to Singapore, but all the appliances will be in by early Feb which means I can try out a few cycles over some weekends in Feb and let you know how it performs. By the way, I've heard that it's not advisable to get a washer cum dryer, especially if you really need the dryer function. Essentially you're splitting the performance between washing and drying in the same machine, which can't be as good as a machine with a dedicated function. Came across one comment from long ago which was quite insightful below. "i had initally wanted a washer/dryer combo as well till i notice the pricing methodology there are washer/dryer out there cheaper than washer alone and that is for the same load; i.e. 8kg/4kg washer-dryer can cost less than 8kg washer for the same brand somehow i think it should not be this way till i realise the drying cycles in most of such machines take anything from 2 to 4hours imagine a 1.5hr wash cycle and a 2.5hr dry cycle... twice since a full wash load needs to be broken into 2 dry loads moreover, a breakdown in 1 function means the loss of use of the other function of course, it may take many years to break down but i think not worth the risk " I can provide you with my review but I'm afraid if you're going to get a washer/dryer combo, my review won't be of much use! Do browse through some of the older posts on washer/dryers on renotalk and decide from there? Might save you some headache further down the road. Cheers!

Thanks bro, and welcome to you as well! We got the tv console from a local store called Mode Studio located at Marina Square. Starting to get a bit nervous about this purchase because I just read unfavourable reviews about their group of companies which include La Cafa, Red Apple and Winter International. Will post a review after we take delivery of our tv console later this month. Has anyone else bought from Mode Studio or any of the other companies above in recent times?

Nice doors klimoo. We are doing a double door for our mbr, but our contractor says that one of the door panels needs to be locked in order for the other to open. Does yours have a lock anywhere? I can't seem to see from the pictures. Also does the fact that your doors are louvered mean that aircon can escape? Edited: just realized that the louvered door is your toilet door. how do you solve the aircon escaping problem?

Thanks juxstapose. The shelf is from Commune and we got it at one of their sales relatively recently at a bargain because it was a display piece. However, the salesgirl told us that the item might be discontinued, so I'm not sure if you will still see it there. Thanks for dropping by Makanology! We certainly try to keep to our theme, though I must say that it is pretty difficult what with all the wonderful choices there are in the market right now, some of which don't fit with our theme but are still very very nice! Looking forward to seeing how it all fits together. Yup, the wood grain especially is a big mystery at this point in time and certainly one of the biggest points to be nervous about. We are also abit concerned about how the colour of the wood will turn out. Having chosen 'walnut' colour and not having had any real colour reference in the seller's page, we are hoping and praying that it's a colour that will match our existing colour choices. Looking forward to see what you bought from taobao as well. Thanks Greg! Yeap I certainly hope that the seller and Peeka pack it properly, the last thing we want is for the table top or legs to come cracked. Fingers crossed everything comes intact. Thanks Hanafi! The table comes in 3 lengths - 1.5m, 1.6m and 1.8m, although the seller did have the option to choose a custom length of your desire. We took the 1.5m option as our study space is quite small.

Thanks klimoo. Before having passed on the laminate codes to my wife, she already had her eyes set on the Hermes Marcello Walnut! So we're going to end up with the same kitchen cabinet laminate as you (I hope you don't mind). It's so good to have a reference picture to view now that your cabinets are already up, thanks!

Purchases continued.... Two of these industrial stools (one of which will be in a different design) which will be used as bedside tables in the MBR. The best part about having stools as bedside tables is that you can always bring it out to the dining room when there aren't enough chairs. Singer sewing machine legs in 'refrigerator' white colour. Can anyone guess where it'll be placed? Nice big single bowl sink so that no washing job is too difficult Matte black fan for the living room. One of the closer designs to the haiku fan which we can't afford. Lights for the dining area. Gives the space a real nice industrial chic look and should pair really well with our dining table. A trio of wall lamps for our kitchen! This will be used as additional task and accent lighting as and when required. Quite excited to see these hooked up and turned on.

Furniture We managed to find a good deal for the sofa above. Quite a popular design and more places are beginning to sell it, but it's still the cheapest at this store though. The colour selection available wasn't great though, grey still being the nicest. Our MBR wingback bed. Picture doesn't really do it justice as it doesn't show off the curve on each side of the headboard. As for the colour, E preferred it to be in light blue, so light blue it is. We also got it together with their mattress which is apparently being supplied to some hotels in Singapore including M hotel. Whatever the case, it passed the comfort test when we tried it and I believe it was a pretty good deal when packaged with the headboard. A bookshelf which we will use as a kitchen "baker's" shelf instead, it was on half price, so no complaints there. Study table from taobao! We've been buying alot of our lights, furniture and even a sink from taobao after reading about all the success and savings renotalkers have had with taobao. A bit nervous as to how the bulky furniture will actually turn out since we haven't actually seen a physical specimen from the actual store. However, we did see the above study table from a local store (but with PRC store assistants) in the exact same design and since everything is now made in China, we figured there was an equal chance that the table could have been manufactured by the same factory. Made a leap of faith and purchased it. Dining table also from taobao! We are a little bit more nervous about this purchase cos we really do not know what to expect. Have yet to see this design in Singapore, and it could be such that the colour and woodgrain is completely off! Could either be the best or worst purchasing decision yet, depending on how it looks upon assembly. That said, buying furniture from taobao costs at least 40% less than what you get in local stores, even after shipping! Our TV console which we will be custom made to our desired dimensions (210mm x 400mm x 550mm). Loving the nice walnut woodgrain and colour.

First post of the new year! Hope everyone had a good time celebrating with friends and family and are now nicely settled in at work. Just wanna share some of the purchases we'd made in recent times: Electronic Appliances LG 3D Smart TV 55 inch - Model: 55LA6620 (for living room) & Samsung Smart TV 40 inch (for MBR) from Gain City. Got a pretty good deal on the LG 3D tv which was packaged with a sound bar and woofer, at one of the Gain City expo fairs. Samsung 2 dr fridge Model No. RT5582BTBWW from Gain City - all white to suit the look of our kitchen! We initially chose a side by side fridge, but realized that we would not be able to put any large cakes in it, so we switched to a 2 dr fridge instead. Came with a free Samsung vacuum cleaner. LG Condenser Dryer Model No. TDC8012A from Zero - We chose a condenser type dryer because we didn't want to have to place any ugly pipes to 'vent' the hot air. Plus, it won't heat our kitchen up. Samsung Washer Model No. wf702u2bkwq from Zero - excellent water efficiency, and more importantly there is a 15 min quick wash function available. Some brands have a min of 30 mins or 45 min quick wash time. Quicker washing means less water wasted! Rinnai RB-3CG stove from Zero - lots of great reviews about this product. Looks gorgeous, cooks food quickly and has a real strong flame. We're all set to cook up a storm. EF Powerslim 90 SS from Zero - Superb suction power at up to 1000m3/hr. Now let's hope it performs as mentioned. It was a toss up between this model and the Fujioh FX900 which had good reviews as well. The above products were bought from 2 vendors, Gain City and renotalker 'Zero'. While Zero's prices are generally lower, you can only pay by cash, i.e. no purchase by instalment available. Gain City gave us a better deal on the tv and fridge, and we were pleasantly surprised to get a $50 voucher when we paid by DBS credit card. Not to mention, our salesperson gave me a special gift when I told him it was my birthday just the day before! Quite pleased with Gain City

wow the access area adds alot more space! congrats on the successful permit approval. Looks like your reno is proceeding smoothly.

For the shop in AMK are you referring to Ho S00n Lee sofa maker? For the price differential, sometimes it may make sense to take that leap of faith depending on how positively you view their existing portfolio of work. Have you checked out their FB page? Workmanship looks pretty good from what I can tell from the photos. Of course, if you can get the opinion of fellow forummers who have had prior experience with them, that would be best. But you're absolutely right about touching and feeling your purchases before you buy, nothing beats the feeling of sitting on something and going 'ahhh' knowing that the comfort level is just how you want it. I'm not sure if this would help, but I assume that they have some furniture foam and fabric lying around - you can test the firmness of the foam, and feel the smoothness of the fabric and go from there I suppose?

Painting is usually one of the last things to do, after tiling, false ceiling, electrical works but before carpentry (you don't want to accidentally paint over your kitchen cabinets!) and aircon units are up. Like manwingyee said, the painter will still have to do some touch up after the first time painting.

Hi sweetpoison, welcome to renotalk. That's a good idea to make use of your previous store room as a wiw, plus it's right outside your toilet. I am very jealous of your super large living space! Looking forward to see how you will make use of it. What will be your renovation theme?

Hi Zihui, nice purchases! May I have the links for the Yue Minjun art, movie posters and rugs? Thank you so much.

Been looking forward to your mood board pics, and it's really nice and scandinavian as expected! It's amazing how something as simple as cushions and a throw can make your sofa (and by extension your living space) that much more cosy.

marcel, all the best for your renovation. Can tell from your choice of fan and table that you're a man of good taste, haha. Am sure your house is gonna be awesome. What is your theme by the way? Good luck!

All the best in your decision bro, take your time to consider but not too long less it gets snapped up by someone else! Do share your joy by updating us upon successfully clinching your unit. Cheers.

The wall next to the window isn't straight? Looks like its tapering downwards. How does Alan intend to resolve this issue? I suppose he'll have to do more plastering (at his cost or course).

yea good decision, otherwise there may be more headaches down the road as well! Who did you end up getting in the end? Thanks for the input! That's a good point on the similarity of the woodgrain to the floor tiles, but it may not be as bad in our case since our woodgrain tiles are in the kitchen whereas the laminate wall will be contrasted against grey cement screed lookalike floors. Tough decision! Not too sure about the cost as of now since we haven't been quoted the carpentry costs. There was a bit of a screw up with the carpenter we initially planned to hire, so we had to switch midway, oh well. Will find out soon and PM you.

Yup, only thing we can do is move on if they're not interested. Could very well be that they choose which projects are "interesting" enough for them to do, or projects which would yield more returns for the amount of time that they spend on it. Thanks! Watch this space for more updates. We're thinking of going with lamitak for the feature wall laminate. Now the question is whether or not to choose something more rustic, as per option 1 or a plain woodgrain as per option 2. What do you think? Any others have an opinion about this? Option 1 Option 2

Thanks for the link! I see where you got your inspiration from now - really nice Conversely, I've always wanted an EM because it's like living in a terrace house though it's a HDB, but my better half prefers an EA so there was no arguing there! You're lucky to be living in an EM and judging by the impressive renos carried out to EMs on renotalk, I'm sure yours will be the same. Good luck to us both on the actual successful execution of our ideas and the renovation in general.

Thanks inthechouse! Do take pictures of yours when it's ready ya, looking forward to checking it out. We will be using laminates for the feature wall, which will be cut to resemble planks of wood and then pasted randomly for the natural effect. I'm sure tiles will have the desired effect, but it's probably going to make it more expensive? You're lucky to have 2 tilers do the work for you. We have 1 guys and not only does he work full days on Saturdays, we saw him working over Christmas when we went down to check out our place!

Hi plainsharon, Good to see that your renos are going to be completed soon! Btw I also ended up choosing durban oak HERF from Evorich. How satisfied are you with the colour choice? We were initially thinking of going for the aspen black oak but backed out because we felt it might be too dark. Also, is there any particular reason why you chose not to take up skirting from Evorich? I'm still deliberating on whether we should get it from them because they mentioned that it will not be the same material or even exact same colour as the HERF material, since they are using MDF for the skirting. A bit concerned that the difference in colour will look ugly!

Hi klimoo, congrats on a nice renovation! Place looking good. Could I ask which laminates you used for the kitchen bottom cabinet and the toilet vanity? They look to be the same but I could be wrong.

Hi there EMinlove, nice to see that you're doing a white/black themed home. We are doing similar things to our EA, and adopting a lot of black framing effect all over! Btw, we will be choosing the 'ramshackle' laminate for our tv feature wall, although it will be the 'Rima Ramshackle' instead. Excited but nervous to see how it turns out. May I suggest that you look at a bigger sample to see if you really like the look? For these types of laminates it could really be hit or miss, hardly an in between (IMHO). You either love it or hate it. Could be a really important decision! Good luck for the rest of your reno and excited to see how it turns out

Thanks claypot, hoping the process will be a smooth one!