mummymantras

I agree. Your ID's tastes seem to run along the lines of 'Balestier Street bling', while yours is more 'Wallpaper* chic'. And I love the lamp you've selected too. You and your wife seem to have great taste!

Very, very nice indeed!

Welcome to Renotalk! What 'interesting' wall tiles you have... Positively psychedelic!

Get a greenwall. Then, it can be an eco-resort!

Good afternoon, Renotalkers! My kids are germ-free (finally!) and mummy is back at work while her sweetie pies are at playschool (having fun and busy making up for a week of boredom at home). Anyway, here's some pics to drool over (I bought ELLE Decoration UK and ELLE Decoration FR yesterday and got some great ideas from each). I just love this beautiful open plan kitchen. The central island has such a generous amount of space and the bookshelf next to the dining table is both sensible and eye-catching (with units of irregular heights that peak one's interest). I also love the colour scheme of this dining room. Dark wood flooring, white walls, a carafe of milk on the table, and (yet another) bookshelf. Perfect!

Yup. In fact your t-blog inspired me Jaskel! But, yeah, I think we'll probably end up going for slightly better quality wood tiles in the end. Not because we enjoy spending money (does anyone? ) but because floors (together with toilet fittings and kitchen cabinets) are one of the things that are the hardest to change in a home once you've move in. It's best to get it right the first time.

Was reading another t-blog (the Eye Candy one set up by adidaem), when I came across this pic: And I realised that no matter what happens, I do not want a transparent dining table! I mean, seriously, what if your foot itches while you are having dinner with guests? Do you attempt to ignore it, knowing that everyone can see right though the table and will know if you are scratching your foot vigourously? Or do you try to scratch it as quietly and unobtrusively as you can, hoping that your dinner plates are large enough to ensure that your guests can't see your busy feet? Yikes! It'll lead to so many fraught social dilemmas!

Well, with 2 kids to look after (and a hubby and a sis-in-law staying with us too), maintenance is a key issue. I don't want to get something that looks great but is a real pain to keep clean. Wow! This is pretty nice. Yeah. I think wood tiles would be a good compromise. They are quite pleasing to look at. And will go better with all the books we have in the apartment. Sure. Nobody will be fooled into thinking they are real timber strips, but I guess you can't have it all... Will just have to cut down on other stuff then. We may actually opt to have less built-in furniture (we can just buy shelves and other such furnishings ourselves) and concentrate our reno budget where it counts (i.e. stuff that you really can't change much once you move in) - e.g. the floors, walls, ceiling, doors, kitchen, and toilets.

I can only hope so! I cook yummy food for the hubby and kids every day, so the least I can ask for is a nice kitchen to work my magic, right? Admittedly though, my old Ariston oven, hob and hod have worked fine for the last 9 years. And I didn't even buy them! My previous contractor threw them in for free 'cos we had spent so much on our reno ($19K was considered a lot 9 years ago).

Long... deep... breaths. Must... take... long... deep... breaths. I guess engineered wood would be a bit cheaper right? And there's a top layer of actual wood, so there won't be any freaky repeating patterns (I see dead people... in my floor! ). And it's a bit tougher than real timber flooring, I suppose...? Anyway, I've been reading quite a bit about engineered wood flooring: Engineered Wood Flooring: Learn the Basics of this Alternative to Hardwood and Laminate Flooring ConsumerSearch: Hardwood and engineered wood flooring

Ha! Ha! Ha! If you stare at it long enough, you may start seeing images. In fact, I can imagine this appearing on the front page of The New Paper: "Family in Geylang sees image of the Dalai Lama in their flooring! As devotees begin to gather outside the flat, the renovation contractor claims that it wasn't deliberate!"

Sigh... After speaking to a number of IDs (over phone and email that is, as my home is still a biohazzard zone! ), it appears that adidaem was right. I'd hoped that my reno would cost no more than $50K, leaving me sufficient cash to outfit the kitchen of my dreams - Gaggenau / De Dietrich / Miele appliances, Blum drawers & cabinets, etc. But that doesn't appear to be possible now. So, I've been thinking about how I can save costs on other stuff... So, my new obsession is now engineered wood floors: They can look as good as real hardwood floors, cost less than wood tiles and are hardier than real wood floors. Thoughts anyone? Anyone out there with engineered wood floors?

Poor thing... Your uncle, I mean...

You might want to read this reno blog by a single guy who totally revamped his Tiong Bahru flat and turned it into a very cool swinging bachelor bad. Go to Google and type "See how Lieblingsg transforms his Tiong Bahru SIT Flat!" and follow the link you get. This guy is a legend among reno obessives (like me!). I'll just show you some pics of what his place looked like when his reno was complete: Notice the folding floors with translucent, ridged glass on the right. That unfolds to become a partition that separates the guest bedroom (with a pull-down Murphy bed that's hidden in a cupboard when not in use) from the rest of the flat, if he's having a guest staying over. During the reno process: View of the guest bedroom with bed hidden in the false wall, and partition panels stacked against a pillar. This mini guest room even has a closet incorporated into the pillar. The room disappears when there are no guests, and so does the bed, and he has a roomy dining area instead.

Good morning, Renotalkers! Sigh... My discussions with prospective IDs were supposed to start tomorrow, but all meetings will have to be postponed till next week at least... My younger daughter, L, has just gotten chicken pox. And, naturally, there's a very good chance that her older sister, S, will get it... very, very soon. Sigh... the glamourous and exciting life of a stay-at-home mother...

Was having dinner at a coffeeshop along Old Airport Road near our soon-to-be home (it's nice to observe it at various times of the day with slightly wistful enthusiasm), when I started to wonder why on earth Cassia Crescent is called Cassia Crescent. And why on earth there's a Pine Lane nearby too. I mean I understand why there's a Dakota Crescent across the road (all those Dakota planes landing at the old Kallang Airport deserved some kind of memorial, I guess). But why "Cassia" (which, as I understand it, is Chinese cinnamon) and "Pine"? If anyone knows the answer please tell me. I'm dying to find out... Thanks!

We have no social life...

That's always a good reason!

Now that you've lived with your wood tiles for quite a while, how do they feel? Are they indeed cold? Can people immediately guess that they aren't real wood? (I'm guessing, yes).

Totally! And don't forget the mirrored ceiling and disco ball in the master bedroom...

Personally, I'd avoid the heavy furniture and the chandelier (what's that about anyway?!). It does take up waaaay too much space in my opinion. And too much big furniture in a small space will feel really oppressive after a while... I caaaan't breathe... gasp... Love your walk-in wardrobe though!

It can be absolutely cool! BTW, you might also want to think about whether your son will be staying with you on weekends or for extended periods of time (apologies if this is rather personal, but I'm assuming here that you will share some sort of joint custody with your soon-to-be ex-wife and you might want to think about your son's living needs if he were to spend quality guy-bonding time with you at your place - especially as he gets older). If you don't want to actually set aside separate bedroom space for him, you might want to invest in a good sofa bed or a Murphy bed. For example, here's a very cool convertible sofa bed (just perfect for a bachelor bad): As a sofa... As a bed... And here's a rather nice Murphy bed (basically a bed that folds into a cupboard when not in use): As a cupboard... As a bed...

Oh, the joy of wood tiles! in the bathroom... in the living room... in the art gallery! Very Mondrian!

Please do! I'll be meeting lots of IDs in the following weeks as well. So far, their favourite expression appears to be, "Your design brief is very 'interesting'. And we'd like to meet you to talk more about it." I'm not sure whether to be pleased or concerned! But I'll definitely tell my RT buddies about my experiences.

Good morning, Renotalkers! I was reading Home Concepts' August 2011 issue earlier, when I was struck speechless by this photo: GF+A sells wood tiles of great beauty (and, yes, I've seen them at Hafary and Builders' Shop too) and it got me thinking whether this might be a better alternative to real wood. My current place has real wood (teak timber flooring in every room - except the kitchen and toilets, of course!) and though it is very beautiful, I have to make sure that I promptly clean up after the girls every time they spill a drink or drop some food (anything wet or gooey would stain the wood for ages). And, needless to say, there are little nicks and scratches everywhere (fortunately, they aren't deep but they can be seen quite easily). Wood tiles are almost as pretty to look at as real wood, come in a wide variety of colours and styles to match almost any theme, and are as easy to clean as ordinary ceramic tiles. But, of course, it won't feel like real wood and it will almost certainly be cold to the touch. So, what do you guys think? Real wood or wood tiles?