mummymantras
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Posts posted by mummymantras
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Our TV console will be low bench alike sitting on the floor. Some design on our "Like" list:
Very, very nice indeed!
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Looks like any other unit? Do not be deceived.... introducing disaster beams..
Welcome to Renotalk!
What 'interesting' wall tiles you have... Positively psychedelic!
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I think Scandinavian look def has plants as well!
Get a greenwall. Then, it can be an eco-resort!
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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!
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If u able to compromise with some of the cons of the wood tiles which stated in my T-blog, then wood tiles are the one for u.
For those more expensive wood tiles that Newynew posted are those with texture feeling, for those cheaper ranges are those smooth feeling just like some laminate flooring.
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:
Ok, found another reno that I really like when I 1st saw the pics.
This Yishun EM belongs to Prettibride.
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!
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Wood tiles will always be cold and hard. But maintenance is easy.
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.
My vote goes to wood tiles. U can use it in the kitchen also. Some old pics to share - all laid with wood tiles.
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.
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Hmm... sounds like the Missus is gonna have a dream kitchen! I rem drooling over lieblingsg's one in Home & Decor... would yours be like his?
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).
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I did a rough calculation for u. Supposed u tile ur whole house with the wood tiles except the toilets, u will need roughly about 1448 sq feet of tiles.
So if u select
$2.80 - $4054
$4.00 - $5792
$7.50 - $10860
$10.80 - $15,638.40! Dun faint dun faint
Erm... Scary isnt it? And the price is just for tiles alone, not including labour n materials yet.
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
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Erm, actually wood tiles look 'fake' to me... there is just no replacement for the feel of real wood I think, not even veneers (altho I'm using them in my place due to budget constraints). Probably cos I've become sensitised to how fake wood will have repeating patterns... if you look at large areas with wood laminates you'll understand what I mean. For wood tiles, there are probably only a few patterns for the wood tiles, say 5/type of tile? So you'll have repeated patterns all over. If you don't see the patterns I think it's fine, but personally I find it kinda disturbing.
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!"
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MM, given how much carpetry you have described, I do think $50K is a bit tight... wall-to-floor shelves of decent quality across the entire length of the living/dining room/kitchen area will cost you quite a bit. Going to IDs will also mean tagging on extra costs (tho I think worth it from design/project management perspective).
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?
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Haha.. this reminded me that my mum eagerly wants my sis & I to grow chicken pox while we are still a kid. Plan for me succeeded when my uncle was contacted with the poxs. Nothing happened to my sis despite our close encounter with my suffering uncle.
Poor thing... Your uncle, I mean...
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Wat I'm contemplating nw is whether to convert the common room into a permanent part of the living room or hv a glass partition so tt I could convert it into a guest room shld I hv guest staying overnite.
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.
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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...
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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!
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As is obvious, I suck at maintain the blog regularly. I blame work. Daily routine is, 8am leave for work, come back mn++, go new house to look look see see on the works and take lots of photos, come home and look through pics and email Henry & Ran (his colleague) with any issues or points to highlight, then wash up and sleep. Its crazy. And for this alone, I salute everyone of you who updates the blog religiously. How do you ppl do it....
We have no social life...
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We wanted a change to suit our lifestyle / liking.
After all, we believe we will be staying here for some time so we want a home that we want in our mind.
That's always a good reason!
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Bedrooms floor tiles
<img src="http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/3090/p1020853.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
This is a ECOwood homo. tiles 90x15cm, with texture on the surface so a bit different from other wood tiles which either smooth surface or some dimension that is different for those wood flooring.
Pros - Lasting than wood flooring and still give u the look and feel of wood flooring. No worry on wrapping, termite, water, scratches, etc...
Cons - The floor will feel a bit cold for the feet unlike wood flooring. More expensive @ $7.50psf. Unevenness in the center part of the tiles as often occur for bigger and longer pcs
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).
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Hack all walls and plant a jacuzzi for a lurveshack
Totally! And don't forget the mirrored ceiling and disco ball in the master bedroom...
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Someone also did this 3D mockup of our living room. I found that this made the living room too small and it felt too dark.
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!
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Minimalist kitchen cabinet concept. Now how cool can it be to get style wif limited space
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...
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Oh, the joy of wood tiles!
in the bathroom...
in the living room...
in the art gallery! Very Mondrian!
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For the next few weeks, i will be busy meeting the ID firms. Guess its my turn to contribute n share w the fellow newbies here my experiences (good and bad) with these ID firms. So newbie like me can be informed.
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.
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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?
The Manhattan Chic
in Reno t-Blog Chat
Posted
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!