twinklecloud

super nice and cosy.. like cinema feel!

Day 2

DAY 1 - 10/12/15 Hacking has officially commenced.. downstairs all hacked.

ID selection Dear all Here is an update to our renovation status. We have finally decided on an ID. Yeah. Just to give you a rough idea, we have spoken to and seen the designs from the following company, arranged in alphabetical order. A and R Construction and EngineeringButterpaperstudiosD’Initial ConceptDesign 4 SpaceDesigner GuyFotoboxInfinitum(*****) - for some reasons this ID name gets censored after we write its name down. We shall leave it as censored.Reno GuyzRezt N RelaxSky CreationThree D ConceptwerkzUrban AtelierWe finally awarded the project to Mr A from Designer Guy. The reason is that he is diligent, responsive and flexible on our ideas. And most importantly, he is very patient and listens to what we want and tries to accommodate us. We met up with him at least 7 to 8 times and he has given us at least 6 quotations before we finally sign the contract with him. Of course, the main reason is that he can give us what we want and price it within our budget. Here are some personal reflections on our OTHER IDs that we have met. We shall not state their names specifically ID “1” is the first one that we met. We were introduced to them by a friend who had wonderful experience working with them. With that as a living testimonial, how bad can they be? Turns out that they are indeed pretty good bunch in terms of creativity, but really expensive. After the first meeting and getting all our requirements in, the creative ID went ahead and design a superb living space for our maisonette, but that design will cost us well above $160k. So, they actually draw out a plan B, a mediocre layout (which I can do myself), and this one is still out of our budget. After we meet up for the second time, and realising that to have our dream house, we have to increase our budget, otherwise we will just have to settle for a so-so house. Honestly, I get the feeling that they “see us no up”. The conversations goes something like “But we want it to be like this” and they go “Can, but it will cost you”. We left the place feeling shocked and betrayed. Our next few text messages is just them asking us to confirm our budget and they will try to get something decent out of it. In my opinion, an ID should try their best to have their client’s dream house and try to work out the problem to decrease the cost. So we gave up on ID “1”. ID “2” is actually quite accommodating. We went to a showroom and spoke to a rather junior ID. She was quite hopeless and didn’t know the difference between an EA and an EM. But she did refer our case to her senior ID who had experience dealing with EM before. So we meet up this senior and he looks rather green as well. But he did have some reasonable designs, but we were not WOWed by him. He did try to work within our budget (but still failed, though not as miserably as ID 1). So we put his plans on the shelf and continued to look around. We shall not mention the IDs who were uneventful. This is afterall a juicy gossip session about IDs, no? ID “3” is Mr A from Designer Guy. He met up with us showing us a completed EM with some impressive features (and the owner is still happy enough to let him bring strangers to his place after 2 years post handing over!). We thought that completed project was pretty unique but unfortunately that EM is a slightly different layout from ours. So Mr A worked with us closely, and he did mention “If you can conceive it, we can build it, just a matter of how”. We pretty much show him pictures downloaded from the internet and he say he can fabricate it after putting a bit of thought. He managed to come up with a layout design after 2 days, and that did WOW us a little bit. But I was pretty fickle minded and changed my mind about many aspects of the layout plan, at a certain point I even revamp the whole plan and changed pretty much everything he drew. And after realising some more issues with the new design, we went back to something almost similar to his original design in the end. And most of all, he did it within our budget, and have no qualms if we hire our own contractors for certain aspects of the job like windows, doors, air-con, electricians. The rapport and chemistry with him is the best among all the IDs. ID “4” is actually a designer friend. We were initially hesitant to engage a friend, for fear of losing the friendship should this project not sail as smoothly as we intended. But she did reassure us that “no harm is hearing them out”, so we met up with her team and heard them out. They are actually quite a creative bunch, but they were pretty obsessed with one thing : the height of the house. Their opinion is that an EM is pretty unique and there are many part of the house that extends two floors. If we can make use of it and design something spanning the two floors, we can make it visually stunning and unique that only EMs can achieve. We were somewhat impressed with their design, but only have issues with 1. The practicality of a certain design plan that they seem to come up with to solve a certain air-con problem, 2. Their (lack of) responsiveness when we message them our queries. 3 Their price. So we put their plans on a shelf too. ID “5” is actually a pretty cheerful bunch. They had a pretty impressive project, one which had been described in one of the other T-blog here. So we contacted them and get them to design a layout. One thing we admire them is their energy level and cheerfulness. And the team of 2 designers were always joking and making fun of each other. Professionally their design were OKAY, pretty acceptable if we actually go down to doing it. Not as jaw-dropping as the other project, but that other design wouldn't have met our needs anyway. However, their pricing was still a bit out of our range, despite us cutting down on many aspects. Even so, they continued to serve us till we finally turn them down rather recently. I will still recommend them for their creativity, and it was really a pleasure to work with them too. So the only reason is our budget actually, and its no fault of theirs. ID “6” is a company that we walked past many times during the many Expo fairs that we had been to, and my husband had always avoided them because they cannot even spell their company name correctly. If someone cannot spell their names properly, my husband has serious doubts they can draw a good picture. Anyway one fine fair day I decided to speak to one of their designer. We were in a hurry actually, and my husband still has his doubts. So we sat down, I listed down my criteria for the design, our budget, and a copy of our floorplan, and ask him to get back to us when done. So he did, but now he has backup. Turns out that he is pretty junior too, and he consulted the help of his senior. When we meet up with them the second time, this senior, aiyoh wah, for a lack of a better word, behaves like a chow ah beng. He spoke big big and make big claims, and my husband can smell his cigarette breath. He claims to have a good reputation in designing EMs, but a quick google of his name revealed quite a few “concerns” from his ex-clients. We thought we should just leave those who cannot spell not to deal with our project. The last ID we will talk about here, lets call them ID “7”, is also a very creative bunch. We also met them in an Expo fair, and same as the above, we sat down, listed our criteria, our budget and our floorplan. They gotten back to us within half a week, and this one actually is pretty good! They had very good ideas and is able to relay to us and impress upon us how good it is. On top of that, they were also very accommodating, and willing to let us cut down and outsource many aspect of the project to cheaper alternatives. But in the end, being part of a big company, they are still limited in their resource cutting ability, and the final pricing is still out of our budget. Nonetheless, they are also very pleasant to work with, and we will still recommend them to anyone who is interested in meeting. So here it is, after meeting 13 IDs, and slightly comprehensive reviews on 7 (the rest, as I said, were uneventful), we have decided on Designer Guy, whose logo looks suspiciously like Dolce and Gabanna. We had started hacking works, and will update later as the project gets along. Cheers! Here is the original Floor Plan Here is the final floorplan Thank you for reading this! Cheers! http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/72503-the-sky-parlour-an-executive-maisonette-journey/page-5#entry917017

thanks Reiki!

hi Reiki, i tried to pm but couldnt get thru.. do mind sharing with me the aircon contact pls?thank you!

hi can pm me the price too for the door? it looks so cool!

finally decided on the layout. 1. closed kitchen 2.roof up the balcony to make it part of the living hall 3. created a yard behind the kitchen for laundry 4. change the direction of the staircase 5 convert the dining area to "study" 6. change one position of the WC. (decided not to change too many as it's costly.) 7. create a playarea for the children now need to hunt for aircon quotation... anyone has any good aircon man to recommend?

wow! your house look so nice!!

thank you for popping by! it is feasible just have to pay abit more for the plumber to do the work!

shpesft, wow.. the false ceiling looks retro though.. hehe.. but i do agree it has to go. so u have already applied for the HDB permit? have u chosen ID and are u hacking everything else?

anyone has installed soundproofing windows? care to share the cost and effectiveness please?thank you!

sure do ricepapergirl!! thank you so much!!

shpesft, if your place can do minimal and still in good condition, then best to keep minimal. as EA and EM has huge area hence the huge price tag. so u started your reno already? how long your reno takes?

hi ricepapergirl, 5-6 months!! that's really a good time to plan for everything! u are so organized! i havent even have my items factored in.. looking the figures by ID was really jaw dropping and there is RENO only.. can share your budget? yeah.. the bifold doors is not cheap especially those with no bottom tracks. can explore many other options.. get a few more quotation since u have the time.. =)

very soon we can see your house pic appear in magazines!! :good: the overall effect is simply awesome!

looks really awesome!! has the "wow" factor! btw may i ask the bed cum study table in your kids room from ikea?

hi ricepapergirl, glad to know u have a better idea to your kitchen!! u r fast..havent first appointment then already started planning.. i wished i did that earlier then dun have to waste so much time.. haiz ceramic hob.. i think we are still the traditional type.. hehe..i am going to use gas too.. maybe old school bah..hehe.. hope to see your t-blog soon too!! have u decided on the roof? yours is close or open blacony? =)

anyone has any good window contractor and balcony roof to recommend? just got a quotation and it is not cheap to change the whole house windows plus grilles up.. thinking of getting another quotation.