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Ks Toh

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Everything posted by Ks Toh

  1. Ks Toh
    Ikea Tirup Swivel Armchair I bought two of these. Ok, they are not exactly designer chairs. But they are some of the better made chairs from Ikea and they fit into my hall nicely, opposite my sofa. The design of this chairs seems to have been inspired by the designer Egg chair, a chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958. You can buy the original Egg here for "only" Euro 5,851. I paid S$749 for my Tirup.
  2. Ks Toh
    Barcelona Bench I also bought this Barcelona Bench, which seems to be styled along the lines of the Barcelona Chair. However, my research shows that the designers of the Barcelona Chair never designed a bench. Instead, this bench is based on the Barcelona Couch designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1930. If you ask me, we should have just stuck to the original design. My son uses this bench to have a quick nap, and a wider couch would have been more useful! The current price of this Barcelona Couch is US$9211 here.
  3. Ks Toh
    Barcelona Chair This chair was designed by Mies Van Der Rohe and Lilly Reich in 1929 for an international design fair in Barcelona. I cheated a little here because I actually bought this chair previously. It is not a new buy. It is another one of those classics which is still being sold in furniture shops. The picture by ejzoen above also shows this chair. I find this chair quite comfortable. In fact, you are probably reading what I had posted while relaxing on this chair! For a 360 degrees view of the Barcelona Chair, use your mouse to move from side to side at this site. According to the above website, an original Barcelona chair and matching stool cost 7,200 GBP in 2009. On this website, the chair retails for US$6,906 while the stool is at US$3,271.
  4. Ks Toh
    Eileen Gray Side Table E1027 Whilst I did not buy the Arco lamp in the end, I realised that I did buy the round side table shown in both photographs above. After some research, I found out this is a classic piece called the Eileen Gray Side Table E1027. It was designed by Eileen Gray in the 1920s but it is still being used today! This side table is practical as it can slide in and out of my sofa.
  5. Ks Toh
    In the past, I used to think that designer items are just over-priced branded items. But whilst accompanying my wife to buy some of these items (not the original but "the other type"), I begin to appreciate some (but not all) of them. Some of them are really classics that have withstood the test of time. Before this, I was complete clueless. Now, I am slightly enlightened and would like to share some of these with you. Practically all the pieces in the Singapore shops are of "the other type" at a fraction of the original price. Prices vary according to their quality. Some are really good. The Arco Lamp Designed by the in 1962 by Achille (that's him in the picture above) and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, this design is so classic and everlasting that you continue to see it in many showrooms today. It is as practical as it is stylish. It is complex in its simplicity. Suitable for use to light up a place where there is insufficient or no overhead lights. The chunk of marble (which comes in white or black) serves as a base. I read that the hole is meant for couples to carry it using a broom stick? It is very heavy. Need at least two persons to carry. I initially ordered one of these for my hall, which as you would have read, had no ceiling lights. However, after installing the wall LED lights, the hall was bright enough and I thought the Arco lamp would not fit in. Hence, I traded it with the shop for some other stuff. Still, I would consider it the next time. The Arco lamp is very popular even amongst Renotalk members. I saw one picture by ejzoen here. If you want the original, you can get from Space Furniture. I am not sure of the price but I think it should be close to S$5,000.
  6. Ks Toh
    [back to Table of Contents] This "Bubbles Mirror" hanging at the dining table wall was also bought from molecule. But I have no idea where it is from. If you know, let me know.
  7. Ks Toh
    The Dining Table was also purchased from molecule. It is a Elan from Cattelan Italia. You can extend the table from 200 cm to 294 cm by sliding out the two sides. The width is 106 cm. Visit the website of Cattelan Italia [back to Table of Contents]
  8. Ks Toh
    Coming back to the furniture purchases from molecule, my wife also bought this Miles Motion "Action Table" from Naos Action Living. It's really quite nice. You can open it up to twice the length when needed. You can click and drag the "action table" on this Naos Action Living Website, even on an iphone! Try it.
  9. Ks Toh
    My wife does not like big hifi systems, so a sleek sound bar is most appropriate. My thinking is that a Philips sound bar should work better with a Philips TV. I have never heard of Philips sound systems being impressive but thankfully, the latest Philips Fidelio SoundBar with Ambisound HTB9150 has good reviews. And it was also voted the Best Sound Bar System by HardwareZone for 2013. Hardwarezone Article http://youtu.be/Wv-5XT_csSE Unfortunately, just like the TV, controls are not intuitive and difficult to operate. Both TV and Sound Bar seem to work together in mysterious ways. You take the TV remote to turn on TV but it stays silent and the Sound Bar turns on instead. I have no idea and find myself pressing buttons a few times to turn on the TV and get it to show the correct AV input (TV or cable). By default, the TV seems to always turn on the Sound Bar and play DVD.
  10. Ks Toh
    Thanks for the compliment!
  11. Ks Toh
    But the Philips TV is not all that bad. I particularly love the feature which allows me to connect my iPhone or iPad to the TV. I use it as my version of the karaoke jukebox control. I have all my favourite songs on my Youtube playlist. Then I select and it plays on the TV. You can even queue the play list! But I should think all Smart TVs can do this. I tried to record a full length movie clip but my iPhone ran out of storage space! So, here is a short version: As to how I conceal the wires, click here.
  12. Ks Toh
    Hi Asking4Help I am not an expert on TVs. Until you mentioned it, I was not even aware of digital TV coming to SIngapore! Come to think of it, I am not even sure if my TV supports digital TV but if this is something new coming to Singapore, it makes sense to buy a TV which supports it. Anyway, since we are on this topic, might as well talk about the story about my TV. Many years ago, Sony was the leader in TV. People would not touch a Samsung or Lucky Goldstar (now LG) with a ten foot pole. But now, the Koreans are king in this area. All my TVs and HDD Recorders are from LG. I just love their colour output and numerous features. And like many of you, our TVs get bigger and bigger. I was all set to buy a 55" LG TV. At least that was what I set out to do when I decided to pay a visit to Best Denki @IMM. But somehow, my wife and I were sweet talked into buying this 46" TV from Philips, a brand which we never even considered. The Philips 46PFL7007 manages to combine very stylish looks with great picture and sound quality. My wife fell in love with the stylish metallic design and Ambilight technology. I fell in love with the 800Hz processing power and 3D support. Similar 55" TV sets from LG (but at much less than 800Hz) were going for $1999 or less, but this 46" Philips was going for $2699 at sale price. The sale promoter offered us the display set for $1999 provided we let him display it for a few more days. And he warrantied that the set would be delivered free from any defects or scratched or he will change it. The TV looked great when mounted on the wall and we bought a Philips 3D Bluray Soundbar to complement it. The 3D glasses were a waste of money. Tried it and never touched them again. Too troublesome to put on the 3D glasses. The Smart TV functions are not so smart. Internet browser and Facebook were rather difficult if not impossible to navigate. I could not get the mail app to retrieve my Gmail. I believe the LG or Samsungs should do better here. App selection was rather limited. I have no idea why so many apps are of the XXX type. Maybe because this is a European model or set. Philips 46PFL7007 review by CNET UK: http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/tvs/philips-46pfl7007-review-50010368/ The sales promoter had my mobile number as he had to call me to collect my 3D specs but a few days after selling the TV set to me, he sent me the following Whatsapp I was thinking my goodness, what did i just buy? P.s. I subsequently wrote about Digital TV in this later post.
  13. Ks Toh
    Hi tomasulu The second contractor I called actually subcontracted the job to another party. But when my friend tried to call the contractor, it seems that he is no longer working with this subcontractor. I can still give you the contact for the second contractor if you wish. But I think more important is the need to specify clearly that you want the groove lines to be cleaned, and not just normal polishing. My floor was very shiny when new but it seems it is not so shiny anymore. Maybe maintenance not good enough!
  14. Ks Toh
    For a short while, my wife was VVIP customer at the following shop, and they were always very happy to see her (but I was not so happy). All of the Wall Art pieces shown above were purchased from this shop, plus many other items, big and small. If you are interested, they are now having a 11th Anniversary Sale. Their website at http://www.moleculeliving.com says 40% + 11% off. A lot of their stuff are from Italy. The biggest item bought from Molecule was this sofa from Brianform. She walked in, saw it and liked it. I also liked it but immediately changed to "dislike" when I saw the price tag. I was more used to paying a fraction of the listed price. Anyway, my wife promised me this would be the one and only time she pay so much for a piece of furniture. Brianform > Catalogo 8 > Magenta: http://www.brianform.it/eng/Cat8/8_magenta1.html
  15. Ks Toh
    If you intend to get IP cameras, Sitex 2013 (which ends today) is a good time to buy. The cameras are sold cheapest during these PC shows. Price will revert to normal after the shows. Or you can wait till IT Show in first quarter 2014 (27 February to 2 March @MBS). My D-link DCS-5222L price dropped to $199. I think I bought $299. Even if you are not buying, the show is a good place for you to go look at the models available.
  16. Ks Toh
    For people like us who are not so photogenic, we have to take photographs of our toilet/cabinet mirrors from an angle!
  17. Ks Toh
    The mistake I made for the birdcage print was to forget to remove the glass protective film, which was somehow on the inside of this glass.
  18. Ks Toh
    LOL. You actually used the phone leveler. Always follow your instinct. You are often right. The last time, the electrician used a laser device to drill into the false ceiling to mount my hanging lights. I thought it looked off centre but he insisted it cannot be. Turned out his laser device was not working properly!
  19. Ks Toh
    I used it for my wet kitchen. Grout lines were black when new. Now turning white when dirty.
  20. Ks Toh
    My painter came back to touch up after moving in.
  21. Ks Toh
    It is definitely not weird to have cove lights & fans. I did it for my previous place and my present place. So long as the down lights are away from the fan, there is no visible flicker. No problem with wind if the cove is sealed.
  22. Ks Toh
    I just want to say that your previous owner may have paid good money to some ID for this designer staircase and have been very proud of it. One man's meat is another man's poison!
  23. Ks Toh
    Hi leonjennawong The fan you see in the hall of my previous place is KDK V56VK. I am also using this fan in the bedrooms of my present place. This fan has a short stem. But there are other brands in the market with short stems. In my new place, I used several types of fans. Based on my experience, the layout I use is fine. There is no flickering shadow, even though the cove lighting is slightly higher than the fan blades. Not sure why, but maybe there is so much light from the cove lighting all round that you do not see the flicker? But do note that my down lights are always alway from the fan, and these do not shine through the fan blades. I think if you put down lights above fan blades, there will be flicker. The cove lights above are using T5 fluorescent tubes. However, in my new place, I did experiment using LED for some cove lights. If you want brighter, you probably need T5. I was using Warm Warm cove lights for my previous place but in my new place, I have switched to Cool White as I find Warm Warm to be too orange. The ceiling is painted normal white. No special colour. Photos are misleading. The lights often look better on photo. The colours are also not accurate. Different settings (flash on/off, HDR on/off, type of camera, day/night) give different results. Much also depends on the furnishing. If you cover the furniture and wall art, the place will look different. No problem with questions. I am here to share. Check out my blog on my new place for further discussion on LED lights! There is also a photo of one of my LED cove lights.
  24. Ks Toh
    This thread is so quiet. So I will post something. Current Development URA Master Plan 2008 URA Master Plan 2013 Draft Look at these new roads: 1. Access roads from Bedok South Road and Bedok Road to ECP 2. Road parallel to Upper East Coast Road from Bayshore Road to Kew Drive 3. Road from Bedok corner to Changi South Avenue 3 (leads to PIE)
  25. Ks Toh
    If according to ID artwork submitted is concrete wall, why not resubmit artwork with metal railing?? I think your ID does not want to do this part if the work or does not know how to. So he is discouraging you with high cost etc. As what everyone is saying, if you are just removing the additional concrete and not touching any structural part, what is the big deal? I think many people will just proceed. I have paid to get PE certification that it is ok to knock down certain walls. (see my blog). Each time no more than $500. Of course if you are going to rebuild the whole staircase, that is a different story altogether. But simple knocking down of a non structural staircase low wall, first time I hear need $10,000, TOP, CSC etc. that is rebuilding of house lah!
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