Chunky Monkey

^^ A fabulous corner that you have created here! I can imagine how much enjoyment you will derive just sitting there, with easy access to your bookshelves at the back.

wendily, are your floor tiles layed straight, or have you asked for your floor tiles to be layed in a pattern?

New uPVC windows have been installed in the children's rooms. It was funny how my neighbours thought that I'd installed windows with black frames and blue glass. How duh is that?! Alice from Fascina is really nice to work with. And her boss, Christopher is fabulous too. They introduced child-locks for the windows in my children's room. With child-lock, this is the angle of an opened window After I press and release the child-lock, the window opens up fully to a 90 deg angle, which will be easy for my maid to put her hand/arm through, to clean the glass on the outside

Small Attic Shower/Toilet Shower Set with Shower Mixer - Damixa (from Hoe Kee) Sink Mixer - Damixa (also from Hoe Kee) Toilet Paper Holder + Towel Holder + Hand Towel Holder - Stainless Steel, from Hoe Kee WC - Cotto made in Thailand (bought from Nan Wah warehouse sale. $70 after 50% + 20% off). Great value for money. Was told never to use those made in China because they don't flush well. Have no idea how true that is, but I won't want to risk a back-flow. Ewwww. Floor traps - from jonite.

Some pictures of the cabinet carcasses, before the kitchen floor was all filled. By the time the floor space was filled, I could no longer stand in the kitchen to take pictures. Is it normal to have 50 kg loading Blum tracks for drawers? I am wondering if my designer is using 50 kg because of the weight of canned food, and bottled drinks that I would put in the larder. One of the 2 larder units

Thanks, yoongf for your comments. They really help to keep me in check. My kitchen designer has asked for the sink concrete base to be only 660mm and the kitchen cabinet will be 700mm. That's enough for our toes/feet right? As for the water pipe .... I think there will be extra piping turns. The sink that we are going to install is actually quite deep, and the plumber just want to 'stay clear', since he is not sure how much of piping would be needed. I am actually unsure of how much storage space there will be under the sink. Which is why I had asked for an open shelf under the cabinet. If I am confident of the remaining space under the sink (staying clear of the water drainage pipe), I actually would rather have a U-shaped pull out drawer. But it's just too troublesome. After thinking about all the details in each drawer and shelf everywhere in the kitchen, I had no more brain matter left to figure out the "under sink" area. So just 'chin chye' lah.

Here are some "BEFORE" pictures of our kitchen, as of 8 Dec 07. Ready for the installation of kitchen cabinets tomorrow (Monday). Twin Fridge Base. On the right of the fridges will be full height larders. Hence, the top of the concrete base is not tiled Right Wall of the Kitchen, alongside the glass sliding doors. Ovens & Kitchen Sink Side

I don't think adding an extra refrigerator is going to shoot my electricity bill through the roof. And having 2 refrigerators is not even a luxury anymore but a necessity for us. I have to put cereals, biscuits, snacks ... in fact that everything that might attract ants in the refrigerator. (Yup, very particular about this) And with 2 children who constantly catch bugs from friends in school, I have enough bottled medication (symptomatic relief types) to use up 2 - 3 rows of the shelves in the fridge doors & open a dispensary! If it's OK, I would not want to mention costs. I really don't mean to be rude but I have also not disclosed costs in PMs. It's not something I am comfortable talking about. Thanks. As for size of my home, it's 4000 sq ft.

Thank you. Do note that because I have asked for floor locks and also telescopic tracks, the glass doors do not stack flushed to one another. They are in fact staggered. You'll have to consider if that's what you're OK with. I personally find this acceptable although not ideal, but it could well be a bane for others. I asked myself if I could have another chance at installing frameless glass doors, would I use Dorma ... well, my answer will probably be no. If I had known before hand that I will have staggered glass panels, I might not have wanted floor locks (I may even opt for no locks!) , and I might have considered other locking mechanisms. I would like to recommend that you check out Glasspoint. Ask for Jasmine Koh. Glasspoint uses telescopic tracks too. And their tracks are made in Italy. Jasmine's customer service is really good. I kind of regretted not using Glasspoint. I'd assumed I would have no problem whatsoever with Dorma. The guy I dealt with is so new to the company, he does not know what's going on half the time.

Oooo! How come you're so sharp?! That's a compliment. I'm going to have 2 Fisher & Paykal fridges; one left hand opening and one right hand opening. Pseudo pigeon pair. I was initially thinking of one freezer and one refrigerator. But in reality, I need more refrigerator space. So opted for 2 of the same fridges but with 2 different openings.

Here are some photos;- Dorma Telescopic Frameless Sliding Glass Doors with one Fixed Glass Panel (temperered and with safety film). We decided to add the safety film because this is a high traffic area, and we have 2 very young children. Should the glass break, the film will still hold the broken glass pieces together, and not rain on them. Tempered glass will not cut them but the sheer weight of broken glass is enough to bruise these little people. So we are not taking any chances. Doors closed Doors opened Door handle Floor Locks

8 Dec 07 The factory delivered all the carcasses for my kitchen today. They filled the entire kitchen floor space, with literally no walking space left. Come Monday, the installers will arrive and fix up all the cabinets. I suspect the cabinet doors will be on Tuesday, since my designer told me that they will require 2 days for the installation. I can't wait! And on Monday, the electrician will also fix up the DB and fix all the leftover lights in the basement. I think the aircon ceiling cassettes will also be installed on Monday. So I can expect to all of workers moving about that day. Oh, I was told by Fascina that when one of their workers was hacking my cement screeded floor to install one glass panel, they accidentally burst a copper water pipe. As a result, installation for that panel stalled and they had to come back on another day to install it, after the plumber fixes up the pipe. Once my uPVC windows and doors are all fixed up, I will then call Metalworld to come down for a final measurement, to make my grilles and mosquito screens. Yup! Mozzie screens. I have them in my current home and I cannot live without them. Not only do they keep mozzies out, but also all sorts of creepy crawlies and other flies.

6 Dec 07 I so wish to go and supervise the installation of the uPVC doors and windows. But figured that since my main contractor is already there, I can escape from all the dust and the potential installation challenges. I am thinking between the site supervisor from Fascina and my main contractor, they should be experienced enough to sort out everything. I just want to see the finished job tomorrow!

^^ In my kitchen cabinet quotation, I do not get to see the real cost breakdown of my Blum parts. What my kitchen ID quotes me is the cost of each wooden drawer which is $110 each. And this is the top-up price from the pfr cost.

4 Dec 07 The Dorma glass door guys delivered the tempered glass today. Installation is not until Thursday morning, because the tilers are tiling the floor. And because I will be having a Dorma floor lock, the floor must be tiled before this lock can be installed. The tilers started tiling the kitchen floor today. I am guessing that the floor would have been fully tiled by now. One final site measurement, and the factory can go full steam ahead to make my kitchen cabinets. I realised today that I am short of a few sink/shower/bath mixers and called Hoe Kee to deliver my additional order tomorrow. They are so familiar with me, that they are willing to take a phone order. I was very pleased to learn that Fascina will be installing our new uPVC windows and doors this Thursday. This comes as a real surprise as I was only expecting installation to be done next week! Can't wait for more progress.

No I haven't moved my photos. Can you see them now?

Staircase - between Kitchen and Living Room We decided on installing sliding doors to enclose the stairwell, so as to contain the cool air when we switch on our ceiling cassette aircons. I am actually disappointed that it's taking a much longer time to get this set of doors installed than I'd originally expected. I can't help but wonder if the delay is due to the manufacture of the tempered glass which I want to have safety film on them?? Anyway, James from Doors' Plus recommended me to use hand-painted door & frames but that idea didn't sit well with me for days on end, and I finally bit the bullet and went ahead with spray-painted doors instead. I know that they are costly but I really do not like the roughness of freshly painted wooden doors >> I can see all the wood fibres as well as bristles that drop from new paint brushes. Matching Pendant Lamps I bought these matching pendant lamps at a warehouse sale. If memory serves me correctly, the RRP was S$68. I got it with a 60% discount. Probably the best buy in the whole house! LOL! One lamp each at opposite ends of the Living Room

Outdoor Wash Area We experienced fatigue by the time we got to the planning for our maid's wash area. It would have been wonderful if we could use the entire Patio as entertainment space, but reality bites. We couldn't possibly make her squeeze her daily chores in an unthinkable corner of the house. So we have no choice but to sacrifice some space, and dedicate that to our maid's wash area. This space is right behind the kitchen window and door. We are building a concrete work top for our maid, and will install an aluminium cabinet under it, so she can store the buckets and cleaning brushes in there. And beside this, we will place a small, 2-door garden shed; where she can use it to store all the cleaning products. With these, there is no reason any wet stuff would be inside the house. This is where the washing machine, dryer (one that we have had for years but never used) and spare refrigerator will go. We intend to keep one of our old fridges until it kaputs. In the next couple of days, the workers will build up a concrete stand to support the huge slob sink we wish to have outside the house for handwashing of stuff.

Kitchen - Kitchen Sink Area It should take a few more days for the tiling of the kitchen walls and floor to be completed. Picture of Kitchen door and window from inside the Kitchen Picture of Kitchen door and window from the Patio We have selected white glossy homogeneous tiles for the kitchen wall, because we want the tiles to recede into the background when the kitchen is all done up. The prominence of the kitchen is the design of the kitchen cabinets, and we don't wish to have coloured tiles to distract one's attention away from appreciating what DH and I have painstakingly planned for our open concept kitchen. Not much walls will be seen anyway when all the wall hung cabinets go up onto the wall. From our past experiences with our kitchens, we know there is no such thing as too much storage space. The ceiling height of our kitchen is 2700 mm. Let's just say we are building all the way to the top One of the workers filling up the gap above the window/door frame with cement. I kindly asked him to make sure he fills the gap properly. I don't wish for regular visits of lizards from the outside!

3 Dec 07 The weather has been real kind, and alot were accomplished on Sat and today. I arrived at the house to realise that I am short of one stairwell light, the glass casing of one light is broken, and I haven't bought enough sink and bath mixers. On top of that, the Somfy control switches for my motorised awnings have also gone missing. The awnings were installed about a month ago, and the installer had passed to me the switches for safe keeping! My guess is that they were chucked out by mistake. I cannot recall where I might have left them. I didn't want to waste time and energy harping on them, so I called the boss of the company and asked for replacements. I was hoping he would give new ones to me out of goodwill but he said the best he can do, is to sell them to me at cost. Sigh. Here are some new photos .... Living Room Ceiling Fan 56" Crestar with remote control. I asked for KDK but was advised that Crestar is more durable.

DH is a squirrel. He likes to keep stuff for years and years. I will scan them and file them in proper sub-folders. I have naming conventions for different service providers, IRAS, banks etc. If it's DH's bills, I will put his initials as prefix If it's mine, my initials will be the prefix. And in the 1Q of the next year, I will "dumb" them in a HDD.

Your ID impressions are pretty. May you have a smooth renovation the rest of the way.

All the best in your new journey.

Congratulations with your new home really take shape! All the planning finally coming to fruition!

Sorry that you've had such a bad experience with them. They are not known for any good service, to be honest. I have shopped with them for years, getting my kitchen accessories from them and I have to say, if I don't know exactly what I want, the size of the kitchen cabinets that I am going to make, there is no way I would be able to buy anything from them. In fact, it's because I like the Vibo pull out baskets so much, that every time, I will get them and make my kitchen designer fit them into his space allocation. Not the other way around. It's actually very easy. Their product codes tells you straightaway. For example, EC30 means it's to fit into a cabinet carcass that is 300mm wide, EC40 means it's to fit into a cabinet that is 400mm wide, so on and so forth. They are the only ones in Singapore that ship in Italian made stuff like Vibo stainless steel wire baskets and Foster stainless steel sinks. Their stuff are expensive only because they are made in Italy. I don't care for any of the other stuff that they sell other than their sinks and wire baskets. Oh, the staff at their main office (Playfair Road) are better. Look for Joan.