zihui

Precisely. With the advice comes a total revamp of our design.

Hi Vanessa, The nightmare is just beginning... ... Are you referring to the side table / cool bar? The first time we saw it was on 42.sg but unfortunately it was out of stock. So when we saw a seller selling it for $100 on gumtree, we pounced. According to the pricetag that's on the box, the seller got it from the HomeFix store. Cheers!

So we engaged the services of the highly recommended Master Chang to carry out the house audit for us. He came to our place and spent 3 hours plus there with us, walking us through the recommended placement of certain items like the stove and the bed, certain colors for the flat etc. We initially started out wanting an overall black and white color scheme for our 'city living' themed house. After 3 hours plus with Master Chang, our contractor (whom we invited to listen in on the house audit so that he's aware of the exact requirements and changes needed), the HTB and I were left speechless and stunned at how much our initial design for the house has got to be changed. I'm not exaggerating when I say that my head is still spinning today when the house audit took place on Saturday morning. He said a lot of things about the flat but the general prognosis is that the house's fengshui clashes quite badly with my HTB's bazi, particularly our flat's entrance, the staircase, the living room in general and one particular bedroom on the 2nd floor which the HTB originally intended to utilize as a recreation room. Some quick photos: Master Chang at work (I don't think it's nice for me to post a photo of him without his permission so I'm just posting one of his backview. This was taken when he was at our front door, doing the reading) - Lots of changes will have to be made and certain things will need to be carried out, amongst them the tilting of our front door to an angle which is more advantageous to our family - The masking tape indicates just how much the front door has to be tilted by. My contractor was left reeling at the end of the 3 hour plus consultation - I don't know who was more stunned at the end of it all, the HTB or the contractor. Thankfully, the contractor has rallied nicely and by Sunday, has reverted with several new design ideas for us to consider, all incorporating Master Chang's firm recommendations. To cut a long story short, our renovation commencement date has been postponed to the 20th of Sept where the HTB will carry out the 动土ceremony at 7.18 am. The workers will then come in to carry out the hacking. Oh - we also confirmed our living room ceiling fan (thanks to bro Eric, who came down to our place with the brochure to do the site visit and measurements). After discussions with him, we made our decision and placed our deposit for the Fanco 56 inch 5 blade Space-1 MS in silver / grey to go with our new living room color

Hi dannywmp, are you referring to the coffeetable? Yeah, we've already bought it. Understand the need for child-proofing but that's a bridge that we'll cross when the time comes. Thanks for the advice!

Yet another busy weekend. These days, it feels as if we're constantly on the go with a million things on our minds. One minute we're preoccupied with renovation issues, the next with wedding issues. A quick look at our schedules tells us that we're supposed to be at certain places every single evening of this week after work, whether it's to head down to a particular shop or to collect the wedding album, to collect the wedding invitation etc... Anyway, photos first - 1) The now empty living room, save for the 'door opening ceremony' offerings The previous owner left behind all of his water features / tanks at the balcony even though they said that they would be clearing it for us. The kitchen - The toilet MAJOR OVERHAUL REQUIRED.

We didn't go in the end. Some people who went down to the warehouse sale said that they were disappointed with the selection on sale and that it was more useful for those in the catering business so we decided to give it a miss since we had a packed weekend.

Hi all, Can someone please pm me the contact for the hinges and drawers system? Really appreciate it! Thank you in advance.

Thanks Vi! *fingers crossed* Oh and the HTB has asked me to ask you to please send a batch of the home-baked peanut cookies you handed out to your new neighbours over to Jurong East *teehee*

Hi ucypmas, I definitely won't be taking offense at all. In fact, I want to thank you for taking the time to type and sharing your knowledge + experience of having used the Fujioh hood. Hopefully I won't be regretting my EF hood purchase but in any case, at a price of $350, if i wish to upgrade in the future when the budget is less constrained, I can always upgrade to a better hood. At that point in time, I can apply the information that I've managed to glean from you! Thanks ucypmas!

Congratulations on the completion of your reno! Like 3dyms, I'm also looking forward to seeing more photos!

Thank you June. You're absolutely right. That's what my HTB always says as well - I need to be more decisive and not to regret the purchases. The worst thing we can supposedly do is to go around comparing prices after we've confirmed the purchases. ucypas has many valid points and I thank him for taking the time out to share the pointers with all of us. The information that he posted is extremely useful, whether it's for people who are still looking to buy their kitchen appliances or even for me (when i wish to upgrade the appliances or for the next house). The choosing of the hob wasn't difficult. The Bosch oven was a no brainer. However, we wavered over the selection of the hood for a long time. The only reason why we settled for this particular hood in the end was because based on our strict budget constraints, this is probably one of the few that we could consider. So we went against our gut feelings (both of us aren't fond of EF, especially when compared to other brands) and settled for this hood. Maybe this explains the self-doubt

hahahahaha on the bright side, the Vespa mugs look gorgeous!

That's very good information ucypas! Now i'm beginning to doubt my purchases... ... *sad*

I absolutely agree with you! That's one of the main reasons why i didn't go for it too! hahahahaha *facepalm* *mutters to self* Not another one... ... thinks he's on a first name basis with them... ... Hi ucypmas!! That's a very good question! Based on the recommendations that we got from the RT forums, I also had my heart set on the Fujioh FX-900V because I've read so much about the superb fumes retention. However, I was dismayed when I saw how bulky it was... *shame* To make myself sound less bimbotic, another reason was because 2 separate salesmen were telling us that even though the suction is extremely good for the FX-900V, to clean it thoroughly is quite difficult because we'll have to break out the screwdriver (or was this nonsense?) unlike other brands where the cleaning process is a lot simplier that's why frankly speaking, the oven and the hob were easy choices. The hood on the other hand, took a lot of debating. In the end we settled on the EF hood because aesthetically it was more streamlined without compromising on the suction capabilities... hope I don't end up regretting it *fingers crossed*

hahahaha that's a very good point. I'm not at that stage where a difference in specs makes a huge difference to me. Cooking simple stuff from time to time is perfectly fine. Just don't be like my HTB - he makes an entire production out of cooking. He watches too many reality food shows and starts to fancy himself as some sort of expert on cooking. It's like backseat driving - when I'm making pasta for example, he walks into the kitchen suddenly and goes, "Remember to use some of the water that you boiled the pasta in for the sauces. That's what David Rocco says to do." or "Make sure you don't double dip when you're tasting the food. Gordon hates that." (Now he's on a first name basis with the celebrity chefs?) When it's his turn to cook... oh my god... the mess that he creates. He makes such a big deal out of 'preparing the required ingredients beforehand', slaves over the stove, sweats buckets... only to produce a simple aglio olio pasta. *facepalm* The way he goes on about it, I half expected an entire 8 course feast hahahahah

Oh dear, you're right - changing the window really is an expensive option. Hopefully the problem will cease with Gain City's patching of the aircon But i have to say that your reaction when the Town Council staff arrived was funny!

With the advice from well-meaning friends and families ringing in our ears (coupled with very strict budget constraints - Mission Impossible, remember?), we've spent a fortnight checking out the prices of hoods, hobs and ovens from the usual suspects - EJ, HL, Mega and Paris. It's interesting how one shop would recommend a brand A while pointing out the flaws behind brand B and then when we go over to another shop, the 2nd place would recommend brand B while vigorously pointing out the flaws behind brand A. All a matter of commission and the need to clear inventory stocks, methinks. We actually started out wanting a 3 burner glass hob (which certain friends vehemently advised against ("When will you ever use all 3 burners?", "The placement of the centre burner so ugly!" and my personal fave "The pot handles will banging into each other if you use all 3 burners")), a chimney hood with a decent enough suction to suck up the fumes from the burnt cooking of the HTB (acting on the advice of our resident RT chef, vanessa!) as well as a built in oven so that I can pretend to bake once in a while and indulge in my dreams of appearing on Top Chefs Just Desserts ("Fan or no fan?". "Top level heating or bottom level heating?", "Self-wash function needed?" and my new fave, "You buy this oven, you can cook EVERYTHING") I swear I'm not making this up but at one particular stall, the sentence coming out of the salesman's mouth most often was, "Your budget, IMPOSSIBLE lah". Has he been reading my t-blog? In the end, we finally decided to exercise our Manhattan credit card and plonked for the following: 1) Fujioh 2 burner glass hob FG-792 GL ($380) 2) EF Slimline Cooker Hood ($350) [We wanted a chimney hood but they were too expensive. We were also very hesitant about getting a hood from EF but in the end, we caved because of the chimney hood motor and the strong suction] 3) Bosch Built In Oven HBN331E2J ($620) Total damage - $1,350 Budget constraints are a huge pain... but I guess the HTB summed it well when he said, "You think if we buy De Dietrich appliances, you'll become Nigella Lawson har?" Now it's time to head over to the Sia Huat sale over the weekend!

Hi Vi! Wonderful to finally see your t-blog! And I'm inclined to agree with your friends and family - the existing condition looks great as it is. It's practically move in condition already. To be honest, if my place looks like this now, we'll only be doing some minor reno and that's it hahahahahaha

Thanks soonliew! We are soon-to-be neighbours if you were in our area yesterday and smelt the burning incense, that would be me

hahahhaa because we didn't see the need for the FSM to do the door opening ceremony with us that's why we've set the appointment with him to come to our place this Saturday to do the audit. you're right... we're crossing our fingers and really hoping that the audit won't result in too many unwanted changes

Outstanding! Can't wait to start supporting your t-blog. actually, i don't use flickr. i use imageshack

Thanks oldskool! If my reno process can be half as successful as yours, I'll be thrilled! And you're right - both sarah and vanessa have been awesome role models for me to leech upon Thanks Vi!! Our reno projects are starting around the same time!

Thanks to sarah833 who has instilled the online shopping bug in us (*kowtow*), the HTB and I scour gumtree & ebay on a daily basis to see if we too can find good bargains on items that we want. Thus far, we've managed to get the following loots from online sellers that we're very happy with: 1) A BNIB portable side table / bar with storage for 34 cans in white ($100): 2) A BNIB Nescafe Dolce Gusto Circolo in white ($120): 3) A coffee table in white (with glass top) in pristine condition ($120): A huge thank you goes out to online shopping gurus like sarah833 & vanessa for inspiring us!

Thanks mark! *beam* Can't stop grinning - I'm a house owner now! hahahahahaha

The coffee container and the 'first in first out' 10 kg rice container are absolutely drool worthy!