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My contractor sent me the updates of the pictures. Made me so excited at work and cant help but grinned widely like an idiot come back to earth! Off we go! Arriving at our new home! Installation in progress

Thank you thank you! Now trying to multi task at work hahaha

Yeah I do not find it an eyesore either.. Oh well,.. I guess the man just wanted to pull me back from Earth as i was tooo busy drooling over my place hahahaha

Hi Songz, Oh yes, can't wait *rubbing hands in anticipation. In fact, super excited now as my contractor just sent me some pictures on the installation of cabinets. Now its hard to keep my butt glued to my cubicle seat as inside I am doing indian dance all rounds Can't wait for office hours to be over and will rush down to my place to see the progress

Hi OceanEleven, Yep for master bathroom we concealed the piping as it was not too bad. But for common bathroom, the piping is quite bad and we did not bother to concealed it as first, it costs money and second, in the event HDB wana upgrade the pipes or whatever, we will have to tear it down Oh well, most of the time, we will just be using the master bathroom so not too a problem for us

Hi Zihui, You are back to RT! *waves!! Yes, hahaha..actually can't wait to get started on the cleaning. Yes, sounds crazy right? But i am sure i will be humming happily as I cleaned as it is finally a dream come true for us!! Now just kept

Yes, I am curious too but too late, already paid my curtain deposit but also Malaysian company

Thank you Songz for your kind words. I went to many lighting shops but could not find a similar one. However, gotta wait for about 2 weeks for it to arrive but no regrets here. The platform area was designed to be a cosy area for both of us and we just love it!! How's your renovation progress? Hope everything is going smoothly for you

Continue from previous post Dining lights connected Our fan is also up although we did not take a photo of it. The man was commenting how he dislike our fan and it made me I asked him why???? He said he din like the "black eye" in the middle of the fan I told him, too bad..you choose the fans yourself. too late for regrets . Tracklights up!! We badgered the lady boss in Best Lights to provide LED bulbs for us for this track lights as we tested both non-LED and the LED bulbs and non-LEDS bulbs are really hot when turned on even for awhile. 2-way lights. I think this is essential as we wouldnt want to grope our way in the dark after turning off the lights when we turn in for the night. However, I hope others can learn from our mistake. When our contractor first asked me which points to have 2-way lights, I made the decision without consulting my man. In the end, he pointed out an additional light next to the kitchen which made sense to me but did not occurred to me before. The moral of the story is, always discuss everything together before making any decision Sorry honey!! Luckily, it can be rectified by our electrician but no doubt, additional costs will be incurred Our master bedroom lights. Added 2 more lights here too above our bed's head. This also came in last minute as the man was suddenly struck by inspiration and wanted to add 2 downlights. Reason? We always have the habit of readin before sleeping but there is no more space for bedside lamps next to our bed hence, he suggested 2 downlights with individual switch, so that if one person wish to read while the other sleeps, can just turn on the light on one side only. You get the picture? He initially wanted 2-way too for one of the lights in the room because he wanted to stop being my voice remote control (I think all husbands out there can attest to this) as I always asked him to switch off the lights before sleeping hahaahaha But too late and wiring has already been done so cant be added. Hopefully the other home owners can learn from us here. Think through the points carefully before deciding. Oh, can you guys see the "black eye" that the man dislike here? It did not matter to me so...oh well.. just gotta live with it..

Had a meeting with my electrician on Monday to go through all the points that we had, as adviced by inthechouse, an advice which i greatly appreciates. To all home owners out there, it is really good to go through with your electrician personally than having to go through your contractor in the event some of the points got lost or misunderstood. I think my meeting with my electrician came a bit too late as he has already laid out the wiring but luckily some of it can still be added or amended. We have to share some of the blame ourselves as some of the items that we wanted surfaced after the wiring is done. So, a good point to note will be, try to visualise how you are going to stay in the house and your living lifestyle and go through EVERY rooms in the house (i.e where do you charge your hp at night? Do you really need a tv point in your bedroom? Do you read before you sleep etc?) My problem is i spent about 70% of my brain cells on my kitchen, which is the place i spent most of my time anyway so i neglected other parts of my home, such as master and living room Anyway, armed with a roll of masking tape (those we can write on top of) and marker pen, we went through the entire house again and the man wrote down all the things to be rectified/added/removed while I dutifully took notes on my hp. The man accidentally left a few marks on our freshly painted walls but luckily the painters will be coming over to our place to touch up again once the cabinets are up. We ended up with 25 points/remarks for our electrician and contractor! Can you imagine their expressions when they marched into our home full of masking tapes? I did not take a picture of it coz was embarrassed by it hahaha Anyway, the electrician is pretty friendly and gave some practical advice as well on our wants/needs on the points. He did tell us that all the additional/rectification works can only be done on Thursday hence it is to our pleasant surprise to find it done up last night when my contractor visited our place to ensure everything is in place for the cabinet installation today. I think maybe he was afraid he may forget our 25 points/remarks so faster do it lest getting our requests wrong again Ok, less words and more pictures! My balcony light!! Love the small house light Balcony lights turned on Living walkway lights with plastered wall. Previously this wall was uneven and had asked my contractor to even it out. Much better now Additional power points and tv point moved.

Hahaha, totally agrees!! That's why my contractor gave me so many nicknames.Terrorist coz i always terrorizes him, loanshark coz i am always chasing him for pictures updates of my home when I am busy and no time to visit my place, mum coz i am always naggy and reminding him so much for certain stuff of my reno works But in the end, i think all these are worth it when we see with our own eyes how our homes are transformed!! So excited!

Hi IntheChouse, Took your advice and met up with my electrician as I did not want any misunderstandings to surface when the electrician is fixing the lights for me if I just tell my contractor what I wanted The man and I bought a roll of thick masking tape (those you can write on) and went through our place to decide what we want while the man wrote on the masking tape and me taking down notes dutifully on my hp in words only i understood The man ended up left a few markings on the newly painted walls Had to ask my contractor to rectify them again So when my electrician came, the briefing was done properly and he recapped everything we said before we parted ways. Must say I am quite impressed when all my requirements were done the next day (which is today!) I think he must have wanted to prevent forgetting all our points (we had 25 points in my notes to tell him, so can you imagine??? ) Forgive my rant above. Just wanted to thank you properly for advising that we go through one round with our electrician.

Thanks Songz, Was debating whether to get the bed or not, because...i have to admit one thing which many forummers here will think i am being silly.. Well..to tell the truth, my frame costs a tad more than my mattress I know alot of people will coz usually we will invest more in the mattress than the frame itself coz that is what we are sleeping on rite? Hahahaha, but found a really good mattress (in my opinion coz both the man and I are not so particular and we are not the prince or princess who can feel 3 peas underneath a mattress ) so we got it in Malaysia... hehehehe.. So due to the exchange rates, the frame came up more expensive than the mattress itself But, could not reconcile myself to settle for another frame once I saw this frame in Singapore. Just love it.. Anyway, will update again on the quality once the frame has been delivered to me. Hehehe... Still it

Hi Vic1234, Thanks for your kind words..Hmm, so far he did not flare up at me or showed any black face to me despite me many messages to him day or night. But got kena suan few times d hahaha but did not care coz i am the kind who needs to tell him my ideas or thoughts when I suddenly thought of them. Do you ever have that kind of moments?? Like when you are working but suddenly an idea for your home will just pop into your mind or something that you know you forgot to let your contractor/id knows about? Well, thats me hahaha Anyway, he just popped by my place again tonight to ensure that my place is ready for cabinets installations tomorrow morning! Hip hip hooray!!

Hi Vicx1234, yep totally agree with you tat in the end we the owners are the ones who will be staying in the house. hmm...i am very firm on my initial things-to-have in my home, my kitchen is the area which i placed the most energy, brain cells in thinking the designs and where i want my stuff to be as i am a heavy cooker. then stuff like study table, shoe cabinet and wardrobe also i was very clear and firm in the things i want. but for those nice-to-have which was added later on, (by myself actually hahaha) that my contractor adviced me against although he already sourced for me. but, i truly appreciate your wise advice for me and to all home owners here. we should make a stand on what we truly wants for our home... but i always got swayed and drool at some fantastic designs that u guys have hahaha.. so will tend to copy lor..paiseh ah.. hahaha

yep agree.. I am facing the same problem now.. My hubby kept saying,"Aiya, since we are already paying $xx for this, why not top up another $xx amount and do it one short" Problem is, can't continue like this or else we will have a major budget over run!! Aki looks absolutely adorable! Still cant get him to bend on getting a dog as a pet. sigh...

Hi, Was having a hard time trying to remember from where I saw the stool then remembered it was from your blog!! Please excuse my bad memory as I am getting old liao. May I know where did you buy those stool cum bedside table from? Same problem here. Have very very small space left for bedside table so really love those stools thanks for sharing! Btw, are you gona use the sewing machine legs as a table by placing a wooden/marble top on top of the legs? I saw something similar in Vanessa's blog. Real nice.. where did you get it from? but too bad my place no more space for these fancy pieces

haha, no lei.. no more budget for that d. I asked my contractor for glass door for my toilets already he wana puke blood coz he kept telling me this dun need, dun waste money on that .. bla bla.. so, no wor... Initially wanted to get the 3-fold doors for my kitchen and living with powder coating aluminium but will have an issue keeping the doors as it will be opened most of the time and my layout does not permit the doors to be closed easily. So anyway, am kiv-ing the door for now. Wait till we move in first and see if we really need the kitchen door But your renovation is coming together real nicely. When is your expected handover date? Are you planning to move in before CNY?

I love your gorgeous doors! Simply beautiful. Must cost a bomb??

Curious, are you intending to keep the current flooring or will you change it? The laminates from the pics look ok to me, but not sure why is there white trunking at your intended study area?

Hi Ocean Eleven, Wow, finally started your blog! Your place looks very spacious!! All the best in your renovation progress!! Love the chair you bought!! Will check out the store!. Thanks for the recommendation!

Final week of renovation already.. Can;t really describe how I am feeling. Yep, the above are what I am feeling now. This feels like facing the final exam during uni time. After this then all the crazy juggling between work and renovation, endless discussion (to have concealed wiring or not? Change to bi fold doors or glass door?), sleepless nights over thinking whether I made the right decision with the roller blinds (ivory or patterned?), all the endless to and fro Spore-JB sourcing for everything from fittings to furniture will be over soon!! Whenever I see progress in our home, I felt very happy. All the pains, sweat and blood, literally (coz I cut myself while packing ) are worth it!! So, entering the final week, I am more kancheong than usual. It is a wonder my contractor haven literally strangled me with my questions 24/7. He is super patient and answer every question calmly, although he nearly spluttered blood this morning when I asked him whether I can change my toilet doors from bi-fold to glass doors It feels funny that he cleaned my place now when there are still quite alot of rectification works to be done, like hacking of the kitchen wall. Should I hack or not? Or leave it? It looks more presentable now with the grime and grease all gone. Anyway, I would not see it once my kitchen cabinets are up and my glass backing is in place So I badgered him for this week schedule and here they are, partly to remind myself what is going to happen so i will him less (Hubby: ask u dun kept kacau ppl d, still whatsapp at night! Ppl dun need to sleep ah? Me: ) Tuesday, 21st January 2014 - Placing of corrugated paper (AGAIN!) on my floor - hacking of kitchen wall tiles and cement screed it - Plastering of uneven walls in my home Wednesday, 22nd January 2014 - Concealing of exposed electrical wiring, Final phase of electrical works - Painting (second time) of my home. - Installation of cabinets- first phase (Hip hip hooray!) Thursday, 23rd January 2014 - Installation of curtain rod and roller blinds from my curtain folks - Completion of installation of cupboards and wardrobe Friday, 24th January 2014 - Second round cleaning before my furniture and fittings arrived!! I asked my contractor why bother cleaning when you are gona hack my walls. He replied, he beh tahan see so messy. I was like okayyyyyy.. sounds funny coz never seen a contractor who is willing to clean my place twice hahahaha. Anyway, all the better.. Can;t stand the mess myself So, folks, stay tune for more updates this week!!

Our contractor gave us a surprise before lunch today. He sent us this Our place, cleaned from debris!! The kitchen wall that was previously covered in grime and grease, all scrubbed clean!! Finally can properly appreciate my laminates! The windows all scrubbed clean!!

Live updates from my contractor. I guess since this is the last week of renovation, to pacify his super kancheong customer, that's me, by the way he took the WIP cabinets to show me. Here they are: This should be my wardrobe, judging from the steel handler No idea what this is though. Any guess? Wardrobe doors?? This is my shoe cabinet. This is easy to guess from the laminates. Hehehe My kitchen tall unit. My saliva d. Can't wait for them to be up!! Looks like jigsaw puzzle to me

Thanks alfredt!!