mellenur

guys, i need some help. does anyone know of any links in Taobao to get the clock below? been searching with no success:

shoe cabinet is a simple one. replacing mirror with just a normal laminated door. chosen laminate is corona maple from lamitak. initially i'd wanted only the tall door to be in this laminate because i don't think it will look good on the 2 side panels and wanted to use white wood laminate for that. but hubby disagree so i let him win a bit cos he already agree to my corona maple laminate

finally managed to get a drawing of the proposed kitchen cabinets and shoe cabinet at store room entrance. above my sink, i will have the dishrack and a rectangular cabinet above that. cover for dishrack i've asked my carpenter to look for white mesh. the chosen laminate is a whitish white wood whose name misses me right now. see pic below, that seems to be the only shot i have of it. my bottom cabinets are all drawers and you can also see what i've scribbled to keep inside them. the tall cabinets on the right are my microwave and oven tall boy with 2 storage drawers for baking items, fridge then 2 larders for pantry items. we've dropped the idea of the corner unit and keep it open for now.

hi tinydot, actually i only ordered the drawers, because it is the runner tracks that provide soft closing and i need the weight (30kg, 50kg, 65kg). the hinges i'm using my contractor's ones which i'm pretty sure are not blum. hinges are not too expensive though, like $4-5? but some drawers especially in larder units need a hinge with wider angle else the drawers cannot take out fully. i think anyone can install them. that's right, Blum did not help me with the design phase. to be fair, during my 3 visits there, i also did not ask them for much help as i have a rough idea of what i need to keep where, judging from my experience in my current house. the catalog doesn't show combos, it's literally individual drawers. customization is subjective, as the height of the drawers are fixed. not sure if my quote will help you much as my kitchen for 5A is quite big, it's 55ft of cabinetry. my blum drawers alone was about $1.5k. my contractors will then fabricate the drawer fronts to attach to the blum drawers or doors for the larder unit. separately i am asking my contractor if his initial quotation of $5k plus will reduce given that he's only providing the carcass, all internal systems are blum. hope this helps.

PM-ed you. the catalogue is available online, just google Blum catalogue Singapore.

oh no now i'm worried! because to clean my stainless steel must use my magic sponge or jif and it seemed like so much work! this time we are using black galaxy granite so hopefully it will blend with the black glass hob.

hello neighbour, i'm at tampines st 42. mine is a mini jumbo - 5A hehehe

by the same token, i wonder if we were to get our own Blum drawers, can we ask the contractor to take out some costing in their quotation? since i saved the fabrication of those drawers etc. i paid $1k plus to buy my own Blum drawers but the quotation still the same leh... each blum drawer is approx $100 (bigger more expensive) so when you review your quotation does it seem reasonable? wooden drawers is abt $120-150 per foot run so use this as a gauge.

super agree with this. yes they won't con you but you have to be very hands on. if possible every day must check their work so if anything needs correction, it will be fixed before it even goes wrong. but we both have to work! God knows how many times I almost break down because of this house matters. but I thank God for blessing me with a patient man my husband, who is also the chief designer. he made a scrapbook of all the pictures, technical drawings and not afraid to get his hands dirty. the only technical drawing i have of my kitchen plan is from him. he's literally the one who will hold me down if i ever feel like clawing at anyone. for e.g. last sunday, i was trying to describe to my contractor i want a sliding mirror over the storage shelves at my MBR vanity because we are extremely constrained for space so I sent my contractor pic below and his one-line reply was: You don't understand it. i wanted to reply, then bloody explain to me lah. it's not rocket science please. dearie, i'm sorry you have to go through this process but the end is almost here. HURRAY!

tomorrow i'm expecting delivery of the kitchen stuff. bought the $1,999 package from Courts, extended warranty for 5 years and got a $200 voucher for paying by OCBC credit card instalment. hob: i moved away from stainless steel which i have been using for past 6 years because it's such a nightmare to clean and i cook quite a lot. hopefully the glass surface will be easier to clean. plus cannot clean right after cooking cos hot so gives me a good excuse to clean after my meal. oven: i've always used ariston so switching to electrolux this time. because ariston don't have glass hobs. looking forward to baking cakes, cookies, roasting chicken and maybe even turkey this year! hood. due to the open kitchen concept, need to get a chimney hood with 1000cm3 suction power. at my current house we used a slimline hood and the smell lingers always. i'm always cooking sambal or something with belachan so need this. for deep frying i use my trusty Philips air fryer.

today's entry is about my purchase experience of Blum drawers. as with all contractors, they will ask that you the owner buy your own blum drawers and pass to them for installation. i later found out this is because many of them are not blum trained contractor. to be certified, the contractor must attend a course. i don't know how the lifetime warranty comes into play here as i'd imagine if installed by uncertified contractors, then the warranty is null and void. i have also read of homeowners who decide on their contractors based on the list of blum certified/trained ones which makes sense given that the kitchen carpentry will probably be among the big ticket items in your reno bill. i should have said i only found this out like a week ago so a little too late. there are a few blum authorized distributors in Singapore. you can't buy direct from blum as they deliver only to their certified contractors. plus the distributors give a discount between 15 - 30% depending on your order size. most people would contact the distributors, tell them how many drawers/hinges etc they need and get a quote, then compare and decide. Viborg Trading Pte Ltd Andrew - 9750 8000Kiang Sing Hong Hardware (related to Viborg because also family business) i didn't check with all of them, in fact i only checked with 1 which is viborg because i needed the drawers urgently. my contractor told me 3 days before that he needed the drawers in my house by sunday. anyway my hubby got his viborg contact from an online forum and passed on to me to make necessary enquiries and arrangements. it's a family business, i dealt with andrew. i contacted him on sunday morning and he asked that i email him my order and he will quote and deliver the next working day. at this point, i must highlight that if you expect to be guided on how to plan your kitchen, what drawers you need in what sizes etc, then please don't take this approach. you must have a plan on how many drawers you need and roughly what items to keep inside each one, plus a fair idea of the carpentry dimensions (because blum drawers have various heights). when i asked andrew about the kitchen planning he said he had to refer to his cousin, and with his cousin you must ask exact questions because he asked me: so what do you need to know?. to be fair, i didn't go to the showroom but my hubby did some time back, but unfortunately he did not ask the right questions. hubby and i mulled over the kitchen plan for 2 days and only equipped with the catalogue, we placed an order for 19 drawers i didn't get a formal invoice - not sure if this is normal as i did ask for a rushed delivery since i needed the drawers to be delivered on monday afternoon. i still had to make payment prior to delivery so again back to the trusty catalogue to get the prices, create my own invoice and take a discount off as agreed with andrew. from here on, i must commend andrew for his business attitude. he remained in close contact with me throughout monday to tell me that he doesn't have all the stock i needed but he would collect it from blum by 1pm and arrange for delivery. nobody was at my house, not even my contractor, so we had some hiccups with the delivery. but andrew in the end delivered the items personally at night (after work for me). he's very young but very humble and friendly and definitely many thumbs up. i think viborg is the only distributor that delivers. so if you need to get your blum drawers and don't mind the independent adventure or have some time and can go to their showroom to clear your enquiries, contact andrew from viborg at 9750 8000, let him know Nura referred you and you can enjoy a special price (edited as requested by Viborg). only for cash sales i.e. cannot book first pay later.

happy to see your progress! looks set for a handover end of this month!

hi inthechouse yes the stainless steel pipes. sometimes i feel like my contractor is taking the easy way out leh. never mind lah, if he insist not to paint then i just paint myself. if i'd known he won't paint i would have opted for grey tiles at least it won't stick out like a sore thumb. thanks for the warning with the sponge! was just thinking to ask my kids help me scrub since they love using their toothbrush on my floors. hi alfredt yup, will ask him again. i also have a grey plastic pipe from the AC that runs a mile around my MBR toilet. i don't understand why people would do this kind of shoddy work. it passes the sink hole which will be covered by the vanity counter so why didn't they just terminate it there? if i had to point it out, it looks bad on you right. sigh...common sense really not that common after all!

guys, can i ask for your opinion. my contractor said not to paint the pipes as the paint will eventually peel off. actually he said something like if want to paint white might as well use PVC to which i told him, i chose stainless steel because of its properties - it will retain the heat in water better. anyway lemme know, should i paint the pipes white? it looks very unsightly for now. anyone with experience to share? on another note, i have a quick fix to keep my stainless steel parts looking awesomely shiny. i use a magic sponge which i buy from Daiso only $2. it comes in an A4 size white soft spongy block and easy to tear off. Just tear off a small amount and give the mixers/taps/pipes a gentle scrub and it looks super shiny! Works also for glass/windows/stains but I used it on my beige kitchen countertop and the part where i scrub looks faded compared to the rest. the packet looks like below, they always have the mr muscular sponge logo:

hey dearie, received your PM thanks. i'm sorry please don't think i'm laughing at your expense but the door dying is really too funny that i'm LOL-ing in the office!

aww..thanks. yes tonight the blum drawers are coming in so my carpentry journey is starting! will snap more along the way... yes i think i saw in yr blog, i love it!

hi takaishi, actually i have a brick wall laid on a false wall which have an opening for the TV wires so should be quite neat. But you're right, for sure there will be stray wires from other devices......

nest light is from lightings.com.sg at Balestier/Jln Besar. This oval one is a new design, prev only round ones. And this shop seems to be cheapest. I saw at other shops for more than SGD220. This was SGD198.

hi marcel, 12w and 2m between each light. at first i thought it was too much lights (and i still feel that way to be honest) but hubby said he knows best so we stuck with it. now i quite like it.

oops sorry missed one comment. i'm quite heartened when i see you say the target completion date for carpentry: Feb 20-22. because our timelines quite similar and i have to move from my current house on 22 Feb! Time to chummy up my contractor and put everything in overdrive mode! I'm meeting him tonight to discuss the chosen design and laminate - hope I'm not too late. I don't have any 3D or drawings, only an avid imagination to get me by!

have you considered going to Lamitak factory itself? maybe easier to decide when you see the big piece? next to Lamitak at Sungei Kadut is Admira where a lot of renotalks get Ogon Oak from. Admira woody laminates look very real. I like! re Legrand, did you notice that some switches are quite loose, like so easy to toggle on off like that? i don't have the same problem with legrand in my current house. re aircon, thanks for the heads up. i better go home and check mine too as AC was just installed few days ago. re laundry pole - please can share your contact if you get a good one?

i bought the same ikea dining lights! check it out on my blog.

lemming this TV console. hubby say more industrial than scandi but i don't care!

small issue i have in my MBR toilet. the gap between the wall and WC is about 3 fingers - far more than I can live with to be honest but i think the problem is my WC had a flat back and if flushed against the wall, cannot lay water pipes to the shower mixer area. apologies for the blurry pic. so next time you're buying a WC, try to get one with a curve on its back.

service yard and its lights. also where i'll keep my cats and where we intend to make a cat tree. i love the lights, can move and twist around one. wasn't too hot about it when i first saw it but love it now that it's up. and the common toilet with downlights. again something i didn't completely agree with. you see, i'm very safe. i don't do what others don't do because i think there must be a logical reason. but i saw another comment frm another blog that it's okay to have downlights in toilets as apparently condos have them too. i don't have relatives/friends staying in condos - can someone confirm this? haha! plumber has also fixed my bendy pipes as you can see.