ricepapergirl
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Posts posted by ricepapergirl
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24 minutes ago, lightningbolt said:Don't you just love IKEA? hahaha., not many willing to risk their homes on IKEA products! i built my kitchen, wardrobe, living area from their products too - where else can you find guarantee on products from 10-25 years? even my ID only give 1 year. my IKEA damage is $10k, and i still have items I want to get. oh but what i do not like about them is their installation and assembly charges - god, $5 to drill one hole?? i chose to assemble most of the storage systems myself. some items will take you only 5 mins to assemble, and the costs savings add up. mine was almost $500.
Haha I don't really know why there's such a bad opinion of IKEA products. I did so based on experience: my own maiden home room and house had IKEA furniture interspersed, so I knew about the longevity of certain pieces and the weakness of other pieces. For example, I know that PAX tends to be pretty hardy if you treat it well, and the Expedit/KALLAX shelves are super super hardy. But I have had BILLY shelves fail on me so I only get the 40cm wide ones (the 80 cm wide ones don't get enough support in the middle), and I wouldn't put the black powder-coated metal shelves in my toilet if I regularly wash the feet of it (ours rusted and then disintegrated). It's about looking at the structural integrity of the piece, take into account how easy it is to take care of it properly, compare the prices, and make the right risk assessment.
My own opinion of carpentry isn't great either, I've had built-in wardrobes and bookshelves which failed on me as well, so I didn't see carpentry as necessarily always better than IKEA.
We actually assembled quite a lot of the IKEA stuff ourselves (including part of the kitchen!) but for the big stuff like the wardrobes we just paid for it. I love to assemble IKEA furniture but my husband is not so hot on it, and at that time I was quite heavily pregnant so he didn't really allow me to do too much of it haha.
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14 minutes ago, lightningbolt said:@ricepapergirl - hahaha ikr....reno is so expensive these days and withe size of the EM and old age, most of our bill goes towards just reconditioning the infrastructure of the house, not even talking about new additions. i ended up sourcing my own contractors for a few larger expense items from my contractor. i have zero carpentry too partly due to budget constraints and partly because i don't like built-ins. did your $75k include the IKEA furniture costs?
thanks for the awning contacts, i will contact them. did you put up curtains at your balcony too? If so, did the awning block out more light?
Haha yeah we didn't have any built-ins as well, because we are a young family and the number one advice by others to us is to not do any built-ins, because as the kids grow the requirements for the rooms will definitely change. The 75k doesn't include any IKEA furniture costs, it's just hacking, tiles, parquet, doors, windows, installations of stuff, pipes and electrical, painting and some other odds and ends. I paid around $5.5k for the kitchen + another $1.1k for all of the installation. Other than that I got my PAX wardrobe and BILLY shelves, some other smaller storage bits, from IKEA. Cost about $4k including installation. We didn't buy everything from IKEA though so not sure whether that sum is useful for comparison.
Ah, if you look at my photos you will realise I have no curtains at all except in my nursery, because the balcony + Master Bedroom windows face the park. We originally wanted to get curtains but when we moved in we realised we didn't need to, so we got lazy and never did it. The nursery had curtains because those windows face the opposite block and we had a confinement nanny stay in that room for a bit so better give her some privacy.
On the other hand, if you're asking about the awning and whether it blocks the light, yes it does, to a certain extent. The living room will get darker by a bit but not by much, definitely nowhere near what a day curtain would do.
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6 hours ago, lightningbolt said:hi ricepapergirl - enjoyed reading your journey here, i literally only just finished reno of my EM, and i went with a metod kitchen too. unfortunately i did not stumble onto your posts earlier, could have saved me a lot of anguish! but looking at what you wrote, i can empathise on all the reno and coordinating woes. you seemed to have done a major overhaul - how large did the final reno bill came to? just comparing notes. and i like your balcony!! how much did the awning cost? i am thinking of it myself, so if you got a useful contact that will be helpful!
Hi @lightningbolt!
Another EM + metod kitchen! Wow!
Yeah ours was complete overhaul but not much technically done. We paid around $75k to our contractor, including $1800 for the awning (not sure how much it actually costed, sorry, he coordinated it all so we didn't have a proper contact), but then because we had no carpentry done by our contractor, to get a full idea of our costs, you should include furniture as well. I don't really have a breakdown for that ready but I know we spent around $112k in total (that includes renovation, furniture, lights, moving costs, electrical appliances, even things like clocks and crockery - so literally everything we needed to buy to make the house completely liveable).
Even though I don't have the contact for the actual awning we had installed, I actually checked around by myself for quotes for retractable awnings before I got my contractor to quote for it. This is about 1.5 years ago, but I got a price of around $1.9k from Perfect Decor and about $1.7k from Elite Deco, includes installation. So that pricing seems around there.
Hope that helps!
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On 07/06/2017 at 2:26 AM, Blooie said:Hey ricepapergirl, how's your kitchen holding up? We're thinking of getting the IKEA metod kitchen too, with the same Bodbyn doors as yours, except in off-white, so would like to know whether they're lasting. Thanks!
Hi @Blooie !
Sorry for the delay in replying, wanted to get some photos!
Generally? The doors and the kitchen itself are holding up well! I just popped in to take some photos:
Personally I got the grey ones because I was worried the white ones (any white ones) would be very obvious when there's grime or water stains or oil stains, so I can't really comment on how the white bobyn doors would hold up, but the grey ones are really nice.
The only problem I've had is the ones near my stove (the two drawers and the door on the right have this slight peeling effect:
I have a very strong suspicion this happened because I was using some really strong heavy-duty "kitchen cleaner" spray on them once, and the doors are just not meant to handle that kind of chemical on them. So I would highly recommend you just wipe down with a damp cloth if you need to. They didn't need the kitchen cleaner spray, I was just kiasu + lazy (spray everywhere and wipe).
This is after a full year of daily use, I do my fair share of stir-frying, oil splattering, occasional deep frying, so I think both the counter-top and the doors have really held up well!
No complaints there.
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A quick update: 10 months on...
I don't check this forum much now, life gets a bit hectic with a 5.5 month-old baby! But just checking in to say, mostly everything we bought and are using are still going strong and work very well! The house is understandably more cluttered with baby stuff now that she's here, but the layout we've created works well with additions needed for the baby.
I also effectively spent my 16 weeks of maternity leave testing the heck out of this house, by staying at home everyday for 16 weeks whilst taking care of my baby! The place I love most continues to be my living room with its lovely fan, our master bedroom with the comfy bed (and fan!), and also my kitchen. I cooked everyday when I was on maternity leave (and now still cooks on Mon, Tue, Wed, Sat and Sun) and this IKEA kitchen still functions perfectly. No regrets there at all!
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On 28/03/2017 at 9:26 PM, hellobello said:Hi @ricepapergirl!
may i know how is your IKEA pax wardrobe?? was it easy to install and is it working well now??
am considering to get an ikea pax too, but not sure if ikea wardrobe can last long ..
Hi @hellobello !
The wardrobe is good! We've been using it for about 10 months now and no complaints about its quality. The internal compartments and drawers etc work well too, smooth-running and everything. The only thing is that we have the sliding door version and it makes a bit of noise when we slide it, though I suspect it's because we might have gotten something caught in the track but we can't find it. Anyway it doesn't affect the use, it's just slightly noisier when we use it.
I would say though, get the professionals from IKEA to install it, we got the shorter one and even that looked difficult to self-install.
Personally, I've also had PAX wardrobes in my maiden home (and my parents and brother still use theirs) and those are coming to around close to 10 years now, and they are still going strong. So from my old home and my current home, so far we can vouch for the quality and long-lastingness.
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On 23/03/2017 at 11:41 PM, Mannequin said:Hi please advise the GST will be levied on the SGD equivalent purchase cost? How much is the permit fee, estimates? how long it takes to reach Singapore, within a month? Thank you.
Hi @Mannequin! Sorry it's been a while so I've lost the documentation, but from my monthly expenses it says that I paid S$1398.20 in total for the stuff on 20 Feb (so I purchased on 20 Feb), and I paid $82.04 in GST and permit fee on 9 March (when the stuff arrived + we picked it up).
So roughly it takes a month or less to arrive in Singapore, and the GST is likely levied on the actual cost of the items not including shipping, though I don't know whether it's only levied on a portion of the items' cost or the full amount. Hope that helps!
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15 hours ago, gumbokins said:@ricepapergirl yo thanks for the input on the ss pipes. yes, they're in the toilets as well as in the kitchen. my toilet sinks are wall hung as well...the pipes get dingy so quickly ah?
re: staircase light, it wasn't very expensive but I quite like the look of it so Jun managed to find a contact who can do it cheaper. Yes....in long run if the light were to KO I will suffer greatly for it. Electrician has forewarned me. he recommended a hanging light instead coz easier to change bulb.
Well, let me see whether I can take a photo of my under-sink pipes. Four-months-on. It's not super dingy, but it could be nicer. Maybe one day I'll paint them myself.
Hope your light holds out then! Do note that if it's LED the bulb is likely to be fine but the electrical housing (I forgot what it is called) is probably likely to give out faster than the bulb, so either way you should be prepared for the day you have to reach and repair it!
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15 hours ago, gumbokins said:T-5
today electrician came to do up the remaining power points
carpenters changed all the kitchen cabinet hinges to BLUM (apparently they forgot and I really wanted all BLUM) and finish up the bookcase
would have to say that despite the hiccups e.g. wall and hinges, Andrew and Jun are quick to rectify.
some quick questions for all y'all:
- ss water pipes: to paint or leave as is? in my case I actually have one running in my kitchen. i thought would leave as is but apparently they may tarnish and become black?
- my huge-*** ceiling lamp, I want to install it at the centre of the void at the top of my staircase. apparently need scaffolding to reach all the way to top, this would cost me $400. worth it? any cheaper lobang? or should i just go get a smaller one? hah..
I have ss water pipes in all of my toilets, I just leave as is. Whenever they start to look a little bit dingy (not often) I run a melamine sponge on it and it looks new again. Something to consider. I regret not painting the under-sink pipes though, but that's because I have wall hung basins. Those are white plastic and starting to look dingy but cannot be solved by melamine sponge lol.
Actually for my staircase, I purposely didn't get a ceiling lamp at all because it will be 1. very hard to clean and 2. very hard to replace the light if anything breaks. Not sure whether it's too late if you've already bought your ceiling lamp. Instead, I have a light at the top of my staircase along the second-floor corridor, and another one at the half-way staircase landing, both on the walls instead. That way it lights up the void + it's easy to clean and change if need be. Something to think about. If they need $400 for scaffolding to install now, what happens in the future when you need to reach your light for any reason? Pay again to get scaffolding in? Presumably it's far too tall for a normal ladder to reach?
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On 7/10/2016 at 3:57 PM, slashmylove said:Haha yes I lumped it all together under plumbing works.... thanks for the reminder! usually it's done during which stage?
For us (but keeping in mind mine was a resale and we redid everything including plastering walls and tiling floors) We had plumbing works (pipes) before electrical wiring work and then installing toilet accessories (including some of the taps, sinks, toilet bowls etc) much later after the painting and the doors, together with the lights. Yours might be different.
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On 8/10/2016 at 4:31 PM, kingandbin said:IKEA BUTCHER BLOCK COUNTER TOP
Some background on our kitchen and the chosen kitchen countertops.. We've always liked the butcher block countertop type of look - probably due to watching too much cooking shows and videos on tv + youtube! So we tried asking various contractors about the options for wooden or wood-look kitchen countertops. And all basically said kompacplus is the way to go.
In the end, we found out that IKEA countertops are also a viable option (yay!!!), but they are less hardy than kompacplus. Thus we decided to do up the sink/hob side with kompacplus as the countertop, and to use a IKEA butcher block for the dry side of the kitchen. This way, we get to enjoy the best of both worlds: thicker look + cheaper price (IKEA), resistance to water and heat (kompacplus). Excited to see how it will all turn out!
Went down to IKEA Tampines on Monday to purchase the countertop as Contractor E will be having the carpenters to come in next week to start measurements & commence carpentry works. Finallyyy our reno works will be continuing its progress!
Brought a sample of the chosen kompacplus along in my bag haha. Trying to see if it matches the showroom's counter
But it seems like the colour best matches the rattan pot mat instead
Ultimately, we narrowed our choices down to Karlby Oak & Mollekulla Oak. Main difference apart from the price is that the Karlby top looks like it's constructed from little strips of oak, while Mollekulla has a plank-like finish and looks more like natural wood. We opted for the plank finish in the end.
Also picked up a bunch of brass coloured knobs, handles and half-cup drawer pulls for the cabinet doors. Decided to get them all from IKEA in the end instead of mixing and matching with those we bought from TB as we wanted to ensure the colours looked the same.
We also decided to revisit our kitchen choice and pick a matte white instead of glossy. Bin went abit mad trying to pick a shade that matches our subway tile backsplash yet doesn't look too yellowish. Plus, King was of no help as he thought that the shades of white all look the same (either yellowish or not yellowish, two categories only
).
Our final choice is the one on the right. There's a typo on the laminate sample though. It's named Igloo White in the laminate booklet hahah
Wow!!! I was actually toying with the idea of doing proper wood block countertop for the dry section and either Kompactplus or the non-wood wood-like countertop on the sink side. In the end I went for all non-wood wood-like Saljan countertop on both sides (still no regrets though) but it's nice to see someone else trying out this method!! Good luck with it!
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48 minutes ago, slashmylove said:No pics short update post.
Day 6
Citygas installer came to run the gas pipe for our cooker. No issues faced.
BSC also went to see the defects we'd listed but don't know about the rectification yet.
Hopefully can fix the defects! Recap - our defects were mainly doors-related. Scratch marks, paint marks, door that cannot lock easily, door that cannot close properly and this door also had a slanted lockset.
Hopefully BSC will fix these, cos our reno had started and I'm concerned that they'll push the paint marks and scratch marks to the renovation. Of cos the slanted lockset, door cannot close properly and lock properly cannot push la..
Our ID too on to start work so we didn't have time to get the BSC to complete rectifications before starting reno.
Also, we agreed to start reno cos the defects were door-related, unlikely to push la.. paint marks our ID should be able to fix also.
Anyway our ID had agreed to rectify whatever the BSC didn't, as long as it's within reasonable means. Meaning like change door cannot lah... haha!Day 7
On this rainy day, our ID updated us that they are doing the flooring now. Told us to go take a look but don't step on the newly laid tiles. Lol... means we can only peep from outside lor!
Then next Tuesday, measurement for the carpentry works would be done.
Estimated completion by this month!
Let me go through... normally the reno procress (to my knowledge) goes from:
1. running the wiring for electrical works, aircon piping, city gas piping;
2. measurement for windows and window grills;
3. shopping & delivery for the stuff required to be installed during renovation;
4. flooring;
5. painting;
6. carpentry measurement;
7. installation of windows and grills;
8. installation of carpentry & measurement for kitchen counter top;
9. installation of lightings, aircon, electrical works to ensure got electricity & plumbing works;
10. touch up & final painting;
11. cleaning;
12. final inspection for defects; and then
13. all okay to completion!Did I miss out anything? Can anyone who had gone through this pls advise?
You don't have any work to be done to your toilets? Usually there will be time set aside for things like installing taps, running water piping, shower heads, shower stall/screen/door, toilet bowl, then also toilet fixtures (lights, heater, towel rack, mirror, toilet roll holder etc)? That will have to fit in together with the tiling at the toilet? Or all encapsulated under "plumbing works"?
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11 hours ago, gumbokins said:Feature wall update:
Got the wall taken down! They managed to save most of the tiles but they will need to order more.
So this time we laid everything nicely on the floor and rearranged it. Such a huge relief. This wall will be remembered.
my mum hates it, says it 'looks messy' but I told her it's supposed to be the jungle...
Aww so glad for you that this worked out! It's so pretty!
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48 minutes ago, kingandbin said:Sounds amazing. Plus you can't beat the price! I think we will go for the same model for our living room! Thanks so so much
I do really appreciate all your helpful responses so far. Sending hugs to you!
Aww! Thank you! Hope it works well for you! We actually picked this fan out more for the look than anything but when we went to Chan Huat we got them to switch on each of their fans and stood far away and checked which one had better wind coverage. You've already chosen your fan but that's still a great way of knowing beforehand whether the fan would be any good.
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23 hours ago, gumbokins said:yes smartbox is his baby! he was quite insistent..ha! he never ask u? i shall let him know tt u r keen lol!
Hahaha no no lah just curious. Actually we can probably claim to have started him on his smartbox thing cos originally we wanted to have a smartplug for our retractable awning (imagine, can retract and extend awning when at work! So when it's going to rain you quickly extend the retractable awning even if you're outside the house!) and we talked to him at length about how the switch for the retractable awning needs to be a certain way so we can use a smartplug (but in the end we gave up the idea cos will need a weather-proof smartplug) but because of all our talking he went to go research into it and then this smartbox thing happened. He told us about it! I just forgot the brand and when I saw the TV ads we were like, wait, is this the one he was talking about?
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16 hours ago, kingandbin said:Yup, we saw a couple of good reviews of Fanco on renotalk! Considering your fan model!
How's the wind flow like for your fan~ Do you usually switch on speed 1 or 2?
The wind flow is pretty good, we leave it on 1 most of the time. We purposely have our sofa where it is now (away from the wall) because that's where the most wind created by the fan + most cooling, but that is also because my living room is very wide (5m wide) so if you have a smaller space I think the wind coverage should be great. We have the same fan upstairs in the MBR (almost same size as our living room) and sometimes when it's very very warm at night it might need to be put in speed 2 (but we're too lazy lol) but most of the time speed 1 is sufficient for us.
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2 hours ago, Razor Rahman said:Hi,
I see that you have changed your bathroom window to the top hung open out type? Did you have to apply for HDB approval specially for that? I was told that lourve windows in the toilet can't be changed. I would also like to change to white coated windows like urs.
Although I'm not the t-blog owner, I also had all of my toilet windows changed from louvre to top-hung and just double checked. We got HDB approval to do it (I think all changes to windows for HDB need approval generally). Should not be difficult, just need to file a reno permit request.
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16 hours ago, gumbokins said:Dust has settled a bit..electricians putting up lights, carpenters still working on the kitchen
I actually chose a lovely green laminate as a backing for the bookshelf but we made a rather unfortunate mistake of painting the walls a similar green
the silvery parts will be covered with glass because it's a whiteboard (for very tall people, hmm). inside is the shoerack and DB board and SMARTBOX thingy. the carpenter made a makeshift doorstop on the door to prevent the doorknob from hitting the cabinet door.
We are contemplating having the main door open on the other side so that it won't bang on the cabinet. does anyone know if we have to change the door frame if we want to do this?
yesss counter space. i was wondering where to put a dishrack, was thinking of doing a wall mount. but now got that little sliver of place next to the sink...
the study and our window storage bench. we don't have a sofa outside (it's in the TV room, our lovely IKEA leather sofa) so may be a little limited in terms of seating. My cousin made one at her house and I thought it was the nicest thing ever. will be getting a cushion to put on top.
there will be two eubiq strips hiding underneath, one corner will be dedicated to charging our devices.
So in love with your navy blue kitchen cabinets right now! It was my mini dream to have a navy kitchen (I still live in hope of repainting my ikea doors many years in the future that colour) and it looks really good!!! And the black trim really makes it pop!
Is the SMARTBOX the one that Andrew is doing now? We saw the ads on TV and was wondering whether its his product.
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17 hours ago, gumbokins said:Reached my unit today to find it in a real frenzy!
My electrician was installing downlights
The tilers were finishing up the kitchen and toilets
There were like 5-6 people doing the carpentry
We also decided to postpone the move-in date to give everyone more time to get their things done...
GPGT-
came out of the lift to see this! MY BLUM SPACE TOWERRR (upside down)
either part of my bookcase or window storage bench
study area
feature bookcase
kitchen cabinets and bar counter
To anyone reading:
The thing about L-shaped cabinets is that you always end up with that unusable corner. initially we talked about putting the corner doors like this:
but that didn't happen
What are the potential problems with this layout? Anything I should look out for?
That amazing blue navy colour kitchen cabinets!!! DROOL! Carpentry by Andrew?
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On 1/10/2016 at 5:33 PM, kingandbin said:FINALLY
With all the needed kitchen appliances and other fixtures delivered, we are finally ready to discuss the finer details of carpentry with Contractor E! Meanwhile, we've still got to decide on the ceiling fan for our living room. Did some research today but can't yet decide on one which comes without a light kit, looks nice and is economical. The search continues!
Another thing to discuss with Contractor E tomorrow would be the countertop for our floating shelf in the master toilet. As it will be susceptible to water splashes from using the sink, E had previously suggested using either glass top or kompacplus.
We're leaning towards using white coloured glass but worry that it might have a greenish tinge. Another option we'd like to consider is marble-look solid surface (or something similar) but he had dissuaded us from using solid surface for reasons I can't quite remember. Shall ask him again when we meet him!
For your fan, have you considered Fanco? We have two Fanco FFM7000 in black, no light kit, simple, relatively cheap (I recall not more than $300 a piece) and easy to maintain. No remote though, we just switch it on like a light switch. Got a photo of it in motion here:
Been working well with zero problems for 4 months now.
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1 hour ago, Catt said:Frosted glass maintenance
I wanted to share this since I had a couple of people ask me about how I maintained my frosted/ sandblasted bathroom door. Previously I had mentioned that the contractor had warned me that the 'sand' will move if it comes in contact with oils and water and I didn't understand what he meant. So apparently when you get water or even touch sandblasted glass (the rough side) with your bare hands, a watermark or print gets left behind. Even if you wash the entire piece of glass and wipe it with a microfiber towel, chances are, once it is fully dried, there are going to be some streaks left, so the glass does not look evenly frosted. Glass cleaner doesn't work and neither does plain soap and water.
I did my research using Google and found that some people use a product called Goo Gone. I bought my bottle in Howards (in Millenia Walk) but I'm sure you can find it in Self-fix or even on Qoo10. So initially I applied it on the streaky parts of the sandblasted glass, then in order to achieve an even finish, I rubbed the entire door with a very tiny amount of it (not in circular motions as I read it will cause circular streaks). Finally, I dampened a cloth and wiped the entire door, while at the same time I used a dry cloth to go over the damp parts.
My door is now back to its Day 1 condition! The bottle somehow doesn't look like the bottle advertised in Selffix's site, but I guess as long as it is similar in properties it will work.
http://www.selffix.com/store/products_details/1012/Goo-Gone-Bottle-8oz
This is great advice! We ended up mostly getting our bathroom doors in clear glass but with frosted sticker (it works quite well right now) but we have some frosted glass for the corridor-facing windows and have had to deal with streaks as well!
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I love my Fanco fans as well! My mother-in-law also has Fanco fan and it has been working well for her place for many years. We got those without light-kits though so not sure whether your mileage would be the same.
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Update on pests and bugs
Very randomly, if anyone was following my trials and tribulations (not much lah)...
1. Ant gel (from NTUC) works a charm, at least, I haven't seen any ants since I put it out. I just re-used the cap of a milk bottle (washed), squeezed some ant gel on it, left it at a spot near where I see them, and then after that no more ants anywhere!
2. Bio X (also can find from NTUC!) also very good, we use it on other bugs, haven't seen another cockroach yet but nice to know I can use this spray if husband is not around.
My latest issue is with birds... flying into my balcony, leaving droppings on my balcony parapet, and eating my mimosa plants! ;_; Fortunately the distance between the extended awning and my bamboo clothing poles is too narrow so they haven't landed on my laundry hung out to dry yet, but anyone have any amazing tips for keeping birds away from your balcony?? ;_;
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On 24/9/2016 at 9:48 PM, Mannequin said:Hello
I'm trying to purchase from xTWOstore, 1st time of purchase, is it safe? Total purchase EUR1,212.16 shipping EUR124.90, no indication of taxes? Thank you.
Hi! Sorry for the late reply. I also purchased from xTWOstore for the first time when I did it, seemed quite safe. There's even a Singaporean (living in Germany) who was working with them when I bought from them. Think they are quite reputable.
Taxes will be charged when the goods enter Singapore, so I think there was a permit fee and a GST fee. They will call/email you when it arrives in Singapore.
Emma - Our Em In The West
in Reno t-Blog Chat
Posted
Oh I didn't go for the wooden butcher block countertop (sorry I realise that all my photos have suddenly disappeared, will be working on getting them up again), I actually got a laminate worktop (IKEA Saljan in wood effect) so it looks like a butcher block but none of the issues with actual wood (cannot let water stand etc). So far I have had zero problems with the laminate worktop and I do stuff like leave water puddles around the sink area and put super hot and super cold stuff on it and drop curry on it and it looks new still.