yuene

What to do, all the designers come up with all these clean sleek designs e.g. Panton chair, Arco lamp so become expensive mah... And bleah, it's not she who's taking exits hard... My Germany is out! :'( Stupid Paul... Good thing I don't like takopachi! Bad end to a long long day.

Lol! I'm also the same; every night I have to cover with a blanket or I'll freeze at night even with a small fan.

Samgalz, nice to see so much progress!

ne0: Lol... you're terrible lor... anyway with regards to a fan, I think it depends on the design of the fan as well. I think if you're looking to preserve that minimalist look and keep a ceiling fan, it would be best to go with one with clean lines and a simple design; that would probably work best. lachesis: ouch, kneading... hope it's not on your bare leg! Counting down to my tenant moving out... it's another 2 more weeks, and then it's time for the BIG MOVE! Not looking forward to the packing.

samgalz: Okay... jaskel: That's a LOT of cats! (can't imagine the kitty poo clearing though) Time to revert the thread to PG mode...

Welcome to RT, juspink! Wishing you all the best in your reno!

lachesis: Agreed. I hate moving standing fans--heavy never mind, but it's really bulky and there's no comfortable way of carrying it. Even the industrial-type fans are difficult to carry around! Looks like I don't have a choice about the aircons then... oh well! And really nice pictures of Tinker, Fifi and Pepper! Awww so cute... If Fifi a naturally affectionate type? Some people say cats are cold and calculating, but I don't think so; I mean, at least not with my 3 terrors. Think it all depends on at what age you get them. And I must say this again, Fifi is really very beautiful. ne0: yup... am I supposed to come up with the coordination schedule myself though, or will my contractor sit down with me and coordinate? And yes... that sounded quite wrong... tsk tsk!

Oops, a bit johnny-come-lately. Another 3-roomer! Welcome to renotalk!

lilith: Hmm...I was thinking of putting them one above the sofa area, and the other close to where the kitchen starts. I was also wondering if it would be possible to stick with just one unit, but would there be a aircon powerful enough? Thanks for the advice! ne0mesis: Hmmm I didn't consider the aesthetic part, actually. I'm going to have a false ceiling at the dining room portion, and an L-box around the living room. I was wondering if I could hide the piping in there? haha, that's cute! Cats can sense when people like them or not... I also don't like the doggy smell, plus I'm very frightened of loud noises, so I can't keep a small dog. I like big dogs though. lachesis: Yeah, ceiling fans are just better in terms of the air circulation capacity; my living room is always so much cooler than my bedroom, because of the fan. Standing fans really take up too much space, and honestly speaking, they break down far too quickly! Cece will be pleased to hear that! She's a street cat (same as my other two) who followed my friend's friend home, but his mum made noise and they had to find a home for her in 1 day or she'd end up in the SPCA. And of course at 9 weeks and a crooked tail, she wouldn't stand a chance. So I agreed to take her in. Here's my other two: Elaine: And Wenwen: And one more of Cecilia, because this one is just so funny: Your Winterfire and Tinker are sooo pretty! I love Winterfire's coat... How old is she?

Welcome to RT! Here's wishing you a smooth renovation! Marsiling... hmmm I used to live in that area. Which part are you at?

lilithfiend: Ooh okay. Hmmm... I was thinking whether it would be weird if they're both along the same wall (one approximately above the sofa, the other above the dining table area). Kind of strange, right? Plus, not too efficient. pixie: Haha! no, I just got a bit lazy to fill in that part, because I'm not going to redo that bathroom.

Hi musicbox, Welcome to renotalk! Wow, sounds like a big headache to me. Hope everything gets resolved soon, and you can start your reno smoothly!

Okay, I need some opinions here: I have a strong preference for ceiling fans, as I like my air to be fresh and circulated. I don't have a culture of switching on the aircon, because I don't like the cold, and I also have sinus problems that can trigger my asthma, especially when I sleep. So it's unlikely that I will install an aircon in my bedroom. However, I do entertain at least once every 2 months, and my living room can get pretty warm and stuffy when a lot of people are there (usually upwards of 12 people). I was going to install an aircon in my study room for my husband when his friends come over for games, and a ceiling fan for everyday use in my living room; but I was also thinking of having 2 units in my living/dining area (considering the length of my place). Firstly, can I install a compressor that runs 3 units in a 3-room flat in the first place, and secondly, will it look weird to have 1 ceiling fan and two aircons? I don't like the idea of standing fans or wall mounted fans...

Nice... I love the industrial look, don't find it cold at all, really...

pixie, good luck with the ID hunt! Your old place looks really nice btw...

Haha ne0mesis, thanks for the 'welcome'! Little's real name is Cecilia, but because she's younger and smaller than the other two, I ended up calling her 'Little' for fun. Do you have any cats now? yup, the 3D is drawn more or less to scale, following the dimensions of the floor plan given by HDB (because I'm a stickler for accuracy that way--guess it's my OCD speaking). The kitchen cabinets won't be flush with the wall where the chute will be (even now they are not), but I'm fine with that. I sporadically cook a lot, like many weeks I won't cook, and then suddenly I will cook 4 times a week, and I do have friends over once every two months for parties and dinners, but I'm quite used to a small preparation area; plus, that's what my dining table will be for, too! If that's not sufficient, I'll probably end up putting a small movable island in the kitchen for the times when I need a bit more prep space. Heh, what the wife says is LAW, especially with regards to home and decor! It's the same in my house too (I try not to be a dictator about it though) I agree, 3 room flats in old estates tend to be pretty huge. I love Clementi!

Nice tile colours! Are you putting your shower head up at the feature wall?

Oh yes, that SMEG fridge. Seems like everyone has one these days

Hi ossify, Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, it might be too cramped to tilt my loo (if it is even doable at all). But if I put a sink there, it'll get a bit crowded. I'm now looking for possible alternatives... Oh yes, kitchen 3Ds! Sorry for the delay, work has been a bit mad since yesterday morning. And, just to amuse everyone: My no. 3, whom I affectionately call 'Little'.

durianlane: Ooh! Another 3-roomer! Do you have a t-blog? Actually, it's a combination of factors. I guess you could blame it partly on poor programming on TV (when I was still living with my mum I watched all of 2 channels)--after a while, all the Channel 8 dramas are the same faces, same plot. I also dance salsa frequently, so I'm not home early on most days, and when I am, I just end up reading and sleeping. Kitchen 3Ds have arrived! Will upload them once I have the time.

titanax: Haha, thanks... let me guess, you're a guy? jaskel: Thanks! I hope so too... Anyway, floorplan! The previous owner hacked away the store room between the two bedrooms, making the second bedroom really HUGE. Not surprising, considering how many people there were in the family--that bedroom was for the grandfather, 3 children and one uncle. And what I intend to do... I know, it looks VERY familiar; in fact, it looks a lot like alamak's! In fact, after discussion with my contractor, it's almost exactly the same (not on purpose though... I only realised it after I'd gone home and was browsing the t-blogs) Sorry la, I guess we had the same idea, that's why. We're reducing the size of the second bedroom, and creating a space for the walk-in wardrobe. The second bedroom will be used first as our computer room, and secondly as our future children's room. The living room has no TV, as my husband and I don't watch TV at all. It'll be used instead as my reading area, and I'm going to get a nice quirky bookshelf for the room.

Samgalz: Ya, I too had some doubts even when I asked him to quote because of his 'brother'... oh well! And 3Ds should be on their way soon. He emailed me yesterday to confirm about my cupboards so that he could prepare them for me. lilithfiend: yep, it's a 3-room (corner--well, okay, it's an end of the corridor unit but not end of the building). gimz: Heh, I bought this place about almost 4 years ago... even then the price was already going up! And I couldn't understand why my husband kept bugging me to buy at that point (I was still studying at that time). Then again, I'm not a very market-savvy sort. Which part of Clementi are you at? I'm at avenue 2 (which should tell you approximately which block I'm at too)

Hi lilithfiend, yes, I did heave a sigh of relief (somewhat!), though in my mind I could hear my gut feel mumbling "told you so...at least this time you listened" (must understand; I usually ignore my gut feel and then end up regretting). My place is in Clementi, along the MRT tracks, and it's about 80sq m in size (3.5 room flat)

Ossify: Haha... yeah I guess so... Samgalz: Thanks! Hopefully I will have the 3-Ds to put up soon! wj888: No point naming B. I'll name my contractor in time to come.

Okay, here goes (AGAIN!) A little background info: I originally intended to start my renovations in April this year, and had already planned everything out nicely (those who read the old blog will know I planned this for over 1.5 years, and had my first quotation in December last year). I even got a few quotations, including one from a certain contractor that seemed rather competitive price-wise. I was actually on the verge of making my choice and proceeding with the reno as planned. Somewhere along the way, though, my plans got derailed by a rather strange request from an ex-colleague of mine: her husband had employed an intern, and the person needed a room to rent. So I ended up agreeing, and the intern has been renting my room for the past 4 months or so. It's been good fun, and a sort-of cross cultural exchange since she's from the US. In the intervening months, due to this and also a change in job scope that got me busy, I stopped frequenting Renotalk and keeping up with the latest. But it's been 4 months and our friend will be leaving in about 1 month's time. And so... in May I decided to pick up where I left off. On hindsight, the long pause in between the time we got the first quotation and the time we finally settled on our contractor was a blessing-in-disguise, as it helped to weed out the bad from the good. Although I had been quite adamant to go with one that I'd found on this forum (A), I'd been tempted to go with the competitively-priced one (B) instead as it seemed to give more bang for our buck. My gut feel told me to hold off confirmation first. But by April when I re-visited the forum, that contractor (B) had 'turned rogue', as it were. I guess we had a pretty close shave. So in May, I re-contacted (A) and asked him to do a re-quote based on current prices. A couple of emails ding-donging, a second site visit and a final visit to (A)'s office later, our reno journey is finally kicking off! I'll post up pictures of my house along the way, though this week will be quite quiet since work is in full-swing.