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Found 236 results

  1. Hi All, I have been looking for quote to do simple reno on my 5rm BTO. This is a quote i recently obtained. Being a noob, I would appreciate your comments on the quote below.. Many thanks in advance..
  2. Hi guys! So we got the keys to our 5rm BTO flat in October, waaaaaaay ahead of expectation. Both of us are the rather chillax kind, so we did not really do any research on reno stuff beforehand. We are in our BTO FB group and were quite amazed that people actually signed reno packages even before they got their keys . For me, I need to have a feel of the physical space before deciding anything. So, we only started reading up on renovation stuff one month before we got our keys. Our theme for the house was unanimously decided long ago: Scandinavian with essentials of wood, grey and white. Despite being an overly-done theme, it is something that we both hold dear, and one that works for us. This is our floor plan: Living room Floor--at first I had decided on vinyl/HERF because of the nice woody look. But she was concerned whether there will be a smell from the plastic in the long run, and also whether it is truly waterproof (since they are assembled using the clicking system). A valid concern; so we decided to go for wood-grain tiles instead for the whole house (incld bedrooms). Sofa/TV console/Feature wall-- We had a long discussion about this and finally decided to put our TV along the wall adjacent to Bedroom 3. There will be a feature wall of long vertical woodgrain tiles (1.8m high each) that look like wood planks. And on top of that line of tiles, we will install a thin ledge for us to place photo frames or posters. Something different from the usual brick walls. Something like this for the feature wall, just that it doesn't go all the way to the ceiling: Example of photo ledge: Dining table-- It will be placed along the wall opposite the TV console. She wants a really biggggg dining table, so we are prolly getting a 1.8m long one, with a bench to match. Planning to place a bar table against the household shelter wall as well. Built-in storage/display cabinets-- I personally hate having storage/display cabinets in the living room, period. The HDB living room is already too small for my liking (heng we chose a 5rm), having any sort of gigantic cabinets in the living room will just make it look even more cramped. So there will be none. Except for a shoe cabinet that we are planning to build into that recess to the right of the main door. False ceiling/L-box-- None of this too. It will just lower the height of the ceiling even further. Lighting-- Planning for track lights above the feature wall area. And a black ceiling fan. Hanging "spider" lights above the dining table. Track lights along room corridor. LED near the main entrance. Kitchen We are going to hack away the whole wall facing Bedroom 3, and build a kitchen island in the middle . Both of us like to cook, and can't stand claustrophobic kitchens haha. The island will be 1.8m x 1.2m, and the side nearer to Bedroom 3 will feature a counter with stools. There will not be any glass partitions or doors between the kitchen and living room. Yes it will be open but we are not worried about the smell! We don't do heavy frying anyway. There will be kitchen cabinets on both top and bottom on the other wall, and we are planning to get either Kompacplus or Pacnel countertops. Leaning towards Pacnel tops because as of now, they have more colour choices! As for the cabinets, we prefer the surface to be less "flat", contrary to the usual sleek, contemporary laminate surface. After Googling, we found out there's actually a name for this kind of design: it is called Shaker style. An example below: We are leaning towards dark grey cabinets with light grey Pacnel countertop. Along the wall adjacent to the toilet until the service yard window, we are going to build a bottom side-board cabinet; on top we are going to put stuff like my Nespresso Pixie, toaster oven, Hurom etc. Bedroom 3 We are hacking away the whole wall facing the kitchen and replacing it with a black aluminium-framed glass wall/door, to make the whole house feel even more spacious. This will be the gaming/study room! Going to put my PS4, a 40inch UHD TV with a Yamaha soundbar in there. Master Bedroom Making a L-shaped full height wardrobe! Was contemplating the idea of a platform bed, but decided it was too expensive and the ceiling will be too low (planning to put a ceiling fan). Going to put the usual queen-sized bed frame! Toilets Going to install a vanity top with mirror box cabinet for both toilets! Prolly going to use black Pacnel top for the vainty. For the MBR toilet, there will be a glass shower panel (not door), separating the shower area from the toilet bowl. Cos I feel having a sliding door is too claustrophobic. For the common toilet, there will be a shower kerb with IKEA's shower curtain rod (no shower panel, to save costs). Panel only: Contractor We met a grand total of one contractor and one ID. We invited the contractor to our new house and told him about our plans and ideas, and to give a quote. The moment I spoke to him, I knew I could trust this guy. There was rapport, we could click, and he was clearly experienced in his field. He suggested alternatives when our ideas were not feasible. We were very comfortable with him and were eagerly awaiting his quotation. It came back to be around $48K! At first it was shocking. But after calming ourselves down and looking at the things we wanted, we concluded that it was a reasonable (though not cheapest) pricing. (We later changed some stuff and the price dropped to $46k.) On the other hand, the meeting with the ID was unplanned. I chanced upon this FB post of a so-called renovation "open-house", where various companies will be there to showcase their reno materials (kitchen tops, cabinets, tiles, lights etc), so that we can have a better idea of what materials to choose for our reno. So I thought to myself, why not? Upon reaching the place, there was a group of young people smoking in the stairwell right outside the entrance to the openhouse. Impression down We walked in, one young guy approached us, and introduced himself as an ID from ___ company, and offered to bring us around. At this point, we knew it was not such a simple affair. He brought us to see all the materials, tiles, tops etc. Along the way, he kept emphasizing on how credible and accredited his company was (rolling eyes at this moment ). At the end of the tour, he made us sit down and listen to him intro his company's reno packages. Upon first glance, the pricing looks reasonable. But upon closer scrutiny, we realised the package was super basic (plain white tiles @ $3 per sq feet etc). So if we add on the things we wanted, it will prolly add up to a substantial amount. Then he suddenly whispered to us: if we sign today and give the deposit, his boss will waive the 7% GST. Ermigawd. Are you freaking kidding me. That's like the lamest sales pitch ever. Everybody knows you have already factored in the GST into your pricing right?! We walked out without signing anything. The silver lining was that our time was not totally wasted; we learnt quite a fair bit about the materials TL:DR version : Not impressed with ID company, signed with contractor.
  3. Hello! You're cordially invited to RenoTalk Live, our inaugural gathering for new homeowners. Held at V Hotel on 7 Jan 2017 (Sat), the 4-hour event will see subject experts speaking on various renovation topics. Our esteemed t-Bloggers will also be on hand to share their renovation journeys and dish out home renovation tips and advices. For those who are more adventurous, don't forget to participate in our hands-on workshops. Bring your floor plan to get free consultations with established interior design firms and extra chances in our lucky draw (more details in the link). https://goo.gl/forms/bxynqiEesapQD2ab2
  4. Hi all, I would like to know if it's possible to have renovation bank loan with 2 different contractor. Example Contractor 1 - Quote $10,000 Contractor 2 - Quote $15,000 Reno bank loan of $25,000 Thank you in advance!
  5. Hey guys! We have just started our renovation journey and thought to share with everyone who reads this forum! Everyone has been exceptionally helpful and assisted us a lot on the journey to finding our contractor as well as furnishings and such. Very excited to get the party started! Located just beside a huge canal, it kinda reminds us of a lake...... therefore the name: "Lake" House We collected our keys in May 2014 and spent a total of approximately 4 months settling our defects. At the same time, we were finding a contractor whom we are comfortable with. We already had our rough designs ready and needed someone to execute it confidently with professional suggestions along the way. We were really pleased to come across MrJ & MrE. They replied promptly and professionally to all of our doubts and understood what we wanted as soon as we had our first discussion. First up, here is our floor plan Our "Lake" View Day 1 (06/10/14) Signed at MrJ & MrE's factory and had a discussion with the both of them regarding all our designs and layout. MrJ did a sketch on all of our carpentry works and understood what we wanted. He then passed us a couple of booklets of laminates for us to browse through. Day 4 (09/10/14) Met with MrE and electrician; ironed out all of our doubts and did planning of lighting and other electrical works. Electrician was really helpful and provided some really good suggestions. Thereafter, we caught up with MrJ at the Lamitak factory to view bigger pieces of the laminates that we shortlisted(a whole bunch of them!) We had serious problem deciding on what laminates to use as the range was massive; when we always thought that a certain design was exactly what we wanted, we will come across another that wavered our decision. Looking at the bigger pieces really helped. It looked so different than when it was in a little sample piece in the booklet. Just when we were about to part our ways, we were informed that the electrician has already started work! How efficient Meanwhile, here's our styleboard Day 6 (11/10/14) A really fruitful day! Met MrE at Hafary (Eunos branch) to select bathroom and kitchen tiles. We were overwhelmed by the wide varieties of tiles. Thankfully MrE introduced us to the sales executive there and she was really helpful. Some pictures of the place There's a good variety of tiles which were in our budget, enough to drive us crazy while finalising our tile, therefore we would advise homeowners to not venture to too many stores to look at more choices because this would only confuse you - making your selection process a nightmare. MrJ met us soon after and we discussed on a couple of changes in our designs and they were really flexible about it. We were glad that they were not the kind who would request for a topup when informed of any changes. Looking at how confused we were, they also gave us ample time to finalise our tiles and laminates.
  6. From the album: Kitchen Design from Designer House

    Kitchen cabinet in Singapore is a very Luxury item for Wife to show off to her friends, Come talk to us to custom design your kitchen, you wouldn't be surprised that you can create your own Kitchen design with a low pricing! whatsapp me at 82008901 Click this link to reach our info:
  7. From the album: Punggol Waterway Brooks BTO

    The Owner has Opt for flooring and would wish to keep their budget low and yet hoping that the design can keep up to a higher standard, in order to show off to their relative who just posted in Magazine. We have several meeting at more than half a year ago just to confirm the budget and design, and execute to complete the project after 3 months. The end result are amazing, Both owner and i felt so Satisfaction for participating in this project
  8. From the album: Punggol Waterway Brooks BTO

    LED Strips Lighting from Chan Huat lighting house, http://www.chanhuat.com.sg/ Laminate selection is Lam Chuan Fire Rated Back Board is from Admira PL work top is using Kompacplus,

    © Copyright @ designerhouse, 2017

  9. Finally we have settle down with our designer! And we are now waiting for our 1st 3d drawing which will be releasing next week! Cant wait to see what it turn out to be. Will be updating further if we have any good deal or direct deal.
  10. Hello everyone, we just booked our new BTO 5room flat We managed to find a ID company with a good deal and a friendly, comfortable designer. We are very excited to work with too. This is our first flat hence we are so unsure about where to get most of the stuff for our home. We would be happy if we could get some recommendations for - 1) ceiling fans 2) blackout curtains 3) Aircon 4) Electricians 5) mosaic tiles thank you in advance.
  11. I am finally going to get my keys from HDB tomorrow! Any ideas where should I start after key collection? This is my floor plan...
  12. Hello everyone, Like many young couples, my SO and I are really excited to get the keys for our future home. Since then I have been lurking around renotalk, absorbing experience and ideas shared by so many passionate homeowners. As I will be starting my renovation soon, I feel that I should share my experience here, to contribute a little back to this awesome community. My home is a 4-room BTO flat, located at the northeastern area of Singapore. As this is a premium project, it comes with HDB flooring and I opted for HDB door. Below is the floor plan and pictures of the living room. Typical 4 room BTO floor plan. Realised many of my new neighbours hack away the wall between kitchen and dining area. Decided against an open concept kitchen as both of us are too lazy/busy to keep our kitchen neat and tidy all the time. Recess wall in the living room. HDB should just fill up the recess area to make life easier for us. TV console will be placed here. Still thinking of ideas for dining area feature wall. Dislike the wooden skirting around the living area and will be asking my ID to hack and replace them with matching tiles. We have collected our keys in early March but the last month was spent rectifying the defects with HDB and sourcing for contractor/ID. Both tasks are long and daunting, and I am glad both of them have been sorted out. During the meetings with different contractors/IDs, I have these criteria in mind: 1. Must incorporate our fengshui beliefs into the design 2. Pet friendly as we have a dog 3. Scandinavian theme (love the clean and simple look) with splashes of blue 4. Keep within our budget 5. The contractor/id must be able to commit and take care of our project personally, as we both work late Finally found our chosen one and signed the contract over the weekend, journey should start next week. Next, shopping time for air condition, hod, hood, sink and fridge....
  13. For BTO from HDB, do we start with carpentry work or electrical and plumbing?
  14. Hi all fellow new home owners! It has been almost 6 months since we settled into our new home in Punggol Topaz and finally had the time to sit down to document/recommend our contacts. Hubby and I have decided that we will not engage any ID as will look for our own individual contractors for each part of the home. We engaged only 2 parties for the entire house cos we have only very basic furnishings and fittings. 1) Electrical works for the entire house Electrical works are very important to start the reno of the house as it determines the positions of all your switches, lightings, ceiling fan, downlights etc. This will then affect the entire planning and layout of your home! Imagine you place a switch in the middle of your tv console...? not tally right.. and if you decide to position your dining table at a certain location but the dining lights are not in line...? Some progress pictures are below. Overall, we have 8 downlights are the main living room, 1 set of dining light, 1 set of industrial light outside the kitchen and 1 along the "corridor" of the rooms. It is bright enough for us. We also requested for switches at each end of the main living hall for convenience sake, one near the main door, toilets and 3 in each room. abit kiasu? Contact: Tony @ 8292 9848 Fast and reliable. We started our discussions with him in late last year and he manage to complete our requirements very quickly. He is also helpful enough to help us install the lightings after the false ceiling is up. Can look for him for quick and reasonable price menu
  15. Hi all, Long time lurker, first time poster here! We just completed our renovation and are looking to do up the blinds and black out curtains now. Man, these things costs a lot! We have a few quotation but RE Design Interior Curtains Service is the most favourable quote so far. Anyone has any inputs on their experience with this company? Appreciate the inputs and reviews from all! Regards, M
  16. I have met up with a few IDs and contractors. However, I am still unsure on whether they have really quoted me everything. Mine is a BTO flat with paid flooring provided by HDB, I didn't get the doors though. What do I have to look out for in my below requirements? Kitchen Cabinets - Workmanship - Type of wood - Type of top material - Mechanism Kitchen sink, stove, hood, - Labour and installation Fridge / Washing machine base - Labour - If tiles are included or not Master Bedroom wardrobe - Workmanship - Type of wood - Mechanism Toilets - Labour to install bathroom accessories Shower screen - Labour to install Shower kerb and if tiles is included or not - Labour to install Shower screen - Type of shower screen - Mechanism Bedroom / Toilet Doors - Type of material - Mechanism Hacking of Walls - HDB Permit - Hacking charge - Tiling and patching of walls and floors - If tiles are included or not Service Yard Windows - Only sliding (I was told that only sliding is permitted by HDB) Window Grilles - Pattern - Powder-coated or not Painting - Brand - Type (Odorless or not) - Number of colors that can be selected Lightings - Labour and installation I was told that a part of the cabinet is better to be made of stone if intend to stay long in the house, in case of water leakage from below the sink. Is that true? That's all, I guess. Did I miss out anything? Do let me know if there should be any extra cost of anything. Thanks all for your advice.
  17. Hi Due to unforeseen reasons, I'm letting go of a reno voucher by I'workz Design Pte Ltd. very reputable company. Can check their fb page. Value: sgd2,000 to be used by 31 dec 2016. PM me for quotations fast!!! I will definitely give a good deal to help you save cost.
  18. Time to start sourcing for IDs! Fellow home owners, got any recommendations?
  19. We have just started our renovation recently, and decided that we should start a blog to document our Renovation Journey, so we could one day look back at our experience =) There are like so so so many tiny details that one should keep in mind during renovation. So many tricks, tips & pointers to look out for. Hopefully by sharing our humble experience, fellow renotalkers can also learn something from our renovation process as well. Nothing fanciful here, but I guess I shall start off with some pointers on ID/ Contractor Selection Process, my ideal steps as follow: 1) Get your floor plan (the above is ours). You can email HDB and they will send the hard copy to you by slow mail. Then photocopy a few copies of your floor plan, for future usage (e.g. to give to potential ids/contractors). When to start finding? It depends, we started like 3 or 2 months before we get our keys. However, if you know you are finding someone popular, then you might want to check his/her schedule earlier. 2) Brainstorm & write down in details what you would like to do for your house. Be specific. Don't just say Wardrobe in the Master Bedroom, say instead, 6ft length wardrobe in laminated finish, and whether you want casement or sliding doors. Number of drawers may matter too. Soft-closing and what brand also must say. Your ceiling height matters too (normally they do until 2.4m or 2.5m high only... extra height must top up). Whether you want the insides to be internal colour PVC finish or the standard white colour (which may turn yellow after many years..) also affects the price. Choice of external laminates matters too as some laminates can be more expensive than others. Sometimes even mirror or any fanciful design or material can affect the price, so be specific on your requirements. *EDITED ON 26 JUN 2016* 3) After having written down your specific requirements, do meet up with at least 5 Ids / Contractors to get your quotation (bring your floor plan too). Doing this will allow you to: a) compare the various quotations on the SAME job that is being done. b) observe the person to see if it's someone you can "click" with.. His/her attitude and design sense, etc. c) collect ideas. a good id/contractor may also point out impracticality of your design and explain stuffs to you why it's not good & propose better solutions. Do note that engaging ids will cost more than contractors (duh....the obvious), usually at least $2k to $5k+ more... it depends. You may consider getting an id if you have the budget + if you don't know what design you want, etc. If you already have a sense of direction what kind of design you want, then perhaps a contractor may suffice. Some contractors have designers to draw 3D drawings for them, so you can better conceptualise the design. The cheapest option, however, is to outsource EVERYTHING (e.g. find your own carpenter, tiler, electrician, etc). But that would require a lot of time & coordination on your side, and it could be quite stressful too.. *EDITED ON 26 JUN 2016* 4) Find out all the hidden costs, and also determine which items are worth outsourcing to make the overall renovation cost cheaper. Here are just some areas you can look into: a) Haulage & Debris Removal Service - Should you really pay $800-$1200 for haulage & debris removal service to your id/contractor? Or will it be cheaper if you call the HDB appointed Haulage Service contractor (his contact will be pasted near your BTO lift), and then ask your id/contractor to liaise with him instead? Haulage service is basically carrying the heavy stuffs for you, such as Tiles (if your flooring is not done yet), and debris removal is where they help you clear any debris from your renovation. I'm not sure if those who have no hacking & tiling works still need this service or not...as it may seem rather redundant unless you need to do kitchen mortar base, washing machine & fridge kerb then maybe need some labour need to carry the required materials such as prepacked cement, etc (this may probably cost you about $250?). For us, we have to hack some walls & do flooring... so we need this service. The amount of works done (hacking/flooring works) & the size of your flat (if do flooring) will determine the cost of this service. Some ids/contractors will ask you to get this service yourself and they will not include this in the quotation..., some may absorb this cost for you and provide it "free" (while jacking up the prices of other items maybe?), and some others will include this in the quotation as $800 to $1200++ and say it will be better if you engage from them as it is their own workers doing the service directly, so there will not be any miscommunication or delays. I later realised that this is kind of not true.. The HDB appointed Haulage Contractor for our BTO is "Mr Tan", and he says the service would cost $600 if got hacking + tiling works for 4 room (I'm not sure if other HDB appointed private contractors from other areas have different pricing or not..). I told my contractor (let's called him Uncle S) about it and he says he actually knows him coz they sometimes need to work together. He also remarked that he charge me cheaper than him too (Mr Tan charges Uncle S $700 for haulage/debris removal services)! So anyway, I passed Uncle S the money, he help me pay and get the receipt from Mr Tan. And from there onwards they work together no need me to call or arrange any appointments with Mr Tan at all. I never even met Mr Tan myself, only phoned & texted him to negotiate the cost of service only. Thus, it's not as troublesome as you may think if you engage Haulage service yourself, the point is whether your id/contractor is willing to help you liaise with the Haulage Contractor or not. So far everything seems okay. My walls have been hacked with debris cleared. Floor tiles are already in our house & tiling works are progressing, might be finishing by end of next week b) Window Grilles & Doors - It's usually cheaper to outsource these to those companies that do these works as their primary focus. I will update again the contacts once I am in that stage of installing these. It is better to install them at a later stage in the renovation (e.g. as doors may hinder movement or get scratched unless you protect them with cardboards and stuff). Uncle S says he will help me supervise the installation when the day comes (I hope ). c) Electrical, Plumbing Works & Aircon Works - These are usually not included in the quotation. You may choose to find your own electrician, plumber & aircon installer, or use the ones that your id/contractor works with. d) 3D Drawings - Do the 3D drawings come with unlimited edits? Or each re-draw/change of a 3D drawing (to see another design) will cost extra $$$? Stay away from those ids/contractors whereby 3D Drawings will cost exorbitant price like $500 each per change, as this will only limit/force you to proceed with the current design they proposed to you, which may not be what you really want. e) Internal Color PVC (example above) - As mentioned earlier, this is for the insides of the Cabinets/Drawers. The "default" is usually white color, but it may turn yellow after some years. If you want it to be internal Color PVC (non-white, there are a few colors & patterns to choose from..), then you have to top up. Do note that this is NOT the same as normal laminate, which is used for the OUTSIDE / EXTERNAL of the carpentry works. So, in terms of price, Internal White PVC < Internal Color PVC < Laminate. f) Full-height Carpentry works - If you are staying with higher ceiling height, full-height carpentry works will cost more. ** 5) Create an excel file to break-down and compare the quotations. Copy & paste the various jobs you have written in Step 2. Now, add in the quotations you have collected in Step 3. It may take awhile, but this step is very useful in helping you see the differences between the different ids/contractors quotation. It also allows you to calculate your costs easier as compared to writing these in word document. This means you will have 1 Column of Items, and X number of other Columns representing the X number of IDs/contractors you've seen. Additional Items & freebies can leave it to the last rows, do it in whatever format that you are comfortable with. Example, Requirements ID A ID B ID C Item 1: 7ft Brick Feature wall in Craftstone finish. $800 $1000 $900 Item 2: 6ft Wardrobe, sliding doors, height 2.6m, color internal PVC, with 1 mirror, 3 drawers, external laminates can choose $75 and below, etc (write whatever specific details) $1300 $1200 $1050 Item X: Window Grilles? (FREE = $0) $0 $900 $800 Basically you can use any method you want, no need to follow exactly the format here. The point is, to break up the quotations so you can weigh the pricing differences for the various works. 6) After comparing the quotes, and having a rough sense of who is more "reliable" or "comfortable" to you... you may then approach them again to further discuss & revise the quotes. Revise the quote? Well, remember the comparison you did in Step 5? You may approach the id/contractor you like and say so and so ID charged me cheaper for this item, do you think you can match his price? If you are lucky, the price can be matched, or a slight discount if the price difference is too big. 7) Ask to visit his current project sites to see the workmanship. Basically to see if the workmanship is good. Are the cabinet doors misaligned? Do they close properly? Is the floor grouting too wide? Etc. 8) Request for a site survey at your new house. The purpose is for a more accurate quotation... those with high ceiling height may have to top up more $$ on full-height carpentry works. It could also tell you how keen the person is in taking up your job (those not keen will say after sign contract then come...) 9) Ask lots & lots of questions if in doubt. Questions regarding the different materials, design solutions, costs, etc. Double check their facts. Do not take their answers for granted if possible. For example, recently TV got show some unfortunate couple got conned by a "contractor/ID" that claimed to be Case Trust & Radac. However, the CaseTrust website do not have the id/contractor company inside. The "contractor/id" has since disappeared and never to be found. You can also check Casetrust banned list here. If the company is not case trust, then do a google or search renotalk on their reviews. Sometimes you can find a lot of bad reviews about that company, and it may be safer if you avoid them. 10) Check check & check the contract before you sign. For example, on hindsight, it may be better for your contractor/id to charge you just for the labour for laying the tiles, instead of Labour + Price of tiles. Why do I say that? Think about it, say your id states that Bedroom tiles you can choose $2.50 to $4psf, before GST. If the Bedrooms are about 450 sqft in total, it would mean that a $2.50psf tile would cost 450 x $2.50 = $1,125. If you choose a $4psf tile, then it would be 450 x $4 = $1,800. That's a difference of $675 between the 2!! T_T And no... that will not be refunded if you have opted for the cheaper tiles. Thus, if we had taken out tiles prices in our quotation/contract, we will not have to worry about whether the tiles we are choosing is too cheap or too expensive. We could just choose based on the design. So this ideally should be discuss prior to signing the contract... unless your id/contractor is OKAY with refunding any extra $ if the tiles you choose are too cheap. *EDITED ON 26 JUN 2016* I suddenly remember something that Uncle S told me: If your house is still in initial building phase/not yet fully constructed, and you are absolutely sure that you want an open kitchen concept, you may request for them not to do up the wall that is partitioning the kitchen (if any). Also, if you don't like highlighting tiles, you may also request them not to include them in the toilets or kitchen. Although I'm not sure how true this is because I never personally tried it before (my unit was already constructed).... I suppose there is no harm giving it a try by asking your BTO/housing developer or something. If it works, then this could save you a few hundreds of dollars from wall hacking, wall tiles overlaying, etc. Not sure if I missed out any tips or pointers.. but feel free to comment ^_^
  20. We just collected our keys! Can't wait to start our reno journey! Had been quietly following all the t-Blogs that inspired us a lot and now it is finally our turn to document and share this adventure with the fellow Renotalk peeps. So exciting! YAY! Here is the floor plan... P.S. This will mostly be the wife blogging, I hijacked my husband's RT account to blog.
  21. SCANDI So the wife decided to finally start the t-blog, but I'm being forced to post. So as usual, at the start of our home making process, I decided that she would make the decisions, since she had all the arty-farty ideas. But i guess this saves me all the trouble of hearing her nag in future, if she decides that she doesn't like any aspect of the house so i guess i'm making a very smart and tactical move. My only requirements to her were that I wanted a fully functional kitchen, since i am the masterchef, and even bookshelves for the bookworm that is me =) So here goes. As usual the arty-farty wife decided that we would call our blog - Colour our Scandi Home, and our first post would be called "SCANDI" or Super Colourful And Novel DIY Ideas Why? U should have guessed it, Scandi but with pops of light pastel colours. Similar to what some of the t-bloggers here have, just that we would have elements which we hope to DIY ourselves. So like many of us here, Pinterest became our best friend. And my wife started pinning into tons and tons of boards. Well, see good choice there. This is what we started out thinking how her house would look like. p.s. Pls don't be misled by the pictures - these were what the wife was dreaming of when she started out as she was very very excited to be making all the decisions =) So as u can see, she wants it to have light brown, pastels, grey and whites. As usual the skeptical me was like okay, whatever makes u happy. so we started going around talking to IDs to find out more about how to make our her dream house come true. Here's the sample layout of our place. Time to sleep will update another day - if the wife doesn't kill me for making fun of her that is =p
  22. Hi all! Just want to say a big THANK YOU to all T-bloggers who have shared your designs /ideas /pictures /information & experience here. It has been a great help, especially to us newbies who know next to nothing about renovating, & I truly enjoyed reading all the posts. Now's my turn to start my own T-blog, hope you enjoy it^^ Standard BTO 4-room plan:
  23. Hello fellow bloggers. Thank you for sharing all your stories here. They have helped others and I in one way or another so keep them coming! Just sharing our renovation journey because idk I find that the support here is awesome no matter what kind of home you guys are building. Lotsa positive vibes and that's what we need in tough times. It's a typical 5 room BTO floorplan but the new one though with the bomb shelter by itself instead of being attached to like the kitchen or the common bathroom. Booooooooring layout. I honestly have never ever ever thought of staying in a matchbox like this OR in this estate at all but he said he wanted to give it a try so yeah. Unhappy me but above all that crap that I have swallowed, I am thankful and grateful we have a roof over our heads and food on the table on a daily basis. Amen to that. Shall I skip the floorplan and move on to visually enticing things like the moodboard? YEASSSS. The rug, chairs. The bluuuuuue the rug with touches of gold here and there. The colour of the wall, the dining chairs, table, floor, display cabinet and everything in it, the collage. But...not the ceiling or wainscoting or pendant lamps. The colours and elements for masterbedroom! We chose a duck-egg blue for the playroom and we've yet to decide how exactly it'll look like but this is an inspiration for it. The vanity cabinet. We decided to stick with the existing HDB tiles and just make things work around them so this is an inspiration for the Master bathroom and the common bathroom shall be a wet bathroom. Nothing special The kitchen! It is where I will be spending most of my time at and it was so hard to have things MY way because well...he has his suggestions too but you see, I know how I work around my kitchen and I will make it easy for me. End of story. Shaker cabinets FTW! I have had my eyes on them for the longest time. We have an entrance walkway so yup Our home won't look exactly like these photos and I never wanted to copy and paste so it would be a little of this and a little of that. Interior designing is the very very very fine line between being tacky and being a copycat. Idk how to put it in words but it is challenging. Renovation has started and it's about halfway through so I will slowly try to add in more photos. I know bloggers here are experts at TB and i really salute you guys. The prices are so attractive but I just don't have the time to wait and cannot be bothered to go through it meaarrhghhghghh. Besides, we like to touch and feel things before purchasing muahaha. We've bought some pieces from THAT ONE PLACE (nope not at level 1 but the one above) at sime darby which totally wrecked our pockets and also some preloved classic and beautiful pieces from carousell. I have no idea how all this will come together but I know it will. Well I hope it will haha. This could be the messy-smudgey initial look that would magically end up warm and homely. This journey (like life) is an ocean of possibilities. There might be storms and 10-storey waves crashing around but you've got your compass set right so just... go with the flow? I now welcome you aboard our ship. LOL SO LAME.
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