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hello! just received my keys on thursday (: edited with my floor plan (: will continue to edit whenever i can! will start my reno soon!!!! our living room! our entrance! on the right is our bomb shelter (: our kitchen (: bedroom 1 bedroom 2 master bedroom (:

Its been more than 5 years since my first t-blog (you can find it here) and it was time to move to a bigger place. Settled on Bukit Panjang as fiance's family was staying nearby and got this unit after just viewing it once! It was going at a great price considering the size and proximity to the MRT (about 10 minutes walk). It's almost double the size of my previous flat (65sqm) with double the number of rooms and a balcony! Love the floor plan. Previous owners hacked away the storeroom though which was okay as the position was rather odd - just beside the kitchen. Currently waiting for the appointment date (scheduled in late July or early Aug) . I would have to move out from my current place by end Sept so its quite rushed! Hoping to document the journey here and hopefully help others in their renovation journey as well! We are looking at a minimalist scandi theme as we want to keep the house open, bright and airy and with less clutter as possible. We both like white with woods to accent the house and some black here and there. The plan is to integrate the balcony with the living room. Getting keys in 2 days! Pretty excited and we are looking forward to getting more accurate quotes from our contractors and IDs.

Hello all! Been stalking this place for a couple of years and it is finally our turn to start a t-Blog for our first home! We are currently in the sixth week of our renovation already, will try to recap and share as much as possible. Opps, we digressed for a few weeks because the to-do list is never-ending..... and we, or maybe myself, are/is very very very fickle. Renovation is full of life-changing decisions which will be cemented onto or nailed into the house, quite scary since these decisions might stay with us for the rest of our lives (if we don;t move)! Also, the need to balance between quality, aesthetics, practicality and price is very very very challenging. We can be pondering over the same issue for weeks, visit many many different (or the same) shops and look at many many different brands/designs for each item before we can finally make a decision. Our contractor is constantly chasing us to tell him our choice of colors, chasing us to buy the items and etc, but I guess we are pretty lucky that it is not the other way round hahaha! Contents (will update when there are new posts) Our story + About the flat + "Before" photos Our Theme + Moodboard <future posts> <future posts> ...

Its been more than 5 years since my first t-blog (you can find it here) and it was time to move to a bigger place. Settled on Bukit Panjang as fiance's family was staying nearby and got this unit after just viewing it once! It was going at a great price considering the size and proximity to the MRT (about 10 minutes walk). It's almost double the size of my previous flat (65sqm) with double the number of rooms and a balcony! Love the floor plan. Previous owners hacked away the storeroom though which was okay as the position was rather odd - just beside the kitchen. Currently waiting for the appointment date (scheduled in late July or early Aug) . I would have to move out from my current place by end Sept so its quite rushed! Hoping to document the journey here and hopefully help others in their renovation journey as well! We are looking at a minimalist scandi theme as we want to keep the house open, bright and airy and with less clutter as possible. We both like white with woods to accent the house and some black here and there. The plan is to have some plants in the balcony or maybe even a green wall if the budget permits.

Hello all, We have managed to do a simple cozy looking, somewhat between nordic+minimalist renovation, nearing 22k. We met with a few contractors and 1 ID, and decided to go ahead with the contractor that a good friend of mine had enagaged. The whole renovations took about 3 months, as some items were out of stock and had to wait for it to be manufactured and shipped in. Here are the work items covered by my contractor: Living Room/ dining area 1. Vinyl flooring ****/dining areas and all bedrooms 2. L-box with cove light holder, including installation of down-lights and cove lights 3. Installation of ceiling fan with led light 4. Installation of pendant lights for dining area 5. Additional switches and relocation of electrical points 6. Painting for the whole house Kitchen 1. Top and bottom cabinets, total of 31ft 2. Kompacplus cabinet top and backsplash 3. Kitchen cabinet kerbs 4. Installation of kitchen accessories, including kitchen sink+tap, hood+hob+oven and an open shelf 5. Additional switch and relocation of electrical points Bathroom 1. Shower kerb for master bathroom 2. Installation of Ikea bathroom accessories for common and master bathrooms 3. Installation of Ikea sink and vanity drawer at master bathroom 4. Installation of down lights and cove lights MBR 1. Full height 6ft casement wardrobe at MBR 2. Installation of wall fan Bedrooms 2 and 3 1. Installation of wall fan 2. Additional switch for wall fan Items that I liased with direct vendors/suppliers 1. Whole house window grills and service yard window 2. Master bathroom glass shower screen 3. Aircon installation 4. Bomb shelter store rack 5. Slide arm for main door Will share more photos and details later on. Cheers!

Hello ! Bought a 4a resale from his dad. 20 over years old unit pretty low price, but in very bad condition. Almost all will need a revamp. After many IDs & contractors visits we settle for this Contractor. Quite reasonable. Here are some before pictures.

I have gathered much tips and information from this forum prior to my renovation, it is perhaps now time for me to contribute. Unit: 5I Resale @ 1184 sqft Theme: Vaguely minimalist Duration: 12 weeks (until 1st handover) Budget: 100,000 (spending thus far: 93,378) We chose this unit after only 6 viewings; we love the layout and window placements, the windows are either north or south facing, and the house is windy and brightly lit all day / all year round. Furthermore, with our kitchen window facing north, we can make a little herbs garden! Floor Plan:

On Sale is Our Preloved Alumix Pole System! LETTING GO FOR S$750.00 (bought for >S$1,600) Total Setup Dimension (m): 2.54 (H) x 2.45 (L) x 0.5 (D) -Items as good as new -About 3 yrs old but used as spare wardrobe -No chips -Aluminium poles show some scratches on the joint parts on closer look -Rust free material -Assembly can be done by your current contractor -Shelves and hanger bars able to withstand weight of clothes xx But please don't put your weight on them and expect the system to hold up xx NO COATED METAL PARTS, i.e. RUST-FREE xx NO PARTICLE BOARD MATERIALS, i.e. NO WARPING Refer to second picture for original layout. First picture shows current setup when it was moved to a smaller room (unused parts in storage). All shelves are sturdy with no warping. http://www.besglas.com/wardrobes/alumix Items include: 5x Alumix Post Floor To Ceiling 2750 2x Alumix Hanger Bar 06 2x Alumix Hanger Bar 05 2x Alumix Premium Shelf 4505 10x Alumix Premium Shelf 4506 2x Alumix Drawer 2T600ttf (with lock and keys) Self-collect at Bt Panjang.

Item Description - Wooden Foldable table outdoor table folding table metal legs (Chairs not included) Size: 80cm (width) x 80cm (length) x 75cm(Height) Item cost: SGD 45 Shipping: Standard Local Mail : Pick up only Seller will not be responsible for any damages or lost mail. Contact me at 91077136 for fast deals

Item Description - WTS White Bar Stool bar chair adjustable swivel chair Item cost: SGD 88 Shipping: Standard Local Mail : Pick up only Seller will not be responsible for any damages or lost mail. Contact me at 91077136 for fast deals

Item Description - bamboo shoe bench 2 tier wooden shoe rack organizer bamboo shoe rack minimalist shoe rack Item cost: SGD 35 Shipping: Standard Local Mail : Pick up only Contact me at 91077136 for fast deals

Item Description - - MODERN MINIMALIST CHAIR WOODEN LEGS PLASTIC CHAIR Item cost: SGD 30 each $50 for 2 Shipping: Standard Local Mail : Pick up only Seller will not be responsible for any damages or lost mail. Contact me at 91077136 for fast deals

Item Description - 7L Stainless steel dustbin household with foot pedal Item cost: SGD 19 Shipping: Standard Local Mail : Pick up only Contact me at 91077136 for fast deals

Decided to start a T-Blog to detail our renovation process! Hopefully it would be able to help other new homeowners like how the previous T-Blogs helped me I would try to update the T-Blog within the first few posts so that its easier for new readers to browse through. Floor Plan for a 4-Room BTO @ Canberra East We had two main options 1) Bomb Shelter in Living room 2) Bomb Shelter in Kitchen. We decided to go with the bomb shelter in Kitchen as the layout was easier to work with. Moodboard: Generally we would be using light colours along with empty/hacked spaces to make the place look bigger. The furniture required would also be kept to a minimum. For Living Room - Going with something simple For Bedroom 3 - Planning for a half-hack alumimum lattice to make the place look spacious For Kitchen Entrance - Planning for half-hack as well for an open kitchen concept For Kitchen Area - Classic Brown/White combination for Kitchen Cabinets For Master Bedroom - L-Shape Walk-in For both Toilets - Standard Vanity Setup Budget Allocated: 1) Renovation: 30K 2) Electronics: 10K 3) Non- Electronics: 10K Total: 50K

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My unit is a 4-room flat of 92sqm (including AC ledge). It's considered really small but oh wells, this is what you get for a 4-room flat nowadays, and thankfully me and wife aren't that big size either. The bombshelter is located in the kitchen that in turn, gives us more space in the LR, which is exactly what we wanted. Can host mahjong session in the LR Initial Floor Plan Our Basic Requirements 1. Spacious MBR and LR 2. Walk-in wardrobe 3. Work area 4. Long mirror cabinet in MBR toilet 5. High Resilient Vinyl Flooring for LR and all BRs 6. Overlay of floor and wall tiles in MBR toilet 7. Bottom cabinet only for hob side, top and bottom cabinet on the opposite side 8. Scandinavian style, with maybe a little pinch of Industrial feel Contractors/IDs Selection 1. Chun Xiang Renovation Pte Ltd I shall skip the scouting process as I'm too lazy to recall each and every detail of them. In summary, I've approached a couple of IDs and Main Cons, but none of them fits my budget with the requirements, except for Edmund (in short I'll just call him E here) from CX Reno. Actually he was introduced to me by a close friend, and I've personally went down to their new house to witness their fine carpentry's workmanship. One thing good about them is that they're already a registered reno contractors with HDB and it will make the approval process of the reno smoother and faster. New Floor Plan with my Idea 1. Sealing up BR2 actual door, and hacking a door linking BR2 with MBR. Making BR2 into a walk-in wardrobe and work area. 2. Changing the direction of MBR door to have better accessibility into walk-in wardrobe. Milestones and Progress Updates 19 / 10 / 2016 - Flat Unit Selected 05 / 01 / 2017 - Submitted Appeal Form for Smooth Rendering Floor (SRF) *mine is a SBF unit, therefore no flooring is done prior, and since we're doing vinyl flooring, we need to get cement screed for our flooring, should take around 6-8 weeks to get approved, i.e. latest by 2nd March* decided to withdraw and appoint my main con screed instead 16 / 01 / 2017 - Collected Keys and Signed of Lease Agreement, Performed Door-opening Ritual 19 / 01 / 2017 - 1st Defects Inspection 21 / 01 / 2017 - Submitted Defects Feedback Form to BSC *takes around 9-14 working days to be rectified by BSC, i.e. latest by 13th Feb* 13 / 02 / 2017 - BSC confirmed 1st rectification completed, pending for 2nd defects check or close case with BSC 18 / 02 / 2017 - Rectification completion confirmed and signed. 16 / 03 / 2017 - Renovation and Hacking work commences! 18 / 03 / 2017 - Electrical work commences! 03 / 06 / 2017 - Final Handover from CX Reno (but still got some nitty-gritty touch ups to be rectified, so they will still be back a few times. And my walk-in wardrobe that is handled by another door contractor, still has not been installed, hopefully they can be installed by mid June, furnitures and electrical appliances are slowly coming in.) Will keep this post updated every now and then... All the completed final renovation images. Hope my blog helped you guys along the way! Living Room Kitchen MBR Toilet Walk-in Wardrobe MBR

Pre-loved 3-seater fabric sofa used less than 2 years. Comes with matching ottoman. Condition: 8/10 Dimensions: Sofa > 190 x 85 x 75 (L x B x H in cm) Ottoman > 90 x 100 x 40 (L x B x H in cm) Slight chip on one side of sofa's leg. Not for fussies. Please arrange for own transport or additional $80 for delivery. Whole sofa can fit into lift. No need for assembly. Comes as it is. Smoke-free and pet-free environment. Never spilt liquid on sofa/ottoman. Original price: $2100 for whole set Now selling: $500 for whole set

Hello renotalk world, We are finally getting our keys soon. We decided to get an ID to do the reno even though we deem ourselves pretty hands on. Just wanted someone to coordinate the project in case we get busy. Talk to 4 ID firms over the last month and we have decided on our ideal choice. Anyone has experience doing this? We picked the most expensive quote and the ID with least experience. Reason is we like the company's design a lot and their carpentry work looks good. hopefully everything will turn out well. Here is our floor plan. budget is 40000 but going to burst it.

Hi Everyone, We finally collected our keys at the end of March and we hurriedly carried out all the necessary rituals (door opening & 动土) so that technically we have done what we should before Qing Ming festival. Hacking started on last Monday and we are so looking forward to completion and moving into our own place. My fiancé works in the architecture industry so he’s the brainchild of our place’s design. We will only be engaging contractors and doing all the coordination on our own. In order to get me involved and make me have a “we created this place together” feel, he asked for my inputs and we'll be doing some DIYs for our home as well. Our journey starts from here…. Floorplan: Draft design by the fiance: Original condition of the house. Good thing that it’s chui since we will hack everything away: Original condition of Living Room: Original Condition of Hallway to rooms, dining area and kitchen entrance: Original Condition of Kitchen: . Original Condition of Master Toilet: Since we are the one doing all the coordination work, the poor fiance had to do all the measurements and works himself Self measurement indications for the reno contractors: The works has started and all the floor tiles are gone by now. We are currently waiting for the rest of the permit to go thru before further demolition can be carried out. Can't wait!!!!

Ok, i think this is the time for me to start my blog after stalking RT for 2 months. Let's started with the floor plan. After 5 weeks looking for our 1st house and yeay, finally i got what we're looking to. Of course, it's not perfect neither "exactly" what we want. We have several criteria on looking for our "own house", i.e bright kitchen, high floor, etc,etc. Here 's the floor plan that we have and yes, our house is all about functionality. There's a big cabinet on passage way and hopefully it'll be the only cabinet we're going to have in the future. I kind of people who like the neat concept. - industrial/scandinavian is not piece of cake. Start from looking ID right after the book the 1st appointment...oh man...it's not easy even very hard for me to decide (as my wife is preggy and she ask me to do all the stuff). I did quote via and renotalk and you know what..almost every single day my phone ring and it's from ID. I can say, how competitive is ID business in here. But, some of them is totally not impressed. There are 1 ID is keep calling me, start from the ID, the PM, etc (totally not impressed). Just make it short, below is the ID that i met up, start from the beginning : 1. One ****rkz We went to the interior exhibition in Expo and met with them. They're asking us to put a deposit 1st (very pushy i can say) We just directly skipped them. 2. Di**s. Id name is Mr J I went there as recommended by my friend and walked in to their showroom (still remember it's on the last day of hungry ghost festival) What i can say their service is not bad. The ID is able to revise every single of my requirement. However, we have to drop this ID Reason : communication problem - i'm not a Chinese speaking and the ID is not fluent in English and not a HDB registered yet. 3. A** Sp**e De***n I met up with the owner - i guess, N**k P**g. My 1st impression of him is very good until the day i received his quotation. Well, it's a on high side however, the negotiation is still on going. Ok, things to consider. 4. K**ng Y**, Id name is mr J (again) I sent an email quotation to them and yes, they could fit my budget. After that, i met with him on his showroom. At that moment, i was not really comfortable. Yes, he explained many things to me. I.e : concealed piping, etc. But he's more like sales person, keep on asking if we can make a deal today. The good news, i asked him again to revise the quotation here and there and he's entertaining me. He even asked me to look the current ongoing project. And yes, as some people make a comment in here. They're not really good on carpentry i can say. So, we decide to dropped them. 5. In***e L***ng, Id name is mr O I contacted them after my wife said...why you didn't ask your colleague and yes, i quoted to him as my colleague engaged him as their ID. Met up on their showroom, wait for 1.5 weeks to get the quotation and another surprise. It's **** expensive. It's almost 50% above my initial budget- I always say my concept and budget upfront. And another thing is their more on "design wise". That's maybe what we're paying for.So, it's dropped. 6. V**la, Id name is mr A Read few great feedback about them, and yes i quoted them. I received a quotation after another 1.5 weeks. The ID is pretty straight forward but again i don't like his style to asking me to deal on that day and keep on trying to revise the quote. I asked him on the meeting itself, how much is the best price and OMG, he revised it many times even after i left my appointment. What on my mind is "your mark up is really in there". Decide to dropped. 7. T*t & D*t, Id name is mr J (again) Look on their FB page and wow, so many compliment for them. I decided to send a quotation to them and met up. 1st impression is she's a great ID i believe. She's a straight forward ID. Ask what we're looking on, budget, etc. I didn't expect to much from them, since they look "popular ID" but well, their service is in there. I contacted her after few weeks and she's still entertain me by reply and give some suggestions. Decide to KIV 8. De***n4***e, id name is mrs R Happened to know this ID when i on the way back via bus. I explored this ID via google and yes, they have so many package. I believe most of you know which ID i'm referring to. I decided to do walk in few days after and well, he's really friendly. He explained which 1 (package) is the most suitable for us and i'm really impressed with him. So, i almost sign my renovation with him, will meet up next week. Decide to : considered 9. Un***d T**m, id Name is Mrs J (again) Seems J is the initial that i always meet.hahahaha...I decided to walk in when i walked around after office hour and ask for quotation. Well, she's a nice lady. Explain to me a lot of stuff (i.e Blum system, granite and Quartz, etc). Received her quotation and i'm surprised...it's not as expensive as i expected. She even helped me to fit/expected measure of the remaining space on my kitchen table top. I'm contemplating now, whether i have to choose this ID or #8. Decide to : considered 10. E m***rn, id name is mr E My friend introduced his ID to me and waiting for the quotation now. 11. C***ic D***gn, id name is mr R Again, it's my friend referral. He's very fast - give me a quotation after a day and the review is this ID is not really good. His quotation is really brief and i'm not really comfortable with this 12. Others S***e D***ne : my friend recommendation but the response is very slow. He updated after my 1 month email. dropped for sure. U***ax : another famous ID i guess, and recommend by friend too. Well, no feedback after the 1st quotation and i asked few things via email. In****r L**. One more funny ID - for me. Seems like no coordination on this company. 2 people contacted me and asked the same quotation..come on...it looks no coordination or high competition to get customer.... few more (i can't remember the name). Anyway, after tired looking for ID...I selected 2 of them now. Looking for any review or i'll just go ahead and sign...that's what i always on my mind. I'll continue with furniture , bathroom and kitchen stuff later... Stay tuned... Ps: please do not ask who's the ID name. I believe it's the matter of personal preference. We're not looking for best ID (always pro and cons in there) but it's for the most suitable ID.

Here's my 5rm resale flat layout. It's a point block and I really love how spacious the living room is

Selection of the unit was kinda fast. It only took me 1 day of viewing to decide on the flat. (I think the property agent must be thinking this client is easy earned commission). Actually the property agent was recommended by one of my colleague. I contact the agent and he arrange for flat viewing. On that particular day, he arrange for 7 unit around the area I told him I would preferred. The first 6 was really not to my liking. The last unit, it was the only one that is situated at high floor and its a corner unit. Although the unit was not in a tip top condition, it did not really bother me much cause I have already intended to do a entire overhaul of the flat before moving in. The moment I step into the house, there is just this feeling that this is the one. To cut the story short, I put up an offer to the seller on the same night and he agreed. 5 Months later I am the owner of this house. During the 5 months (1st appointment and completion date), I have been to 7 Interior Design company and to be frank, I did not know that renovation can be so costly. To hack walls, rebuild walls, change the entire unit flooring (Living, bedrooms, kitchen, toilet), rerun entire water piping, rewiring the entire house electrical wiring.

Hi there! We will be receiving our 4-room BTO Flat keys soon. Our preferred theme is Japanese Minimalist / Zen / Muji style with creative storage ideas. Does anyone have any IDs / contractors to recommend? Thank you!

I chanced upon Renotalk's t-Blogs while doing research for own renovation and thought it'd be a good idea to document this exciting process and our experience. Let me get started with some background info first! Home will be a maisonette in Clementi with my husband (let's call him Mr K) and our playful Burmese cat. We bought the place in January 2015 and started shopping around for interior designers shortly after. The house was in very good condition and was very well-maintained. Truth be told, it was in move-in condition but there were quite a lot of design flaws (in our opinion) and it just didn't suit our taste at all. Mr K and I like a similar aesthetic ie. minimalist but his taste veers more to the masculine side ie. industrial, while I prefer white and airy ie. scandinavian. Not wanting the fittings/bare structure of the house to look schizo, we decided to just go with one theme and stick with it. So, industrial-minimalist it was. The catch was that I get to choose softer loose furnishing to make the place look less like a man-cave. Before I talk about our ID selection process, here is the original layout and some before pictures.