Natural Living

[england 0]

Thanks, Zelly! It's a cool idea but I think it will clash with my resort-like sofa set , but I do agree about keeping the dining area elegant.

I'm surfing the net to get some ideas on what is 'modern contemporary resort'

It's a good thing I didn't design my own house - I think it will end up very obit with mismatched furniture and looks!!!!

Lol Wouldn't it be great if hubbies just stay out from the furniture selection, and leave it all to us wifeys or wife-to-be? But my hubby told me str to my face tt he doesn't trust my selection, and to be frank, sometimes I don't trust myself either!

Oh, such a feminist! How could you? Wouldnt it be great if the other half is involved in the selection process? In that way, you can benefit from more ideas. Two heads are better than one, no? Is arrogance the common trait among the red devils?

Cheers.

[patsy_sg 1]

Oh, such a feminist! How could you? Wouldnt it be great if the other half is involved in the selection process? In that way, you can benefit from more ideas. Two heads are better than one, no? Is arrogance the common trait among the red devils?

Cheers.

haha thems fighting words leh....

[Umaisarah 2]

Oh, such a feminist! How could you? Wouldnt it be great if the other half is involved in the selection process? In that way, you can benefit from more ideas. Two heads are better than one, no? Is arrogance the common trait among the red devils?

Cheers.

who are you calling arrogant?

Yah, they want to take part in the selection process, but not in the FINDING process. LOL

Edited April 27, 2010 by Umaisarah

[england 0]

I almost bought those chairs in fabric, think they said can make in fabric, not sure though... decided against it coz my table is already so heavy and bulky wanted a more streamlined chair...like the Sawa chair a lot!!

Agree with you on this, Patsy. Think the chair looks nice too without the white cushion.

Cheers.

[patsy_sg 1]

who are you calling arrogant?

Yah, they want to take part in the selection process, but not in the FINDING process. LOL

yah!!!!!!!! exactly!!!! apparently all the tables look the same, doesn't matter if the towel ring matches the existing toilet roll holder... get on with it, are you done yet... haiz! be he has no choice coz he PROMISED to go with me wherever and whenever i wanted, hehehe

Agree with you on this, Patsy. Think the chair looks nice too without the white cushion.

Cheers.

but i think the cushion will make it more comfy... i like dining chairs to be comfy, so when i have guests over, like to linger at the dinner table with wine/coffee and chit chat!

[england 0]

haha thems fighting words leh....

Hmmm...I think you agree with me on this. It's common knowledge anyway.

[Zelly 0]

Agree with you on this, Patsy. Think the chair looks nice too without the white cushion.

Cheers.

Sawa chair looks good, the cushion can try for kakki instead of white??

[patsy_sg 1]

Sawa chair looks good, the cushion can try for kakki instead of white??

think if she paints the table dark borwn, it will go much better with the white cushions and the light? Have to see also what colour is the cushions of the sofa set....

[Umaisarah 2]

think if she paints the table dark borwn, it will go much better with the white cushions and the light? Have to see also what colour is the cushions of the sofa set....

Current colour is dark brown, but I'm planning to make new cushion covers, mbe in yellow ? or just plain white or khaki?

I'm just thinking that the last quote I got to varnish the table (+6 chairs) was $1,200

If I do the maths, I might be better off just buying a new dining set

[patsy_sg 1]

Current colour is dark brown, but I'm planning to make new cushion covers, mbe in yellow ? or just plain white or khaki?

I'm just thinking that the last quote I got to varnish the table (+6 chairs) was $1,200

If I do the maths, I might be better off just buying a new dining set

haha true! though if you want a proper wooden table it will still cost about 2K?

a light lemony yellow may be nice, but may clash with your lights? (too casual against the formal light?)

hehe i post more in more blog than in mine!

Edited April 27, 2010 by patsy_sg

[england 0]

Current colour is dark brown, but I'm planning to make new cushion covers, mbe in yellow ? or just plain white or khaki?

I'm just thinking that the last quote I got to varnish the table (+6 chairs) was $1,200

If I do the maths, I might be better off just buying a new dining set

I am not sure if you can get anything like a six-seater dining set for $1.2K nowadays. I would stick to the current set of chairs that you have got and they are a timeless piece from the picture. Will surely go with your bling bling hanging from the ceiling.

[Umaisarah 2]

Some updates to share on my dining chair adventure.

So I had 3 options basically.

Option 1 - varnish chairs only

Option 2 - varnish + upholster

Option 3 - buy new chairs

I already had a quote for $1,200 previously from Furniture Reborn to varnish my table + 6 chairs. So I thought better get 2nd opinion and another quote. So, I did a little googling and came across this furniture company Barossa Furnishings which also specialises in furniture repair and restoration. The owner David came down to inspect the goods, agreed that it's a good idea to upholster the chair and said he wld quote me. Abt 10 minutes after he left (superfast!) he quoted me via SMS $480 for the table and $275 per chair for upholstering and varnishing ($180 if I only varnish). And he would do my mouldy sideboard for $400. So, if I do the maths correctly, his quote is $1560, abt $360 more than Furniture Reborn. I contacted FR too but the guy sounded blur when I said I wanted to upholster. Said he wld come back to me with price, but so far quiet.

Then, I shared my idea with DH on upholstering and he made a face. Didn't like the idea (arrghhh ) But then he also said he not fussy as long as the chairs are easy to maintain (ladies, does this sound familiar....???) So as compromise, I plan to just cushion up the seat. The chair's design is still pretty good and classic, even though it's a pain to sit on it Barossa quoted me $210 to just upholster the seat area.

Spent the better part of the afternoon tdy looking at furniture shops. First stop was at The Life Shop where I asked abt the Sawa Chair. Bad news, fans! They no longer carry it They had one unit in the warehouse and it looked to be in a sorry state. Going for abt 50 bucks frm original $350. The salesgirl said she can re-order frm the factory but it'll take a few months. Talking abt Life Shop, I remembered its glory days...but now it looked quite pathetic. My fear is that it'll go the way of Barang2. Sigh....

Next stop was Evov Living at Balestier which was nearby Life Shop. Saw dining chairs which were pretty unique but the sales guy was kind of discouraging saying that somebody else was interested in the whole set and is coming by tmrw to buy it.

Final stop Park Mall and my fave shop Natural Living. Confirmed delivery date for my bed and coffee table and looked at their dining chairs. They had a better-looking version of my current dining chair (costs about $400++) and when I asked, they said they had dining chairs with the same type of weaving as my sofa set. Showed me some pictures in a catalog and they looked good and will match the rest of my furniture. Sales guy said he can sell it to me for $300 a piece, down from $500. Made a call to my MOF but he said has to think abt it cuz he hasn't seen the thing. Sigh... so much for not being fussy

Anyway, cut very long story short, I'm going for the varnish+upholster. With a new varnish tt will match the table, it's going to be fab! It's also the 2nd cheapest option. Made an appt to see David down at his shop on Sun to see his workmanship and hopefully cfm the order.

[Umaisarah 2]

I didn't get my dream dining chair, but I did get my dream bookshelf!

While at Park Mall, I spied a bookshelf that had a similar design to the one I had in mind. The shop was Air Division, whch I remembered from Home & Decor mags, sell some pretty expensive stuff. Anyway, I braved myself, stepped in, touched and felt the bookshelf then subtly checked the price. Okay, not as expensive as I thought it wld be. After 25% off, it was about $2.3K.

Then I saw another shop at the basement, Nakim Home, and after a few enquiries, discovered they do custom-made furniture. So I showed Alex, the owner, a design of the bookshelf which a kind soul had done up for me, and after punching some nbrs, he quoted me $1,800, in solid teak wood in dark walnut finish.

Now, I've asked about 3 carpenters previously to quote the bookshelf for me, and the cheapest I got was $1,500 but that was for solid ply and laminate finish. So, I figured I'm getting a good deal for $300 more but in teak wood. So, I confirmed after a feeble attempt at negotiating the price. Good thing is that it'll take 8 weeks for Alex to do the shelves so I hv abt 2 months to save to pay for the balance

I'm so happy about the bookshelf

[Zelly 0]

Some updates to share on my dining chair adventure.

So I had 3 options basically.

Option 1 - varnish chairs only

Option 2 - varnish + upholster

Option 3 - buy new chairs

I already had a quote for $1,200 previously from Furniture Reborn to varnish my table + 6 chairs. So I thought better get 2nd opinion and another quote. So, I did a little googling and came across this furniture company Barossa Furnishings which also specialises in furniture repair and restoration. The owner David came down to inspect the goods, agreed that it's a good idea to upholster the chair and said he wld quote me. Abt 10 minutes after he left (superfast!) he quoted me via SMS $480 for the table and $275 per chair for upholstering and varnishing ($180 if I only varnish). And he would do my mouldy sideboard for $400. So, if I do the maths correctly, his quote is $1560, abt $360 more than Furniture Reborn. I contacted FR too but the guy sounded blur when I said I wanted to upholster. Said he wld come back to me with price, but so far quiet.

Then, I shared my idea with DH on upholstering and he made a face. Didn't like the idea (arrghhh ) But then he also said he not fussy as long as the chairs are easy to maintain (ladies, does this sound familiar....???) So as compromise, I plan to just cushion up the seat. The chair's design is still pretty good and classic, even though it's a pain to sit on it Barossa quoted me $210 to just upholster the seat area.

Spent the better part of the afternoon tdy looking at furniture shops. First stop was at The Life Shop where I asked abt the Sawa Chair. Bad news, fans! They no longer carry it They had one unit in the warehouse and it looked to be in a sorry state. Going for abt 50 bucks frm original $350. The salesgirl said she can re-order frm the factory but it'll take a few months. Talking abt Life Shop, I remembered its glory days...but now it looked quite pathetic. My fear is that it'll go the way of Barang2. Sigh....

Next stop was Evov Living at Balestier which was nearby Life Shop. Saw dining chairs which were pretty unique but the sales guy was kind of discouraging saying that somebody else was interested in the whole set and is coming by tmrw to buy it.

Final stop Park Mall and my fave shop Natural Living. Confirmed delivery date for my bed and coffee table and looked at their dining chairs. They had a better-looking version of my current dining chair (costs about $400++) and when I asked, they said they had dining chairs with the same type of weaving as my sofa set. Showed me some pictures in a catalog and they looked good and will match the rest of my furniture. Sales guy said he can sell it to me for $300 a piece, down from $500. Made a call to my MOF but he said has to think abt it cuz he hasn't seen the thing. Sigh... so much for not being fussy

Anyway, cut very long story short, I'm going for the varnish+upholster. With a new varnish tt will match the table, it's going to be fab! It's also the 2nd cheapest option. Made an appt to see David down at his shop on Sun to see his workmanship and hopefully cfm the order.

err so you are going to do $480 for the table and varnishing for 6 chairs ($180 or 1 for $180?) and mouldy side board ($400)??? You going to use back the same color or a darker color?

[Umaisarah 2]

err so you are going to do $480 for the table and varnishing for 6 chairs ($180 or 1 for $180?) and mouldy side board ($400)??? You going to use back the same color or a darker color?

Final answer

1. Varnish table in dark walnut $480

2. Varnish chair in matching colour and upholster seat area (not sure what colour yet) $210 each

3. Total price $1,740

4. Dinner with the family Priceless

Hubby dun want to varnish the sideboard cuz we're already giving it away. I told him we can varnish it and sell it off for like $600 or something.

Anybody interested?