Nuar 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2010 I think its not possible to extend so much into the kitchen area frm the living area. max i think 1.5m frm the wall you gonna hack. if you cook often, not advisable to have such a small kitchen. Its gonna be a real challenge to plan your items washing machine stove oven laundry etc... Hi, Always happy. Hmmm... now you make me think... Why do you think it's not possible to extend the living area into the kitchen that much? Just wondering... My contractor told can do, maybe I should question him..? I cook quite often, but the small kitchen that I plan look quite cozy to me. First, that's gonna be one person kitchen. Either only me cook or only my husband. Never both of us. Secondly, I don't see any problem with choosing appliances... We already bought stove, oven, sink. Shortlisted the fridge, and washing mashine. We don't have much space for laundry drying - that's true. Because of this we are considering buying washer+dryer combo dispite its unreliability. I mean, normally combos are not as reliable, as separate washer/dryer. I emphasized my comtractor that the hight of the kitchen counter should be at least 86cm before the kitchen top. So that the washing mashine can fit underneath. Hopefully he will not forget about it. )) I'm actually planning to put all my requirments in writing and pass to him, so that it was clear for both of us what we agreed upon. And thridly, now we are renting 3rm flat with a normal long kitchen counter (along one wall) and even dispite my heavy cooking I ever hardly utilize all of it. I use only half of cabinets. And most of counter top space is occupied with bottles of sauses and spices - that's only because I don't have any rack to put them in. But in my dream kitchen I have planned a space for all small bottles, so the kitchen countertop will be mainly free from stuff. I hope so. ) But anyway, please let me know why you think it's not possible to extend the living into kitchen. We actually intended to rise the floor, and lay parquet in that area. Now there is 100mm drop right after kitchen door. So, contractor will increase floor in half of the kitchen. What do you think? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuar 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2010 ya, its still a long wait. No choice cos i given the seller more time to so that he can reno his new flat so the 1st and 2nd appt was delayed as long as possible. After you go Ikea, let me know. if you think the quality is quite ok, then i might want to buy from Ikea too. hehehehe.... i think if can last 5 years, its worth it so every 5 years, can change new. just need a carpenter to change or if ikea things as easy to install as they say, i think we can do it ourselves too. Hi, 'May_dream1', Ok, I've been in Ikea, but it didnt help me to make a decision. )))) (actually I'm quite bad at making decisions, especially when you need to choose between two, and that's exactly the case!) Wire baskets are of course cheap, and quite deep, and the structure looks quite steady, but the rail part is not very smooth... It's not flimsy, but have some bumps when you slide it in and out.... Ikea also have pull out drawers (hidden behind the casement door of the cabinet), and those feel much smoother, but the price is much higher, and also they consist of some plastic parts, that doesn't look reliable to me, especially after you use this drawer for 5 years... So, I'm still contemplating. I'm meeting my contractor tonight and gonna ask him what exactly he means under drawer for 80 sgd, if I like what it looks like, and it has smooth slide in/out, I'll go for it. If not, I go for Ikea baskets. After all, smooth sliding maybe just a cosmetic defect, and may not effect the lifespan of the basket. I'll keep you updated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gohhuishi 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2010 Hi, Always happy. Hmmm... now you make me think... Why do you think it's not possible to extend the living area into the kitchen that much? Just wondering... My contractor told can do, maybe I should question him..? ..... But anyway, please let me know why you think it's not possible to extend the living into kitchen. We actually intended to rise the floor, and lay parquet in that area. Now there is 100mm drop right after kitchen door. So, contractor will increase floor in half of the kitchen. What do you think? I increase my living space into my kitchen too.. for a dining area.. but not a whole lot... rise the floor in that area... Rem my contractor mention something about HDB regulation can only cover up to a certain area... like 1/3 or something.. but i cant rem the specifics.. Do ask ur contractor and see if he got any answers for u! i got 2 pull out wire basket from hoekee.. at $100+ i think.. the pull out system/rail feels quite solid.. but i haven really live in and use it to the extent to give a verdict on how good it is.. u can check it out.. i think its def useful to put my big pots and pans to dry them... looking forward to checking out ur start of ur reno! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuar 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2010 Some updates: December 28 we had our second appointment. It was super fast - just sign one paper. To our surprise the ex-owner handed over the keys to us on the spot! By right we allowed them to stay 1 week longer to finish the renovation in their new place (they were doing contra), but somehow they managed to move out just in time. So, now our renovation may start a bit earlier. Not sure, maybe no - because our contractor was not prepared for such turn (neither were we), and not sure if he can re-arrange his manpower to start earlier. But anyway, worst case they start as planned - January 5th. Yesterday we went to the flat to look. I had a butterflies in my stomach when entering our first home! huhuhuh.... Thanks to ex-owners they left the flat totally empty and not messy. Just dust from under cabinets, that's all. The view from the window is a bit scary though (it's 13th floor), but I expect to get used to it. Other than that, I can't wait to start our renovation adventure! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gimz63251073 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2010 Hi hi! From the floor plan, it does look like u want to extend 2m (or one third) of your living room right? So rougly u are left with 4m of kitchen. (8m if you consider both sides) Taking away pipes, areas for stove, oven, fridge, washer, sink etc.... not much space left. Not sure if the plans are drawn to scale, but its always good to do to scale since u already settled on the electronics part... For example: Length of one side = 4m Witdth: Sink = 100cm (include allowance) Fridge = 85cm (assume big fridge for frequent cooking) So techinically u are left with 2.15m of work top space for preparation. Would be enough i think. but hey, my kitchen is even smaller (due to no top cabinets) and we can still chuck everything away nicely.... just need to constantly remind ourselves not to buy things we do not need. on a side note: For old flats with rubbish chutes in the house , i would say better not cover up the chute with bottom cabinets. My flat went thru rubbish chute fogging and tiny creatures ran out through the sides while chute is closed! Imagine if the area is boxed up....they would surely have made it their home.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
May_dream1 14 Report post Posted December 30, 2010 Hi, 'May_dream1', Ok, I've been in Ikea, but it didnt help me to make a decision. )))) (actually I'm quite bad at making decisions, especially when you need to choose between two, and that's exactly the case!) Wire baskets are of course cheap, and quite deep, and the structure looks quite steady, but the rail part is not very smooth... It's not flimsy, but have some bumps when you slide it in and out.... Ikea also have pull out drawers (hidden behind the casement door of the cabinet), and those feel much smoother, but the price is much higher, and also they consist of some plastic parts, that doesn't look reliable to me, especially after you use this drawer for 5 years... So, I'm still contemplating. I'm meeting my contractor tonight and gonna ask him what exactly he means under drawer for 80 sgd, if I like what it looks like, and it has smooth slide in/out, I'll go for it. If not, I go for Ikea baskets. After all, smooth sliding maybe just a cosmetic defect, and may not effect the lifespan of the basket. I'll keep you updated. Hi Nuar, how to know your contractor's under drawer will be smooth or not? You will need to see and feel it, right? I might go ikea on saturday to have a look with my sis cos she is using something now that is good so she can give me a better idea. I will let you know as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
May_dream1 14 Report post Posted December 30, 2010 on a side note: For old flats with rubbish chutes in the house , i would say better not cover up the chute with bottom cabinets. My flat went thru rubbish chute fogging and tiny creatures ran out through the sides while chute is closed! Imagine if the area is boxed up....they would surely have made it their home.. oh yes, i have the same idea too. So for my rubbish chute, i don't plan to have any cabinet or boxing it up. firstly, i want to be able to see it and clean that area. secondly, i want to be able to tape up the side when fogging going to be done so nothing can crawl out of it. thirdly, save some costs also so will just have nice rubbish chute and kitchen counter build on the top that can flip open so its not so obvious and yet still able to be seen and cleaned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuar 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2010 Hi Nuar, how to know your contractor's under drawer will be smooth or not? You will need to see and feel it, right? I might go ikea on saturday to have a look with my sis cos she is using something now that is good so she can give me a better idea. I will let you know as well. Heheheh... yeah, I can't really check his drawers, but I think I know what type of drawers he means... I just want to confirm with him. on a side note: For old flats with rubbish chutes in the house , i would say better not cover up the chute with bottom cabinets. My flat went thru rubbish chute fogging and tiny creatures ran out through the sides while chute is closed! Imagine if the area is boxed up....they would surely have made it their home.. I was thinking about not covering this part, but it will waist too much space in our case. So, decided to hide it under the bottom cabinet. Hope, that roaches are not fit enough to reach up to 13th floor. From the floor plan, it does look like u want to extend 2m (or one third) of your living room right? So rougly u are left with 4m of kitchen. (8m if you consider both sides) Taking away pipes, areas for stove, oven, fridge, washer, sink etc.... not much space left. Not sure if the plans are drawn to scale, but its always good to do to scale since u already settled on the electronics part... For example: Length of one side = 4m My drawing was done more or less to scale (can't confirm 100% scale, coz it was done based on HDB floorplan, and it looks that they give not inner wall measurements there, so I had to make some adjustments) According to it, I extended dining space for 3 meters. Basically, chopped kitchen in two. On the right handside remaining 3m are devidid between: 0.85 for fridge, including allowance. 0.85 for double sink, one of its bowls can be covered with chopping bord = additional work space. A bit of allowance from the window to sink, and about 1 m of working space. I was afraid it would be too little. Then i measured the space I'm using now in my rental kitchen: out of 3m of work space daily I use only about 1m - the rest is occupied by rice cookers, blenders, sause bottles, and some other stuff... So, it's not a matter of having a LOT of space, it's a matter of how you use it. Anyway, I will double check with my contractor if it's technically possible to make kitchen according to my drawing. If it is, I will proceed and since it was my idea, nobody else to blame except for myself, if it turn out to be inconvinient. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
May_dream1 14 Report post Posted December 31, 2010 How was the meeting with your contractor and the under drawer for kitchen cabinet?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Always Happy 0 Report post Posted January 1, 2011 Like what gohhuishi has mentioned, i think there is a regulation it should not exceed 1/3 area for leveling into kitchen area. you can do so if yr contractor do confirmed its ok. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuar 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) - Edited July 1, 2012 by Nuar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuar 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) - Edited July 1, 2012 by Nuar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuar 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) - Edited July 1, 2012 by Nuar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuar 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) - Edited July 1, 2012 by Nuar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuar 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) - Edited July 1, 2012 by Nuar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
