wow, I really love your ideas..

My wife and I will be doing reno with the budget like yours too! But we are moving into a DBSS, so most of the stuffs are taken care of.

A few quotes given by IDs were kinda disappointing (very expensive man!) but we met a few who were understanding to our needs and will try their best to accommodate to our budget.. *cross fingers*

Pls do keep the updates coming!!

Idea book continued... this time, the inspiration is from Remodelista.

Another example of a nice genkan.

Wood, white and grey...

Plants... books and a matching wooden fan!

Looking @ all these spacious home makes me a bit sad.

But, the idea of having a place of our own definitely cheers me up real fast.

looking forward to see more of your Reno progress.

You seem to have lots of to do, yet your budget is the same as mine. Weird. I don't even touch bathrooms and flooring.. Need to see my budget calculation again.

Edited April 3, 201214 yr by piknik

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You seem to have lots of to do, yet your budget is the same as mine. Weird. I don't even touch bathrooms and flooring.. Need to see my budget calculation again.

My budget less than yours, yet the only thing that remain in the bangala dom from original are the walls, the rest all new stuffs.

love the ideas you have there. definitely keeping a lookout for more updates and pics.

Looking @ all these spacious home makes me a bit sad.

But, the idea of having a place of our own definitely cheers me up real fast.

looking forward to see more of your Reno progress.

You seem to have lots of to do, yet your budget is the same as mine. Weird. I don't even touch bathrooms and flooring.. Need to see my budget calculation again.

Cheer up! Small and cosy, ain't that what we're aiming for?

Hmm, I can't disclose my scope of work and exact pricing as Shaun is giving me friendship rates. That said, his normal rates aren't high and it's really what you pay is what you get, so if you can moderate your expectations, some stuff can be quite cheap.

Anyhowz, I'll try to be a little bit more specific...

Wet works (includes hacking, tiling, painting, grilles, etc.), plumbing, electrical and flooring cost $20k with some spare change. Carpentry (includes kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and living room) and stuff from Ikea cost $10k with some spare change too. Aircon, appliances, lighting and toilet and kitchen fittings add up to less than $10k. So there you have it, all up <$40k.

I didn't buy the lamp from the group buy, but I paid around 60% of the group buy price. I shall refrain from mentioning where I buy it until I get it delivered, 'cos I don't want to be recommending lemons to anybody. But the design is not exactly like the original Arc lamp as the metal arm is tubular. But what the heck, it's dirt cheap, and it's just for accent lighting!

My tile selection was mentioned previously here. I'm using Parador AC4 3-plank oak laminates for living/dining and all bedrooms and Allure AC5 oak vinyl tiles for the kitchen. You will notice that I have some faux-timber tiles. Those are for the kitchen cabinet base skirting and bathroom dry areas.

Hahah i also bought the replica lamp (tubular type) 6 yrs back in China. Well for the price I am paying (only $90), imagine I have to hand carry back the whole assembly and the marble base weighs in at ard 20kg phew.... But of cos the metal parts have started to rust and I shall be sending it to workshop for respray to another vibrant color. Now willing to part with it as i love the flexibility to swing the lights position (esp when playing mahjong )

Good choice of laminates which suits your theme!

Can't wait to see the final product!!

I would like to have that kind of house too, but we got fengshui and budget restriction.

More over we design it ourself.

Cheer up! Small and cosy, ain't that what we're aiming for?

Hmm, I can't disclose my scope of work and exact pricing as Shaun is giving me friendship rates. That said, his normal rates aren't high and it's really what you pay is what you get, so if you can moderate your expectations, some stuff can be quite cheap.

Anyhowz, I'll try to be a little bit more specific...

Wet works (includes hacking, tiling, painting, grilles, etc.), plumbing, electrical and flooring cost $20k with some spare change. Carpentry (includes kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and living room) and stuff from Ikea cost $10k with some spare change too. Aircon, appliances, lighting and toilet and kitchen fittings add up to less than $10k. So there you have it, all up <$40k.

The detailed requirement might make our budget different as well.

I have the expensive storage flatform from systemind to begin with. 5k gone. Another platform L-shaped in the master bedroom. L-shaped wardrobe. L-shaped kitchen. ...

I like spacious room.. Ehhehe... Yah, in the end, its the idea of cozy space of our own fhat makes us happy the most.

Hahah i also bought the replica lamp (tubular type) 6 yrs back in China. Well for the price I am paying (only $90), imagine I have to hand carry back the whole assembly and the marble base weighs in at ard 20kg phew.... But of cos the metal parts have started to rust and I shall be sending it to workshop for respray to another vibrant color. Now willing to part with it as i love the flexibility to swing the lights position (esp when playing mahjong )

Good choice of laminates which suits your theme!

That's way cheaper than what I paid! Hmm, hope mine won't rust too soon!

The detailed requirement might make our budget different as well.

I have the expensive storage flatform from systemind to begin with. 5k gone. Another platform L-shaped in the master bedroom. L-shaped wardrobe. L-shaped kitchen. ...

I like spacious room.. Ehhehe... Yah, in the end, its the idea of cozy space of our own fhat makes us happy the most.

Ah, storage platforms are expensive... I don't have the budget for that. In fact, I decided that I don't have the budget for false ceilings, cove lights, downlights, carpentry for bedrooms other than the MBR and feature walls. So everything's gonna be as simple as practically possible.

Tiling is complete. HDB has replaced my switches and sockets. Ceiling is getting painted today and the rest of the house from Monday onward. So far so good.

Some more pictures to add to the ideabook...

The color scheme of my MBR bathroom is pretty close to this.

Nice, simple Dining/Kitchen.

But what impressed me most is this...

This looks tighter than my place, but it still looks surprisingly well organized and not too cramped.

Yes, my idea was to build a huge showcase on my high ceiling but....imagine the dust and difficult to clean later scare me off.

Tiling is complete. HDB has replaced my switches and sockets. Ceiling is getting painted today and the rest of the house from Monday onward. So far so good.

Some more pictures to add to the ideabook...

The color scheme of my MBR bathroom is pretty close to this.

Nice, simple Dining/Kitchen.

But what impressed me most is this...

This looks tighter than my place, but it still looks surprisingly well organized and not too cramped.

Yes, my idea was to build a huge showcase on my high ceiling but....imagine the dust and difficult to clean later scare me off.

I hate dust too, and especially the cleaning bit!

I have finally decided to escalate my claim for a refund to Paypal against Insani.

Long story...

I placed an order with Insani on 13/02/12 for a Grohe thermostatic shower mixer, Grohe handshower and Hansgrohe kitchen mixer, which Insani said was dispatched on 23/02/12.

I checked with Insani on 06/03/12 on the status of my shipment after waiting for more than 2 weeks (Insani's standard international delivery timeframe). Insani said that they will check with DHL, but they did not give me further information other than they are waiting for DHL's reply.

I checked concurrently with DHL on the shipment's status on 15/03/12. DHL said on 19/03/12 that the status of my package from Insani indicated "Electronic shipment data are available", which meant that Insani had provided the shipment data electronically but the shipment itself has not been taken over by DHL yet. DHL asked me to contact Insani for further information.

I forwarded DHL's reply to me to Insani on 19/03/12 and corresponded with them since without reaching any agreement.

Insani said on 04/01/12 that they will refund the money as soon as they have any information from DHL that the package got lost and that the transport insurance covers the loss.

Unfortunately, I am not satisfied with the arrangement because there is no indication when I will get my refund, and if I will get it at all. My point remains that I am an Insani customer, therefore the status of my refund should be independent from the reply of a third party (DHL). Whatever goes on between Insani and the third party should not concern me and in fact, should be transparent to me.

I have not received my goods after it was allegedly sent out more than 6 weeks ago. This has caused me considerable distress and inconvenience as my home renovation has been put on hold and I have to seek alternate accommodation and also buy my goods from another source. Therefore, there should be no conditions attached to my refund since Insani has failed to deliver its end of the contract.

I informed Insani on 4 Apr that if they are not able to provide a better solution, I will escalate the refund request to eBay and let eBay decide. And so, I escalated my claim today...

Sigh, unnecessary stress...