Japanese Minimal/ Scandinavian Living On A Budget

[onions2hot 0]

By the way,

Can I hack away my sink area? Does it loook reinforced? I see some bold lining in my floorplan. Would like to relocate my sink to the area between kitchen cabinet and service area -> L-shaped cabinet.

I am thinking to do actually the same u mention,I already saw three units in that area doing that,so I believe it can be done. Behind the sink,put washing machine,or juz let the rubbish cute be seen in the open. And also thinking of putting the sink(brush teeth) back to the kitchren,the owner shift the sink( brush teeth) inside the toilet. I cannot imagine got to wipe the toilet mirror every time I finish bathing. 4s toilet is very small...

I will be spray painting toilet wall to glossy white,floor juz leave it to original becos I scare too much scrubbing of the floor will make the floor tiles paint peel off. Toilet wall I only use sponge to wash so should be quite safe. I heard spray painting have all sort of colors,Matt or glossy as well. My tiles in the toilet is still good,it juz that the blueee...colour that I can't stand it. So no choice do the cheapo way hor....

[wowach 0]

Here's the general layout. I grabbed some ideas of some posts and layouts here.

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Living & Dining

I really like this idea of a raised platform for my dining area. One small difference with this picture is that my main door will be in between my living and dining. Hence I'm gonna move my bookshelf to be at the living room side. It will create a nice segregation between eat and rest areas.

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Kitchen

As for the kitchen, I'm more or less set on using cabinets only one side. It will be a L-shape cabinet. There will be no top cabinets as I will be using open-shelves from Ikea instead. The layout will be following the first pic (minus top cabinet), color scheme will be something like the second pic.

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Edited September 9, 2012 by wowach

[wowach 0]

One major problem I have is the linkage between dining and living area. I am using wooden laminates for my living room, while I prefer tiles for the kitchen for functional considerations. However, as you can see, I am going to hack away the small wall beside the storeroom (separating kitchen and living), hence it will be rather open concept.

How can I ensure there is a seamless link between the two areas without using the same tiles/laminates?

[wowach 0]

Hello!

I too am in the midst of renovating a 4 room HDB. My opinion:

1. I'm only having cabinets on one side of the kitchen. And they're bottom cabinets. My rationale is simple. First, it makes a small kitchen bigger. Second, having actually sat down and listed the items I'll be keeping in the kitchen, I realise I don't actually need that much storage space. The key is having the right type of cabinets. Too often I find people going with "standard" configurations which may not suit their needs. Also, although it may seem a bit awkward to use, having fewer bigger drawers gives you more space than having more smaller ones. Although I only have 4 long, big drawers, I think I can store a lot more.

I would hack the wall. It really does make the space look a lot bigger. Of course, I've not seen your floorplan so there may be other considerations. But I'm quite happy I did, and I think any occasional inconveniences will be offset by the permanent openness of the space

2. Hacking will increase the possibility of leaks. Nothing to do with stability of the membrane, more to do with the drill bit penetrating and making a hole in it. However, I believe if you hack the tiles, you'll have to apply a new layer of waterproof membrane anyway, so this isn't an issue in the first place.

Overlaying is definitely cheaper. BUT if the flat's old, you might want to hack and redo the membrane since you're renovating. Because if there's a leak, and the neighbour below complains, you'll have to lay a new membrane anyway, which means you'll have to hack the floor. Better hack it now, then later when you've already laid a new set of tiles.

Talk to your contractor about this.

3. Blinds, in general, are cheaper than curtains. But there are expensive blinds, and cheap curtains, so hard to say. I like blinds better because you can adjust the amount of light entering evenly for all windows, and they allow air to come in. Some say blinds are harder to clean. I say everything's hard to clean so no difference. With a vacuum cleaner, cleaning blinds is OK I feel ...

4. I too am doing a small WIW outside the MBR toilet. It's not really a WIW, more like the wardrobe acts as a divider between the sleep area and the dressing/toilet area. In fact, we're disguising the door into the sleep area as a wardrobe door. The downside of this is the sleep area is small by most standards. But that's OK because my wife and I don't watch TV or do any work in the bedroom. It's just for sleep.

You could do something similar with Ikea wardrobes. 2 things to take note. Ikea wardrobes look nice but are not sturdy. Doesn't mean they will fall apart. They just don't feel solid. Second, custom carpentry isn't necessarily more expensive. It depends on what you're doing. Get a quote from a contractor, then compare that with your ikea quotation, and decide based on value for money.

This is the one lesson I've learnt - don't look at absolute price, but make your decision based on value for money. If it's cheap, but you don't feel shiok, then that's not value for money because you dont get the satisfaction even though you save $. On the other hand, if it's expensive, but you could get the same effect with a cheaper solution, then that's also not value for money.

So put some thought into this.

Big thanks for your detailed writeup. Apologies I took so long to come back to this thread.

1) Point taken! I have decided to do only bottom cabinets and to hack the walls. My wife and I won't be doing large scale cooking, hence I don't think we will have much kitchenware to store anyway. And I'm a believer of more-storages-means-buying-more. So I'll rather constraint myself with lesser space.

2) I'm still thinking real hard on the hacking for toilets. I will definitely be overlaying the living and rooms. Just pondering real hard on the kitchen and toilets. Cost is a real issue for me. How much am I looking at for hacking floor and walls for kitchen and toilets?

3) Personally I feel blinds are easier to clean. Just wipe regularly. Will certainly be going for blinds. Prefer the slicker looks too.

4) I'm really curious about your idea. It's totally the same idea I have if you look at my proposed layout. I agree its more of a divider-wardrobe than a WIW. And yes, the sleeping area does become much smaller. What I'm concern is the natural lighting, it will become real dark in the daytime because of the separator. Do you have this problem too? Ikea has got this PAX Storage system that kind of fits the bill.

[wowach 0]

Re: renovation costs, I highly recommend you work backwards from final cost (reno + appliances + furnishings).

It's misleading to talk about renovation budget (ie. what the ID or contractor charges you) first because that's often maybe just 2/3s of the final cost. If you start with the reno budget first, you may find yourself not having much left for furniture and appliances which actually make the house liveable! No point having a nice place with no furniture or appliances, right?

Or spoiling the look because your options for furniture were severely limited because you had little $ left.

So work backwards.

Also, pay attention to your lighting budget. IDs sometimes work fancy light fixtures into their designs which can add $2 - $3K. And lighting's such that you can't always replace it with cheaper options. If the design calls for downlights, track lights etc, you have no choice if you want to stick to their design. I've realise most IDs just design away without thinking about lighting costs. Few actually talk to you about that cost because it's not part of the reno quote, which excludes fixtures. So if you engage an ID or contractor, tell them up front how much you're willing to spend on lights.

To save even more money, Ikea kitchen cabinets will work for the look you're going for. Their kitchen systems aren't bad, and the choice of doors are good for the price they charge. I don't think any carpenter can match their price for that type of look. Most custom carpentry designs are the same. The only difference is laminate. Laminate can indeed change the look, but you can't replace cornices or glass panes with laminate!

Sometimes, a combination of custom carpentry + Ikea doors works best.

As someone mentioned earlier, being able to DIY is very helpful. It helps you save money because you can do quite a lot yourself. More importantly, it gives you an eye for certain things .... it helps with the creative process, and in thinking of solutions. So get involved in your design. Don't just lean on your contractor or ID. Do your homework.

IDs / contractors will always take the shortest way to please you. They often don't go out of their way to save you money, especially if they're within budget. I realise (too late, sadly) that if I had been more hands on, I could have achieved a lot more and saved money. Instead, I thought my ID was doing a good job by proposing something I liked that was within my budget. But going through the details, and doing my own work later, I realised while I didn't bust my budget, I wasn't always getting value for money.

Thanks for the advice!

I do agree custom+Ikea does provide the best value for money. Some things can be saved, while some things can't. My budget excludes furnishing, furniture, lights and electronics. And for big item stuff like aircon and fridge we'll be going for interest-free installments. So hopefully that will ease up the burden.

My budget of 30K however includes all renovation, plumbing and electrical/wiring. It's still abit tight.

I will take your advise and tell my contractor upfront my budget. Probably around 25K, leaving some leeway for extras which are inevitable.

[wowach 0]

I am thinking to do actually the same u mention,I already saw three units in that area doing that,so I believe it can be done. Behind the sink,put washing machine,or juz let the rubbish cute be seen in the open. And also thinking of putting the sink(brush teeth) back to the kitchren,the owner shift the sink( brush teeth) inside the toilet. I cannot imagine got to wipe the toilet mirror every time I finish bathing. 4s toilet is very small...

I will be spray painting toilet wall to glossy white,floor juz leave it to original becos I scare too much scrubbing of the floor will make the floor tiles paint peel off. Toilet wall I only use sponge to wash so should be quite safe. I heard spray painting have all sort of colors,Matt or glossy as well. My tiles in the toilet is still good,it juz that the blueee...colour that I can't stand it. So no choice do the cheapo way hor....

Actually my unit's rubbish chute is at the lift area, not in the house. Haven't heard much of spraypainting the toilet walls. Wouldn't water and humidity cause it to peel very quickly?

I will be very keen to do painting for my kitchen toilet if that is feasible. Just floortiles and wallpaint.

Edited September 9, 2012 by wowach

[frigginfuchsia 0]

Am really gonna look forward to yr updates ! Am a huge fan of the japanese minimal and scandi feel.

I think the wonderful thing abt a tight budget is that we need to be more resourceful and creative in material usage and purchased furnishings. We were on a pretty tight budget too. Thankfully we managed to keep our 23 yr old floor tiles for the living room and bedrooms. we also manage to keep a good portion of the old oblong white tiles in the kitchen.

We've slowly furnished our home throughout the last year with vintage pieces from careful sourcing and a number of vintage pieces were refurbished and restored on our own. This saved some costs and also ensured every piece had a cool story behind them. Am a vintage lover who has a mini obesession for restoration so it helped fuel my restoration itch.

I hope you'll have a pleasant renovation journey and last but not least, congrats on the purchase of yr new home!!!!!!!

[wowach 0]

Thanks friggin! Your place looks awesome.

Been some time since I updated this place. Sorry about that.

Have been spending my time meeting up IDs, Contractors, visiting Ikea and the major retailers to get a feel of how much I should be budget. $ has been my top most concern for the past few weeks.

Am still meeting IDs and Contractors. And as expected, most exceed my budget of 30K. I now have a good sense of the market rate, and I'm gonna try to trim my requirements to fit the budget. Am a firm believer of keeping to initial budget, else it will never end, isn't it?

I'm trying to get a better feel of my non-reno items. I want to work things backward to make sure everything falls within my budget. Remeber what I say about my budgeting principles? Hehe.

Appreciate if anyone can advise if I have over/under-budget for any of the non-reno items below? I have a column for recommended retailers, so please free to let me know I can good deals! My total budget for this portion of my home is about 20K. As you can see, I'm already horribly off tangent. Need to cut 8K off from this initial draft.

I am already going low-end for most of my stuff. No highend mattresses like Sealy, but beds.sg, for example.

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Edited November 21, 2012 by wowach

[wowach 0]

15 seconds after posting, I realize I didn't factor in the costs of switches. More $ gone.

COST! CONTROL! MUST!

[blueriverview 0]

Thanks friggin! Your place looks awesome.

Been some time since I updated this place. Sorry about that.

Have been spending my time meeting up IDs, Contractors, visiting Ikea and the major retailers to get a feel of how much I should be budget. $ has been my top most concern for the past few weeks.

Am still meeting IDs and Contractors. And as expected, most exceed my budget of 30K. I now have a good sense of the market rate, and I'm gonna try to trim my requirements to fit the budget. Am a firm believer of keeping to initial budget, else it will never end, isn't it?

I'm trying to get a better feel of my non-reno items. I want to work things backward to make sure everything falls within my budget. Remeber what I say about my budgeting principles? Hehe.

Appreciate if anyone can advise if I have over/under-budget for anything below? I have a column for recommended retailers, so please free to let me know I can good deals!

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how about your kitchen cabinets, kitchen worktop, kitchen sink and tap? no re-piping of water/gas pipes? hacking wall cost? no floor/wall tiles? all lightings re-use? any relocation of electrical/tv points? room doors re-use? no need to paint the house? installation cost of your sanitary wares? installation cost of your lightings/ceiling fans?

contractors come in, there will be removal/haulage fees...

[wowach 0]

how about your kitchen cabinets, kitchen worktop, kitchen sink and tap? no re-piping of water/gas pipes? hacking wall cost? no floor/wall tiles? all lightings re-use? any relocation of electrical/tv points? room doors re-use? no need to paint the house? installation cost of your sanitary wares? installation cost of your lightings/ceiling fans?

contractors come in, there will be removal/haulage fees...

Those belong to the Reno items. What I have in that table are the non Reno items.

But you brought up the installation cost of sanitary and wares that I missed out. Thanks!

[ultimax 2]

Those belong to the Reno items. What I have in that table are the non Reno items.

But you brought up the installation cost of sanitary and wares that I missed out. Thanks!

I think you have to first figure out what's necessary (for example, a water heater) and what's a luxury (for example, the Xbox. thought if you're a hardcore gamer, it might not be ...)

There are quite a few items on that list that I think most of us wouldn't include because they're not really part of the reno per se, though I do admit with things like a sound system, it depends on how you see it.

If you don't filter your list into the musts and the nice-to-haves, the sky's really the limit and your budget will indeed get out of hand. What really jumps out at me is the $3600 for 3 TVs ... surely you could get something cheaper?

Also, are your lights LED, PLC or regular E27 (screw bulb) lights? The price you've listed puts them in the range of LED lights ... and you probably should go for the others, which are cheaper, if you're on a budget?

[wowach 0]

I think you have to first figure out what's necessary (for example, a water heater) and what's a luxury (for example, the Xbox. thought if you're a hardcore gamer, it might not be ...)

There are quite a few items on that list that I think most of us wouldn't include because they're not really part of the reno per se, though I do admit with things like a sound system, it depends on how you see it.

If you don't filter your list into the musts and the nice-to-haves, the sky's really the limit and your budget will indeed get out of hand. What really jumps out at me is the $3600 for 3 TVs ... surely you could get something cheaper?

Also, are your lights LED, PLC or regular E27 (screw bulb) lights? The price you've listed puts them in the range of LED lights ... and you probably should go for the others, which are cheaper, if you're on a budget?

Thanks for your reply!

Actually I'm having a home theatre room, so most of the budget for the TV is going to that room. And yes, the Xbox is a must for me. The home theatre room is going to be a cornerpiece of my home, I Hope.

I'm going for regular PLC down lights. Which I means I have over budgeted for this area. I'm more worried about such items, together with stuff like sinks and shower heads which I have zero experience in buying.

Thanks for your advise! Maybe j should color code my list to list to things I can scrimp, and things I want to go for the max I can afford. So much to learn! Thanks again.

[ultimax 2]

Thanks for your reply!

Actually I'm having a home theatre room, so most of the budget for the TV is going to that room. And yes, the Xbox is a must for me. The home theatre room is going to be a cornerpiece of my home, I Hope.

I'm going for regular PLC down lights. Which I means I have over budgeted for this area. I'm more worried about such items, together with stuff like sinks and shower heads which I have zero experience in buying.

Thanks for your advise! Maybe j should color code my list to list to things I can scrimp, and things I want to go for the max I can afford. So much to learn! Thanks again.

Hey no worries

Yeah you should have a list of priorities ... that's fundamental to good budgeting. So is discipline. As my wife says, spending a little more here, and a little more there, all adds up.

Lights can really be a silent killer. I recognise they do affect the mood/look of the place, but the price difference not only between different designs, but different technologies (PLC, LED, halogen, E27 screws) can be very significant.

Personally, I like E27 screw bulbs the most. You don't need complicated transformer systems, the fixtures are cheaper, and the energy saving bulbs are reasonably priced. Easy to purchase too. If you're on a budget, these would probably be the cheapest. There's also no flicker when you switch them on, which some PLC/fluorescent tubes are prone to.

[lancified 3]

Thanks for your reply!

Actually I'm having a home theatre room, so most of the budget for the TV is going to that room. And yes, the Xbox is a must for me. The home theatre room is going to be a cornerpiece of my home, I Hope.

I'm going for regular PLC down lights. Which I means I have over budgeted for this area. I'm more worried about such items, together with stuff like sinks and shower heads which I have zero experience in buying.

Thanks for your advise! Maybe j should color code my list to list to things I can scrimp, and things I want to go for the max I can afford. So much to learn! Thanks again.

Lights make a huge difference to the feel of your house. If you are going to spend so much on your renovation, I highly suggest u increase your budget for lightings if you are buying them in Singapore. Or similarly, you can buy the same exact lightings from Malaysia at 1/3 of the price, this will easily reduce your spendings on lights at least by $1k.

For myself, I opt for whole house LED downlights/bulbs/tubes/strips since it was within my budget when I purchased them in Malaysia instead of SG.