why would you want your bathroom to look mouldy? haha. But yes, it gives a very nice rustic and worn look for sure

You know, when it comes to reno, what to do and what not to do is largely a subjective choice. The owner has to be careful not to listen too much (or too little) to the contractor because what they suggest could be motivated by a few things:

- too lazy to go and source for things and liaise with other contractors (where they earn v little relative to their efforts)

- suggesting something you don't really need which will boost their profits

- their lack of confidence to carry out a piece of work

Of course, there are the good ones who actually tell you as it is - all the advantages and disadvantages of some of the things that you want. As long as the contractor is able to substantiate his reason for suggesting something to you, then that's ok.

In your case, I have a bit of problem with the contractor saying that it's a waste of money. What is considered a "waste of money" is really up to you. If you feel that you will derive that much more pleasure by having the glass doors (and provided it is within your budget), then who is to say it is a waste of money cos to you, that would have been money well spent.

Put it this way, if one wants to be really an*l about it, one can view a renovation as a complete waste of money, especially if the house is in a "move in condition". BUT, why do people still pour so much money to do up their homes? It's cos they see the value in moving into a place which they can truly call their own. Of course, we cannot then treat that as a license to overspend. With all things, spend within your budget, where some have the luxury to have a bigger budget than the rest. It's all relative.

Whatever the case, ask for what you feel will give you as the home owner the most pleasure when staying in your own home. Remember at the end of the day, your contractor isn't staying there - YOU are.

Glad you like the stools! The stools and sewing machine legs are both from Second Charm. We intend to use them as a vanity stand! Interesting eh?

*edit* oh yes we don't exactly have a firm handover date yet because even after we've done everything, we still need to wait for the contractor from Closet Design to come fix up our walk in wardrobe before our ID comes in to do the touch ups etc. We are targeting a mid Feb deadline for all this to happen. Won't be able to make it for CNY i'm afraid!

Hi Vicx1234,

yep totally agree with you tat in the end we the owners are the ones who will be staying in the house. hmm...i am very firm on my initial things-to-have in my home, my kitchen is the area which i placed the most energy, brain cells in thinking the designs and where i want my stuff to be as i am a heavy cooker. then stuff like study table, shoe cabinet and wardrobe also i was very clear and firm in the things i want. but for those nice-to-have which was added later on, (by myself actually hahaha) that my contractor adviced me against although he already sourced for me.

but, i truly appreciate your wise advice for me and to all home owners here. we should make a stand on what we truly wants for our home... but i always got swayed and drool at some fantastic designs that u guys have hahaha.. so will tend to copy lor..paiseh ah.. hahaha

Hi Vicx1234,

how much does the dining lights cost? From Taobao?

Purchases continued....

Lights for the dining area. Gives the space a real nice industrial chic look and should pair really well with our dining table.

Hi vicx1234,

Have you actually received the lights? If so, is quality close to what their photos suggest? I have also shortlisted quite a few pieces of 就来's 复古工业 lightings.

Edited January 21, 201412 yr by mavicaste

Hi Vicx1234,

yep totally agree with you tat in the end we the owners are the ones who will be staying in the house. hmm...i am very firm on my initial things-to-have in my home, my kitchen is the area which i placed the most energy, brain cells in thinking the designs and where i want my stuff to be as i am a heavy cooker. then stuff like study table, shoe cabinet and wardrobe also i was very clear and firm in the things i want. but for those nice-to-have which was added later on, (by myself actually hahaha) that my contractor adviced me against although he already sourced for me.

but, i truly appreciate your wise advice for me and to all home owners here. we should make a stand on what we truly wants for our home... but i always got swayed and drool at some fantastic designs that u guys have hahaha.. so will tend to copy lor..paiseh ah.. hahaha

hey, we are guilty of that too, the copy and paste part that is. haha. we are all here to learn and share with each other after all. We get so jealous sometimes when we see other people's houses on renotalk that we decided when we got our place we were going to do it up nicely and as best as we can too.

Hi Vicx1234,

how much does the dining lights cost? From Taobao?

Hi Danmify, yup the lights are from taobao and costs about $220 thereabouts including shipping.

Hi vicx1234,

Have you actually received the lights? If so, is quality close to what their photos suggest? I have also shortlisted quite a few pieces of 就来's 复古工业 lightings.

hey mavicaste! I would say the products come as described and as pictured, but in terms of quality I wouldn't say that it's outstanding. It is however decent and as some people have suggested in this forum, it would be better if you got lights with less (moving) parts. For the bedside table lamps that we got, they came with many joints to when we move it about we got to be extra careful or we may risk damaging the fixtures themselves. But July's selection is pretty good and the products came well packed, so it has at least that going for them.

hey mavicaste! I would say the products come as described and as pictured, but in terms of quality I wouldn't say that it's outstanding. It is however decent and as some people have suggested in this forum, it would be better if you got lights with less (moving) parts. For the bedside table lamps that we got, they came with many joints to when we move it about we got to be extra careful or we may risk damaging the fixtures themselves. But July's selection is pretty good and the products came well packed, so it has at least that going for them.

Thanks for the assurance!

Hi Vicx1234,

That's a real good deal! I was walking along Balestier Rd and saw something similar for S$485!!

Thanks for the assurance!

Most welcome! Excited to see what you will be purchasing from them, do upload the pics in time to come.

Hi Vicx1234,

That's a real good deal! I was walking along Balestier Rd and saw something similar for S$485!!

Tell me about it. From our walkabouts along Balestier and through browsing on taobao, we found that prices for the bigger lighting fixtures were generally twice as expensive here in Singapore, sometimes even 3 times more expensive. But then you're not paying for rental and labour costs in Singapore when you buy from taobao, so not surprising that it's that much cheaper.

Of course, you may end up with a lousy product as well or it may come broken, so caveat emptor still applies haha.

Items arrived in great condition, but I must say that I had thought the sound of the sink when knocked would be nicer. There isn't any of that dull thud noise which you associate with a Kraus sink. Hey but for that price, I can't complain.

Sound wise, I'm actually thinking of a few solutions - putting moongel dampeners or those acoustic soundproofing panels that are found in those car audio shops to kindda create the dull thud, not sure if anyone here has tried doing that before. Came across this on Amazon too, wondering if it'll work leh:

http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-21-Inch-Dampening-Acoustic-SF01/dp/B0040JHMH6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_1/184-4622020-8423359

Anyway, will post more pictures when the quartz top, faucet and soap dispenser is installed. Cheers.

the dampening technique should work. since the dampening material is hidden from view, can consider double layering as well. i also used the dampening materials on strategic panels on my washer and dryer, and has cut down on the sounds generated from the machine body. wrt the sink, no harm using cheaper material, just make sure to cover as much surface as possible.

Lights, Camera, Action

Things have been moving at a slower pace that we'd like. The carpenters have been kindda missing in action these 1 or 2 days and I suspect it's because everyone is waiting for the quartz top to be delivered. However, the lights and some bathroom accessories have finally made their way into their respective places in our house, so that's been pretty exciting to see.

Here are some pictures for you to see see look look

First up, our so called "lighting plan" - sibei amateur Most of the 'X's indicate where our downlights will be. The yellow strips indicate LED lighting strips and the others are self explanatory. We're going full out on the layering of the MBR lights which include a 2 m tracklight for the WIW, a dresser feature light, 2 rows of cove lighting, 5 downlights w dimmer function, 2 bedside lamps and 2 recessed twin-headed downlights. Some of these will be remote controlled which will give us the flexibility to play around with the lights depending on the mood or occasion.

Our trio of kitchen wall lights to act as additional task lighting. Not too sure if it's overkill to have them all placed at such a short distance apart but I suppose it's always better to have more rather than less lighting.

E's overhead dressing table feature lights. This will be supplemented by LED light strips bordering her dresser mirror.

MBR with downlights on. Still missing the 2 twinhead recessed downlights below. All our switches and sockets at home are from Schneider Electric's Vivace series as part of the electrician's package.

the dampening technique should work. since the dampening material is hidden from view, can consider double layering as well. i also used the dampening materials on strategic panels on my washer and dryer, and has cut down on the sounds generated from the machine body. wrt the sink, no harm using cheaper material, just make sure to cover as much surface as possible.

thanks for dropping by and for your input getzski. I haven't even thought that far about dampening the washer and dryer yet but now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense! In fact everybody should do this. Just curious, which brand of dampening or soundproofing material did you use and where did you get it from?

Lights continued & other purchases

A close up of our kitchen wall lights - the lamps came bigger than originally expected, but hey it still looks good! The wife says that it's a bit too high though. What do you guys think? Anyway, we're gonna keep the plastic cover on the lights until all the works are completed. Still pretty dusty and dirty in the house after all the carpentry and electrical works.

A side shot of our bedside table lamp. Out of all the lights, I would say that the quality of these lights are the lousiest of the lot - think it has to do with the number of joints it has. Also, the metal plate mounted onto the wall is a bit thin and flimsy. Not sure if it can withstand the weight of the lamp in a couple of years. I suspect we'll have to change it further down the road.

The fancy Edison bulbs for our kitchen dining lights just came too! Very excited to see the beautiful filament patterns.

LED Track spotlights - we will be using around 6 x 5w lights to light up our WIW. Good thing with tracklights is that you can focus on the spots you want to. For these particular lights from taobao, they came in a size much bigger than expected. Not as nice as the ones made in Germany that they sell at Chan Huat etc. Oh well, for the price you pay, can't really complain. At most just change when it's spoilt.

Our fan finally got fixed up and I must say it looks fantastic. It has a matte finish and although we haven't tested the wind speed, the blades look like they can generate some serious air. Very happy with this purchase.

Sometime last week I was researching on robot vacuum cleaners and came across this thread on hardwarezone:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/home-decor-furnishings-188/lg-roboking-3692302.html

Having been impressed so much by the reviews, I immediately msged E and told her that we need to get it haha. It is available in Singapore via autovacstore for $908 or from QOO10 for $699. Just so happened that the QOO10 store was having a promo price at $599 so I immediately bought it. Free delivery summore! Will do a review of it once we start using it.

Sometime last week I was researching on robot vacuum cleaners and came across this thread on hardwarezone:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/home-decor-furnishings-188/lg-roboking-3692302.html

Having been impressed so much by the reviews, I immediately msged E and told her that we need to get it haha. It is available in Singapore via autovacstore for $908 or from QOO10 for $699. Just so happened that the QOO10 store was having a promo price at $599 so I immediately bought it. Free delivery summore! Will do a review of it once we start using it.

My friend's house have a vacuum robot too and been thinking of getting one too when my house is up

Heard you can just program the timing it should clean and etc, once done it will go back to the docking station which I find it very good.

Edited January 23, 201412 yr by Songz

hi danmify, this is the clearest picture I have now of the living room tiles. The 3d drawing isn't the most accurate as our ID outsources it to someone else, so pardon the inaccuracies. Anyway, our floor grouting is currently grey in a shade which matches our cement screed lookalike tiles. We wanted a seamless look across the floor to get the feel of real concrete screed, but having said that, since it is homogeneous tiles it is impossible for it to be 100% even in terms of colour. Still, we think our contractor did a pretty good job with it.

Just before laying the tiles, our ID asked us to come down so that the tiler could mix the grouting on the spot and show us the actual colour. I suppose your contractor will be able to do that for you too.

As for the tile itself, it comes straight edged, and I doubt the tiler will be able to do a 45 deg cut since it would be quite inconsistent I can imagine. For the grouting thickness, if I'm not wrong it's about the thickness of a 10 cent coin.

Hope this helps

Very nice tiles.. it is smooth or rough surface?

Hihi,

What is your plan for Living Feature Wall? I am curious

Looking real good Vic!