First Home ~ 3 Room Bto: Ideas + Suggestions! :)

[janesuah 6]

Hello! Has been following a few reno blogs, saving pics, and combining our ideas for our small nest - a 3 room BTO!

I feel that I gotta start 1 too cos there isnt alot of 3 room BTO out there, hope this can be useful for others too.

Its our first home, we took a quick look at it before getting keys (pics below), and was feeling kinda regretted..why did we choose a 3 room? cos this layout is really small We were bidding for 4room but failed twice cos of the super bad Q no. And few yrs back when they adjusted the income ceiling, we fall into that category and switched to 3room immediately while waiting for the Q no. for segar vale....anddd we got a really good Q no. We choose the last floor *17th*, with quite a good view, windy, and a good unit number which is our lucky number

As you can see from my floor plan, our living room is much smaller as compare to others 3 room BTO which I saw here (theirs is over 6100), we do have *slightly* bigger toilets den others... but..whats the point?

Initial plannings, suggestions needed!

Below are a few layouts and ideas we had in mind. We are thinking of combining the 2 rooms. We do have concerns about our future plans, ...like our children? Where will they slp? Where shall be their study room? Hmm.. We are actually planning to have our first child next year or 2016, the baby will temporarily sleep at the *wardrobe room*. As both of our mum just stay a few blks away, during daytime baby will be under their care. After 5th year, we will probably be renting out this house (although I do not wish to!!) and get a bigger house to stay together with in-laws.

Main difference is on the bedroom

Layout 1:

Layout 2 (don't hack at all), but MBR will be small and we will have a smaller wardrobe too.

Advices?

Edited April 16, 2014 by janesuah

[janesuah 6]

Ideas

Found these ideas from google, hdb interior tumblr and some from this forum.

These are the few pics I showed to my dad (he might be my contractor), I'm glad he did not oppose much, cos usually elderly will say dont do this, dont do that....

- Living room: Brick wall on TV console. Bay window. Fish Tank (a must..husband hobby). Black colour fan and lights. Blinds. Cement screed tiles.

- Kitchen: Either simple light wood colour, or Scandinavia theme (husband oppose)?

- Corridor: Tinted mirror across bomb shelter and toilet door.

- MBR: Glass wall toilet. Bay window . Back cushion panel .Platform bed with pull out storage . Dark brown parquet.

I am not sure if all these can come together well! Had a hard time picturing it since we don't have 3D drawing......

Mirrored Corridor. husband say he gonna paint sth on the opposite wall :

Kitchen:

Bed:

Wardrobe Interior:

Edited April 16, 2014 by janesuah

[Troublemaker 31]

Well.. if you are not sure of your plans, then I suggest not to hack any wall first. You can convert your common room to a study + wardrobe room.

My 3rm flat is also small too. Hence I will convert my common room into a study room (just in case I decide to rent out a room in the future).

[Harriette 42]

Hi jane,

Welcome to Bukit Panjang. Since both your mum and mum in law stay here, I guess you are very familiar with the town?

I personally like the tranquility of the town and yet, ample amenities are nearby too.

[janesuah 6]

Troublemaker: Yeah, its a dilemma : \ Shall decide about it when we get keys next month. We are leaning more towards hacking cos want to open up the space to look bigger. My dad is suggesting not to put a sliding door in between, but just a frame/border(what do u call that? lol). If really need, den he will construct back the wall for future use.

Harriette: I read your thread before! Your hse is facing the reservoir.... nice view!

I have been staying at Bp since.... 10~12yrs ago. Its definitely getting better with the direct bus and train services to town.

[Takaishi 44]

that wardrobe is quite costly i believe... would love to know how much ya dad charges u lol

[janesuah 6]

Yeah it will be costly... I have a fren who did the open concept type and its about 8k

Hoping to keep my reno works below 25k..

[Happycouple 0]

Wow can't wait to see the progress of your home. Getting keys in 1/2 mths time of a 3rm bto too..

[Happy Ending 4]

I suggest you should do a mock up on the floor by using masking tape based on your dimension of the ayout of the fittings. The actual might not be as spacious as what you have imagine based on the photo or 3D drawings.

[chewthegum 1]

HI There,

I'm also a resident of Segar Vale too, have you started your reno?

I'm going for Scandi + industrial concept too..but looks like it's getting way too popular now.

[Songz 132]

I will suggest hacking part of the room and erect a wall up for a small room which act as study and a baby room in the future.

[janesuah 6]

Hello, sorry for MIA!

I just got my keys and will be starting reno soon...

I had change quite alot of the initial plannings (refer to first post), mainly due to cost savings and flexibility of the baby room.

We had so many ideas at the beginning!! But after much thoughts and viewing quotes, its better to be realistic and plan ahead (for the baby)!

For eg, I was planning to do the brick wall, which is really popular now! Its about S$2.8k! But it might not be child/baby friendly due to its rough surface. So I will just decorate my walls with comic kind paintings or just paint it grey. If I really wanna have it, I can DIY it as well, the installation instructions can be found on this forum or on google.

For 2nd bedroom, I will leave it totally empty. Currently will only put an extendable dining table from taobao (when not in use, its about 80x40cm)

I will still be hacking the wall between MBR and fix a sliding door. As I will not have much space left in MBR due to my wardrobe, my future baby will be slping at 2nd bedroom. And with this sliding door, it makes it easier for us to take care of him.

I will also be hacking 2nd bedroom wall facing the corridor, and install black frame glass + black frame glass door. It will brighten up the corridor and makes living room look bigger, kind of like the scandi theme now with all the black frame doors.. haha!

I hope I will be able to update soon when my reno is 50% complete, which is in about 4 weeks time!

And below is my plan, you can draft yourself at www.floorplanner.com :

[chewthegum 1]

Hello, sorry for MIA!

I just got my keys and will be starting reno soon...

I had change quite alot of the initial plannings (refer to first post), mainly due to cost savings and flexibility of the baby room.

We had so many ideas at the beginning!! But after much thoughts and viewing quotes, its better to be realistic and plan ahead (for the baby)!

For eg, I was planning to do the brick wall, which is really popular now! Its about S$2.8k! But it might not be child/baby friendly due to its rough surface. So I will just decorate my walls with comic kind paintings or just paint it grey. If I really wanna have it, I can DIY it as well, the installation instructions can be found on this forum or on google.

For 2nd bedroom, I will leave it totally empty. Currently will only put an extendable dining table from taobao (when not in use, its about 80x40cm)

I will still be hacking the wall between MBR and fix a sliding door. As I will not have much space left in MBR due to my wardrobe, my future baby will be slping at 2nd bedroom. And with this sliding door, it makes it easier for us to take care of him.

I will also be hacking 2nd bedroom wall facing the corridor, and install black frame glass + black frame glass door. It will brighten up the corridor and makes living room look bigger, kind of like the scandi theme now with all the black frame doors.. haha!

I hope I will be able to update soon when my reno is 50% complete, which is in about 4 weeks time!

And below is my plan, you can draft yourself at www.floorplanner.com :

Hi JaneSuah,

I'm also a resident of Segar Vale & also having Scandi+Industrial concept. May I know where can I find the instructions to install the craft bricks? I can get the craft bricks but didn't know it would be easy to install by ourselves.

[janesuah 6]

Hi,

I google it and found these websites. There are a few methods to do it but I think it would not be easy.. quite tedious!..but gotta save that money..hehe

http://do-it-yourselfdesign.blogspot.sg/2012/12/how-to-make-faux-exposed-brick-wall.html

http://looknookhook.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/diy-a-tale-of-the-white-brick-wall/

I saw it once at renotalk too but can't remb which topic anymore. So sorry!

[Brian Huang 4]

not too sure but are you able to hack the walls for new HDB BTO flat? read somewhere that you cant hack any walls for the first few years if im not wrong...