February 8, 201511 yr Hi guys! A and I have been reading up alot of renotalk during the past few months as we are finally settling down and starting our renovation journey. We purchased a 5 room resale flat and got our keys back in January 2015. Like many couples, we started to source for good Interior Designers or contractors (Mr. K) that have been recommended by people on forums. I believe we met about 8-10 firms and have about 15 quotations from different companies and individuals. The highly recommended ones and big names interior designers seem to be either 1. too expensiveor 2. too busy... Some interior designers which were quite "bo chup" and for which we have to chase for the quotation were dropped immediately. We started to branch out and get different quotations from reno websites. On the other hand, the unheard ones can be quite enthusiastic and at the lower range. However, we did not want to compromise on the quality of materials by going for the cheapest quotations. After months of deliberating, we have finally settled on a small interior design firm. Why did we choose this company? Indeed it is a leap of faith because we could not find any reviews on this company on the internet ! 1. their sincerity (P & B) in assuring us that they want to do a good job 2. quote is reasonable to us comparing to other interior designers and contractors (yes definitely more expensive than contractors.. at least $5k maybe? But I guess we are paying extra for the project management service..) 3. comfortable factor / does not mind spending hours with us thrashing out the details and revising the quotation multiple times 3. our quotation is 8 pages long haha! details are important! (Most contractors only gave us a 2 pager quotation) 4. some freebies... On hindsight... - ensure that you are comfortable with the payment terms (check what is the "market rate") This is our floor plan : Some inspirations: What the hubby wants:
February 8, 201511 yr Author Hi guys!We were away for our pre-wedding photoshoot.. But we have just received our 3D images About the feature wall: The ID quoted us an additional S$3k for the plank-styled feature wall shown in the 3D. Any suggestions / ideas? If not, we will just go for the usual laminate.. Edited March 15, 201511 yr by Yifang
February 8, 201511 yr Author As of today, most of the hacking works are done. The wooden looking tiles for our recess area + wet kitchen have been laid. The white homogeneous tiles for our living room are also laid. But there are cardboard all over to protect the tiles so we don't really have photos for it.Our tiny small wet kitchen.Our ID had some left over tiles from their office's renovations so they offered it to us for free for our recess areas. Looks good Bedroom 3's walls hacked The whole flat feels bigger nowMaster bathroom tiles are up! But feels dark Edited March 15, 201511 yr by Yifang
February 11, 201511 yr Hi yifang, welcome to RT! Nice moodboard that u have. So how's the reno progress like? (:
March 15, 201511 yr Author Common bathroom:Something strange that we did not expect happened. The Hafary tiles came in 2 different shades Actually we chose the lighter shade at Hafary but the one that the tiler placed onto the walls is the dark shade.. Anyway we insisted that the chosen shade is kept consistent throughout the wall.By the way! The mosaics were also given free from either the IDs or Hafary (not sure!)
March 15, 201511 yr Author Is it really true at Hafary tiles are better than Soon Bee Huat's? Not sure..
March 15, 201511 yr Author Hi Suikoden! Pretty smooth I would say.. But I think it is important that as same owners, we go down as often as possible to make sure that everything is going according to expectations and any hiccups fixed by the ID/contractor (as in they are willing to take responsibility)
March 25, 201511 yr Author Some purchases!(the table top is curved ) Coffee table!LED lights from taobao~Schneider light switches from taobao~Kitchen lightsJust waiting for shipment now hehe
March 27, 201511 yr Hi Yifang,Congrats on your new place! How is the reno progress coming along? Any issues with the ID firm that you engaged?Would you mind sharing your reno quotes from your ID? Am interested to know the market rate of hacking down walls..Am still contemplating if want to go ahead with the hacking or not...
April 20, 201511 yr Hi, I have a almost identical layout as your flat! Is a typical 5rm point block right? Looking forward to see your Reno progress!
May 2, 201511 yr Some purchases!(the table top is curved ) Coffee table!LED lights from taobao~Schneider light switches from taobao~Kitchen lightsJust waiting for shipment now hehe Hello, can you share the link of your taobao purchase? thank u
May 17, 201511 yr Author Hi Yifang,Congrats on your new place! How is the reno progress coming along? Any issues with the ID firm that you engaged?Would you mind sharing your reno quotes from your ID? Am interested to know the market rate of hacking down walls..Am still contemplating if want to go ahead with the hacking or not...Hi Lilsatr,the husband is very detailed with the checks on our carpentary works and our ID readily agrees to fix anything that is not perfect, ie shelves are not perfectly straight (off by 1mm), sliding doors are a little scratchy. Edited May 17, 201511 yr by Yifang
May 17, 201511 yr Author Hello, can you share the link of your taobao purchase? thank u http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.11.zs2Re2&id=40888015900&_u=h29ia9h88498http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.27.zs2Re2&id=40940432547&_u=h29ia9h8b64ehttp://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.43.zs2Re2&id=40905566355&_u=h29ia9h8df5ahttp://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.105.zs2Re2&id=37139750489&_u=h29ia9h8d637http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.72.zs2Re2&id=43417778640&_u=h29ia9h80bc2(LED strips for cove lights) http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.122.zs2Re2&id=43319723833&_u=h29ia9h8a7f1(simple ceiling light for the kitchen) http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.239.zs2Re2&id=39616979066&_u=h29ia9h893e7(another kitchen light) - not yet installed Unfortunately the blue light does not seem to be an actual light. Only fluorescent
May 17, 201511 yr Author Hi Everybody! We've been busy with our wedding preparations... Our kitchen cabinets and large storage cupboards are up! (Note: we do not have a storeroom)(new granite "black galaxy" top)(before granite top installation - you can see our Fujioh stuff there too!)
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