Hi lainyc! Yes u can start small with Taobao first! When u selected an item, look at the seller's ratings, monthly or total sales of the item & if u can figure out, read briefly on buyers' reviews of the pdt. Use a local agent & pay a bit more to save u all the hassle of communicating with the sellers directly! I would recommend peeka as their service is prompt & my items (half of them are fragil) all came in tact! Their packaging is very solid!!

Jiayou & have fun! Don't get hooked to TB!

Just wanted to say the house is looking great! I'm also "potato" so have been quite scared about ordering on TB. Am inspired that you can find such great buys! Will be starting my online shopping sooonnnn!

Edited April 26, 201511 yr by CountryGlow

hi hi, really love your reno style. May I have your id contact, pls .. How much did u spend in all .. estimates, please

Very fitting to your theme. Mind sharing your ID contact and quote? Thanks!

ReNoVaTiOn UpDaTeS

End of Week 5 ~ We are proud of our Maison De Style Champetre !

At this point of time, our renovation is probably 80% completed. Contractor J had helped us to do one round of acid wash around the house, and we are left with some minor touch ups for the cabinets, painting works, installation of kitchen/other accessories and our doors for the MBR and bedroom 3. Thus far, we have been very satisfied with Contractor J and his quality of work. And is certainly worth recommending...

For those who have requested me to share on my contractor's contact, I will be sharing with you all soon. Please give me some time to get back to you as we have been superbly busy at work and our reno.

There are some 'external works' still pending our actions before we can shift in in proper:

- Installation of air con units

- Installation of wall paper for MBR and walk-in wardrobe (bedroom 2)

- Delivery of our French furniture

- Delivery of electrical appliances for the kitchen

- Curtain installation (still sourcing for ideal ones )

- Misc. stuff as I can't think of them now....

Week 5 ended with the installation of our 3 ceiling fans (with lights) which we purchased for the living hall, our MBR and the walk-in wardrobe. Nothing fanciful about our ceiling fans since we opted for old school country feel. The good thing is, these fans fitted our pockets well and compliment our Maison De Style Champetre!

Before I end this post, I shall share some pictures on our newly renovated living hall. Can't wait to shift in our furniture which completes the over all look! :)

This is our 36" fan in our walk-in wardrobe

Our French furniture will be delivered next! Stay tuned for our post on that!

Could you share with me where did you get all your French furniture (TV sideboard, buffetcabinet..and etc) from?

Is your ceiling fan (with light) from taobao? can share the link?

Can let me know your ID/contractor too? Their service including electrical/lighting services?

I m planning to buy alot of country style misc from taobao, how you pay for your shipping fee for 120++kg? via sea?

Thanks.

Hi, can you share your contractor's contact with me? TIA.

Hi lync!

We will go down whenever there are major works eg tiling, carpentry & installation of lightings/toliet & kitchen fittings. I wld say we will head down on average about once every week...we thought even with ID,it's impt that the house owners head dw to check on the progress & outcome. But probably more frequent when u engage only a contractor since you are the "project coordinator" for ur own reno. No ID to be that bridge

Nice design! Just want to check with you how frequent you go down to check on your house since you only engage contractor? And, does your contractor update you on the progress?

Hi Naomi & shpesft! Thanks for your compliments

We had not engaged any ID but designed our flat interior on our own.

Let me know if u are still interested in getting my contractor's contact.

Cheers!

Very fitting to your theme. Mind sharing your ID contact and quote? Thanks!

Hi country glow.. Do u mind sharing with me your carpenter.. I'm also thinking of not engaging an id but having a hard time looking for the right carpenter. The carpenter that is link to the contractor still haven't given me his quotation after 3 weeks, and another's workmanship isn't great.. Would really appreciate ur help as I'm planning to start my reno in June .

Hi ohseolki! I nearly missed your questions!

We bought our french furniture locally - not TB (which I kinda regretted as you can save almost 40%, of course with compromise in the furniture quality). We are very pleased with our selection anyway as we got a good deal with good-quality french pieces!

The 126kg of TB loots are all the other stuff in our house rather than our furniture. I engaged Peeka as our local agent and I would recommend them, especially for fragil items as their packing is I think we paid about 300+ bucks for their economy sea shipment (including concierge/handling charges to Peeka). For the math, shipping & concierge fees costs about 30% of our total purchase value...may be a little pricy if you only engaged a freight forwarder but we are willing to pay a little more for the convenience provided by Peeka

For the fans (FANCO brand), they were purchased locally too. We didn't thought of buying our fans from TB since we are a little concern about the electrical & wiring issues.

This link, may be of interest to you http://goodmoodhome.taobao.com/?spm=2013.1.1000126.2.W5w0rC

Enjoy!

Could you share with me where did you get all your French furniture (TV sideboard, buffetcabinet..and etc) from?

Is your ceiling fan (with light) from taobao? can share the link?

Can let me know your ID/contractor too? Their service including electrical/lighting services?

I m planning to buy alot of country style misc from taobao, how you pay for your shipping fee for 120++kg? via sea?

Thanks.

Hi

Hi ohseolki! I nearly missed your questions!

We bought our french furniture locally - not TB (which I kinda regretted as you can save almost 40%, of course with compromise in the furniture quality). We are very pleased with our selection anyway as we got a good deal with good-quality french pieces!

The 126kg of TB loots are all the other stuff in our house rather than our furniture. I engaged Peeka as our local agent and I would recommend them, especially for fragil items as their packing is I think we paid about 300+ bucks for their economy sea shipment (including concierge/handling charges to Peeka). For the math, shipping & concierge fees costs about 30% of our total purchase value...may be a little pricy if you only engaged a freight forwarder but we are willing to pay a little more for the convenience provided by Peeka

For the fans (FANCO brand), they were purchased locally too. We didn't thought of buying our fans from TB since we are a little concern about the electrical & wiring issues.

This link, may be of interest to you http://goodmoodhome.taobao.com/?spm=2013.1.1000126.2.W5w0rC

Enjoy!

Thanks for the reply, I have PM you too. Take a look ^^

Hi Clar06...My carpentry is inclusive in my reno works under my main contractor. I'm unable to share the carpenter's contacts with you since we go through my contractor for his services. You are looking solely for carpenters? Just curious, shouldn't your main contractor be coordinating the carpentry work and quotation for u?

Hi country glow.. Do u mind sharing with me your carpenter.. I'm also thinking of not engaging an id but having a hard time looking for the right carpenter. The carpenter that is link to the contractor still haven't given me his quotation after 3 weeks, and another's workmanship isn't great.. Would really appreciate ur help as I'm planning to start my reno in June .

Hello!

Can share with me your contractor's info? and your laundry sink link?

Many thanks!

Hi Clar06...My carpentry is inclusive in my reno works under my main contractor. I'm unable to share the carpenter's contacts with you since we go through my contractor for his services. You are looking solely for carpenters? Just curious, shouldn't your main contractor be coordinating the carpentry work and quotation for u?

That's what I thought too.. but his carpenter seems to be taking ages to get back to me or to him. This contractor was recommended by a friend who vouched for his workmanship and apparently a very responsible guy ( did up her siblings and her place recently) but all didn't use his carpenter as they find their workmanship not great which I personally find it acceptable.

But when I went to see the other carpenter that she recommended, I didn't exactly like his workmanship. Woodgrains laminate looks good, but the whites just cannot make it, the lines on the laminate and the trimming is just too obvious which I find it kind of strange. So I am now stuck unless I have to relook again for another contractor.

If you don't mind, could you also give me your contractor's details, maybe I should just try someone else instead.

Hi,

May i know where you bought ur laundry sink and the piping layout at the service yard allows both washing machine and the sink to be place there?

Edited April 30, 201511 yr by bsxk

Hi Clar06! Have PM-ed you my contractor's details

That's what I thought too.. but his carpenter seems to be taking ages to get back to me or to him. This contractor was recommended by a friend who vouched for his workmanship and apparently a very responsible guy ( did up her siblings and her place recently) but all didn't use his carpenter as they find their workmanship not great which I personally find it acceptable.

But when I went to see the other carpenter that she recommended, I didn't exactly like his workmanship. Woodgrains laminate looks good, but the whites just cannot make it, the lines on the laminate and the trimming is just too obvious which I find it kind of strange. So I am now stuck unless I have to relook again for another contractor.

If you don't mind, could you also give me your contractor's details, maybe I should just try someone else instead.