HungryPillow

I really like open-kitchen concepts. Wish I was able to do it for my place, but we were unable to due to space constraints.

That is true. Recently renovated my place, and there are other costs as well. Had a wall knocked down and had to pay an engineer to certify that it is a non weight bearing wall etc. Even move-in dates, e.g. getting your furniture in etc, needed to be organized with security deposits paid. My management gave my contractor quite a bit of grief, the neighbours claimed their ceiling paint was getting chipped from all the work done in my unit etc, and expected my contractor to rectify it, which he did, FOC. If you ask me, whatever I paid for my condo reno was more than worth the time and effort my poor contractor put in.

Ikea is generally what I would refer to as "disposable furniture". The designs are fresh, furniture affordable and delivery is prompt. I guess what I like about it is the freedom to change when the fancy strikes you. The quality isn't bad, but it isn't superb. For their prices though, can't really complain. Speaking from experience, their aftersales service is topnotch. Had the bottom springs of a sofa piece fall apart after 2 years, called them and they sent a carpenter within 3 working days to fix it on the spot, no questions asked. I was told that if they were really unable to fix it, they would have exchanged it. Bear in mind this doesn't include normal wear and tear though. If you like the Scandinavian aesthetic at affordable pricing, you can't beat Ikea.

Hi there, just wondering how much it cost to hack the wall and have glass panels put in? I just bought my first home and I was thinking about doing the same, thanks!

Don't really understand the need for grilles in a high rise building. If you're facing a common corridor, maybe. Otherwise it's pretty much unnecessary.