moobat

Congrats Ryooki!! Send Adrian my regards! hahaha... I still owe him a dinner treat.

Hi elephanttan! Apologies. Its certainly been awhile...was busy with new life as a married couple! hehehe...wedding, honeymoon, cleaning house!! We got a 4rm HDB flat in Kallang. Its small...abt 85sqm but has a very usable layout. Thanks for the compliment. But must also thanks Adrian!! hahaha... Cheers!!

Thanks Chan!!

Thanks Ahweewee! Got to give Adrian the credit, especially in his space planning skills. Our 4-room flat is ridiculously small, so it was quite a challenge. Remember to share your experience okay? Cheers!!!!

More photos... ---------- ---------- ---------

Hi everyone! Finally, some photos to share. We're in the process of 'slowly moving' into our new home. Hopefully before our wedding next month! ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------

Hi bklin, PM-ed you Adrian's contact.

Hi Lynn, Agree. We thought of going with the contractor option initially but couldn't devote the time and energy to "project manage" the entire renovation. Like any project, there'll always be situations when things go slightly wrong or expectations were not fully met. Fortunately, there were situations where Adrian himself wasn't quite convinced about certain areas in the carpentry (some weren't even obvious to us), but decided to rectify them anyway. Overall, our experience was a pleasant one. Hope this helps! Cheers!

Well said. Good to check out an ID's actual work site (either completed or in-progress), to access workmanship and talk to the owners if possible. A salesperson can talk all he/she wants but nothing beats an actual look + feel of the design and work. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing!! Love your wallpapers!! Woohoo!!

Hi Ahweewee, Looks great! Huge glass 'dividers' really do make the entire home look more elegant. Keep us updated on your progress! moobat

Oh yep! That's my unit! Adrian designed it to solve some of our key issues such as an extremely small kitchen and master bedroom. These days, space planning is becoming very important since HDB has been quite stingy with floor space (our 4-room only 85sqm - sigh). The major cost factor was the 3 full-height feature walls + flooring/tiles. Without these, the overall cost should be less than $20k. The racks cost us $210 in total (incl $40 top-up for the white colour metal racks + white PVC boards). Can't wait to move into our new home!

Hi Batman, Is that a full height feature wall? If you're using laminates for a large feature wall, good to note that some laminates may not appear so nicely over larger surfaces. (i.e. high gloss laminates tend to have a higher tendency of 'uneven-ness' when applied over a large flat surface.) Most laminates come in fixed sizes (width + length) per roll. So expect to see the 'joining lines' if the surface require more than 1 roll/piece of laminate.

Hi angelateoml, Sorry for late reply. I'm planning to take photos this weekend after I get my hands on a wide-angle camera lens. Will share at the MyHomeTown forum as I've been posting there since before we got our flat. But will keep everyone here posted. Me and wife-to-be went to about 7 IDs/contractor prior to deciding on CJ...though only two other came close to our final decision. Our approach to finding an ID or Contractor was simple : (to get quotation) - find mostly those that come recommended by friends/colleagues/etc -- we contacted about 4 (3 IDs + 1 contractor) - find 1 during those regular Home Renovation Convention (usually at Singapore Expo) - find 2 more through walk-ins -- somehow, this is the worse way to get quotation (one quoted us $38K w/ lotsa missing items still!) My advice is to obtain at least get 3 quotations to get an estimate of the price based on your requirements. Hope this helps!

Hi ahweewee, I doubt carpentry can help much though you can try asking Adrian for ideas. viperconan is right - good to approach other IDs for their ideas too! However, two suggestions : a) Use thicker and heavier curtains for your daughter's room. Some audio enthusiasts using thick velvet curtains in their rooms for better sound insulation. Downside is, it may feel warmer. b) Double-glazed or secondary glazed windows - heard about these somewhere but it means you need to keep your windows closed (need to turn-on air-conditioning) Hope this helps in anyway.

Hi! Already PM-ed you.

He has a particular carpentry team that's good - so good to ask for them. Design-wise, it really depends on how adventurous you are but best to reference some Interior Design magazine to get some ideas on what type of concept/theme you prefer. We love our master bathroom! We haven't "officially" move into our unit yet but we do pop-by every weekend to slowly clean-up the place. Let me know if you're interested to take a look. Cheers!

Hi Rose, I love the floorplan! The existing layout looks perfectly fine though I thought Bedroom 2's space can be better managed. I'm assuming the bed (head) is directly in-front of the bay windows?

Karen, You can find Adrian. He's the guy to look for.

Let us know where to go to view your renovation progress.

You can refer to my earlier post to help you with your selection. Though others may also have tips on selection too. No harm telling IDs your requirements and get them to quote you. (look for value) Tip: Don't give them a specific budget. Instead, give them a range that you have in mind. (We only told them our budget after they've quoted something close to it.) After the first round of quotations, you'd probably have a 'shortlist' and know how much it'll cost. Do more research by visiting their existing renovations to access workmanship as well as further determine if the ID has the patience to work with you (and vice versa). I've also engaged 7-8 IDs before deciding on one. Took us quite awhile too!

Agree. There's also got to be some kind of 'working chemistry' between home owner and ID/Contractor. After going through 7 quotations, some of my own criterion : 1. Price! Price! Price! - It has to be reasonable and value for your money. Afterall, its your hard-earned money so make sure you've compared prices as well as proposed ideas. ** After the 3rd or 4th quotation and engagement with IDs, you more or less know the price range (based on your requirements). 2. Character - The person managing your project needs to be firm and resourceful. Afterall, he/she will need to manage a bunch of workers/carpenters/sub-contractors - some older and thinks they're too experienced to be bossed around. 3. Workmanship - After shortlisting your ID/Contractor, ask him/her to bring you to the projects he/she is doing/done. Assess the workmanship and see if you're comfortable. ** Different people have differing perception of "quality". i.e. Some can accept marginal mis-alignments, while others require perfectly aligned joining. 4. Warranty period. Usually 12 months after last payment milestone. 5. No ambiguity in the quotation. Every deliverable must be clearly spelled out. 6. GST. Why pay GST? ** Once, an established ID company include GST in their quotation. Imagine a 7% on top of a $30k quotation? After several discussion (by when we've already signed with our current ID), he came back and told us he can waive GST by invoicing us from another of their registered companies. Question : WHY DIDN'T HE OFFER THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE? - Leave us doubting if we're really paying GST to Government or to 'them'. The trust is lost anyway. Anyway, above are just my humble opinion. Feel free to share anyone.

Glad you're happy with them. I would strongly recommend you request for Mr Chen to do your carpentry. He's really good at this craft though a little temperamental - but definately worth it! Take note of the carpenters from PRC though...as they normally have a different standard of quality. Nothing wrong with that, but I prefer my carpentry to be done by Singaporeans/Malaysians.

Adrian conceptualized most of the design for us. In fact, from all the other quotations we received - he's the only one who really gave us what we needed in terms of space planning. (our 4-room only 85sqm ) For our reno, there were some hiccups with the carpenters but he managed to ractify the situation nicely. I can advise you which of his carpenters to use though. *hahah* I'll be at my place on Saturday morning for the workers to touch-up the groutings as well as buff my flooring. PM me if you're keen to drop-by to have a look but me and fiancee going to clean the house after lunch, so morning will be best.

I usually post my experience at another forum but thought I should speak up. So far, I've got no problems with CJ Ambience and I'm already finishing my renovation works next week. Actually, I've checked out 7 IDs (and contractors) before deciding on them. You may want to check out my experience at this forum : www. myhometown. sg/Forum/tabid/84/forumid/23/tpage/9/view/topic/postid/93143/Default.aspx (remove spacing) Feel free to drop by my place if you want to check things out yourself. Maybe can help me look for defects too!