Wild Ginger

Rufus, have you ever thought of turning your living room into a bedroom equipped with wardrobe and built in dining area? And your living room will take precedence in the current bedroom. That way you could have a better arrangement for your layout and also u get to keep your Queen sized bed. Or the bedroom can both serve as a living area cum dining area.

RuFus58, don't worry! With time you're able to save up and lessen the burden of cashflow for your new house. It will be a wonderful new chapter in your life too! I applied mine in 2015 and TOP is around 1st quarter 2019. So heads up yeah! Any ideas u have in mind for ur new cosy nest?

It opens up the kitchen even more but eats up into the bathroom area quite considerably, halving it in fact. I'm on the fence on this one. Having more space allocate for a fridge and something else in that enclave equals to a much more roomier walkway in the kitchen but that compromises the bathroom. I still love the two door versions. In a small unit such as ours, light and large openings are a necessity to visually enlarge the house. But these are of course IMO.

Dining table issue solved! Brilliant http://youtu.be/mPHVLFGfJvE

For those who think the bathroom is a tight squeeze, the Genting Jurong Hotel bathrooms are even smaller but done up tastefully during my recent stay there. I love how the shower area has been done up really thoughtfully despite the space constraints. This would certainly be ideal to draw inspirations/ ideas from based on the size alone. And the key point here is that it is super cosy, not at all claustrophobic.

This wild ginger is a guy too FYI lol! Ankle, my choices that time bo bian. Only have the lower floors for the 47sqm ones and they were all facing carpark, so ugly. Me no want. The rest were the smaller units 38sqm ones. And i initially picked the highest floor which was the same price as this current unit, only difference was the size, a mere 38sqm. My heart just sank when i saw the lady printing out the floor plan and i was like, "Ok, you know what, let's change to the bigger unit instead." And so that is how i got to end up with a second floor apartment. I'm trying to be positive. At the end of the day, it's a bigger unit, more space and fingers crossed, toes crossed, eyes also crossed that they put pweety, pweety trees and plants in front of my block on the second floor. If not, i go there and plant a row of banana trees myself! Chitty chatter is good especially within the 2roomers! Socialising mah

Well said! Form + Function PS: This mountain project better be good and stable! I've just seen the Nov2015 BTO for Punggol and it's situated right beside the sea,... how nice... with the view. But so effing far! I can't imagine having to commute up and down to work and if you have friends at the west side, they be like so dreading if coming over....

Maybe i'll share this first, a view of the entire estate of Bukit Batok West Edge. I just realised my unit is facing the Child Care Centre (CCC) which is highlighted in beige and be located on the first floor. And plus i didn't take it into account that perhaps people could actually view into my living room straight from the link bridge and the rooftop garden on the second floor where coincidentally the playground, Adult fitness station and the Elderly fitness station are located at! Now i've seen the 3D models and the 3D renderings provided by the HDB and it shows that there will be trees planted in front of my block. So i'm hoping those would be tall, big trees to shield from them prying eyes. On a good note, i can munch on snacks while they are out there exercising, you know to 'motivate' them more? hahah *evil.....* Guess can't have it all when your queue no. is more than the allocated units, ey? But i'm still happy, oddly enough cause the other options available back then were all facing right into the carparks. NOT GOOD.

Don't we all have a problem with out toilet bowls? lol! I guess i'm the opposite of u, a neat freak and i wouldn't mind closing up the bed when i'm done. For me i prefer an open space especially when i'm doing my paintings or floral arrangements. Lots of space would be good for my mind too So Ankle, have u secured a unit and where is your bto located at? Mmoh, i also prefer sun dried clothes but judging from the sun direction, i'm not sure if i will get any. Bummer right? And 22 pages with over 20,000 views on this topic goes to show there is interest in the 2room section! Just that we have to keep going at it and inspire people to post more.

BTW, have you guys thought of having a murphy bed system like HiddenWallBed? I've enquired before and it hovers around $2.5k for a standard system for a Queen Size. Would free up the space by a huge margin but i'm still a little skeptical on the hydraulics system for it. Will it be able to last along time, for e.g. 10yrs?

Mmoh, i personally think u should stick with that 11ft daybed. Not only will it serve as a cosy chill corner, it can also be a bed where if u have extra guests staying over. Why not incorporate a bay window concept cum daybed? You will have plenty of storage underneath. As for your laundry issues, have u considered of getting a citygas dryer? Maybe hang it against the wall? I've seen that you have an alcove in the kitchen, not sure about the width though. And yes, for the unsightly rack on the kitchen ceiling, i'd personally take it off as well as it makes the kitchen all too cluttered. To sum up for the daybed, just go ahead with it. Laundry u can hang it anywhere and even use a dryer. A daybed i take it as an everyday high priority item which u will utilise and as you've mentioned u would have a bookcase beside it.

MsBunny. What color is your sofa may i ask? If it's in an off white pastel, neutral shade to your wall color, then i doubt it will be a visual issue. Or is it the physical shape of the sofa that's eating up your space? Mmoh, your unit actually has an advantage in the living room area as your bomb shelter is placed in the kitchen. That frees up a lot of space thus making your living room rather long. Mine on the other hand has the standard bomb shelter placed in the living room, which makes the probability of me hacking down that bedroom wall to make it as a single breathable unit much more likely. I've always wanted a long l-shaped sofa and i'm trying to wrap the idea of placing that against the wall if it is an open concept of living and bedroom space into one.

Mmoh, well a 'few' meaning only 1 actually which u've just mentioned Andotang. The other is a blog somewhere out there which doesn't clearly showcase the potential of a 2room BTO. Waiting for yours to kickstart the 2room frenzy reno!! lol Kyooko, I definitely know what u mean. For us 2 roomers, it's like cracking our brains completely to just furnish and still have the layout as spacious as possible. But let's look on the bright side. Our bathroom is much larger than the bigger sized unitsTwo large doors on our bathroom; easy access if u just have to do a last minute 'choco cake' in the middle of cookingThere is a large window in the bathroom. Good thing about windows is that it opens up the space and not feel so claustrophobicSmall floor area equates to less household chores = more free personal timeWe pay a fraction of what bigger units would cost like and it's still a cosy home; in short it costs lesser than a Toyota Camry!

I certainly do hope more 2roomers BTO will blog about their reno experiences. From the archives it seems that only a few do post up of their journey.

Thanks Mmoh for the clarification. I've a strong feeling that will be a costly thing.

Thanks Mmoh for sharing the feedback. I'd suggest you have any future requests or dealings with them in written email form so as to safeguard yourself should anything arises in the near future. As for those BTO units chosen in the year 2015, does this mean that cement screening will not be approved or i've read that wrongly? Or we have to purchase the prepacked cement mix from them for our contractors instead? Thanks again and i do hope they will carry out your request asap

Hi Syafiaa, I've been following your thread on this wonderful journey of yours. Looks like it's finally paying off after that long run. What i'm amazed is that the idea and design realisation is a far cry from the usual scandinavian. It lends an air of renaissance with that moulding and panelling u have going on in the living room. And that choice of soft pastel grey defining that upper portion of your living room is simply delicious! In all, i can't wait till u've full furnished the entire apartment. I bet a hint of soft pinks and white peonies would very much accent the whole place nicely. Great Job

That window is seriously large, like exhibitionist large! lol! But on a good note, ventilation is not going to be a problem. For the relocation of the basin, would that have to be done with an approval from HDB?

Mmoh Congrats on taking up on your new unit! It's a great feeling i bet The living room looks spectacularly large and as you've mentioned, that gap in between those two buildings, to me they serve a good purpose visually as it makes u look far and beyond. Your bathroom tiles are looking awesome especially in that cool grey, now i start to wonder what mine would be in though. The kitchen looks a lil tight but still manageable, i suggest u may have to be very selective in your choices of appliances like things which you really depend on for an everyday usage. As for that corner to which u mentioned no built in carpentry can't be done there, well that's a major bummer. Would you be doing loads of storage carpentry units in your house btw?

My guess would be a lot of 2 roomers would be doing up a pretty simple layout for their units or they are just a lil tad shy. Glad to know yours is progressing well in terms of visual aspects. Mine is still basically a mound of dirt with large blocks of concrete and piles of beams on the side. In due time the whole site will be all boarded up and there goes my view from the road if i drive past. Do post up your journey when u get your keys kyooko! We all waiting anxiously for ours and can't wait to explore the limitless possibilities and configurations of our cute yet cosy homes.

Sendski! Nice to meet u, future neighbour. And i've seen that your floorpan is exactly the same as mine just a mirror image. Is yours on a high floor?

oooo so many 'mountain' people! hehe! Hi future neighbours!

Ankle, would yours be by any chance West Rock? Mine's West Edge But completion time a year behind yours though.

Thanks for the warmth 2Roomer I think it should be alright with the staircase next to your house. I'd think in an emergency, the staircase would be much of a life saver. Plus, on a good note, if you're into plants, it'd be nice to have some plants growing there too. As for the swinging of the doors and shutting, i'm not sure about that. I really hope it won't be in the case for our units, but yet to be seen in the future. What i'm worried about is the narrow walkway in between the houses. I have seen on my floorpan that my neighbour is really close to me. It feels like a tight squeeze and i can't imagine when there will be festivities! Hordes of people jamming up the walkway!! lol I know mine is still far, far away from completion but it feels like Cloud 9 every single day! I still can't believe i'm actually owning a flat of my own,..... soon.... well sort of

Thanks Bunniboi, this 2room BTO has been a blessing so far, as my queue number at that time was 699 and i recalled they only had 620 units. Fast track to a few months ago and i was invited to choose a unit, i couldn't help but feel so excited. Of course with all the prime blocks and units almost all snapped up and me always wanting to take a top floor. So in the end i settled for a quaint 2nd floor which coincidentally faces a second storey elevated garden right in front of the living room, though initially i chose a 15th floor Type 1 37sqm unit on another block. Perhaps i already fell in love with the idea of having two doors at the toilet which inevidently led me to the final choice afterwards. So I guess waking up and seeing trees and plants would be a much better visual than to see the neighbours from the opposite block ey? lol And i'm a little bit proud that this 2room has a 'gigantic' toilet, well at least big in comparison to the other 3,4 & 5rooms. Plus not only that, there is a big window in the toilet too! I'm such a sucker for big windows! Mmoh, i know right! It's really lucky to be able to secure a stand alone unit Just to add, with the staircase beside, i think it will be easy access up and down the unit too!