andante

wow another pinnacle!! congrats on ur new home.. looks like v high floor?

gosh.. means u need as many compressor as aircons???... adding loads to ur electrical bills?

I luv ur 3d drawings!!! Wish i have so much space for a bigger WIW room like urs.. i've always fancied the idea of putting an ottoman in the middle of the wardrobe room like a real shop!!

Wah.. ur hubby believes in fengshui too??

congrats on ur new home! I spoke to Inside living for my small reno project too.. but price wise wasnt as gd.. so didnt work with them..

ic.. i just got a call from Eric asking if he can deliver it on the 25/26th Jan!! SO FAST! But my place wont be ready then so i scheduled it on the 1st wk of Feb.. so glad my furniture will be in time. Tink the promo 799 for console + coffee table is really gd.. i saw a very similiar set i wanted in Furniture Collection Center at sungei kadut for 1300 and at best 1100 after my lousy bargainning.. If u are going to buy more stuffs from hommage better go before CNY. he told me he's gg to raise prices after!!

What is DBSS flats? And i thought even if joint income is >8k u can still ballot new flats just no grants for 1st time owners?

Yea my new place's at Mohd Sultan.. definitely a more ex but better buy than Beacon!! I didnt know there were plans to build anything on the back of it.. thought it was a government land which is used for soccer and meant to stay green? Thank goodness my deal fell thru!!! 5 room flat 105 sqm is not too big considering most HDBs will have that as 4 room flat size but i guess if its still a small family/just 2 of u that size is aplenty! But movin from a 1600 sqft to a much smaller place must mean throwing out lotsa stuffs!!! I always thought there's a HDB rule that u cant ballot for a new HDB project if u have ever owned a private? or is the rule not in force anymore/at all? Will be fantastic if so, HDBs are by far the best prop investments if its bought in a good location direct from the govtment.....sure win investment!! Too bad i'm single and my folks have their own so no chance in getting even a resale one unless i turn 35 tomorrow.

no hacking needed for changai.. just a "step up" which is basically the thickness of the decking. The picture u showed there might be unrealistic if ur balcony;s like mine - cant grill it up/fit windows to close it.. so heavy rainy days = wet balcony. But if that pic is from the developer's site with the balconys close-able, it's an awesome idea and makes ur room looks bigger! So cool w the half parquet/half chengal flooring! But i wil NOT have plants.. simply no time for that. My reno just started last fri.. so far all electrical stuffs + wardrobe hacked + lights all up in 1 day.. 'm super please with their efficiency.. now its all up to the carpenter. & the target completion for everything in the MBR is on the 2nd when i;m back from my hols.. i'll be living there for real. Final/actual completion shld be something ard 10th Feb. As long as its before my party during CNY, all's good. I'm making a tv feature wall for the living room + a smaller one in the MBR... hate running wires and i like v v simple sleek thin tv consoles/panels which do not go hand in hand with the SCV box.. so i'm screwed and hoping my ID will come up with something brilliant tomorrow when i see her for the 3d drawings... if there's any.. (i'm not paying any design fee/consultation so mayb that's non-existant) My very minor reno alone cost 8600sgd. (I didnt bargain..she's a friend's wife).. but there's bound to be slight changes coz i'm cant make up my mind abt the carpentry works yet.. we'll see. My project's THE INSPIRA.. it came with a full kitchen - 2 induction 1 gas , microwave, oven, fridge and washing machine.. Very happy with that actually, saves me the trouble of having to read up abt wat to get and how much to budget for these.. now what's left is just a dryer to complete my apartment!

i ordered my tv console + coffee table from Eric too.. but will arrive before CNY he say.. how come urs will arrive only in APRIL?!?!?!

We got keys on the same day!!! I'm not at Pinnacle @ duxton tho.. Was looking at buying The beacon last year (condo just across Cantoment road) from Pinnacle.. thankfully didnt get.. the view of shophouses in Chinatown + raffles place 80% blocked by u guys.. the units i wanted could possibly look thru the 2 "holes" in Pinnacle and get a sneak preview only.. haha Anyway, congrats on ur new home.. hows the layout in the apt? Isit as small like a condo as what everyone i knew claimed?

haha.. Thanks! Unfortunately its the direct opposite to my tv feature wall so the balcony door will have to be closed & curtains pulled to watch my progs in comfort. And the school just in front of my place ( ) can possibly look up and see part of my unit so definitely have to use my day curtains to cover up at all times..

Ya i thought abt it too.. but my living + dining lights are super attention seeking.. I'm already moving away from my intended minimalistic decor alittle too much & this gorgeous will make the living/dining area OTT sigh..the problems of wanting one too many pretty items in the same space... In any case, i'll defnitely attempt to add it in somewhr (mabe remove my WIW room for this..) after i'm done w the whole place.. too pretty to forget abt it.

Heloo... yes i took this 799 offer. but that comes with a rectangular coffee table. I wanted a big square one which is 100 extra.. tink it will be worth it!

Thanks Angel.. i really like the birdcage too.. just cant find a spot for it in my place tho

Congratulations to ur new breezy in the east First home purchase too? False ceiling I didnt do any to my new place... it's 3.2m too and i like it high which makes the room looks more spacious and allows hanging lights. However, i've had quotes from Mr Chan (recommended in this forum for false ceilings) for pelmets for curtains & he charged 350 for living room + 2 bedrooms which is dirt cheap compared to the 1900 one of my ids put in his first & only quotation. Besides, there's no need for false ceilings to accomodate all the lights unless u are a massive downlight fan. Ceiling/hanging/track lights etc do not require false ceilings. And my condo came with false ceilings in quite a fair bit of places.... (see my tblog for floorplan) the entrance doorway all the way into the master bedroom, the kitchen, both toilets and the yard. I suspect the false ceilings were there for hiding either the aircon piping or the heaters... which in any case, was a pleasant surprise as i have intended for them to have downlights anyway. Doubt u can tell from ur condo layout if there's any false ceilings..and an educated guess is there definitely will be coz a decent condo developer will not have his aircon pipes dangling/covered with big fugly plastic tracks running across the apartment all the way to the compressor. So maybe u might end up saving the trouble, or like me, end up becoming a fan of hanging crystals lights or chandeliers. Curtains My balcony is 5.8m long full length doors in 6 panels.. so that piece of day & night cost easily half of my quotation from MGL curtains. I've decided the following: roller blinds - guest room aka walk-in-wardrobe room d&n - MBR(blockout material), living room/balcony Frosted windows - both toilets (which had windows by the bath area for very strange reasons) bamboo blinds - yard Quotes on curtains depends alot on the type of curtain & fabrics u choose. In ascending order, the cost of curtains: Venetian - Roller blinds - Wooden blinds - d&n - roman blinds. From the size of ur apt >1200 sqft + the size of ur balcony which looks easily over 6m long in an L shape (unless u are lucky and have walls on the side & lesser door panels) ur quotes shld be higher than my very bargainned 1750sgd.. Remember to tell them ur ceiling is 3.2m which is taller than the usual condo height. Especially if ur windows are full height like mine = more $$.. Decking i'm choosing Chengal coz i'm such a scary cat about breaking decks & my ID kept telling me its better than ironwood (which i understand is more compact and prone to breaking as it doesnt take expansions & contractions as well) and balau (Especially if not chemically treated - will rot in a couple of years if exposed to rain) Anyway the quotes i got for the whole area (very rough apprx 5.8m X1m) is 1600 for chengal, 1400 for ironwood and 1200 for balau (untreated-eek) ... so why would i not pay that extra 200 or 400 when its not an astronomical difference? One more thing i've learnt in the course of choosing chengai, choose the medium golden brown color. the dark (apparently more popular choice) will cover all the hints of the deck being Chengal and if the contractor has qualms about using the medium golden brown, u might be paying for Chengal but getting something else. Cant remember the exact reason my ID told me but i remember 2 other decking contractors also recommended me to use the golden brown color which looks like teak to know its the real deal. Jus on the side, as much as u wanna save on the reno, u might end up pulling a couple of extra light points, shifting ur scv points (one of the more expensive electrical items - like ur heater switch).. all these will add a couple of hundreds or like mine, go up to over a thousand even for a brand new place. Good luck & in the meantime, have patience for ur TOP! Mine was 1 month later than the expected...agents all said Nov 2009.. and when nothing happened, they said end Dec 2009 which turned out to be a great New year's gift.. but i would have preferred mine earlier to move out of my rental at a more comfortable pace.

I LIKE UR LIVING ROOM! Very very pretty! By the way, Punggol 400+ k?! Geez.. i thought only HDBs near town cost half a mil... how big's ur place?

By the way, i spoke to the same ID as urs for my little reno job.. and man she was expensive!! She quoted me 1900 for painting my puny 926sq ft space.. & she even told me i HAVE TO paint the whole house. Even when i said its a brand new place just handed over from developer?!?!?! My neighbours just put furniture, lights and curtains can live in already.. why would i have to paint??!? Her quote for just a big feature wall 12ft (simple laminate), + console, bay window shelves (1.6m long) and hacking my wardrobe (replacing it with a 2m x 1m chest of drawers) was over 10k!!! & at best she discounted till 9.5k EXCLUDING all electrical works.. geez.. i hate to say this but i really had that nagging feeling of her charging me based on my condo location more than the actual price coz she kept saying "you can afford it." Cant recall wat else was in her 2nd revised quote but i got a much better priced ID including electrical works (i shifted 2 scv points, 2 water heater switches, pulled dozens of double switches & shifted my downlights etc -costing all in ard 1.3k) which is over 1k lower. Still, i'm looking forward to seeing ur fully furnished apartment pics to see if she did a good job!

Wats CSC? I got the permit to commence work. Anyway, we already hacked so abit late.. Besides, it's not really a wall per say.. it's a hollow gypsum(?) that covers the side of the wardrobe. Plus i've never heard of NO hacking else all warranty's void. Pretty sure another gf of mine hacked her walls in Riveredge when it TOP-ed to shift her guest room door entrance etc. As long as u're given the green light with PE approval for such "big" jobs, hacking shldnt be an issue? Mine IMHO, & my ID's... is not as major as we are only removing the wardrobe in the master bedroom (See pic below) & i've circled the "walls" i'm hacking (using the guest room's wardrobe picture as example..) else it will be a "despression" in the wall after the wardrobe's removed... Of coz if neighbour's walls crack we will have to make gd on my expense.. **x finger**..& i really doubt will happen la!!!

nope.. i'm at Mohd Sultan

gd point! My ID managed to convince the mgmt guy a PE is not required by removin the switch to reveal a hollow wall. so silly..it's **** obvious it's empty just by knocking on it!! geez.. As for the planter, still a no-go..my ID suggested waitin for my neighbors to do it first.. after that it's almost impossible for them to get all 100+ units to remove their decking is it? ;p by the way, me no bro.. me sis.

I just got my new condo and is submitting a list of items for renovation approvals. To my horror the guy sitting in the mgmt office who apparently has the ability to give a 1 hr approval said that i cant close up the planter box! I did explain that i'm not pouring cement over it and the decking can be opened for cleaning/flushing etc. He still said no!! And when i said "How can u expect me to live with a huge hole in my balcony!?" He claimed that it's developer's instruction and also to ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO PLANT!!!!!! I heard somewhere before that planters spaces in condos are not meant for "living" space but is there such a proper government black and white ruling that states a planter box has to stay a depression? If so, how can there be so many condos that have a wooden deck without getting into troube? One last thing, I'm intending to remove my master bedroom wardrobe from the developer. There's a false wall on the side of it and it will require hacking & making good. He said i need to hire a Professional Engineer for approval. According to my ID it's not necessary as it's definitely a false wall not part of the building structure.. and hiring will cost me an extra 350 for nothing! Any ideas if i can avoid paying this afterall??

The size really depends on alot of factors.. ur tv dimensions, ur wall size, ur living room space, color of the feature wall etc... my IDs have quoted me from 12 ft (even when my wall is only 3-4m long) to the current 7.2ft x 6.5ft.. Tink if u have a simple suspended, unclutter feature wall which is in a light color tone, it shldnt make the room look smaller.

WOw.. ur contrasting colors in the MBR toilet's really very striking!!

HI, just wanna say thanks for the very useful information you are providing on your t-blog.. till date i've spoken to Mr Iang (planter deck) and Colin (mirror guy) for quotes and they are so much cheaper than my very greedy IDs! I found a comparable Balau quote to Mr Iang's but at least he is very honest about his balau not being too cheap. Plus now i have a rough idea of my IDs' crazy mark ups and can bargain to save some for my next dinner Any issues with ur Balau wood? I'm still deciding if Ironwood is worth the extra 150... thanks!