green giraffe

Yes...i'm back..was lost in my jungle of boxes and the kids' lego blocks. That is well thought out.. Not only dinner parties, you can also do breakfast, tea and supper parties, just include electric bbq grill, teppanyaki, sandwich maker, waffle maker, popcorn machine etc on your house warming gift registry. From 2 power points, out come a myriad of possibilities. Cool! I admit i was speed reading through the blog but i was aware that the perfect compromise between Mr and Mrs NeO was DXN 5323X. I was speed typing too..i meant to say your TADAO Concrete Island. Hmm Tadao Island sounds nice..makes you feel like a millionaire. Good choice on the SS bench and chairs. Two chairs enough? Btw saw the SS bench in one of the nicer furniture shop in Dempsey rd.....only one advice, its worth it to live with only one arm and leg. (Disclaimer : only my personal opinion, follow the advice at your own physical and financial risk).

The wooden bamboo screen can be bought from places like Hawaii landscape and Far East florist. It comes in various sizes. Ours is 2m (height) by 3m (width) and cost $180 from Hawaii landscape. Found similar ones at Far East florist Bedok branch at about $140. We needed 11 pcs for the whole garden but managed to buy 6 only. Have placed orders for the rest. It was a good alternative to cover the ugly green fence for now. Our contractor helped our to install. It's quite simple, they just tie the bamboo to the existing fence. However, we heard from our gardener that it will not last long, maybe 2 years.

Thanks livingstyle, the kitchen is indeed spacious. Have offered a baker friend to conduct small baking classes in the kitchen so that i can start learning to bake. We dont have a wet kitchen. We cook simple meals most of the time (soup for the kids), we also like to steam (hence the steam oven), bake or grill our dishes. Moreover, helper is quite conscientious in keeping kitchen clean. I have developed an obsessive compulsive urge to wipe the kitchen counter top repeatedly. And its rubbing off on my kids. You can see a little 80cm tall monkey holding a white cloth hanging around the kitchen scrutinising the white counter top and wiping any stain off immediately when he spotted one.

Thanks froggy for the kind words. Yes we have installed a new frosted glass door with rubber stopper at the top and bottom. The good thing is that the toddler is now more cautious with all glass doors (which we do have some big ones around the house) and all the other monkeys are more cooperative now when it comes to handling the doors gently (its probably wired in them to bang doors when they see one).

Hi patsy, you'll be the first to be invited for the house warming cos you are my youngest son"s favorite forummer..... he cant read yet but he just loves your baby pic . I have to go back repeatedly to your post for him to admire the baby photo.

Our beautiful (sorry, not shy) Bosch Fridge is finally here. Water and ice dispenser is the kids latest toy. They have been drinking tons of water.... Night view of dining area. Thanks C for the lovely flowers. Water feature without plants yet The drums are here!! Will be calling the motley crew up for rehearsal soon. Members of the z z O, please get your instruments ready. Neo, Your mouth piece for the triangle could be under your concrete island or maybe in the white dining lamp.

Quickie A quick pictorial post....Sorry folks no time to reply got to go get some lights and dining stools. Thanks for all the complements. Grass flavoured Swiss roll anyone? Carpet grass after 2 weeks Bicycle parking lot at side garden

Love your concrete island!!! Very stylish! Can already imagine dinner parties on the island under the custom made light. Have you decided on your dining chairs? Your reno is progressing very fast. Cant wait to see the NEW Beginning.....

Just to share how tempered glass saved my 2 year old son from injuries. New place almost completed. Kids wanted to see new house. Pester Pester Pester. Foolish parents gave in. They ran around the big new house opening doors and cardboards. Suddenly a loud bang and some cracking sound. The toddler was trying to close the frosted glass door to the WIW in the master bedroom and it hit the fixed frosted glass panel. The whole glass door shattered into tiny pieces but was held together and sandwiched by 2 pieces of frosted film. Thank God all he suffered was a shock. Cant imagine if it is not tempered and the glass pieces come raining down on him. Not sure if he was permanently traumatised cos he has been telling everyone he broke the glass door. Upon investigation, we found that the carpenter has removed the long rubber seal at the edge of the door (at the request of the ID cos it doesnt look nice) but have not paste round rubber stopper at the top and bottom of the fixed panel. After the incident, did a thorough check on all glass doors to make sure it has the tampered glass logo. Contractor trying to remove the door by tearing it like paper.

Hi Lee, The house looks spacious from the pix cos we have not put in our furniture and lorry loads of barang barang. Dad got a shock when he saw the number of boxes labeled toys and books. He said we had a grand total of 1 box when we were little.....will probably use that as an excuse to start giving away toys. My land area is 3320 sq ft. The original built-in is about 2100+ sq ft, we extended the back part of the second story to create a new master bedroom and bathroom. We also extend a little of the back yard on the first storey. We did not extend the side of the house cos we wanted to have a big outdoor garden space for the kids to run around. The new built-in area after A&A is close to 2800 sq ft. When are you starting your reno?

Well, the irony is that I dont allow my kids to watch TV while they are having their meals (my eldest says I am the strictest mom in the whole wide world, he thinks I need to take a chill pill). The TV in the dining area is more for guest. Wanted to have a sports bar concept with a TV screening soccer matches. Thank God I have an efficient domestic helper now. Cant imagine how i can cope with the housework in a bigger house (would probably have to borrow more super power from Samgalz ). Did not have domestic help when I had my first 3 kids but my previous house was much smaller and easier to upkeep (we had lots of build in cabinets to hide the mess..hee hee)

Good morning leechaorui, on the first floor, we have a music room which can be converted into a bedroom. There is also a maid's room. On the second floor, we have 2 bedrooms for the kids, a family cum study room and master bedroom.

More kitchen pix... Steam oven, oven, hob and hood on the right (not in view, pl pardon my photography skills or lack of) Oops.. hob not installed in this pix yet. Fridge have not arrived also when picture was taken. Will post the updated version. Hob half done in this pix. Gas hob on left and right done, carpenter to open a bigger hole for the induction hob. TV on top hung cabinet facing the dining table. Now showing... the Incredible Hulk, my fellow greenie

Open concept kitchen - from left to right, cantilevered breakfast counter, drawers for cutlery and cockery, dishwasher, sink and a corner cabinet. U shaped drawer under the sink a la Blum Hafele peanut shaped corner unit (hubby was so impressed with the mechanism that he insisted of getting it although i think it's way too expensive)

We have moved.... Yes! We have made the big move a few days ago and have been making many small moves these few days. Am now making the 2nd last trip to our rented place for the past 9 months to pack some odds and ends. Am disappointed with Singtel service, still dont have internet connection at new place yet after waiting for ages and making many phone calls. So am taking this opportunity to check mail and post some pics at the old place while the very hardworking and multi-tasking hubby is busy loading the car with stuff, take a break, cheer for Torres, reads the instruction manual for the fridge, critise the defenders, circle and highlight page 26 of the manual, reminds me to throw away the first 30 pieces of ice and first 5 glasses of water when using the fridge for the first time. Without further ado.. some pictures I have taken before the move (have not taken any pictures after we moved cos too busy, too tired, too messy) Living Room - Shoe cum bag cardboard next to main glass door. 14 doors top hung storage cardboard for books, board games, tons of memory in the form of photo albums, tons of old CDs, violins, music books etc. View of TV console from sofa. View of front door. The platform will be carpeted as a play area for the kids.

Was there cracked lines when you short list your basin at the shop? Initially, we short listed 2 square marble basins and upon close inspection, one of them has fine hairline scratches. They said they cant polish it without causing uneveness so we changed our order to 2 round black marble basins without seeing them. When they were delivered, one of them has crack veins like this Fortunately, we checked on the spot and called the sales person to ask for a change. However they did not have any more round black ones in stock and we couldnt wait for them to indent new ones so we change to this :- We are satisfied with the condition of our current basins. If they dont have stock for the one you bought, try to change to another design. They also have a sister company, Journey East at Joan Rd. They carry similar basins and share the same warehouse. Maybe can change for those at Journey East. Hope you can resolve your basin issue.

The Night Scene It's all so quiet......for now. Pity my neighbours when we move in. Yo, calling all the members of the Z Z O, our brand new drum set coming next week! Thanks P in advance! You are the (wo)MAN!

The Pullouts Our very first delivery are the 2 King Koi pull-out/trundle beds for the boys. The top is super single and the bottom pull-out is single size. The bottom bed can be raised to be the same level as the top and form a huge super king size bed for about 274 little monkeys. After putting 2 trundle beds and a custom made study table, it looks like there is only enough space for 1 box of toys and 5 books. Hmmm.... now where shall I put the rest of the 364 boxes of toys and 1672 books?

I think i am supposed to get some grill like thingy for that hole so that smoke can be extracted out of the kitchen into the garden instead of being recirculated.

Thanks for sharing blue sky, am looking for something to cover the outlet hole for my exhaust hood. Actually can ask contractor to buy but want to see if there are any aesthetically better looking ones. Will go kai lim to check it out

Have you tried looking in the kitchen? Maybe its in the lardle Or in the drawers? Will let you look in the other parts of the open concept kitchen later. Have a super strong feeling you might find it there.

Might be a bit "Kuah Zhang" to put an ottoman in now that i have seen my Malaysian friend's super drool worthy WIW. Nevertheless, might still have one so that i can sit and dream on....

Thanks for the tip(sy) whisky, Will make sure they lay sand first. Yes, the previous owner also have bald patches of grass under the "christmas" tree. We'll see if we can grow some shade loving plants around it.

Here's the mirror. Should be big enough cos we are a special breed of dwarf giraffes. Will have T5 lights around it. Storage space behind mirror to store barang barang. Hooks for necklaces, bangles, bracelets, 1 and only pair of clipped on ear ring, some canes and whips for the monkeys and chains for any untamed animals. Tray below hooks for watches and rings.

The Mother of all WIW - Heineken meet Sex and the City Yo people, you must see this. My friend's very creative, talented brother, who is a pilot by profession designed and built this house in Malaysia. The WIW is AWESOME!!!!!! That's the real Heineken Moment compared to my humble WIW. Also check out the pool and Bathroom! My house is flooded now..... with my drool. House in malaysia