january

Go to the library and borrow some books of luxury hotels in Bali, of Bali Style, stuff like that. Kinokuniya has lots of design books that you can browse as well. Hope that helps.

hm. I have 川掌 , but only on my left palm...

I heard that fridge facing stove is okay. Glad that it worked out for you! Sometimes things like FS, it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's up to you to believe whether something like this will affect your life. However, once you know... it's kinda hard to stop thinking about it.

I found this article about split leather and PU leather. http://www.mainlychairs.co.nz/leather%20advice.htm If an industry veteran can't tell the difference, we're completely at the mercy of furniture retailers, suppliers and makers. Leather products don't come cheap and if you paid less than $3000 for your sofa, it's unlikely to be genuine leather. If you have a budget like that, I think a fabric sofa is a better choice. They can be reupholstered as well. Just a thought.

So I went to do some measurements... and guess what, I won't be able to fit any appliances under the countertop cuz it's too shallow. I can't build a new worktop because anything deeper it would block the doorway. Plus, few thousand dollars to redo the cabinets to get an extra 5cm? Does not make sense at all. Sigh, I know homes are getting smaller now but *at least* give us standard sized kitchen cabinets so it's easier for us to get appliances... Those people who design flats, they probably don't do any housework yeah. [/grumble] On the bright side, since this "space & time saving" solution doesn't work anymore, we save money by not hacking the kitchen cabinets

welcome to renotalk have you decided on reno theme and budget yet?

This is the proposed design from my ID... It's not very big, just enough for Goddess of Mercy and one ancestral tablet. Hope it helps.

Tonight is simple dinner night, just a cold dish of tofu topped with spicy "zha choi" (anyone knows what it's called in english?) and some blanched veg with oyster sauce. No meat Tomorrow i'll make some roasted chicken thighs... have not figured out the sauce nor side dishes yet. Ideas anyone?

Thanks for sharing the story edenstrauss. I'm sorry about your friend. Whatever that jeopardising force was, I guess it was so strong that even reno works couldn't fully appease it. I'm generally a 福人住福地 type of person, but once in a while my superstitions get the better of me...

Hello fengshui buffs In my current kitchen, the position of the stove (火, fire element) is directly opposite the sink (水, water element). I was told that this position is not ideal as it causes 水火相冲。 The only way to rectify it is to move the sink away. However, I am also planning to install a dishwasher under the space where the sink originally was. Since the water is not exposed, I wonder if this will also cause 水火相冲? Any advice would be appreciated.

I prefer to buy the furniture first as they will set the theme (and colour scheme) for the design, so you will be assured that everything looks cohesive. Also, it's much easier to ask the ID/contractor to build to a specific measurement as opposed to looking for a piece of furniture that is exactly in the dimensions that you want. Most furniture companies can hold your purchase for a few months before delivery. European imported furniture has a 4 month waiting time (unless there's ready stock).. so it's better to get them before the reno. Electronics should be the least of your worries, there are so many electronic supplies in SG with lots of stock... However if you have built-in appliances, then it's better to decide what you want to do so that you have the dimensions to design the space accordingly.

It is much much easier to change wallpaper if you get sick of the feature wall...

If you're just looking to dress up your wall, why not do a picture wall? This site has good samples and guidelines. http://designformula.blogspot.com/2008/01/...ll-collage.html

everton, I thought he looked rather happy actually? ngunadi I asked the framer in my neighbourhood about the canvas wrap framing... For a 1.5m x 1m piece I think it's roughly $120. I haven't asked anywhere else so I don't know if that's reasonable, but it's certainly an amount I can swallow.

Oh that's because you're signed into your own account... I can see them now! I can definitely understand how can you buy 9 paintings in one go. The 4 portraits are rather quirky, I like them.

Hey everton I don't think that's the right link for the images. I think you need to get another link for forums from the side bar. Anyway I really appreciate you taking the pics for me! (even though I can't see it yet). ngunadi I have an abstract painting by a Balinese artist which I bough some years back, but have yet to frame it up because l haven't found a space to hang it up yet. But I finally have a place to hang it now and I'll need to frame it up soon, canvas wrap style. Do you mind sharing with me the places that you've contacted so I can go ask. Much appreciated

welcome to renotalk. I think the 1970s window grilles are cool, you should definitely keep them if they're still in good condition. all the best!

everton you also bought 9 paintings in 1 shot!? What kind of paintings are they? Never been to Vietnam before so I don't know what kind of style the artwork is in. I'm vvv curious about them. Would u mind posting some pictures?

You're gonna buy 10 paintings at one shot? U're gonna regret some of it. I think you should build up your collection slowly...

Calligaris Cruiser Just bought dining chairs (finally!), again from XZQT, this time served by Hasnul. We went back to XZQT last night with the intention of getting another chair actually, but Hasnul said firmly, "No, the colour of the legs don't match your table. You shouldn't get it." He recommended similar styles from a catalogue, but I'm quite hesitant to buy things which I cannot see for real. Plus I have to wait till January for it to arrive. Looked around a bit more and spotted these, which are nice and slim. So we just went with it. Thank goodness Hasnul dissuaded us from the original chair, because I got 4 pieces of Cruisers for the price of that 1 chair alone. *whew* Money saved! Is always a good thing. Now this is a proper sales person Potential buys for the place: Christina Kröncke Orion Light Fontana Arte Floor Lamp

I think it is better to shop for furniture first and get a contractor to do the remaining space. Those pieces will help set the theme for the reno as well. Built in furniture is always a last resort for me. Plus, if you're buying European furniture and they don't have it in stock, you gotta wait 3-4 months for it to be shipped over... which means sitting on the floor for 3-4 months... -.-

I have bay windows in the bathroom as well. Curtain salesperson advised a roller blind specially for areas of high humidity... This is better than using a frosting sticker because, like hermes76 says, people can still see you at night when you turn on the lights.

*recovers from heart attack* Did you have a hand in its making!!! I am being charged an obscene amount for curtains... why do I have so many windowsssss.

What we did was that we decided the key pieces of furniture to get (sofa, bed, dining table) and got the ID to design according to the pieces that we bought. We changed the design of the bedroom a few times because we couldn't decide which bed we wanted... Thank goodness our ID is a patient man! Couldn't you have just hung a picture instead of the TV? I was also toying with the idea of not having a TV in the living rm so that we could turn it into a pretty sitting room. But watching TV is a family activity so we had to do up the TV feature wall. In other news... Quote is out! I'm not liking the amount so much. Reading renotalk I've seen HDBs being overhauled for less. Let me go study it again...

I saw some at Molecule. They're in Orchard Central and Great World City. Think they cost like two-three thousand.