january

I've seen that around the internets before. It certainly is very cool. And you know what. You can DIY it. Click here for instructions.

Does it have foam padding too? Let me know how much your full height headboard costs. I wanna negotiate with my contractor. I refuse to pay $900 for that skimpy headboard. Why they refused? Because they are irresponsible? My ID actually said something like this, "Better not do it, I don't have a good feeling about this. Such a small place and already so many problems." Well you know what, if the contractor hadn't been greedy and wanted to cut costs on the marble, they wouldn't even have half as many problems. I bought the TV console from Lucano at the Furniture Mall. I always buy whatever furniture I can, because the workmanship is always better than customised carpentry.

Ya I really need to get that wall socket now, especially since half of my family also live in Indonesia and we're often bringing electronics around... it's a useful thing to have. Wow you're such a caring mother, you think of every little thing. The remote sounds like a home automation gadget to me. Did you have to do special wiring for it? I remember that Philips have light bulbs which can be controlled via remote. Is that what you're using, perhaps? And why do you need to wash the curtains every two months? I wash my curtains once a year. o_o

This is a good example of poor workmanship. It's the underside of the mirrored doors at the entrance area. This one is better. Also wallpaper for the MBR is in. Looks like cheap wallpaper to me.

Mirrored vanity cabinet in the MBR, with glass shelves. Contractor and ID refused to do this at first. It was after much begging that ID decided to do this for us. This is useful for keeping the bathroom neat. This is what the living room looks like at night... I'm liking that purple colour less and less now. The "landing" area at the entrance. The mirrored doors open up to reveal shelves to store keys and misc items. The top and bottom cabinets are for shoes. The wooden flap is on the wrong side of the door. (Yes I'm that picky.) But it's an easy thing to fix.

I can't believe my contractor is charging me 900 effing dollars for this bedhead... It's just some foam and fabric stapled onto a wooden frame. And the back isn't even properly stapled. Attention to detail is good... But he got a little careless in this room yeah? There's no skirting, so there shouldn't be that little nook. Also, this bedhead is installed in the wrong room.

I think that's a good deal... the cheapest window coverings quote I got was more than double that amount.

hello mae29! Can't believe I've missed out on your reno action until now. Seems like your reno is going great... it must not be easy with work and kids to handle as well. Your attention to detail is admirable, kudos to you! I think your request for this socket is genius. If only I'd seen this before my electrical work is complete, I would have all the sockets in my house changed to this one. cheers!

Hey there. Let me know how the bulbs work after you've installed them. I still have some halogen lights in my place and would like to replace them with LED in the future.

Contractor was recommended through ID. ID is a great guy. Contractor, not so much. I think the colour is Silvermink from Dulux. What colour did you use?

everton thanks for your kind words. It is sad to know that what I'm experiencing is de rigueur in the industry. Why do they all not take pride in their work? Being a contractor is not a shameful profession. What I do realise is though, that it is relatively easy to be a contractor. It seems like once you know a few carpenters, plumbers, electricians, tilers, curtain makers etc, even I can call myself a contractor, ID, design consultant, interior stylist or some fancy name. I don't mean to undermine the people who really do their jobs well. I just want to highlight how easily it is for to masquerade as professionals in this industry. Attention to detail is key and it seems that most contractors don't have this vital skill. And reno newbies will be none the wiser until their reno goes horribly wrong. None of us want to be the guinea pigs of some contractor, especially after having to spend so much money. Unfortunately, it seems like that is the case for many people. Dante, I hired an ID, whom I paid a design fee for. The ID was recommended by a relative. He is a great person and I'm thankful that he is around. This contractor was the one that my ID recommended. They have a long history of working together so I thought it would be okay. Little did I know he would turn out to be this, mess. To be fair, my reno has been going fairly smoothly. Not many things need to be re-done because they're too big or small as per my request. I spent extra time with the ID in the planning process to prevent this construct, tear-down and re-construct thing. The major hiccups have been due to the contractor's own cost-cutting measures, which backfired on him. Oh, I also had to tell him how to construct a wire-free TV console. My main peeve is his disrespectful attitude. Just because I don't own a landed property doesn't make me less valid of a human being. That being said, there's still no way of sifting out the good from the bad. I wish there were an easier way to do that without spending more than $20K.

My reno contractor is this old guy, who claims that he does up houses and condos in Bkt Timah, Orchard Road. But he is disrespectful. And rude. Doesn't know the difference between cool white, daylight and warm white fluorescent tubes. Doesn't know what is electronic ballast. When things have gone wrong he will "sien" rather than admitting his mistake "yes la the light is dimming! just that now is daytime you cannot see." @&@*#$??! When we asked him to help us reorganise the kitchen and yard area, he went into this 30min lecture on why landed homes are better than condos, instead providing us with solutions. When we asked him to construct a mirrored cabinet in the bathrooms, he gave us plenty of excuses to not do it. When I pressured him about the handover date, he lost his temper and hung up. What I should have done is to coordinate the reno myself, instead of engaging this person. Can't wait for my reno to be over. I'm sure some of you have experienced worse. Please share your stories.

I got mine from IKEA. Been using for more than 5 years... so far so good.

hey there. welcome to renotalk. Off-season might not be a bad thing... you can take some time to revise and re-think your space planning. Who knows, you may get some better ideas. wishing you a smooth reno journey.

Join lines are visible for cabinets covered using laminates, unless 1. ABS trim is used 2. Colour core laminate is used. The ready made cabinets you see may be spray painted using a high-gloss paint, which is why you don't see any join lines. Hope this helps.

Today I called the contractor, pressured him about the 15 Jan due date, and guess what? He lost his temper, scolded me and hung up! Ah silly old man. But seriously, at first he said before 1 Jan, and then 15 Jan. And now, we don't even know. What should I do? KDK fan no longer wobbles. Well done contractor. The house is also re-painted. At least the house looks painted now. The previous time you had to look really closely to notice the paint. The living room now has this grey/purple paint. It looks a lot more purple than in the picture actually. Not sure if I like it that much, but I'll hold my thoughts until all the furniture is in. It looked like this previously. I also think he forgot about this. I also found this on my altar. This is hilarious, and not to mention hideous.

Get some activated charcoal. Apparently instant coffee works as well. Get those in coffee bags if you don't want the mess.

Make sure you write this down on the contract. Just in case any dispute arises. Also, make sure the electrician understands what you are talking about. My experience is that they just nod and say yes but when it comes to the actual installation they'll just do it their way. So make sure to check, point out that it's on the contract, and get them to re-do if it's not up to your standards. It's the small things that count.

Perhaps something like this? Got them from Lightcraft @ Jalan Sultan. Each light is 3W LED. They have larger sizes too. The ones I have are not as bright as halogen, so you may want to get a larger size if you want something brighter. Also, these LED tracklights are not dimmable. Hope this helps.

Never really used them before, but I think you can close the shutters and attack it with a feather duster.

Thanks marshmallow! I'm PM-ing you.

Oh you mean window treatment. I thought u just meant the concrete bit. I'm gonna have horizontal PVC blinds, good for light control! Anyway, day curtains are really good. They filter the incoming light and it gives the space this airy glow... highly recommended.

My bay windows? Nothing loh. Other than putting up the marble we're just gonna leave it. KIV for future use.

ahah, okay I admit I'm one of those who will kaypoh other people's reno. I've walked into a few units myself but I always introduce myself. I spoke to the owners at length about their reno... and got useful information. I think people are always nice as long as you introduce yourself properly...

reglxt, if you're doing curtains, get your curtain guy to sew the curtains a bit longer, if not there will be a gap between the window and the bay and you will get sunlight streaming in. Only discovered this when I saw my neighbour's curtains... so I better warn u first.