january

That last picture looks quite photoshopped. Ever tried cross-processing? I love that effect. Makes photos look like a Wong Kar Wai movie. Anyways. I know what you mean. I tried to mix styles as well and it's actually quite hard to find a good balance. Those interior design magazines make it look so easy, mixing vintage, mid-century modern with industrial and making everything look whimsical and fun. But it takes a bold spirit and some really good eyes to do it well. You must have spent a lot of time looking for furniture and accessories? I did, and am still looking.

...tall glass windows also make the place quite hot, and ours especially since they're *gasp* west facing. I see that you chose different legs for your ottoman? I think it looks better than the original. And the material you used doesn't look like leather either, is it fabric? Not sure if I wanna go through the process of customising an ottoman with FC, especially since I'm not getting anything else from them. Thanks for your help!

It depends on the extent of the reno. If you are doing any hacking, ceiling, plumbing and electrical works, I suggest that you move somewhere else during the reno as it will be very noisy, dusty and unbearable. If you're just doing carpentry it might be possible, but the smell of the glue can be an issue so I still wouldn't advise you to stay in the house. Btw, there are short term rentals around, but don't expect spanking new apartments. When we reno-ed our place 5 years ago, we rented a place for 2 months in an old condo that was to be en-bloc-ed. So it's possible. Or perhaps your parents can stay with you for the time being, and you can rent a storage space for a few months for their stuff. Hope this helps.

Hi Reiki, your sanctuary is certainly deserving of its name It's got a quiet elegance about it, very lovely. Anyway, could you tell me where you got the rectangular ottoman from? And also its dimensions? I'm looking for a rectangular ottoman but I've only seen square ones so far. Thank you!

@everton: do you use that at home? When you open the windows the blinds will flap around right? I need to find side guards for the blinds cuz it gets quite windy... About choosing paint: ICI Dulux has an intersting naming system. There's barely grey which looks barely white, and there is barely white looks barely grey. We've gone the safe route this time and chosen most of the natural whites, and use the soft furnishings to add colour to the place.

Thanks guys. Toobo lamp looks great in the pictures... I'm just hoping it will look as nice in a real life setting. We bought the version on the left. Not much as happened since. The place is still in a mess. We're confirming the colour choices today (after countless changes! ah choices), so the painting can be done tomorrow. It's december now and my west-facing windows are getting the brunt of the afternoon heat. It's really quite hot. The good thing is that the apartment is very windy so it's not stuffy. I'm wondering if there are window covering solutions that would block out some heat but not the airflow. The ideal solution would be to install external sunshades so that heat wouldn't enter the apartment in the first place. But a few problems: 1. It's costly. 2. Our windows open outwards. The external sunshades I've seen are designed for inward opening windows. 3. The management is unlikely to approve it as it "affects the facade of the building". Even mirrored solar film is not allowed. -.- I've used v-kool solar film before and it's great at blocking out UV but has insignificant effect on heat reduction. Anyone has any ideas? I'm at a loss here.

Yay pictures The walls are really pretty. Are they wall tiles or wallpaper? I read your light bulb story and I must say that your attention to detail is admirable. Didn't you say you have a new coffee table?

I think this thread needs more pictures of your completed home Looking at your sofa & carpet again, it kinda looks like kaya + a slab of butter. on toast. heh. About downlights. I don't like them either; they don't have much atmosphere. My favourite is halogen really but those things get so hot...

I find it surprising that your ID didn't lay protection for you... even more surprising is that you didn't tell her about it right away. Kerio you're a man of good taste! About the lamp. It's something like 1500 euros (we're shipping it in from Germany). I love floor lamps but SG doesn't seem to sell many of them... *** In other news, the ceiling guys cut the hole for the light trough today. This costs us a few hundred dollars more to make... but I think the end result will be fantastic. The concrete bit will be covered with a piece of black acrylic, with holes for the lights. Here's what it looks like now.

Does every room have the "in-wall" storage area? That's soo useful! as for your TV console, I think the design isn't very functional and would cost quite some money to make... you may want to rethink it.

@kerio - if you know about first anythings, they're usually not happy experiences! But cheer up, things will get better from now.

Hey Kerio Sorry to hear about your unhappy experience with your ID, but your reno is almost done so just grit your teeth and bear with it. All of us at renotalk are giving you moral support! With all the rectifications being done now I'm sure the end result would be quite good, so that's something to be happy about. Thanks for sharing your experiences, and all the best for the rest of the reno!

!!! I'm shocked at the extent of your injuries, I hope you're feeling better now. I think some kind of legal action is warranted. Go talk to some lawyers and see what you can do. Get well soon!

some shops give ID special discounts... so you may even save money.

@evokc - you may want to try leaving the TV or radio/music on to cover the noise of the PIE... that's what I do. If you can't get complete silence, then at least fill the air with sounds you want to hear. I find that more pleasant than earplugs, which fill my head with this horrible ringing sound... @ymjp100 - that's a lovely quote. what about the rest of the book? btw nice living room. bright fresh colours. the thing on your coffee table looks like a knife block, but I'm guessing it's for remote controls? what's the reason behind not having PLC downlights btw? do you just not like them?

Don't worry so much about the noise... I live next to a major road and I got used to the sound pretty quickly, in less than a week. In the daytime planes fly by and sometimes I don't even notice it... So you shipped the light from China... Just curious are you shipping in any other furniture as well (big items)? I think your place has lots of potential to look really spectacular if you do the styling well... but judging from the designer (replica) items you have in your home, your place is gonna look pretty swell. Thanks for reading my t-blog. My place is still in a mess right now... can't wait for it to be done.

Looks good! I like what that wood laminated panel on the ceiling, it really does elevate the design. Cheers to your almost completed reno.

Just tell your carpenter that you're gonna hang a TV on the feature wall, he should build the support structures for it. As for the cooling of the TV, I suppose you can hang some laptop coolers behind the tv... I'm not intending to do a flush in design for the feature wall but that could be a feasible idea.

I think a black top will make your kitchen look very dark... And with that wood colour perhaps white looks cleaner. I thought the kitchen is okay, though the sink and stove seems to be a little too far away. Would be better if they were closer. I agree that the wardrobe isn't very nice though... You can definitely ask your ID to redraw, especially if you've already given him the deposit. For best results I think will need to show him actual pictures... get the planning stage right so that you don't have to change things in the middle of the reno.

Well, how long do you want wallpapers to last? Even with paint you have to repaint every few years... If you're doing carpentry you can use it to hide the cables around your TV area, as well as storage. Wallpaper and tiles would only serve to beautify. Alternatively you can always paint that wall a different colour, and use paint effects to texturise the wall. Something like this Which you can probably DIY. Hope this helps.

I think most curtain places offer this service too.

Similar thing happened to me before. It could be mould, which is a sign that there's either: 1. a leak in the bathroom. 2. poor ventilation in your bathroom.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. This is the proposed design for the altar.

What does a rockstone ceiling/wall look like? Can someone post a picture? steelze, I think covering it up with false ceiling is a good idea, cuz your ceiling will be nice and smooth. With plastering you can get hairline cracks if not done well.

FINALLY. The reno has started. Other than some minor problems (which switches control which lights), everything seems to be going fine. Sofa was also delivered today. It *almost* couldn't fit into the lift. I was panicking for a while. I didn't realise that lift was so small... Moral of the story, measure your lift first before buying any furniture! Or be prepared to pay extra for the delivery men to hoist it up to whichever floor you live in. Some pictures... (pretty boring though). This will be for the TV in the dining room. Living Rm... Alternate view of living rm, with that Sofa which really doesn't look that big... I've seen chunkier L-shaped sofas! I wonder how those get transported! Ceiling work. All the trunking will be covered with a gypsum board later. So I guess it's a mini-false ceiling? The most important thing is we get additional lighting without sacrificing ceiling height. The hole on the right is for an additional powerpoint to the junior bathroom... That's all for now, will add more pictures as the reno progresses.