GrandReno

Hmm.. I just wonder... Do the shop people explain so much, like the different types of leather, which is better, etc. All I know is, every leather sofa shop I go to, they say their is genuine leather. Always seems better than other shops. The only terms they give is either "Full leather" or "Half leather". And contrary to what I read in some old posts here, it is not true that leather sofa costing $2-3k are actually PVC or PU. I was told it is Italian genuine leather but installed in a nearby country. Unless they are lying? By the way... are Navinzi and Furniture Club good places to shop for leather sofa?

Hi all, I'm not sure if this question has been directly asked here b4. Have been reading up a bit on leather and fabric sofas but can't quite decide yet! Most of those I read are overseas postings. Not sure if it's relevant to singapore's context. So I appreciate any real life experience and opinions. Thank u! My concerns are: Leather: - Easy to get mould after a while due to our humid weather here. I've seen my friend's sofa have a bit of white spots here and there. - Limited choice of colours compared to fabric. - May be warm and sweaty if the weather is hot. Fabric: - More maintenance. Need time to remove and put back on fabric for washing. And washing such huge fabric is a hassle too. - If there is food/drink stain from spills, may be a problem. Please advise if you agree or disagree with the above. Or please add on. Thank you!

Hi all, Where did you read bad reviews about OM? I think they are ok.... I only remember there is this one off incident where OM accused a customer of not paying his balance when in fact he had already done. And they delivered defective furniture. Of course, customer not happy. In the end, it ended up as court case and the customer won. I find it weird OM will accuse like that when in fact there should be black and white on payment made. I take that complaint with a pinch of salt as there is no verification. On fabric... I was going back and forth on fabric or leather. In the end, I think leather is the choice for me. Fabric can look pretty if you are after patterns or certain specific designs. But I think the cleaning will be very inconvenient. And if drop a bit of food or drink, it might be a problem. The removing and putting back of fabric is time consuming and troublesome. Moreover, you got to really take care of the washing. Leather easier maintenance and look somewhat more classy if that is what you are after.

Hmm, I did a search and noticed many home owners in renotalk use laminate wood for their flooring. Is there any significant advantage compared to parquet? There's also engineered wood but I haven't read anyone choosing this. Any reason for not using it? Thank u!

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Hi, i would like to find out if any of you ever experienced this on your wood flooring. http://www.flickr.com/photos/64981057@N05/5917581491/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/64981057@N05/5917575831/ I am using engineered wood. After a few weeks, I notice there are some darkening at the edges of the flooring near the wall. My contractor told me this is nothing to worry about. Is there a cause for concern? I am suspecting there could be water leaking somewhere. But what puzzles me is that this only happens weeks later with or without rain. Should I do something more about it or is it safe to leave it as it is? Appreciate any advice. thanks.

You posted 3 identical comments above on 3 separate threads which are not relevant to the ID company mentioned. Your motive is.... ?

oh no... not again! There seriously should be some control

Looks like there are a lot of fake people posting for my id factory. Yes, like watchthewaves, I cannot understand why people cannot be frank and come out clean. If you are an employee of my id factory, just say so! If you feel your product is that good, I don't think anyone will mind if you introduce yourself as so. By lying, you are not giving others a good impression already. If you want free advertisement, why do it like this? I find it hard to understand how a company that has such a huge factory cannot afford to advertise properly! Actually, I have one question: If my id factory gives such a good deal, why don't all the other good IDs use them? Think carefully. To give my opinion, let's just say I will NOT use my id factory for a few big reasons. And I know 2 others in renotalk whom I met who dropped my id factory also. I won't give my reasons, because to each his own. But I have done my research and homework. Just a word of advice: Be careful.

Hi ayukie, Did you see the id fac showroom in Sungei Kadut? I thot they don't deal with walk-in customers who want to do selected carpentry? If want ID, then got to sign up with their other company BlveBlue.

Hi edenstrauss, I'm just curious... If you didn't engage White Space Living, how come you know so much about how they work or that they are very good? Actually, I'd like to disagree that the so-called "reputable" firms (not targeting White Space Living in particular) will produce excellent results, in terms of workmanship, timeliness in handing over homes, etc. Initially, I thought that would be the case too. Why not right? We pay so much, we expect good customer service, high quality furnishings, etc. WRONG. And I'm shocked too. There have been many incidents reported of high charging companies with nice portfolios producing sub-standard works. Or that the IDs are very slow in responding or worse case, quitting the job midway in the reno. Of course, some may be fakely reported. But others are detailed enough for one to sense they are real. Already I am in communication with one home owner who engaged a "reputable" ID who us giving him problems. I guess one has to be very very careful. I feel it's a minefield out there. You can choose the safest route in getting very safe tried and tested IDs out there (actually, they are really sales people than IDs). But the designs may be so-so only. (If you have tight budget but want decent/basic designs, that's good, which is what many Renotalk home owners are). Ironically, you want very nice works, you got to pay more, BUT also take the risk of getting your job delayed or poor workmanship. To conclude: There's an element of luck involved in going for the uncommon ID companies. Don't always trust the media. Everything looks nice. It's advertisement. Remember! Eg: Look at the KFC chicken in the pictures. Always look so steamy hot, with smoke coming out from it, looks juicy, fat and tempting. when you go to buy it at the counter, does it resemble what you saw in the picture? NO.

Really that bad ah? So different from the other reviews written last year.

Will you be engaging BlveBlue? I also like their laminates but not quite confident with the ID cos don't know anything about the company or designs. Please do share with us your experience with the manager if you don't mind. Thank u!

it's a pity they don't use better named IDs. I was also referred to blveblue. Never heard of them b4. Not impressed with their website also... Like not experienced and nothing much to see.

thanx for sharing... can't wait to see your final beauty home!! Pls do share yah!!!

Hi lazybum9, Have been following your t-blog. thanx 4 sharing. But 1 question... why do you need to lay kitchen tiles? Isn't this already done for your flat?

Wj888, Do you mean if you find the quote not satisfactory, you will go elsewhere to get the job done, for eg contractor? Actually I think Chew is shooting themselves in the foot. Cos people can just "buy" the 3D drawings and then go elsewhere to do the Reno. My only suspect is that their designers are not that good that's why they are willing to sell the drawing? This kind of practice happened in the past and from my experience, good designers these days will not do this anymore. Chew seems quite well established and they have one super big showroom. But I dunno why they are not well recommended in this forum and elsewhere. I am very careful of all the sweet words used by ID companies though. Sometimes it's all sales talk. What comes out at the end is something much less desirable.

You're welcome.. Didn't do much here, just my observation. Hee.... I'm beginning to suspect Renotalk is a highly controlled forum. *Duh* I simply asked an innocent question such as "Has anybody used XXXX ID?" and they refused to publish it here. And they even block out the names of some IDs... not sure if you all noticed that. Try posting such a question and you will see! And when I look at the t-blogs pictures and forums discussions, it seems people only use the same old few IDs. Design-wise a handful of them don't have the "Wow" factor. Of course, it's good to stick with the usual IDs since they are tried and tested. But I feel there should be more exposure and reviews of other good IDs.

Sometimes you can't judge by just 1 case. It could be due to budget constraints. I didn't watch the show, but maybe they also had time constraint. Or it could be due to the home owner's request to have the home done up in a certain way? We have to take all these into considerations. For eg: I was told that for those who believe in feng shuis, even when they choose a very good ID, the home turns out really whacky or an eye sore. With weird colour combination on the walls and impractical placement of furniture. The home owners sometimes know this themselves but they trust feng shui too much to compromise.

I think the IDs recommended in Renotalk are the more budgeted ones to mid ranged ones. Cos I think most home owners here are looking for value for money type of IDs, judging by the t-blogs also. I feel many of the pictures look contractor style design rather than really from a trained ID. Even though they were supposed to get ID quality. I tried to post some questions regarding the higher end IDs but my questions never get published online. Makes me wonder if the admin people from Renotalk are biased? If so, shame on them! Free space is considered the upper end kind of ID, so that explains why no one really gave any reviews.

But how do you find their design and price? If you are not comfortable the slightest bit, I would advice you not to sign up. That's not a good sign. Most IDs sound experienced, unless they are the super young ones. After doing so many homes, they surely have seen many types of designs. So I find being experienced not a big point in choosing an ID. As for their Beng attitude..... Can't comment much here. Just know that these days, many call themselves IDs but they are not. I notice many of the IDs recommended by renotalk are not proper ID trained. Just people who got some experience in doing Reno. They are really the modern day contractors who are slightly more educated and do sales.

May I ask you all: Is Summit Design a good company that caters more to home owners with tight budgets? I seem to be quite confident with their IDs, after so many praises given here. But I read that they use cheaper paints? And also, from their website, I can't find a single real photo of completed projects. All of them are in artificial looking 3D images which don't say anything much. Thanks...