SeirenGrey

Thanks for your advice! I guess some compromises still have to be made for your dream house... >.<" At the same time must work harder for $$ too, hopefully can get a good increment/bonus! haha

One of the two common bedrooms... the other one (entertainment room) is more squarish, this one is more rectangular "longish". The guest toilet... someone was using MBR toilet at that point of time so didn't manage to take pic lol

The other end of the kitchen... Entrance to MBR WIW (outside) WIW (inside) Bed area (iphone no widescreen, could only take this part... opp the beds there's a wall with console and TV, and ample walking space in between)

Took some photos when we went to exercise our OTP at seller's... Living Room Store cum shoe cabinet area next to our main door Dining area cum entrance to kitchen After entering the kitchen... Still no idea what to do with that area! Maybe just do some shelves/cabinets for storage. Main part of the kitchen... meticulous owners have child locks everywhere! *thumbs up*

So ex!!! I already have quotes fitting my budget (gotten from renoquotes) but no reviews from those IDs/contractors so I'm just using as reference... those are the standard quotes lah, haven't tweaked them with my requirements yet... If really turn out too exp, may renovate in two phases or buy less furniture for the time being lol

When's your appointment? My agent is submitting for me tomorrow morning, the earliest dates are late Nov... really very late! D: I was told that my key collection dates are in the first week of Jan and that makes me very excited... hee!

Thanks! I hope so, maybe will do some DIY to save costs as well! V heart pain to use so much money at one go... >.<

I haven't confirmed on an ID yet! My reno should be quite standard... change flooring for the whole house, renovation of kitchen and 2 toilets, re-painting, replacement of doors/windows and hacking off half the wall for my entertainment room and change to glass. Not having much carpentry, getting most of our furniture off the shelf. Things I don't need to do: - WIW in MBR... feature wall not shown in floor plan (left behind by previous owner, together with the pole system, can change this at a later stage when we feel richer) - L-box for ceiling lights in living area (left behind by previous owner) - Re-location of lighting/electrical points (we can DIY) Hope it's doable...

Congrats on your home too! I'm exercising my option and signing the resale application tonight. So excited! Your house is HUGE!!!! Can do island kitchen leh!

Hahaha I wouldn't say that lah... sellers also need $$ to move to a new house mah! They'll need cash to pay COV to some other seller too. Congrats to you too! Victorian is lovely, but definitely alot of $$ for Victorian look furniture and carpentry... Still, can't wait for your reno pics cuz your home will be gorgeous!

Thanks all! Yes I am! Congrats to you too. My budget is probably around 25K? Not sure whether this is realistic or not...

I like your hob!! Looks so sleek!!

Not really on decreasing trend I guess... the initial offer was about 50k and we haggled for a lower price. It met my budget of 35k. It's quite worth it, being on a high floor and in good condition.

Shortlisted IDs/Contractors 1. Darren, Plush Living (because my bestie is using this ID and she's quite happy so far!) 2. Henry, ID Note (good reviews!) 3. Roy Tan, IR Design (good reviews plus I have friend(s) who engaged him before) 4. Jimmy Tan, 3D Innovations (good reviews!) 5. Mr. K (because I'm very impressed by pinkwhale's and paloma's house XD) 6. Contractor recommended by my mum who did my ex-neighbour's house quite nicely 7. Mr Yeak, Basic Image & Design (added on 29/9; reviews good too, and I need more contractor options!) 8. Mr Chong, Chng Png Guan Renovation (added on 29/9; another contractor) Ultimately I think it's the chemistry that is most important... I live on gut feel (and lead a dangerous life). Will probably start talking to some next week or next next week. I'm not sure if I'm too kiasu, but early is always better than late!

From another page of the same webby... I'm loving the dining area!

Kitchen ideas from this webby. Quite simple, really. Currently toying with the idea of having subway tiles for the kitchen, hmm.

Inspirations for living room from this webby.

PROJECT TIMELINE 17 Sep '12 - Sign OTP 27 Sep '12 - Exercise OTP 23 Nov '12 - 1st HDB Appointment 1 Jan '13 - Final Inspection 4 Jan '13 - 2nd HDB Appointment/Key Collection 27 Jan '13 - Signed the dotted line with ID! 3rd Feb '13 - Picking out tiles! 4th Feb '13 - Turning on of electricity and water supply 5th to 7th Feb '13 - Hacking of toilets and kitchen tiles 15th Feb '13 - Resumes reno works after CNY 16th Feb '13 - Purchased 52" Sharp TV for living and 39" Sharp TV for MBR 17th Feb '13 - Purchased sofa at Courts Toa Payoh

Finally 修成正果 and got married this year after 10 years of dating (ROM liao, wedding banquet this December)! I always tell my hubby that I from 草莓 wait until become 酸梅... And with marriage comes with a home! Actually we have been bidding for a BTO for the past few years but to no avail... then we decided not to wait anymore and purchased a 5-room resale flat in Boon Lay. I think we viewed more than 20 units before coming to a conclusion, but house shopping was pretty fun! We found a unit which was perfect... near MRT, amenities, high floor, non-west facing and with a slightly (ONLY slightly) less cut-throat COV. Space is good too, at 111 sqm. I liked the fact that the dining area is separate from the living area, mostly, and the bedrooms are quite huge as compared to the rest we've seen. Living room is a little small, but I can accept. Did an agak-agak 3D floor plan with floorplanner.com! Chin chai chin chai do first, because it looks fun! Dunno my space planning works or not... The 'Office' is a temporary thing because it'll be used for our future child's room. Nothing to put there for the moment, so will be using it as a makeshift office. The entertainment room is of course... purely for entertainment! Intending to do half glass walls to make it see-thru and create an illusion of (more) space. I don't have a particular theme in mind yet, but generally I like clean cut lines and simplicity... and lots of woody things. Not alot of $$ to do renovation because I'm not taking a reno loan... Going to grit our teeth and not get into even more debts! Scandinavian-inspired theme, perhaps? Currently reading reviews and t-blogs about various IDs/contractors (considering both) in Renotalk, and they have been very useful for me thus far! Thanks all for sharing! Current status, exercising OTP tomorrow and going for our first appointment some time in November. Will not make it for CNY, but we don't mind.

Hi pinkwhale! Your house is really lovely!!! Am very impressed with both Mr K's works and your own hard work... Really alot of research done, and alot of conscientious efforts put into your home. Possible to share your contractor's contacts and your quote (if it's not too much trouble)? Really really like your home lots.