matchalatte
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Everything posted by matchalatte
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nope, those arent my house unfortunately! my bedroom isnt this nice lol -
haha i totally agree with you, my place gets dusty really quickly too, worse since i have lots of furry things like rugs and cushions. right now what i do is actually to use a feather duster to dust everything onto the floor, then i sweep or vacuum them up. its been manageable so far. fingers crossed i can continue with this upkeep lol. i got really carried away when i see homes like these, i think they look ridiculous! i like them though. i really do believe they live in a less dusty place compared to ours, else they may have housekeepers to do the cleaning for them lol
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an (almost) completed living room. got the first batch of posters up on the wall. finally! no more having to rest them against the back of the sofa. also got moar cushions and covers. and also some decor on my drawer chests : hubby said we have tooo many stuff now lol, but honestly this is the kind of look i was going for. a mish mash of hygge, nordic, midcentury modern & art deco. i will probably upload more pics this week! the weather has been so gloomy lately.
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the seller provided a bubble ruler together with the screws and stuff when i bought the shelves. wanted to paint the vent and handle gold initially but couldnt find the right shade of gold so im just going to leave it for now.
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did up some shelves outside the bomb shelter over the weekend. it was NOT easy at all as the reinforced concrete is extremely hard and brittle. so we only managed to drill 2cm holes. which is fine actually since im only intending to put some very light things like posters. also managed to find real fiddle leaf fig plant from IKEA! really stocking up on them plants coz they liven up the space so much.
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@orihs2015 hello, im alternating between the official forwarder 4px and mike (kaijun) for container shipping if im shipping bulky items. @Clarence Lye haha apparently this guy is american and hes gotten a china citizenship and opened a TB shop. with 50K followers i suppose it shd be ok! i may get one when my kenwood one goes kaput haha. @plady hello, its custom made by carpenter, not from TB. in case you're interested, i used lamitak's hermes marcello walnut laminate. thanks! whats a telescopic tap? those that can be pulled out? mine cannot.
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hi, custom made by carpenter.
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here you go : http://m.tb.cn/h.Aaf9pD sofa http://m.tb.cn/h.AaUPjo pump bottles
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@Clarence Lye i found the kitchenaid handmixer on taobao! http://m.tb.cn/h.AaeCht
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hey! hows everything? sorry i havent been coming to renotalk v often nowadays, gotta re-read a few pages back. i dont really understand the part about you using another contractor for tabletop (justin) or is it the whole island counter? how come u didnt go with R&R? also, you mentioned yr island is 70+cm including the top, its actually dining table height. definitely too low to use as a worktop. have they rectified? and how are they going to increase the height unless they redo it? cant possibly be that they put something at the bottom of the island to make it higher right?
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i bought two : http://m.tb.cn/h.BACGj6 http://m.tb.cn/h.BAB87y the first one is more expensive, just wanna try out the difference. anyway every oven would have its hot spot, could try and put it at different parts of the oven to see which area is hotter. anyway 10 mins to reach 180C is just about right, usually its ard 10-15 mins. just preheat it before you start prepping then it wouldnt seem so long lol. my island is same height as my kitchen counter, which is 90cm. you mean the silver handmixer? its a kenwood one i bought 10 yrs ago. hoping to buy another one but they dont seem to carry the silver one anymore. kitchenaid is available everywhere! best denki has it, phoon huat buona vista also has. or you could check out the official distributor which is mayer marketing. think causeway pt would be the nearest to you! edit : sorry you mean a kitchenaid handmixer. i've seen it on taobao i think! need to go hunt for the link.
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umm, what model is yours? mine are entry level ones (read : cheapest from bosch) so i dont think i have a thermometer icon. i only recall seeing a clock, arrow and child lock icon. by light indicator you mean the bulb inside the oven? i think that one stays throughout baking leh. gosh. anyway i ordered an oven thermometer from taobao, hopefully that one would be more accurate :-/
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so busy these few days. been trying to bring home stuff from my grandma's place bit by bit (we stayed with her during reno) so we could save on the movers. i finally brought home my kitchenaid yesterday and the red immediately stuck out like a sore thumb. this mixer has been with me for the past 10 years and there werent many colors available then. since i cannot afford a new one, im toying with the idea of spray painting it metallic black or something. hubby said we should do gold and i was like woah lol since moving in 3 weeks ago i was honestly intimidated by the ovens. since i was using a microwave convection all along, i dont have any experience with built in oven so i havent touched it at all. until yesterday! i made a batch of macarons and the color is so even, unlike my old convection where there would be uneven browning. but i realized it doesnt actually notify you when its done preheating? how would you know then? i suppose i would need an oven thermometer? i feel like a noob all over again lol. decided to dedicate my service yard area for baking in general and the island with aircon would be more for when i need to handle buttercream or whipped cream.
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with the arrival of my sofa, dining chairs, kitchenware and stuff, furnishings are more or less complete BUT the shoe cabinet and tv sideboard for my MBR are still lying pretty on the floor with nobody to help me assemble. very sad. hubby and i are going to figure it out ourselves this weekend, hopefully we get to at least do up the shoe cabinet. i've done most of my shopping on taobao already, whats left are the finishing touches such as the decor stuff like picture frames, candle holder, cushion covers and some servingware. have to admit i spent yet another small bomb today, which is 1212 and its also a big shopping event in china, though not as big as 1111. right now, i still feel a little self conscious about showing my home here, since furnishings isnt really done but here goes : spot the new additions - a deer head decor, new york poster, fake monstera plants and the vitra eames house bird. i totally dig the house bird, its so cute! another shot of the living room. i love them acapulco chair and sheepskin rug. hacked room turned into a dressing area. the malm drawers are from IKEA and they're in brown stained ash veneer. they never used to have this color! so glad they do now. dining area laundry area. i love the clothes hamper! it looks small but you can pretty much squeeze tons of clothes inside. it also fits exactly into the space beside the washing machine. this laundry area also happens to be my favorite part of the house. my service yard is extremely windy so sometimes i will just sit on the floor and watch the washing machine do its work lol. btw something funny to share. the painter came over for touch up round #2 yesterday and exclaimed that my home is really pretty! he said he couldnt comprehend initially about my choice of dark wall colors but he said that after furnishing "it became very nice". he even took a few pics lol next post, i will do yet another taobao review.
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@Raylowwl @pandacel @Clarence Lye @bykaraanne thank you so much for the condolences and well wishes. we're still trying to come to terms with my dad's passing, i guess the saddest part is he never got to visit me at my new home but life goes on i guess. @cadino http://a.qsbmc.com/h.yJb1Y4 black faucet http://a.qsbmc.com/h.yJbauo basin @Headwaves thank you! i think dark colors give the kind of sophistication that white cannot. like your hubby, mine was the happiest with my choice of colors since grey, black & dark blue are readily accepted by guys haha. have you started reno already? here you go : http://z.oiax6.com/h.yJ2R0h pillows http://j.yoafj.com/h.yJdxpV herringbone bedsheet http://a.qsbmc.com/h.yJ3FqB satin bedsheet btw @Clarence Lye my curtains and brackets are all from IKEA. since they now have matte black brackets/rods and very nice curtains in dark grey and blue, i didnt feel the need to buy them from vendors outside. i see that you already bought your curtains, please do a review when the installation is done!
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took a mini hiatus as my dad passed away. will be back to posting soon (i hope).
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@Clarence Lye now im curious! you need to take a pic of yr bomb shelter door. i believe the ash grey should be very matchy matchy with your home concept. @cadino hello, let me know which sanitary fitting? im lazy to post the links for everything lol. the mugs are here : http://t.vyxq8.com/h.C2WWuv @bykaraanne thank you dear <3 so is yours! your home is both pinterest & instagram ready! @pandacel honestly i have yet to assemble them. i bought two items, a shoe cabinet and a sideboard-ish tv console for the bedroom. to my horror, the tv console doesnt come with instruction manual! i asked the seller and they actually gave me some hand drawn pics on the spot. very bad. i thought ALL taobao furniture come with instructions. i mean they sell on taobao which is meant for the general public. but they had the cheek to just casually say "if you cant do it yourself, we also have our own assembly people to come over". ugh. i asked my carpenter instead and he said he will get back to me super regret, should have bought one from IKEA or something. did you ask ezbuy about your items? 1111 until now is just crazy. @El LoCo hello, here you go : http://m.odas0.com/h.C24TJr knives http://p.kwi9.com/h.C25yAm knife holder
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completed living room look : apart from the vittsjo nesting coffee tables which is from IKEA, everything in this pic is from taobao. super adore the sofa! will do a detailed review next time.
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- midcentury
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i bought some furniture like dining and coffee tables from IKEA and was intending to blog about them, but since my sofa and dining chairs are *still* on the way from taobao, i will just blog about them later since a dining table without chairs just look very odd (we're now sitting on plastic stools to eat and this just isnt blog worthy at all). so i will just blog about my 2nd and current taobao purchases first. i bought the more essential stuff this time round, things we could use rightaway. my home is so incomplete right now and cooking in it is even more ridiculous. it feels like a cooking show's challenge where you could only cook a meal with minimal ingredients or utensils. thats what cooking feels like right now. anyway here goes : grey satin and cotton herringbone bedsheet sets. on taobao you'll notice there are two kinds of sheets, one is called 床单 where it doesnt come with elastic bands like what we're used to seeing here. instead they're covered loosely all the way to the ground. those fitted sheets are known as 床笠. now you know what to look for if you want fitted sheets! their bedsheets also come in set of 4 (1 bedsheet, 1 quilt cover and 2 pillow cases). makes me wonder if they even use bolsters in china hmm. anyhow quality looks very decent. both are very comfy (to the touch)! feather pillow. only $8 each when i bought them on 1111, and the quality is really good. on par with the $75 ones i used to buy from robinsons! rose gold & gold stainless steel mugs. the rose gold teaspoons were free gifts! what a pleasant surprise when i unboxed them. black hexagonal kitchen rug. its so comfy to step on. wooden magnetic knife holder & knife set. bought from two different sellers. both are awesome! the knives are really sharp, and what i like (apart from the fact they're black), the blade and handle parts are seamless so no more having to worry about bacteria or trapped water in between. the set also comes with a pair of scissors not pictured here. the one in pic is from IKEA lol. the magnetic knife holder doesnt need drilling and has a 3M mounting tape behind. seems sturdy as of now. dish liquid bottle and kitchen brush. im an absolute snob when it comes to these things. mama lemon bottle, kitchen sponge or a suction cup holder are a big NO NO in my kitchen! brown pump bottles for handwash, shampoo etc. since i cannot afford aesop, meraki or l:a bruket, this is a (very) cheap alternative! bathroom mat new shower curtain and a black toilet seat cover toilet brushes. one of the better looking ones on taobao IMO. yay to black bristles! most toilet brushes have got white bristles and they look unsightly after awhile. tissue boxes. probably around $3 each. so cheap and in matte black, what more could you ask for? playtype g poster. if shopping on taobao isnt cheap enough, go cheaper by buying the poster and frame separately! thats what i do. the poster itself, usually comes in paper or canvas fabric (i chose the latter), is probably around $3 or less. the frame is around $8-10 depending on size. but for a ready assembled one would cost as much as $40. not too bad for one, but if you intend to have a gallery wall...well, you do the math. le sac en papier kraft bags. think of them like pet food bags. they actually feel like one too. good for books, toys, plants. im using them as waste paper baskets. only thing is im still looking for a more "authentic" one because i do not like what the last line says! black table lamp and monstera poster "&" poster. also did some DIY gold stripey lines on my hafary hexagonal tile! added felt gliders on the underside. thats all for now!
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how come you never used their prime since you already bought so much?? the buy for me is a killer. i would totally take up chinese lessons than ask them to liaise on behalf of me. tbh i used them back when they were known as 65daigou and they were ok. but on several occasions i found out that they charged me full price when they bought at a discounted price or didnt pass on the free gifts from the seller. havent used them for a few years now, and no regrets. my friends had nothing but complaints from them too. their exchange rate sucks too. the forwarder im using now, i communicate with him via wechat and only in chinese. theres no hand holding and definitely no buy for me service. its very hands on. you'll have to obtain a unique ID from the forwarder, wait for him to email you an excel sheet, buy the stuff yourself, wait for the seller to ship out your stuff and fill in all the details like courier company, tracking no. etc on the excel and email it back to him. let me know if you'd like to do it. i know its not for everyone. some people would rather pay more and let others do the work (like my hubby) but of course, i always have the final say lol not intending to move because its really a hassle, the things you need to do (even before moving) is just ridiculous! having to terminate/relocate services, arrange for movers, packing things into boxes etc. how can anyone have so much energy for that? so twice is enough, thank you!
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actually looks great! matches the door really well. im jealous!! maybe i should have painted the frames like yours did you say you also painted the bomb shelter door the same glossy black as well?
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haha we wanted a hose initially, but the bidet spray looks way more presentable. yeah so far so good, still missing some major furniture like sofa and tv console from taobao, hopefully they arrive soon!
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@Clarence Lye @bykaraanne good to hear that guys! i thought no one has gotten anything from fortytwo and most of the reviews i read are bad to be honest. if i knew i would have gotten more things from them
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continuing where i left off, after painting touch ups, furniture, furnishings and appliances started arriving back to back! it was crazy but fun, finally home was beginning to take shape. so for starters, my bed & bedframe from fortytwo.sg. i chose the queen sized haagen PU leather bed frame in camel, and oto-paedic soft top pocketed spring mattress. the frame is $169 and the mattress is $468. can you say CHEAP? i know im taking a pretty huge gamble by buying something crucial like a bed online where i couldnt even see, feel or touch. most people would be happily going to a showroom to test out the bed, or splurge on a simmons or sealy. but in our old home, we had a $3K mattress and $1.5K storage bed frame which was rather underwhelming, so we decided to go for something inexpensive this time round. and guess what? it was better than i thought! the quality of the bedframe was quite good for the price. though it was kinda flimsy and not as sturdy as i would like, for the price what more could i expect? the mattress was decent as well and pretty comfy to sleep on. the pocketed spring is probably just for namesake, doesnt really work (well) to be honest. appearance wise it was exactly what i envisioned. i wanted the midcentury modern look and i think the bed matches the brass hanging lights + dark blue paint very well. im also having a similar looking sofa from taobao so i cant wait to see everything come together nicely. my bedside tables will also be from taobao and its also very midcentury modern. as for fortytwo.sg, glad my first experience with them was an ok one. i read lots of bad reviews about them actually, and couldnt really find much about them on renotalk so basically was just taking a risk! then again buying from taobao is pretty much a risk as well so there.
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haha im not @Clarence Lye but honestly i think hes a more expert than i am when it comes to lights lol. my single COB lights are all 7w and for double ones its 7w x 2, and for living & kitchen i used 15w x 2 and i think its bright enough for cooking. then again my kitchen is very small, only 2m by 2m. i think it really depends on what kind of activity but in general those COB lights arent very bright at all. they simply illuminate the immediate spot below it, so if you want COB for reading, cooking etc i would recommend 15w and above, and no harm putting more of them in close proximity. @Clarence Lye curious to know how your black glossy door looks like, you havent posted a pic right? dont recall seeing it. might want to go glossy if it doesnt look bad haha, just worried whether it will look cheena or obiang. the poster is from IKEA actually, i think it looks nice but a bit too common now. the one you posted looks nice too! very bistro feel, i LOVE the bistro look. i think taobao has some nice cafe style decals or stickers, you may wanna check it out. but i definitely do not think im confident in chalk drawings. mine may just look kindergarten-ish lol. @pandacel girl! did you use ezbuy?? thats crazily expensive! $900+ gosh. you should just use those cubic meter container shipping. the forwarder im using charges only $100 per cbm. ugh singtel screwed up on me, internet was supposed to be up but they went to activate the wrong unit. so gotta wait for a few days. yeah i have lotsa pics to upload! maybe later heh you're a good salesperson, sweetie! getting a new house + new blog doesnt seem like a bad idea lol. unfortunately this will be our 2nd and final home haha. the nx move will probably be when im 70 years old lol yeah i got a 25L joven. i dont know how u define strong or weak pressure but i think its just fair. cannot compare to those old HDB where the water is like super strong. but i feel that after installing the rainshower its better than the default one HDB provided. also the water pressure is slightly bigger when the valve is turned to the left ie. hot water. but generally i think its just ok lor. may take some pics of my running tap/shower and show u la. for the meter i think its something like 4 bars. not even to the extreme right and yet BSC insists its the max already. damnn sian.
