June

Hi ketua! I saw this kitchen top a few days ago in ikea. It does look like wood. But it's too narrow to be dining table. I actually asked my ID if we could join two pieces together but he said it's ugly to do so.. but I think i might use this countertop to make a study table.

ready made tables are not cheap too. Actually I found one at Journey East that fits the bill except for the colour. I would need to pay more to get them to stain the wood to a darker shade. All in, the price will be more than 2k. I haven't asked about the price of the custom made table.. Let him find my old tree first...

Haha... You are very bad

your door is really nice! Wire mesh is getting popular now and it doesn't look rough or too industrial if the ID/contractor knows how to mix and match with wood. my ID also 'tone down' the industrial look for me and I call it 'yiu xiu' industrial...

The search for a suitable dining table is proving to be even more challenging than I thought. ID has given me very specific specs - wooden top in dark shade with black metal legs. Any other designs would look out of place in rustic industrial scandi decor. No modern design.. No mid century design..etc etc. After searching for more than a month, I decided to explore the possibility of customizing my dining table. This means sourcing for a big piece of solid wood and a pair of rustic black metal legs and getting a furniture maker to turn them into my dream table. It has never crossed my mind that one day, I would be talking to wood suppliers about wood and trees but I did today and it was the most enlightening conversation.The supplier I spoke to only had small pieces of chennai wood that look like this: He told me he would try to look for an old tree for me as wood from an old tree is most suitable for making furniture bcos it doesn't warp. He also explained how he could join small pieces of wood together to form a big table top. I think it doesn't really matter whether I find my old tree. what's more important is that Ive learnt so much during my renovation process and met with interesting people who have different expertise and knowledge to share. Anyway, saw this yesterday at a shopping mall and i really like it!

thanks! You are very encouraging ! But one can only see from far..cannot go close up. I told my ID not to tell the electrician that I was the one who painted it

For the first time in my life, I spray painted a fan It belonged to the seller but I'm keeping it as it is still in good condition. The first few minutes were much of a struggle as I held the can of spray too close to the fan and the paint kind of splashed back on my hands. some parts of the paint were too thick and as a result there were visible blobs. The end product definitely didn't look like a professional job but it was quite fun! The fan in it's original colour With its new coat of paint..

Nice table! Whats the discount like at egg3 summer sale? the last time I was there about 3 mths ago, they had some stuff that were heavily discounted. I bought a hallway stand with lamp and umbrella holder at 70% off.

Yup, after acid wash..

Nice flooring! I think it matches the rustic laminates on my tv wall..

Hey, thanks for the tip! Will try out soon

Sarah- You know what? I have always been anti-tv console bcos I think it's really a waste of money! In fact the first time I met my ID, I already set the 'ground rules' - No tv console, no false ceilings, no brick walls! I just feel that I don't need these frills. As the renovation progressed, I realized my place was very bare bcos I knocked down some walls and I kept my carpentry to minimum to save costs. It's not so bad if my tv wall is at the side but this one is in the middle of the room and it was really stark when it's just plain white wall. My ID cautiously floated the idea of tv console to me but I was still insistent on not having tv console till he showed me the rustic laminate and I caved in and now I'm on the road of no return... Sarah/juxtapose - Actually my living room isn't glaring bcos it's blocked by the multi story carpark. but I'm not sure why in my pix taken with iPhone, the glare was so bright. In real life when I was taking this pix, it was a soothing green outside. I think I shall quickly subscribe to cable tv and do an experiment and report to you ladies on the findings! Anyway, I'm sewing some blinds for the windows and some light will be blocked.

Thanks!! I like the fact that the tv wall is right in the middle of the living room and I can walk around it

thanks much! My ID will be pleased to know someone (other than me) likes it...

I finally went shopping for lights today. it was a much dreaded task that I left till the end. ID brought me to Chan Huat at Balestier as he said the prices were competitive. We decided on the black track lights for living and kitchen within record time but the dining lights were a killer. After browsing for about an hour, I still couldn't find any dining lights that were vintage industrial looking. All the lights were just too modern looking. Then we decided to skip dining lights and move on to balcony lights. Thats when our luck took a miraculous turn and we spotted a vintage looking balcony light which we instantly knew we found the dining lights. I bought 3 of these and now I just have to find that dream dining table... also bought these coasters today..

It took about two half-days to get the laminates mounted. And this is how the tv console/feature wall look now The tv console is a suspended peg-shaped structure that wraps round the wall. Both sides of the wall are laminated. It's about 80% complete. Next week, ID will be putting up black water pipes at the left hand side of the tv console. I've asked for some wire mesh shelves to be installed with the pipes so that I can display my knick knacks, but I'm not sure if he is agreeable to the idea. Really can't wait for the entire thing to be completed. And I'm very thankful that my ID has so much pride in his work that he is willing to get his hands dirty. kudos to his parents too! On the opposite side of the tv is my new sofa from IKEA. I love the colour! It goes so well with my wood tiles and white walls!

Finally there's some time to update this blog. I shall write about my ID's 'baby' today. it's the tv console cum feature wall which was 90% his idea and 10% modified by me to suit my needs. This is the wall chosen to be my tv wall. Inside it is a pillar that cannot be hacked. What we did was to hack an opening at the side so that the greenery outside the balcony can be seen from the tv area. We spent quite some time brainstorming ideas on what to do with the wall, taking into consideration constraints such as my old fashioned cornices (which I kept to keep costs low). Here's a shot of my ID discussing with the carpenter - a nice, quiet uncle who gave some good ideas. Here's a close up of my laminate. I like the aged look, which goes well with my overall rustic, industrial decor. ID was supposed to arrange for the laminate worker to install the laminates on my wall. But being a perfectionist, he was afraid the worker could not deliver the kind of workmanship which he wanted. So Mr Perfectionist decided to do it himself despite his busy schedule. He roped in his parents to help and so I had three experts fussing over my wall. That's why I'm comfortably seated behind them taking this secret shot

hi there, sorry to hear about your experience with the furniture shops. But I'm really surprised about that mountain teak table. Thought their products are of a certain standard bcos of the price. Makes me think twice about buying from these places. Hope they will help resolve your issue soon. Good luck!

Hi, for checking of tiles, I looked out for these things: - whether there are hollow tiles ( even for newly laid tiles, there can be one or more tiles that are hollow. you have to go round knocking the tiles to see if there is a hollow sound. Get your tiler to relay the hollow tiles, if any) - whether there is discolouration on the tiles. For plain colored tiles, this will be more easily seen. Mine are wood tiles with grains and it was difficult for tilers to check for discoloration when they were laying the tiles. One day when i was sitting on the floor and looking at my tiles at close range, i noticed there were two tiles with discolouration. though it's not a big problem, I still requested for tiler to change the tile or else I will always know there is imperfection at that particular spot. hope this is useful!

Hi everyone Really need some help with a shopping task. I am looking for a dining table with the following specs: 1. solid wood top (no butcher wood, no pinewood) with black metal legs 2. Colour of solid wood top must be of a dark shade 3. Rectangular, at least 1.7m long I have been to places like journey east, picket and rail, mountain teak, comfort furniture, commune and helping hands. Only journey east has a table that is close to what I'm looking for but I would have to pay more to get them to stain the wood to a darker shade. The total cost of the table will be about $2,100. I'm not willing to pay so much and so I'm still on the hunt for that illusive table. I'm attaching a pix here for reference and if any shopping guru here has seen something similar, please let me know. would really appreciate it!!

I should have bought my picture frames last night and asked them to deliver, but I forgot all about. Looks like I have to go back to IKEA soon. Makanology - hows your Reno so far?

Hello cute Ah Ma, if you are doing overhaul of EM, people can 'agar agar' your reno costs already... So they will still think you are very rich.. How come you bought an EM? Wouldn't it be tiring to clean and climb stairs?

Thanks! Just came back from IKEA. They are having 50% off delivery charges during GSS. Very attractive deal!