June

Hello, time for another update! My last customised project by ID is progressing smoothly. I think the building of pipe shelves is very tough and labour intensive. The measurements also got to be very accurate. Thankfully, it is in good hands because customised projects are ID's forte . Due to our busy schedules, the project is split into 3 parts - the mock up, the installation and the painting. Here are some overdue pix of the mock up some time back. photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr The pipes were already cut and welded to length by a shop before the mock up. As you can see, I'm using real water pipes with real connectors. I love the rugged, masculine look! But my friends find it puzzling that someone with white satin bedsheets and whimsical stuff in the bedroom will have masculine water pipes in the living room.. photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr The pipes (still unpainted) were laid out on the floor and we shifted them around to see what kind of configurations we could get. photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr Here's a shot of ID talking to the wall...... Oh, I think he was holding the pipe against the wall so that i could visualise how the shelves will look like. As usual, we explored all possibilities before deciding on what worked best for me (like all other parts of my renovation such as tiling, carpentry etc). I think the mock up took about two hours plus, which I think is actually not too bad, given that we are both fussy and meticulous and really scrutinised every possible configuration. Really looking forward to the end product

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Congrats on finally getting your keys! Your place does look like it's a pity to hack

Hello, your neighbours do sound like they are very bored, judging from their questions. My neighbours are not so bored but they keep asking me if I really live alone. I'm quite tired of them asking me that and I think one fine day, I'm going to scare them by saying 'i'm not alone what.. You mean you can't see the person standing next to me?!"

Hi Tikimum, I also hope the problem has been resolved but unfortunately it will take time to pin point the source of he problem. The Gain City guy who came today blamed it on the 'HDB wall' but he was very nice and still patched the aircon and other areas which I wanted to be fixed. I will have to wait for one or two weeks to see if the wall dries up. I won't be getting the blinds from the vendor I met but I will pm you the contact and my feedback.

Hi Vanessa, I think timber blinds are nice too but I'm concerned it might be a waste of money to do timber blinds as I want to keep my blinds rolled up to half of the height of the windows. That is, I want to block the top half of my windows with the blinds and leave the bottom half unblocked. Since it's going to be rolled up all the time, I'm thinking maybe I can settle for the cheaper bamboo alternative

In the past few months, I've been looking for the right curtain/blinds for my balcony and living room. I've tried all kinds of curtains - long, short, sheer, blackout. I have also seen many samples of roller blinds and wooden blinds, but they aren't really what I'm looking for. Ive even tried to sew the curtains myself and did a few mock up but they didn't turn out as nice as i had imagined. Basically I need smth that gives me some privacy from the carpark opposite and not block the lush greenery outside (which is one of the selling points of this unit). photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr On some days, I hear the sound of crickets and it's really very calming. I see birds on the branches too, though sometimes I'm a bit worried they will fly into my unit. the greenery stretches from the balcony window to the living room window photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr The challenge is how to accentuate this greenery and gives the place a relax, soothing feel. I'm not keen on roller blinds bcos of the roller tubes at the bottom and the mechanism at the top. wooden blinds are hard to maintain and way too expensive. Then yesterday, I suddenly thought of black bamboo blinds and arranged for a no obligation quote today. The guy came with the samples but I forgot to take pix. Here is a pix taken from Internet: photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr I think there are both pros and cons to bamboo blinds. It's very easy to clean and you can even splash water on it. I also find it rustic looking, which is great against my greenery. But if you are using colored bamboo blinds, the paint will peel off eventually depending on how you handle the blinds. And becos bamboo is not smooth but has tiny bumps on it, you won't get black blinds with a smooth surface. The paint will look like it has blotches on it. How? Any suggestions?

don't doubt yourself..everyone has different needs and wants. Some people go for functionality and performance, some go for aesthetics while others swear by brands. Since you spent some time thinking about the choices, you must have made a careful decision based on your needs and budget. I spent a few months considering what to buy and I'm happy with my choices so far.

Hello Greg, the town council guy told me to get the aircon installer to apply silicon in some areas. He made it sound like it's an easy job. So I shall see what the air con guy said tomorrow. Apart from the aircon, I also suspect the tiny gap in the window ledge could be the culprit. The town council guy told me it's possible for rain water to seep through there. He said I will have to find a window vendor with very good workmanship to change the windows. But still there is no guarantee that problem will he solved bcos the windows may not be the culprit. Sigh.... I really do not wish to change my windows. I'm wondering if I could use putty to seal up the gap in the ledge.

Hello zihui, I hope it's the air con problem too. That will be easier to resolve I think. I managed to secure an appointment with gain city tomorrow morning. That's quite fast but I really had to breathe down their neck. Their customer service is quite lousy and they always say they will call you back but never do so. And they always tell me they charge 50$ for servicing charging. but they waived it after I said I won't pay the service charge if the problem was due to slipshod work by their workers. Hopefully the aircon installer has a solution for me tomorrow.

Hi, pmed u.

Just when I thought I could relax and enjoy my new pad, a problem cropped up - water seepage! Mine is a 28 year old flat and it seems like water seepage is quite common. What's more tricky is finding the cause of the problem. the affected wall is in my MBR just underneath the window. photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr I have no idea why the water stains are orange in colour. even though I like to dabble with paint in my free time, I really do not fancy having orange stain on my walls! So I called Toa Payoh Town Council this afternoon and requested for someone to come check the problem. Now I must commend TP Town Council . I called them at 2pm and they sent someone down at 3.30pm!! I was so surprised that I actually asked "so fast? Arent you guys supposed to take your own sweet time to come?".. Haha! Anyway, the town council staff said there were no visible holes or cracks in the wall and the cause of the seepage could be either because the aircon was not properly patched on the outside or there could be tiny cracks in the window ledge (which we can't see). He said I would have to do trial and error to ascertain what's the problem. The first thing to do is to call Gain City to get them to patch the aircon and then monitor the situation. If that doesn't work, then change the window but there is no guarantee that this will work. I think changing the window is too expensive an option, especially since my windows still look so new. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's the aircon's problem.. Hope this is settled soon.. I'm really no good with these things..give me headache

Thanks! I like your mom's place

You can start with a small project with your daughter...bonding time.

Wow! 10kg rice container! You will never be hungry..

Love your balcony! doesnt look like anywhere in spore... i can just imagine chilling out at the balcony and not wanting to step out of the flat!

Are the stuff expensive?

Hi, thanks for all your kind words! You can try your hand at DIY too. For your info, I failed my o level art.. ... But if I can do it now, so can you...

Practise again tonight! Hug your wife..!

There is something I bought on impulse way before my Reno started. Its for the hallway and comes with a light, a shelf for keeping keys and other knick knacks and a bar below for hanging umbrellas. It was selling at 70% per cent off at Lush Lush and I bought it even though I wasnt sure if it would match my decor. and as it turned out, it really didn't quite match my decor, though the colour was okay. photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr The lamp shade is made of leather and velvet.. photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr It has been languishing in one corner of my study and is really at risk of being given away.. Then this morning, while packing my cupboard, I found some old posters that I had long forgotten. Suddenly an idea came to mind and this is the result... . . . . . photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr I think this looks better with my decor....

Wow! You mean it's that easy to shift in? You sound like you have been on standby all this while and just waiting for the word 'go'..... Congrats!

Thanks! I did this bit by bit...painted in front of tv, before and after work..in between housework, emails and cooking..etc

Yup, I used varnish. When it comes to colour, it's pretty much trial and error. I used a combination of colours - walnut and antique dark stain from Homefix, light antique stain from ikea, normal black and brown colour markers etc. Basically I just used whatever I find at home and just keep playing and experimenting with the colours. It's very japalang and the painting is quite patchy..I'm sure the real DIY experts will frown. But I don't care..it's my version of DIY. Haha

I have three in total! Going to try decoupage next. These stools are foldable and I can put them in my storeroom.

Gave an old school stool a makeover... Before and after... photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr It's challenging painting the wooden seat to make it look like aged wood bcos the original surface had been treated before and was smooth. Sanding it down first didn't help much. Took quite a few coats of paint in different shades, many touch ups, and many days of drying in the sun. photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr Tried to give the wood a lot of texture and roughness by painting layer over layer and then 'torturing' it by sanding it down and scraping it... The effect wasn't exactly what I had hoped for but still not too bad i think photo.JPG by BachelorettePad, on Flickr what do u think?