June

Hello, your place is looking even better with the furnishings! Your hubby is doing up my place now. So far, so good! I hardly go to my flat and he takes care of everything

Hi, nice place! are those wine crates on the ceiling? Where did you buy them?

I had only intended to renovate the kitchen and MBR toilet. Since the flat looked like its in good condition and very clean, I didnt want to spend more money doing a complete overhaul. But like what many people say, expect the unexpected during renovation. How true it is ! ..After the first day of hacking, my contractor told me they discovered many hollow tiles in the flat, which means I will eventually be faced with the problem of popping tiles. Doing the tiles for the living/dining/3 bedrooms/storeroom will cost a significant amount. Ouch!! Kind of feel like an idiot as I paid high COV for my flat. Anyway, the entire place now looks like it has been hit by cyclone...

It's been 5 months since I posted a msg in this blog and I almost couldn't locate the blog in renotalk! In the past 5 months, I have gone for my 1st and 2nd appointments, collected my keys, sourced for IDs/Contractors etc. Renovation finally started on Monday. Its sad to see the flat being hacked since it was in pretty good condition. I even hosted CNY-eve dinner for my family in my empty flat! Here are some pix of the flat before renovation Balcony View from dining room View of living room view of kitchen View of one of the 3 bedrooms

Hi Eekenji, can you pm me the price of the sofa? This is on my list of preferred designs. Thanks!

Your wardrobe is huge! Can pm me the cost of the wardrobe ? Thanks!

Hi there, can you pm me the total cost of renovation by Mr K and the cost of your kitchen cabinets? Thanks much!

Thanks much! I didn't know there is such a Chinese term

Hi eekenji, what were the Chinese key words you typed on taobao? I tried searching for the plants but couldn't find. Thanks in advance!

Hi, can I have the contacts of sellers for the sink, faucet and other accessories you bought? Thanks much

Hi Chynaho, can kindly pm me the name and address of the shop in TP? I live in TP but hardly see such shops. Thanks in advance!

Nice brick wall! It's not too dark

Hi, can you kindly pm me the quotation breakdown, if it's convenient? Thanks! Looking forward to seeing your red wall

Hello, I like your carpentry! do you mind sharing your quotation breakdown? I'm in the midst of comparing prices now. Thanks much!

Hello! Nice carpentry in your living room and kitchen. can I trouble you to pm me the quotation breakdown from K? Thanks much!

Hi, I like the toilet door! Where did u buy it from?

Thanks! Will give him a call next week. I'm thinking of creating a modern French bistro-style kitchen.

hi there, I like your big cupboard in the living room. can you let me know your hubby's contact? im thinking of renovating only my kitchen and MBR toilet bcos my resale flat is very well maintained. I also need to do the basic wiring, lighting and some carpentry work for other parts of the flat. Would your hubby take on such a small scale project?

Hello! Nice renovation... Can you kindly pm me K's contact? I'm sourcing for ID/contractors to do my kitchen. Thanks!

Hello, can pm me the costs of the kitchen with Blum equipment, if convenient? I'm doing my kitchen too. Can I also have K' contact? Currently shortlisting contractors. thanks!

Hello May Sorry, my reply was a bit misleading. My flat is in Kim Keat Avenue, which is nestled in one corner of Toa Payoh, two feeder bus stop away from Toa Payoh Central. The COV in the area is not as high as that in Toa Payoh.

Hello everyone, Thanks for leaving your comments here! The 5 room flat is indeed quite big. At 1313 sq feet, it is one of the bigger 5 room flats in Singapore. Not sure if the new 5 room flats nowadays are that big. It's too big for a single occupant but I bought it with a view that one day, my parents may need to move in with me when they are older and less mobile. So rather than buy a smaller flat now and upgrade later, I would rather buy a bigger flat now. My new place is actually less than 10 minutes' walk from my parents place in Toa Payoh. I must say I am very lucky in my flat hunting. Due to work and my own laziness, I viewed fewer than 10 units. My search was also restricted by the fact that I only want a flat near my parents. in total, I think I viewed only 6 or 7 units before finding my current place. I like most parts of the flat except for the kitchen. To me, kitchen is the most important part of a flat. I cook to de-stress and I spend more time in the kitchen than in my bedroom. Unlike most women who must have a walk in wardrobe, I can do without one bcos I find that WIW tend to get a bit dusty after some time. And I am super allergic to dust and dirt. I also don't want mosquitos to be lurking among my clothes! But I do need a big normal wardrobe in my room bcos I have many bags, like most women . Like some of you suggested, I intend to leave most parts of the flat untouched (except for the basic wiring, lighting, painting etc). I will renovate the kitchen and the MBR toilet. My dream kitchen is one that looks like a modern French bistro, but with some traditional design elements (but not too much or else it will look a bit dated/old fashion). Some of the elements that I hope to incorporate into the design are: Glass and wood Some shelves hopefully, a tiny brick wall And of course, vintage signage Wish me luck!

Here is the floor plan It is 5i model. Originally 3 bedrooms plus 1 study room. but the first owner hacked off the study room. So the living and dining areas are more spacious now. Have plenty of ideas for this flat. Will post them some other time. Good night!

Ta-da!! There it is! Now let me try to post the pix of the living room and kitchen. For some ridiculous reason, I lost the pix of the other rooms. Will post them later when I go to the flat for a visit. Here's the spotless living room I 'borrowed' this shot from the ad that the seller agent put up. Hope he doesn't mind. The cottage design kitchen another shot of the kitchen

Thanks Batman! hope the balcony pix turned up here