jasdy

Wow, gold trimming ones! *Envy* But agree that they are worth it. Although I haven't started using them, doubt I will regret my purchases at Landex too! Glad the lead was useful.

Ok, I know how it roughly works alr. Use the layout as a pic and then paste it into Excel. Zoom in to the max to add fixtures/furnishings! Changes wun be too complicated since not hacking much walls. Thanks so much! Anyway, I have been staying in bukit panjang for almost my entire life. Love the quietness but guess it comes at an expense. The uluness and lack of amenities! Bus 190 is very very impt too unless you drive. =)

Hello everybody, Just wanted to share this financial tip with all forummers - apply for Manhattan card and get 5% cash back http://www.wowmanhattan.com.sg/ I personally find this wonderful especially for all those big ticket items that we buy with credit cards. For a couple if you each apply the card separately, thats double the amount of savings! (Wife and I have utilised 4 of these cards with the help of in-laws for wedding and furniture expenses) Note though, monthly spending must be >3k to qualify for 5% cash back (its tiered % cash back tied to how much is spent monthly. For lower amounts spent, you get less % back so not worth it) AND there is a quarterly cap of $200 per quarter - This means $4k max spending in any quarter which also effectively means you can only use it once for every quarter to garner the max benefit! (Wife and I staggered the payments for our wedding banquet to reap the max benefits!) So time your purchasing properly to maximise the savings! Note, i dont work for SC bank, just found that this is the best deal so far, and since i am getting so much from knowledge from this forum, its my way of contributing! (I have personally gotten cash back worth a sizeable 4 digit amount from my wedding and furniture/electronics expenses) If you want a more detailed eg of how the card works, can refer to this website courtesy of sgbluechip: http://sgbluechip.blogspot.sg/2010/09/best-credit-card-in-singapore.html (This post is adapted from sefoo's post dated 27 June 2010. Have updated to ensure info is not obsolete and to include my experience after using the card for the past 2 years!)

Hi 1000miles, Didn't know MS Excel & Word can perform such tasks! Able to give some hints/tips on how exactly to do it? Would like to try it out if the learning curve is not too steep. Thanks in advance! $45k for a resale EM reno is really very reasonable. Guess the good existing condition of the place helps!

Is the kitchen top granite? Pardon me for saying that but the colour combi seems to suggest that yr liked white cabinets but due to the black galaxy granite top, chose darker wood laminates/veneer to better complement the kitchen top? Apparently facing the same dilemma. Slightly afraid of using white cabinets(scared will turn yellowish after a couple of years). And if using white, not sure if should change the granite to quartz (more damage to wallet). Anyway, think your living room's feature wall is really unique!

Shall share some of my purchases from Cellini a few weeks back! The above dining set is the main reason why we found ourselves at Cellini in the first place. Quartz top with oak legs/bottom. Ironically, it was first introduced to me by my wife more than half a yr ago. I didn't really paid much attention to it then, except thinking that it was quite expensive. Thereafter, wife was more interested in more "affordable" options from boutiques like Commune. However, I preferred a more hardy table top (Afraid wood will get stained or water will seep in) and this seemed the best option. I love the light coloured oak too! On its own, the set (1 bench & 2 chairs) cost $2k+. Have been eyeing it for a long time and went to this Cellini branch at Suntec (have tried a few outlets and they seem more willing to negotiate) eager to negotiate for a better price. Before we even got the chance to negotiate for a better price, this sales lady offered me quite an irresistable package deal which involved the dining set and the sofa above. It was quite a no brainer except for the fact that we had already paid a 30% deposit for another sofa already. But my calculations showed that even if we forfeit the deposit, this set seemed a better buy and I guess it could fit better with the other furniture we had in mind. So we committed with little hesitation. And since it's walnut veneer, think can satisfy wife's desire for some darker wood. Father-in-law had tried their leather recliner before and liked it. (looks smth like the pic above) Wife and I found it to be really comfortable and it wasn't that bulky too. And so we were pondering whether we could get one for my in-law's new place and one for ourselves! But luckily we held back and got only one at a gd price. Wife thinks that we can put it in the living room but my gut feel is that it could stick out like a sore thumb. Personal preference is to place it in the study room to rest and relax while I am reading. Otherwise, it would be our gift to parents-in-law. But have to admit this was an impulsive and additional purchase!

Hi theitsybits, Have been following your blog for a long time and hope everything turned out fine for you and yr husband. Think yr house really fits the scandinavian theme well with your oak furniture and large doses of white (from kitchen cabinets to brick walls to doors). As I am also enamored by the scandinavian theme, would like to ask if the "whiteness" is difficult to maintain? So far so good? Also love the Louvre doors for your toilet. Was thinking of doing frosted swing door for mbr toilet but if space is a constraint, think we will opt for the Louvre doors. Can check with you if the door is very expensive?

Hi adidaem & crypaz, Thanks for the feedback on the sideboards. Really appreciate it. I think the picture tone isn't exactly flattering, although have to admit the veneer/laminate is a tad yellowish. Maybe will try to put a "beauty shot" to give justice to the comparison. Maybe it's subconscious too? Tend to post the nicer pics for our preferred choice. Think Grafunkt has a miniforms version which is very similar to the Cross sideboard. But heard Grafunkt no longer taking orders and from what I remember, is even more ex. Will continue to look around for cheaper alternatives and this is indeed a "non-essential" item. And depending on living room design/layout, a sideboard might not be needed. The teak book shelves from Scanteak is not a big concern as I will be placing them in the study/chapalang room. But yes, I am indeed worried about how all the colours and furniture will come together. Initially, I was more conservative and wanted to stick to oak & light coloured wood. But then was thinking that could be too boring and I had seen that walnut & oak did complement well in some stores. A mix of oak & walnut is inevitable as I have committed to some purchases (L-shaped sofa, dining set & even a leather recliner) already. They were sort of "irresistable" deals. Will be posting the pics and mentioning about them soon. Anyway, I will be meeting my "almost confirmed" ID/contractor tonight and hopefully he is able to accomodate all the furniture to fit the Scandinavian theme as he starts drafting the 3D pics. Let's hope the end result will not make me wince!

Hi petetherock & sherting, Thanks for the feedback on the two TV consoles. Although I am very likely going to get Grafunkt's Line console, I feel that the Marie Claire series being sold in Harvey Norman are of a certain quality too. (Soft closing is really very smooth) Dun think they are made of cheap mdf although have to agree with you they are not made of solid mahogany or oak/walnut. And thanks for the advice to custom make it. Was thinking along that line too but feel that it's hard to replicate the exact same design? Saw your blog and seems that you are really into audio stuff.

Hi adidaem & bleucheeze, Thanks for your feedback on the GSS vs end-of-year sales. If that is the case, will only get the essential items by the end of the year. And will slowly add those accessories after I have moved in. Not so tough on the wallet too!

Thanks for the quick reply. Think it's really a no brainer then. Tot it was a 30-40% diff at most. Furthermore, think good fans dun really spoil that easily. I have a Panasonic stand fan that is still going strong after more than 10 years. Think will start "studying" yours and kim76's blog to know more about getting stuff from Amazon!

Last week while we were on leave, we took a trip down to Tan Boon Liat Building situated around the tiong bahru area and we spotted a side board that we really liked at Pomelo! It's the Cross sideboard by Matthew Hilton. The entire piece is made of oak! Therefore, not anywhere within our budget though as it's priced at around $3k+ too. And as usual, we tried to find an alternative and saw one at Harvey Norman Millenia Walk. It's also part of the Marie Claire series, just like the TV console I posted earlier. According to the salesman, it's made of solid timber (i.e treated solid wood). This will cost around $1.7k after discount. Another decision to make...Hopefully we wun see another "pricey" piece that we love as I am wondering how many $3ks do we have to spend on furnishing.

Hi ongcs, Do you know how much they are selling the vornado for at HomeFix? Thinking of getting one for my MBR. Or more worth it to get from Amazon even though there isn't any warranty? Thanks!

Thanks to the lead from adidaem and Mrs Loo, got to know about the Landex/Luzerne sale. For those who are not familiar with the brand, they sell ceramic table ware and their products are used by international hotels like Ritz Carlton and Shangri-La. Apparently, Food Republic uses it too! We went down to the place on a Sunday afternoon. It was quite empty so it made for good shopping. Most of the collections were on 30% discount, with a further 10% if you are using a POSB/DBS credit card. We were previously considering Corelle as it was much lighter but we were quite impressed with the finishing of the Luzerne products. Wife really likes those used by Food Republic too! Landex also has some nice melamine ware but wasn't so pleasing aesthetically and they did not belong to the Luzerne branding. Furthermore, can't be used for microwave purposes. The below pic shows what we had bought in the end. Mainly the basics like soup spoons, plates, bowls and serving dishes (about 4-6 of each). After the discounts, cost only slightly above $100. Much more affordable than we thought! If you have a higher budget, you can even consider those with gold rims! Real classy!

Hi adidaem, Then I shall thank both of you in my subsequent post about my dining ware purchases. Although sometimes ignorance is bliss, guess I am a person who prefers more information when making decisions/buying stuff. I am actually wondering if GSS sales are better than year end sales. If so, could really delay some of the not-so-urgent items till mid year as I predict that my house would only be ready for move-in earliest mid-March.

Hi bleucheeze, Think the cost varies quite widely depending on the size of the sinks. I dun mean "anti-scratch" as confirm wun get scratched. Just that those sinks their texture is slightly different compared to conventional ss sinks, so not easy to get scratched? These "anti-scratch finishing" tend to cost $100 more for the same type of Franke sink too.

Hi bleucheeze, No problem! Glad that you got a great deal too. So u know the load of the bookshelves?

Hi chezph, I can't really remember the price of the dining table. But I recall that the bench cost $699. You can check them out at Isetan.

Hi crypaz, Yes, know that you do value your furnishing since u bought quite a few items from Grafunkt. Moving house not really a concern for us as it's likely that we will stay for at least 10 years since we will have waited for almost 4 years by the time the house is ready. But have to agree with you on the benefits of buying off the shelf vs custom-made.

I think you can apply some epoxy treatment to the marble? Heard that it's possible to polish them and reduce grout lines. Some minor tweaks should be fine. On a separate note, think you should keep the marble as you have effectively paid for it through a higher valuation/purchase price? I would prefer marble too, but it's really over my budget.

Hi eekenji, Think the storage books are really cool and nice!

Hi adidaem, I am a keen follower of both your T-blog and web blog. Manage to get to know some great deals through them. Like the Landex/Luzerne sales that were not publicised in the papers. We went down to the Landex Building just yesterday and came back with lots of Luzerne products. Really grateful to your sharing and updates! Reading your blogs also educated/"poisoned" us on better quality furnishing as we knew nothing about retailers like Grafunkt, Air and Pomelo when we first started sourcing for furniture. Have went down to these stores and really liked their furniture, esp the finishing. So agree with you regarding the quality part! Now, we are trying to convince ourselves that they would last for >10 years to justify our purchases! Yes, looking for a couple of homeowners to do a mini MO/bulk buy at Grafunkt to get a further discount on the TV console. But got to be fast as their 20% discount probably ends at the end of the year. Wife and I also liked this Cross sideboard at Pomelo! And that's going to cost another $3k+. Therefore any savings (however small) will be welcomed!

My view is that if the tiles are still of good condition, you can save quite a bit on the hacking and tiles. Furthermore, it's marble, which is even more ex. Not very sure how it goes with your mid century modern look but from what I see, will not stick out like a sore thumb.

Hi bleucheeze, A first look at the 2 reno quotes show a stark contrast. Seems that one is very expensive and the other is quite cheap. FOr eg. if we look at the living room tiles, it's $4800 vs $2500. I doubt there should be such a big contrast for tiles. My hunch is one of them or even both of them misquoted? Otherwise, you are choosing really quite ex tiles for the 1st quote. For the craftstone/brick, it is $1.6k vs $480 for the labour. Again, big discrepancy unless it's different walls/measurements. Other than these few items, the rest look pretty similar although no doubt the 1st ID/contractor is more ex. Like $300/ft vs $260/ft for carpentry. For kitchen, not an apple to apple comparison since it's quartz vs solid top and a total of 31 ft vs 25 ft. I think you can approach a few more contractors/IDs (3 or 4 more) and then shortlist 2/3 to take a look at their workmanship. Think you still have some time since you will be getting keys only in Feb? Cos at the end of the day, like so many have said, the cheapest might not be the best deal while the most expensive will not guarantee the best job too. Must be satisfied with what you are getting and who you are hiring. "Value for money" is also really subjective.

Hope they can extend the deal to you if you are interested. Perhaps should have posted it earlier. Anyway, realised that I had forgotten to ask about the load for each bookshelf. But should easily be able to withstand 5kg per shelf.