lawry

I wanted a similar textured tile or pebble wash in the toilet also, it can be a foot reflexology or pumice stone feature. Can be quite nice.

I think having BLUM is a nice touch, just like that little dust trap strip below doors, hydraulic soft closing for main doors, soft closing for toilet bowl. windows "fur" dust trap by the sides, silicon rubber by window sides to trap noise, "fur" dust trap on wardrobe doors or removal plastic edges on glass. These little feature will cost extra and may look redundant. But it enhances the value of things they do, it delivers an important message, "we are willing to go the extra mile."

Yes, I'm very tempted, at least replace those hideous carpentry. They make a lot of difference and Uncle Soon's prices is very attractive.

Hanjin, your dining lamp is very nice. I'm looking for a replacement for mine, saw something similiar to yours. Are they using halogen or tungsten bulbs also?

I'm suddenly very inspired with the idea of doing another renovation.

Actually is BLUM really necessary ah? (Ok, I'm sour grapes. ) But Audrey, yours is free, no issue, so nice of him. One of the ID firms I contacted wanted to use BLUM, but she said it costs a lot more, I don't have any slamming habits, so decide to do without. But I played around with that at a friend's place, it's actually quite neat. It raises the classy look of the overall carpentry.

Oooh agree! in the toilet, wet environment, you must buy good quality stainless steel accessories. Some of my Ikea SS, didn't even touch water, but also rust because of water vapour I think.

Oooh, that tile is very nice, was it just patterned or textured as well?

Adrian. My first visit to your blog, finally had some time to "roam around". I know you have heard this hundreds of times, but your sketches are fantastic! Those 3D views of the entire room is stunning.

Congrats on your new blog. Sorry to learn that you are already facing the first issue. Try to get your contractor (was it Uncle Soon also?) to finish up all the dusty work fast within the end of next month. By the time you semi moved in with your things, hopefully the carpentry skeleton is done up already. Most of the parts is done in the factory, they just need to assemble at your place, shouldn't have too much dust unless there's a lot of wall drilling and wood sawing in the house itself. I'm not sure if you need to vacate your old house fast, if not you can leave your old things there first, move in with your new furniture, that is considered move in also, after that you bring over your old stuff over, see if you can negotiate a deal with your house buyer. Good luck!

Opps, pardon my unnecessary interruption. You're the absolut connoisseur after all.

The pipes really spoil the looks of the theme. Mine's all exposed, I was told they cannot be concealed.

Kari, your pipes were all hidden behind the tiles. Did they come original from HDB like that or was it a nice touch by your ID also?

I'm using OTTO too, I find the design quite pleasing to the eye. Can't really call it fake brand, would prefer to call them "brandless". "Branded" is associated with heavy advertising, *****, better mechanism & perhaps quality, packaging, nicer showroom with a high price tag, while the brandless are still usable I guess? The flush in the MBR was okay .. but my mother complained about the flush in the common toilet, she said it's too weak, always got "remains" after flushing..

When bargaining, don't feel shy, it's only that few minutes, savings is substantial, ask and you shall get. I tried that stunt at CH and Hom Tech. It didn't work at Poh Joo, so I didn't get much from them though they are quite nice actually.

That was a very nice and classy design actually. Estimation .. this is based on my own quote, not necessarily the same. feature wall's $220/ft console's $120/ft let's say the main bulk area is 7ft, that would be (220+120) x 7 = $2380. That raised platform and the 2 L shape extensions ... some might charge you full feet for those. imagine those were like 4 feet, it's almost another $1000 which is grossly unfair for that bit. Materials you will be looking at would be solid plywood wood and laminates, Those lights that you see, costs extra too, cost of the light itself and the lighting point. And of course the flower vase and pebbles if you want to achieve the same look.

Do the horror thing I did. My mother was mortified as she was shopping with me for the items. Pick up all the individual items and ask for individual discounts for every item first. Then you consolidate your purchases, try and see if you can an odd number. From there, you round it down. Like from $1099, down it to $1000 nett. :x But not many shops has that kind of variety to choose from, different shops carry nicer basins, wc, taps, rain showers. Jalan besar is quite near your place, can drop by with your mum to check it out.

Aubrey. I got my rinnai hob/hood set from Chuan Heng (along Jalan besar, opposite Poh Joo). First approached PJ, then CH, I told them PJ's price, they matched that with another $30 off. Find out the permissible sizes first, then you can start shopping and comparing price now, buy when it's nearer towards carpentry. Another thing, if you are using 2, don't need to get 3 heads... I thought the 3rd one could be a standby, but it's not in use all the while, one day I decided to try it and it didn't work because the holes are all covered with grease from cooking ...

There was once I have like 20/30 of them hovering around my ceiling lamp. I placed a bowl of water below the lamp, all the insects will drown because they are attracted to the light reflection in the water, thinking it's the real thing. That's my solution if there's a huge amount of them. But for the occasional insect, I just leave them alone. Just clear the light cover if it gets -crowded-.

Wow, you have a Happy looking house, I love all your green accessories. I have the same Hippo too, but mine's purple. May I ask which camera model are you using?

I accidentally walked past LightCraft the other day, immediately regretted my "run of the mill" purchases back home from Pantech. Don't get me wrong, those I got from Pantech were nice, the couple at Pantech is very nice as well. But what they are selling is nothing unique or special, you can find the same lamps everywhere. I walked into LightCraft because I saw the Artichoke replica hanging near the entrance. Most of their lamps are quite unusual, and the designs are not readily found in other shops (correct me if I'm wrong, I didn't really shop around thoroughly apart from Pantech, some generic shops at Jalan Besar, Balestier and IKEA.) I'm looking for a nicer dining lamps to replace my IKEAs also, are there any more such shops with unique designs apart from Lightcraft? Let me know please.

I'm amazed by your collection. Do you have this yet? I saw it at Marketplace Paragon yesterday, it's 750ml, $70. Near to the entrance and cashiers. Absolut mini bar

Hi, was it bought within the past 3 mths? You can actually return the item if you still have the receipt. http://www.ikea.com.sg/store_services/return_policy.asp

Honeygal, the whitish layer was some wax type of coating for the tiles. Did your ID do chemical wash? If it were done, the wax would be washed off by the acid. It's unlikely that any household strength cleaning solution can wreak floor tiles, most likely the layer of wax is still there ?

Cyberkinetic, the aircon pipings and electrical wirings should be after the plastering, it's not part of the wall in the first place.