dancinqi

Lol was about to finally post my update here (what happens when you are trying to recall details in chronological order & keep asking the hubby what happened when), saw the above posts, went to ask the bro last night...... and suaned him! See la so enthu people think u scammer again wahahaha! Anw, yes my bro & I do talk in a similar pattern (jokes in our family are lame untiiiil... ) Mayb that translates into writing too? {The One with the ID & our Rojak Theme} We went back to the 1st ID to pick up the quotation and managed to worm our way out of paying a deposit to move ahead with 3D drawings. TIP: always discuss with the spouse to get your exit strategy in place for tricky sale situations, no matter how risk-free it seems. In this case, the husband told the ID frankly that we have yet to check out what styles we like & we don’t feel comfortable rushing into a decision, even if we can redeem the deposit for other stuff should we part ways. I was pretty adverse to hard-selling tactics anw and was just glad to leave. Went on to meet with #PoshHome and we immediately got down to the #holeinthewall. We listed how we intend to use the space and just waited patiently for Calvin to advise. If I didn’t remember wrongly, he started with the cheapest option (ie. glass panel) and eventually, we arrived at the concept of a sliding wall. Basically, it’s a giant wall panel that will slide from the dining area to cover a huge chunk of the study. There will be a thinner sliding panel at the window area that will meet it in the middle and a lock to secure the panels in place, should overnight guests need privacy. So this significantly improved the viewkennablocked50%ofthetime issue. Told Calvin about my concern of sliding doors being all squeaky and almost impossible to close after a few years and he explained that only top hung tracks will be used to eliminate this problem caused by dust trapping. He added that this way, we won’t have to live with the unsightly bottom track cutting across the walkway (not to mention the pain if someone steps onto it ). What if there is a problem with the door? Will the pelmet or false ceiling be affected in the rectification? Calvin again reassured us that if that happens, his guys know how to remove the door safely without affecting the existing structure. STEADY POM PIPI LA! #dudeithinkwefoundourguy With that baby out of the way, we went on to talk a little about theme (because we kinda read up about PoshHome & my bro told us a fair bit by this point in time). Here’s where I digress with a discussion with my husband using my pinterest account at home: 1) Industrial? Husband don't like anything that looks too messy/dirty. Like cement screed. Like spots of rust on distressed metal. Like distressed wood. Like huge “eyes” in wood grains. Like wonky droopy wires of a bubble chandelier, macham spider legs on ceiling. 2) Mid-century/Vintage? I quote what he said at #secondcharm, "I don't want to be in a house like my Ah Ma's one. Can we ask them to bleach the teak TV console so it'll look like oak?" #omgminiheartattack #where’syourlovefornostalgia Next. 3) Scandinavian? This falls under the I-love-it-now-but-I’m-not-sure-if-I’ll-love-it-for-years category. And I’m not that crazy about an IKEA home. AND statement Scandi pieces can cost A BOMB. Mayb two. Ideally, we have a bit of everything. What’s an interior design term for #tastefulrojak? That's when we stumbled on ECLECTIC MODERN! Just realized that the spaces all look fab cos of the high ceilings -_- Le sigh. Also touched on having a mobile bar counter using ventilation blocks but Calvin was quick to advise against it as the blocks need cement and the entire bar will be too heavy to be supported by castor wheels. Since mobility is the priority for a modular space, I asked if he can incorporate some of the blocks into a display shelf or coffee table. Husband wants a unique display shelf to accommodate his Transformers & other action figures (boys…) and our other travel collectibles. =========================================================================================================== FAST FORWARD to us getting the quote a week later, countless visits to Expo fairs, year-end sales & home furnishing stores, we found ourselves signing with #PoshHome just before CNY. Reason being, even though I’m doing graphic design, it doesn't mean that I’m attuned to what is readily available in the market to achieve the look we want, in the most cost-efficient manner. (We also can’t really pinpoint what we want la cos eccentric is so personalised to the home-owners’ taste & we ok to so many nice furnishing zzz) By this time, we have trekked all over SG, visiting remote industrial complexes, just to look-see-feel furniture with “character”. That’s A LOT of precious Saturday mornings & Sunday afternoons for 2 people without a car. If those weekends yielded anything, it is that: 1) one has to be really clear about the creative direction of the house before visiting those places for lobangs. It’s hard to leave empty-handed without feeling like you’ve wasted your time there. 2) there’s no point sourcing for large-sized furniture on discount/clearance too early in the reno journey unless you have space to hold it temporarily. Any longer than 3 months and you may face a storage charge. That’s WHY the item is on clearance in the first place. (Btw why are our basic furniture all so big one ah?! Sofa la, Dining table la, Wardrobe la, TV console la… zzz) 3) one has to be prepared to pay a lot more for custom-made furniture, even more if it’s made of metal. $2500 for a mid-century TV console anyone? So yes, THAT was draining. With the CNY rolling around the corner and some hearsay about workers' levy thing going up, the husband and I decided to review our options to either wait for consultations with the reputable (cough cough expensive) contractors in March, or proceed with the ID we feel most comfortable with by far. Overall, we both get a good vibe about Calvin, we can click (bonus also that he speaks English instead of Mandarin like the 2 contractors we had wanted to meet), the quotation was clearly explained (why so&so cost this amount and what are the options we can go for if we want better quality/cheaper), ballpark figure is reasonable, his design aesthetic is in line with ours (or rather what we can expect of an ID), workmanship of the carpentry is good (based on 1 house visit the husband went with my bro), we were thus assured that there’s no reason not to. WOOT WOOT! 3D illustrations coming up next!

Thanks Dwinsplace! Lol lifetime of debt indeed. I almost regretted not going for 5room until the husband reminded me that we'd have to pay even MORE lol! Hmm come to think of it, we didn't really consider the folding wall panels. Prob cos we saw one every other week in church and it looks quite cumbersome to move all the panels. Not sure how much it'll cost but $ is definitely a huge factor haha! Thanks for sharing the link though! Since we decided to have an unblocked hole (gave in to the husband as he'll use that space more often than me when he works from home), noise and airflow can't be helped haha!

Hello everyone! Now that we've finally gotten our keys to our love nest, I've decided to start blogging about our reno journey! Wasn't too sure how helpful this will be but seeing how much insight & tips I got from the various renotalkers now happily settled in their homes, I've decided to give it a go If nothing else, it'll be a journal of sorts for us on this eventful adventure ============================================================================= {The One With The Space Planning Conundrum} Once we got our pdf floorplan from the HDB officer in late 2013, we started researching on #pinterest (helpful tags are #hdb #hdbrenovation), #renotalk, #homeanddecor, #squarerooms and #lookboxliving for ideas on using small space efficiently & creatively. At the time of selecting our flat, we weren't sure about the space needs of our home (Eg. 1kid or 2kids? Is MIL staying with us?) and the 4room seemed like a better fit over the 5room. Since we have gotten used to the vastness of my parents' EA, we know some hacking will be needed to open up the communal area for entertaining guests. To better visualize the amount of space we have, we decided to do a comparison using the images sourced on #homedecor & #squareroom: OPTION 1: Hack 50% of L-Wall in Kitchen, Hack 50% of Study Wall (To replace hacked portions with Glass) (all images taken off home&decor & renotalk) Pros (both): Increase in overall visual space, Cool air from aircon won't leak out, Maintains a clean look. Glass is quite affordable. Cons (both): Not really sound proof. No real improvement for interaction as we are still separated by glass (so weird to talk through glass). Dead-space behind the area blocked by opened glass door (which will be open most of the time I imagine) Somehow it felt safer to stick with what the majority went for and see if it fits us. Husband eventually put his foot down that he don't want to have to shout from his study to me in the living room. Ok so no glass. Even when I showed him these images. ESPECIALLY the ones with a black frame. OPTION 2: Hack 100% of L-Wall in Kitchen, Hack 100% of Study Wall Pros (for kitchen): Increase in dining area, Possibility for bar counter (which I've always wanted OMG! ), Fridge can now be in dining space for guests to help themselves while I'm cooking (I'm ok with glass sliding doors separating the wet kitchen from the hall) Cons (for kitchen): Loss of counter & storage space (which the bar counter can make up for so not really a con yay ) Pros (for study): Increase in hall area for interaction while still being in study area. Cons (for study): OMG WE GOT SO STUCK HERE!! Day after day, our conversation will revolve around this #holeinthewall conundrum. We know that we'll need that study to function as a bedroom eventually. So the design has to incorporate both our present and future needs. And that hole is HUGE. About 7feet wide. Husband is adamant about being able to talk to guests & watch movies from the TV WHILE seated from his table in the study. I'm adamant abt preserving the option for privacy with curtains or blinds (which will need glass right?!) Multifold doors look nice but when they are folded open, the combined thickness is such an eyesore and eats into the sofa space. Casement windows are also out as someone will knock their heads on the open window frames (duh). Sliding doors look the sleekest of the lot but they trap dust on the lower track and are difficult to clean. And half of the view will always be blocked. Oh Mai Gawd... I even roped in my brother into the discussion/debate since he's also collecting his keys within this year. The longer we got stuck at this #holeinthewall, the more unsure we were about approaching contractors for quotes. We can't even come to a conclusion, how're we supposed to tell the contractor what we want done??? I was not even keen to meet with any contractors at this point. We so so needed help By this time, my bro had met up with quite a few IDs/contractors for quotes and following his recommendation, we decided to meet up with one of them. We presented our problem to him and asked if he had any solutions before. Imagine our faces when he suggested "curtains"...... #winliaolor #myhouseisnotatheatreleh I think he panicked a little seeing our reaction haha! Then his kakia suggested building a halfwall using partition board, with a flap that can be swung open & downwards, airplane-tray-table style. So if we need to install glass in the future, we can just open the flap, slot in a glass panel, then close and seal the flap. But this idea sounds so... flimsy :/ Not fun to consider how glass might fall onto our heads while watching TV. That's when we decided to go for a second opinion... (To be continued)

WOW this grooves on the wall is so nice!