EdensMom

HI there, why don't you buy tall mirrors from Ikea and self install? Or ask Ikea to install them? That would be the simplest and cheapest......

To be honest, i have only seen good reviews online of Ministry of Door..., with one exception.... the owner of a rival door company (Republic Doors if i recall correctly) put up some posts saying how bad the online store is. Search the forums and I would be surprised if you find other really bad reviews. I have recommended to many friends who have also had okay experiences.

Bifold door can spoil easily ..... we got an Eco Series swinging door from Ministry of Door for our kitchen ..... it's been there nearly 1.5+ years now, and we love it. They were easy to deal with and lots of great designs. Also, if you really want, the design can be changed later on if you want to 'refresh' your place They come with a five year or ten year warranty. They have both sliding and swinging type. http://www.ministryofdoor.com.sg/

I bought online from FortyTwo. The mattress was good, but the faux leather on the bed went mouldy. I won't repeat the whole story here, but you can search the forum for my other posts about FortyTwo. Just be careful when buying online, as having good customer service is essential.... find someone recommended on this forum. That was my mistake! Good luck!

Just a response to the manager Cheak Hong Ian from FortyTwo above..... for the last few months I have tried to contact you regarding your response above to rectify my mould situation. You haven't replied to any of my emails! I thank you for the kind offer on this forum, but it would be nice if you followed through with what is said.

Hi Denzilla, I bought a storage bed from FortyTwo..... it was good for a while ..... but the bedframe turned completely mouldy. Be careful!

Hi there, I take back what I said above about this 5-in-1 bed from FortyTwo being good. The concept is a good idea, but the bed frame has gone completely mouldy due to the faux leather. I wouldn't recommend this particular bed, and also wouldn't recommend buying from FortyTwo.

Okay, I posted above a favourable review of fortytwo.... I wish to retract the comments. Suggest you don't buy from there. I said they were good (eg good customer service, decent prices, and delivered on time). However, within six months, the bed frames have gone very mouldy. I contacted them to ask what to do, and they said several customers have this same issue, but it isn't a fault per se. This made me made.... I didn't ever try to claim it was a fault, I simply asked them if there was a solution. Anyway, it turns out the faux leather on the beds is not suitable for tropical environment. There is no warning on the website about this, and I think it is fairly misleading. We've never had a mould problem at our house (8 years in Singapore) since the first week we arrived and we bought mouldy furniture from Novena Furniture which we discarded after one month. Also, I said the user reviews on fortytwo were good .... well, it turns out that I cannot change my review on their site either, so perhaps they are not so good. The uders of course will not be able to judge a product in full after only a week or so of use! I am embarrassed to have given them high priase, and apologise if any one else followed my recommendation on fortytwo. So my learning from this is to be VERY careful with buying cheap furniture, wherever it is from. Make sure that any leather or chipboard is treated appropriately for topical weather.

Okay, I have bought many things from FortyTwo. Previously in another post on the forum I said they were good (eg good customer service, decent prices, and delivered on time). However, within six months, the bed frames have gone very mouldy. So my learning from this is to be VERY careful with buying cheap furniture, wherever it is from. We previously has the same issue with a cupboard bought from Novena Furniture. You need to make sure that any leather or chipboard is treated appropriately for topical weather, and cheap online store like FortyTwo is unlikely to warn you of this looming hazard. I think you are best not to buy from them.

Yes you can .... but Tenbatsu is right .... I think you want 'minimal' not 'minimalist'! Don't go with an ID. Just get a contractor. Should only be a couple of thousand.

On the open kitchen concept .... we did it to ours, and like I said above, we love it! It is great to have a breezy kitchen, and a feeling of space. It really made our whole dining space feel so much bigger. We have never had a problem with dirt and grime.... we have a good hood, and it takes away the fumes well. Most European / Western kitchens use the open concept, and these countries cook a lot! I think there isn't too much to be worried about in that regard,

Actually .... you can make smaller, but you cannot make bigger ..... that is the HDB rules. We've just been through it.

I think you are better off getting a good contractor, who can help you a lot with the design, but also coordinate the renovations .... it is a tough job.... so many different things to match up and people to deal with, and if you muck up, you want someone who you can turn to to fix it all up! You won't want to be stuck on your own coordinating a renovation, unless you're been through it before ..... also, the interior designers tend to charge a lot, and yes, they do mark up all the construction work too. This is why I say, find an experienced contractor and use him. He'll likely be able to do the design too, unless you are looking for something really really unique, in which case, you can just show him photos and see if he can manage. We had a good contractor, who was able to give us design ideas, but could also deliver on the quality renovation works at a decent price. Good luck and hope you enjoy the process.

Laminate for sure ..... you will hate having a tiled bedroom! Laminate it much nicer on the feet, and less slippery too. How it is harmful? We have little kids too and no issues....

We had same experience with our couch from Novena furniture ..... also a three seater, and L-shape design. I warned before in another post, do not buy!

I agree .... we knocked down the kitchen wall of our HDB, and it made a really big and spacious feeling dining / living area. In fact, the old owners came in and saw it and wished they had done it themeselves!! We love it. The only drawback is if you want to cook smelly food, then you need to install a good hood over the cooking area. We did our renovations one year ago, and our ID/contractor was great. We did whole new kitchen, bathroom, bathroom cabinets, two wall hacking, new built in wardrobes in three rooms, repainting, and new shelving, feature wall, install fans, etc for less than 20k, and used very good quality / brand name materials. PM me if you want the details. Other ways to save money would be to buy all the pieces yourself (ie hob, hood, basins, oven, lighting fixutres, etc) and just get contractor to install. Also, you can get Nippon or Dulux to paint it for you and save that cost. I you place isn't too old, you can overlay the tiles rather than hack them, and that saves cost too. Also, don't get all the anti-slam hinges etc as they are expenses. All the best and enjoy.

Same here .... we did are reno in two parts .... I thought at first we didn't need some things done, so we didn't do it, and then after we moved in, we decided we needed to. We bought a place only 5 years old and condition was good. We loved the renovations we did, and realised in hindsight that we should have done more, since the old and new didn't really match. We've just (today) finished the second round. It was much harder to manage it all after we moved it .... the dust, the many visits during weekdays by the contractors, etc etc. I would recommend to do it all at once. But, if your kitchen is already fine and you feel you can use it, just leave it! No point to redo, unless it is old / ugly / leaky, etc.

Also... if you are hacking walls or making vibrations during your renovation, you will spoil the existing waterproofing. This is key thing to be careful of.

That is A LOT for a door! Also, if it is 2-in-1, I fear that is is easier to break into? I think you'd be able to get two doors for $500 each, which would be half the price of this.

Hi BigBull, I tried to PM you, but it says you cannot take new messages? So instead, I'm writing to you here. Thanks for sharing so much on renotalk forums. I really appreciate it. I've just finished a renovation, but keen to do one last thing... which is to add a brick wall! Can you (or others in this forum) please let me know the name of your contractor, or the types of bricks which you used? Also, if you knew the approximate cost and how hard maintenance is, that would be helpful too

I used a GREAT confinement lady.... but she is only during the days. I found it good, because it meant I had some private time with the baby, and also could learn how to look after baby myself, so that is wasn't such a shock when confinement was finished. Her name is Serene - she is Singaporean, speaks good English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Best of all, she LOVES babies. She is clean, considerate, and punctual, cooks all the traditional confinement foods, does the marketing, etc etc. She will sing to the baby, and teach you how to care for your new bundle of joy. Her name is Serene, and she works 9 to 6pm. Please PM me if you want her phone number. She tends to get booked out quite fast.

Hi, I have been interested by these. But, how easy is it for a burglar to cut the wire? I imagine these grilles are more to stop people falling out, than thieves coming in? Thanks for the post.

Tailgas, some of the beds are bad design, yes. The good thing about their website is they (the company) honestly will tell you whether the bed is good or bad, and how long it can be expected to last..... for instance, if the bed is used rarely, a cheap guest bed is a good idea You can read the user reviews of the beds to see what buyers think too. Hommage sounds good though. I'll consider next time.

Hi, I am interested in covers for along the poles, to stop splashes from neighbours above who hang out their mops and other lovely things above my washing! Does anyone have ideas on this? It must be possible, but I have never seen it

I am looking at hanging clothes out the window..... but I am on a low floor. Has anyone ever seen a "cover" for these poles, to stop the washing getting wet from neighbours above? I'd be interested in how to make this or where to buy it....