Loki

METAL till I die! I need it as a liquid in my veins instead of blood. Seriously, no metal, death will soon follow suit... So here are some of my fave bands of all time by sub-genre: Classic Metal: Black Sabbath (they started it all!)Dio (GOD...'nuff said!)Rainbow (Dio & Blackmore...match made in ****!)Iron Maiden (absolute favourite! it's my religion! NOT exaggerating!)Judas Priest (the Painkiller!)Speed/Power Metal: Metallica (remembering 1994 & 2014...2 decades of decadence!)Megadeth (don't ask what you can do for your country, ask what your country can do for YOU!)AnthraxStratovariusRhapsodyHelloween (Heavy Metal is the LAW!!)Hair Metal: Motley Crue (the phenomenon...)Def Leppard (heard on radio in '88...never looked back since!)Cinderella (NIGHT SONGS.....!!!!)Bon Jovi Van Halen (EVH rules from then till now!)Skid RowKISSPoison Extreme (Nuno...OMFG!)Trash/Death Metal: Amon Amarth (imo the greatest Swedish export...who gives a Faäck about Ikea?!?)Obituary UnleashedNaplam DeathSepultura (Rooooots...Bloody Rooooooots!)Kreator (Servant in Heaven...King in ****!)Testament Slayer (**** awaits...)Many others, too many to list. Haha! Stop here I shall.

Phew! Where do I even begin? Well, the very beginning would be a good place to start I suppose... So, almost a year ago I got the keys to my 2-room and started searching on RenoTalk for a design firm to take on my small, but challenging project. Balinese Resort was the theme, but I had some weird ideas and elected the use of some unconventional materials, namely coconut husks, discarded wood blocks, bronze, and 4 guitars! Due to the nature of 2-room apartments, space constraint was naturally a problem, compounded by the fact that I wanted to incorporate a mini-studio for jamming sessions with my guitars. I was thus in the search for a decorator creative enough to put all these things into perspective, and bring my ideas to fruition at a realistic budget. Shan’t go on about other firms whom I approached, they are not relevant here. Walked-in to Nid Design Studios one day, and despite the good reviews about some of their personnel, I wasn’t seeking anyone particular. Dressed looking for all the world like a member of some outlaw motorcycle gang, the folk there were understandably somewhat apprehensive about my intentions at first. But to his credit, Hafiz, one of the senior designers, approached me like any other customer and we breezed through the preliminaries like old friends. Talking to Hafiz, I found him personable, creative, and full of space / budget saving ideas. He is a good listener, makes good suggestions for things that I have in my head but can’t quite form a solid concept around. He also had prior experience in designing Balinese-themed residential and commercial projects. So we ended that session with a rough idea of how things would pan out and the promise of another session to finalise matters. The second time we met, more ideas were tossed around, materials and colour schemes were discussed, and initial quotations were given. One thing that struck me was that Hafiz had himself produced a 3D rendering of the living room, with coconut-husk feature wall (guitars included!), without me asking, nor having signed on the dotted line. All other firms I’d spoken with merely came up with some rough sketches on the blueprints I initially provided, or described their ideas and intentions verbally. The worst simply blabbered on, hand-sketched (badly!) some designs, and hand-wrote the quote in pencil! 3D renderings would only be produced after the formal contract had been signed, and then you’d have to wait for their graphics department to prepare them for you. We all know that pictures say a lot more than words alone could ever describe, so it was pleasantly surprising that Hafiz had taken the initiative to prepare one for me at no behest. So, fast forward to renovation time and it was mostly smooth sailing except for an issue with the solid surface top. Being a slave to the grind, I couldn’t afford the time to oversee renovations during working hours, Hafiz stepped-up to the task admirably, liaising with several different contractors, and ensuring that the work was done to standard. Though he wasn’t on-site all the time (which quite honestly, is a ridiculous expectation), he was always on call to analyze and resolve problems, absconding from none. Once, when I was shopping for furniture, I was worried that my choices were either too large or too small to fit into the spaces planned for them. A buzz to Hafiz, who had all my measurements at his fingertips (my flat that is, not my vital statistics ah!), was enough to set my mind at ease. Together with the wonders of mobile communication, he managed to, from a remote location, measure and fit the dimensions of the furniture I wanted to buy, with the designated spaces in my flat. Gone was the need to run back and forth measuring walls and stuff! Can’t comment on meeting datelines though, as I wasn’t in a hurry to move in, I didn’t give any datelines! But the project was completed in about a month and a half, all except for the coconut husk wall cladding, whose supplier didn’t quite seem to understand the meaning of the word ‘reserved’ and gave my stock away to someone else, leaving me high ‘n dry upon completion time! ****in’ unbelievable! But this has nothing to do with Nid, fortuitously for them! Anyway, this story had a happy ending so let’s just leave it at that! Overall, I’m delighted at how my place turned out. Being quite the handyman, Hafiz’s hands-on approach extended well above the call of duty, taking-on jobs that AWOL, irresponsible contractors left hanging. Like fitting all my toilet accessories himself, touching up some paint work, changing my lights, and even modifying the bronze pendant lamp so that it’ll fit nicely at the entryway. This is after final payment had been made. He can be quite temperamental at times though, and is not exempt from taking offense at something one might have commented on, but the pros far outweigh the cons! Don’t be too tight with your purse-strings and he may even surprise you with a little gift or two, like the kitchen’s glass-backing, which was supposed to be of normal tempered glass, the ones with a little greenish tinge around the edges? At no extra charge, Hafiz upgraded it to a higher-end, low-iron glass that won’t show those nasty green edges. And he didn’t even tell me about it until I spotted the difference and asked! After all is said and done, more will be said than done. That is a universal truth! But I’ve got my own little hideout now, done to my specifications, and rockin’ out with my mini-studio. As you can well imagine, I’m not great friends with the neighbours! Did we manage to stick to the budget? Errrrr…Nope! But that’s mostly my fault haha! Sure I blew the budget a little, but you know what they say about monkeys and peanuts doncha?!?

Hello Ann, Guess you've just got the keys to your place, and that you opted for a unit without the default flooring? Same here! You need to get the screeding done first, which is a layer of cement that smoothens out the surface before any form of flooring (HERF, laminates, homogeneous, granite, marble) can be installed. If yours is a HDB BTO, then the screeding can be done for free. You'd need to arrange this with your respective HDB Branch Office. Takes quite awhile to complete though...about 1 - 2 months as there's usually a long list of people waiting for the screed. Can't wait that long or live on private property? The flooring companies, or contractors can do it for you, but it'll set you back about $1,500 though... Happy Renovating!

Yup, I've got no TV in my living room. As a matter of fact, I've got no TV at all!! Haha! Reason being that I don't watch TV as a general rule. Entertainment? Why...there's always the world wide web! Mostly, I watch documentaries on YouTube or something... and rock-out to some of the greatest Death-Metal music this side of Hel ! So all I really need is a computer (with a nice big HD screen!), and a good sound system. Ohh...I've also got 4 guitars so that keeps me entertained as well. As you can well imagine, I'm not too popular with the neighbours!

Just had Evorich HERF flooring installed in my place. I really do like the texture and patterns, which are more wood-like & natural looking as compared to laminates. Of course, prior to deciding on HERF, went around to various flooring specialists to compare materials and prices. What I've gathered is that vinyl flooring, when it was first introduced, did present some health risks. But evidently, producers have had this problem sorted out, and most vinyls on the market these days, including HERF, are free from such risks. Aw-yong was the guy I met at Evorich. Great fella, excellent service! As I'm usually busy with work, he liaised with my decorator and screeding contractor to ensure that the installation will be faultless, and that potential problems such as uneven or rough screed are non-existent. His "Measure Twice, Cut Once" attitude is re-assuring, especially when I can't be around all the time to watch over renovations. Also ordered the coconut husk wall-cladding from them...98 sq ft of it! It's meant for my living area's feature wall. Now, the story here isn't that great! Don't wanna go into too much detail, PM me if you'd like the full story. Suffice to say that it still had a happy ending

Got it. Many thanks!

Matrix Concept? Would that by any chance be the same firm as the banner advertised Matrix Interior? Can't find anything on the web about a Matrix Concept... Still, considering the superb reviews here about Alvin, would like to contact him for a proposition on my reno. I have a few weird ideas for my place but am not quite sure how to make them work as a concept in it's entirety. Need an artistically inclined decorator to discuss these ideas and conceptualise the finished product. Alvin still the man for this ya reckon? Kindly PM me his concept if the answer is YES! Many thanks!

So Dave's the man to go to? But considering his popularity, perhaps he won't be interested in a small project like mine... Still, would someone kindly PM me his contact? Many thanks!

Read some good reviews about this firm. How's their creativity/design btw? Got a few weird ideas for my place but don't know how to incorporate them into an overall, balanced look. Thus, I kinda need a design guy/gal with whom I can throw around some ideas and together, come up with a concept that works! Would this firm be recommended for something like that? If so, could someone kindly PM me the contact for a recommended decorator from Nid? On a separate note, despite the negative reviews about a certain firm (C******n), the ID I spoke with seemed to have some pretty nice ideas and knew how to listen. Expensive though...

Yeah, was wondering the same thing. Just walked-in a couple of days ago and met up with the guy. How was your experience with him? First impressions?