Dwinsplace

Kstoh, I've since switched to photobucket and its SOOO much better. thanks for the recommendation!

This is our confirmed space planning for the new house. This pic shows red walls to be hacked, and blue walls to be built. As you can see we didn't change the layout too much cos in the end, we felt that we needed walls for privacy and noise isolation. Main changes would be: 1. to open up the kitchen (very common and popular now). 2. Open up an access from service yard where we hang clothes, to wardrobe area where we iron/keep clothes. Saves me from going one big round. 3. Relocate door of study and add a feature to the wall. 4. Hopefully extend the master bathroom to have a shower we can dance in. lol. And this is what the new space will be like with all the built in capentry etc!! Super excited about getting the 3D images next week so we can see the aesthetic come to life. Also want to be able to confirm stuff so that we can fix dimensions and start on our custom sofa/ TV console. And buy lights! And toilet stuff! fun fun fun!

Yeah I saw the USD price and figured it was more exp but I thought that if the sellers are the same as taobao, maybe I can use the site to read all the details in english haha.

Awesome floor plan. Very square and user friendly. I assume hacked bedroom wil be for a walk in wardrobe like set up? Also, great choice on speaker and AVR! Don't need a woofer with those babies. For your kitchen stuff, I highly recommend mega discount store. The prices were consistently lower than Harvey norman and parisilk. And only marginally higher than neighbourhood warehouse that we compared. Plus the service was amazing. Very patient in explaining all the differences. And allowed us to pay a deposit on the items but letting us change the price at any time! Even saying that they will match any GSS sale prices that arise frm now till delivery.

Saw that too! And it's definitely a consideration. And it's a Singaporean invention! *singaporean pride* Told ID my idea and she says she will ask te door specialist to see if it can be done and if I need the door to be fireproof. If the idea fails then I'm most likely opting for the combined door/gate option.

Thanks ihheng. We considered that but my irritating need for convenience still didn't like having to search for 2 RFID cards and opening both. I'm being difficult I know. Plus the big metal plate needed to be added to the metal gate was a bit of an eye sore. Spent an afternoon looking through gate designs to find a nice one that could fit the gate and had zero inspirations. I guess I feel that the look of the main door is important because it's the very first impression of the home within. I'm just super picky la. Lol.

I've just downloaded Flickr app but it doesn't give me an img link I believe. Or at least I can't find it. Maybe I'll switch to photo bucket!

Oh my god ocean eleven, you're giving me an entire new site to search??? I'll never sleep now. Lol

Main door woes. I've got this thing where I find it extremely tedious and irritating to have to unlock and open 2 sets of things. (gate then the door) Esp since I'm always carrying a bag and a helmet or two. Having to balance the helmet between my knees while I'm hot and sweaty and fishing for keys SUCKS. Makes me want to the door down. Thanks to renotalk I've discovered digital locks and RFID cards and how handsfree the whole operation can be. Which I LOVE! The technology has been around for a while now. Go up to your car with a proximity key and it opens at a touch. Why not the front door? But the idea kinda fails once you add a gate to it. I mean, whats the point of having a keyless system when you still need to fish around for keys for the gate? But being WITHOUT a gate is kinda weird too. Like it does feel more ... naked.... opening the door to a delivery man when there isn't that gate to keep a barrier between the two of you. I know singapore is safe and all, but i feel more comfortable with a bit of protection between me and a random stranger at my door. I know my wife definitely feels the same way too. Hence the woes. How to make it convenient, without feeling unsafe? This is what I eventually came up with! Main door idea by dwinsplace, on Flickr The window is of a size that allows you to accept small parcels that would normally fit through a gate, or to sign for registered letters. The door stays firmly bolted the whole time. And if you had a big parcel to accept, well then you would have had to open a normal gate for that scenario anyway. Plus its different and kinda cool. haha. Lets see if the ID can custom something like that.

How do you guys post off mobile devices? Especially photos. Its kinda tedious to have to transfer the pics from my phone to my desktop and then to flickr before I can upload onto the blog.

thanks songz! Yeah less ticks means more water per flush and more power right? Was hoping for a way to save water with sufficient power though. WIll check out baron.

Thank kstoh! I love your blog. You are super informative and detailed. Esp love how hands on you get. Unfortunately the singaporean lifestyle and housing space rarely allows for the collection of power tools needs to do the jobs. But I'm planning to invest in a drill at some point at least. Found that it has come in handy a number of times over the years at my folk's place. I'll go check out that brand! At the moment I don't know the distance to my sewage pipe though but I'm trying to get recommendations.

Yeah I've been doing the math and its amazing how much money one can save from TB. I'll check out TMall as you suggested. Is that a specific seller on TB? How do i find the shop? Just search TMall?

Hey Greg. Well done on your place! Love the screed walls and how you have stuck to the industrial theme. And now that you are adding the small touches like the grass, the place really comes alive. Thanks a ton for all the TB keywords. I've saved them and hopefully will find some gems like yours soon. Hope to see more pics! Can I ask how the kitchen mixer is treating you? I was looking at that one but wasn't sure of getting something that needs plumbing from TB. Water pressure ok? No signs of leaks or weak joints?

HOLY CRAP thats ALOT of taobao stuff!! Can't wait to see your post about the items you ordered. Your balcony looks really nice now, especially with the flooring lines leading out to it. Makes it look inviting. And great point about cleaning up before laying of the flooring. It's something that I didnt consider but I'll definitely do it now.

love your couch! Never thought to check out cellini but i definitely will now! Or maybe just copy the picture for someone to custom. lol

Yeah we are definitely considering lights from Taobao! Our chinese reading skills are crap though so its a bit daunting. Even with google translate side by side there's always this fear that the page says that they are actually only selling the wires and not the lights or something. But every catalogue that we have seen from guys in singapore show us lights from taobao at a much higher price. So will probably try 1 or 2 at least. Thankfully our ID says that her chinese is good so we will get her to QC for us. But I would like to second my wife and ask for help wrt toilet choices. My personal experience has been with lousy WCs that don't get all the waste down and I have to stand there waiting for the toilet to fill again and then flush again. Sometimes I even need to do it 3 times! Very time and water inefficient. The brand that did this to me was Caroma, so I'm avoiding that brand. Wondering if the renotalkers have recommendations on powerful (and reasonably priced) WCs?

Samsung Bottom Freezer Refrigerator RL4013UBASL - Nett internal capacity 380l - I love bottom freezers cos i hate bending down every time i open the fridge to get a drink. Which actually meant I hardly had any choice. - Sleek stainless steel look samsung fridge1 by dwinsplace, on Flickrsamsung fridge2 by dwinsplace, on Flickr Samsung Top Load Washing Machine WA80F5S7 - 8kg load - wobble technology thats supposed to keep clothes from tangling. samsung washer 1 by dwinsplace, on Flickrsamsung washer 2 by dwinsplace, on Flickr Mitsubishi Electric Starmex system 3 Aircon: We were looking at panasonic at first cos of the air purifying function. But the salesperson told us all aircons have that sort of thing. And then told us Mitsubishi Starmex was a lot more popular but generally more expensive. He did say that the starmex seems to have an ability to blow the cold air further which cooled the room faster. Dunno whether true or not but we were convinced especially since he matched the price of the mitsubishi to the cheaper panasonic. I've read renotalkers rave about both so i was quite comfortable with either one. aircon by dwinsplace, on Flickr If you guys have any inputs on our choices pls comment! We haven't bought them yet! haha

We have also been shopping for kitchen stuff that we feel doesn't need ID input before we buy. So things like oven, hob, fridge, washer and aircon. We went to different places to compare and based on model and service and cost, we eventually placed a deposit with Mega Discount Store for the items! Their service was really top notch. They had suggestions and good information on all the brands and models and characteristics too. No hard sell and replied to whatsapps almost immediately. They told us even after confirmation we could change or remove items. And that they would match promotional prices for GSS if they were lowered. How to find this kind of thing?? Honestly though, I was more inclined to wait for the quotation from a wholesaler but the wife liked them alot so we just went with it. In the end, the wholesaler came back and it was only $18 cheaper for the items and they were a super pain to work with. Every time wife called them they said that they were very busy and didn't have time. Only when she asked them : "you dont want my business is it?" then they paused and paid attention. $18 not worth that sort of headache. Anyway this is what we ordered! PBD9331SG- Bosch Hob - Safety gas valve (shuts off in case wind blows fire out.) - 92 cm wide so that i can place a pot in the middle without losing the use of the outside ones. - black tempered glass for easy cleaning and sexy looks - 4.5KW flame for the 'wok hei' in my stir fry! bosch hob by dwinsplace, on Flickr HBN331E2J Bosch Stainless steel Built in oven - 67L capacity. Large enough for christmas turkey! - triple glass door (on new models) so the door doesn't feel so hot - Digital timer for autocutoff - great reviews from bakers - doesn't have self cleaning but the side rails are really easy to snap off so the whole cavity can be cleaned easily. bosch oven by dwinsplace, on Flickr

My speakers came!! All nicely boxed within boxes within boxes. Super protected haha. Now they are sitting in my living room and taking up space till I can give them their proper new home. speakerboxx by dwinsplace, on Flickr adiva in box by dwinsplace, on Flickr Adiva by dwinsplace, on Flickr Love my new Anthony Gallo Adivas! Size of a grapefruit and has a good weight to it. The stainless steel finish is also gorgeous. Unfortunately, the grill covers were grey when i wanted black. I checked online and its true, they are only black when the body is also black. But when I wrote to them, they wrote back the next day and said they had black ones and would send them to me free of charge! Whoo! Ten points for customer service. Now the bigger adivas will match the smaller surround ones: Micronucleus by dwinsplace, on Flickr And this is my bigass (and super heavy) subwoofer. Can't wait to hear movie explosions off this baby. TR1box by dwinsplace, on Flickr TR1 by dwinsplace, on Flickr

Yep! In the end I believe we will get gas heater! Went to the showroom and I was fairly sold on the idea by the salesperson. You're right. It's kinda silly to worry about gas leaks. Haha Looking forward to lower utility bills in the future! I think our ID is proposing krono as well! We liked the lifetime warranty on evorich but I'm pretty sure the products are fairly similar. If one is so successful then the rest are sure to follow.

oh interesting... renotalk automatically censored the name of the first ID firm i wrote about. Well we can't have that since I named all the others.... So they were D*istinct I*dentity.

We have finally chose our ID! It was a long long road but we are really happy with our final selection. All the guys we met were really nice people but in the end we had to choose one. The following is my honest review of my experiences with some of the designers in each firm. While some may sound bad, please note that I thought all of them were nice. Just not right for our project in various ways. 1. **: I've seen their ads on home and decor a ton of times and their portfolio was varied and interesting. They are a really big company that works in a rather unique way. The project is handled by a team of designers even tho you only deal with one. And the designer you deal with doesn't really go on site. That is left to a quality control team that overseas several projects. The QC guy will go down a bit each day and post pics and update the designer who then updates you. Conversely, instructions are passed from you to the designer to the QC to the contractor on the ground. I'm sure this method has worked for them to date, but I really prefer my designer to be more hands on and to have the chain of instruction shorter. I mean, so many ppl to pass message through, will the message even be correct at the end? And maybe not in time also. Also, their design.... wasn't really distinct. Kind of what you see on the magazines as a nice HDB lor. Then the presentation say colours will be white, black and wood, with emphasis on dark colours. But 3D picture shows me sand coloured walls. 2. Poh: This guy is an architect and does homes from the ground up more than just interiors but cos he's worked with a close friend of mine and came highly recommended, we went to chat with him. Like you would expect from an architect, he's very conscious of the process and space planning and had some very out of the box ideas like wood clad ceilings with concrete floors so I could get industrial but still keep it warm. Unfortunately, besides that bit, he refused to talk about aesthetics until we had settled space planning which kinda irritated me cos all his space planning ideas were very modern looking in my head so I just wanted to know that he could do the look that I needed. But then he kept making me feel like I was the impatient child jumping the gun. No good. 3. The Carpenter's: Not to be confused with Carpenters!! VERY different look and design. Anyway, we LOVED their office and they could obviously do the look we wanted. The designer was also super sincere and had like 3 different proposals and had thought through just about every single configuration we could think of. Everytime we went: "what about...?" she would reply "Yes I thought of that in this plan here....but then..." So we were super impressed with how meticulous she was. But in the end the costing was and the connection just wasn't there. Maybe if I had more cash and approached them earlier, this would have been a real contender. As it was, i didn't spend as much time refining the plans/quotes with them before making a choice. 4. Oblique Interiors: Great guys and they nailed our aesthetic right from the start. They had some really creative ideas and their price was very VERY reasonable for the finishes that we were asking for. Unfortunately, at the end of the day we felt that they were too hung up on their own vision of the house and unable to tweak it sufficiently to meet our lifestyle and needs. Whats the point of having a beautiful house that doesn't suit you right? Still, we alllllmost went with them cos of the aesthetic and cost factors. I felt a bit bad dragging them on for so long cos they were the first company we met and one of the last we held on to but what to do? Thats the process i guess. 5. Habit LLP: These 2 ladies are EXTREMELY meticulous and a pleasure to speak with. We had such a great time just chatting with them. A real connection. Unfortunately in the end their aesthetic was not quite industrial enough for me. They have a distinctive look if you go to their website and they do that look very well. Then their costs also very high. But looking through their quotation and speaking with them, I can tell that they charge that amount because they are very particular about doing things RIGHT. The foundations and workmanship must be excellent. It killed us to turn them down but I would HIGHLY recommend others to have a look at their work and consider them if their look suits you. 6. And finally! The one we chose is..... *drumroll* 3D conceptwerke! Alot of people on renotalk have considered them and given them mixed reviews. All agree that they are pricey. I'll add my vote in on that too. But I also believe that I'm paying for some very ***** ideas and quality workmanship. During our conversations, they could always come up with 2-3 different ideas for every problem I threw at them. In fact, during their initial space presentation, i didn't like both their proposals, but as I was explaining why, Dess just took a piece of paper and in 5 minutes showed me a new layout that completely addressed my concerns. That ability to think on the fly will be very useful i think when we run into the inevitable hiccups during the project itself. We are working with a designer called Vanessa who is super cute and sweet and has some kickass ideas too. In the end we were just the most comfortable working with them. The most excited by their ideas. And the most touched by their willingness to negotiate the pricing to suit our pockets. They seem genuinely keen and excited to work on our project and thats a great feeling! As for the budget... eat less for a while lor....

Does anyone know what internet shopping portals I can use besides taobao (my chinese is terrible) and amazon (quite expensive)?

I suspect that you are right to a degree. Sort of having 2 different sources (1 cold water pipe and 1 from a storage tank/instant gas) should boost the pressure a little. But to say that storage would give more across the board might be too blanketing a statement. It would probably depend largely on the water pressure of the storage tank compared the the instant gas? I assume both have some sort of pump? Haha waaaay too much conjecture at this point though I suspect.