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bykaraanne

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Everything posted by bykaraanne

  1. Haha! I'm sure it will be good!! I feel like I'm regretting some things that I've bought or renovated (like the paint color) so feeling a bit mehhh Can't wait for it all to be over!
  2. Can't wait to see more pictures! My hubby and I were 21 when we balloted for a flat, and 23/24 when we got it (now), so I totally understand what you're saying. I bet it's beautiful!
  3. Sending chummy thoughts back. Didn't know you guys were still wrapping up purchases. I probably should have been similarly choosy with my choices. Hahaha. I just in and out with everything I buy sia! Hope you got great loots today! xx
  4. Thanks for updating it! I love seeing more of your touches on a new house.
  5. Hitachi is not bad la I heard. But of course now quality cannot compare with last time leh. Sealy is used in these hotels which is good enough for me liao. I not so atas. Aye, I didn't check out Tilam King leh! hahaha. BUT Simmons is used in much more of course. Most important is you like it la. The Sealy salesperson did tell me, you buy 5-figure mattress, don't know how to enjoy or don't find it comfy, also useless... • Capella • Carlton • Crowne Plaza • Fairmont • Four Points • Four Seasons • Fullerton Bay • Grand Copthorne • Grand Hyatt • Holiday Inn • InterContinental • JW Marriott • Le Meridien • Marina Bay Sands • Raffles • Regent • Ritz Carlton • Shangri-la • Sheraton • St. Regis • Swissotel • The Luxury Collection • The Venetian • Wynn
  6. AMAZON BUYS: I reluctantly cancelled my last one, but did get replacements in Singapore so I'm not too hung up about it, but I'm unfortunately still brooding over Rachael Ray's Lazy Tools. I love the idea of being able to prop them on anything, but reviews are that they're very heavy and the pots must be in the right size. Bah. I guess I might have to suck it up and just use a small plate. A SimpleHuman/OXO loot of sorts this time round. Still contemplating if I should order more of the white/stainless steel trash cans (round ones that are quite teeny) because they are soooo pretty and luxe, but US$19.99 a piece isn't exactly cheap. Might go back to trusty ol' IKEA. So far I'm only ordering 1 white one for my marble bathroom since it's unobtrusive and of course, white and pretty. Couple of good finds: the OXO dish draining rack. Oh how I HATE drainers with stainless steel bases. It would eventually get rusted over time no matter how expensive it is. And then I'd have to clean up the rust. So when I found this pretty one that uses all rubber / plastic and still has a spout (I've been using IKEA's without a spout and tray)... I was SOLD. Immediately. HOOT NOW. The rectangular bin would fit right into the service yard's tight spots I'd think! Then there's my bath pillow and caddy... Talk about a luxurious spa experience in that marble bathroom of mine. The rest speaks for themselves, so many people buy liao!
  7. SOLID TOP TEST: I found my glorious Gloria () marble-esque countertop but was devastated to find out that there's no Quartz counterpart. So I set out to damage the sample since Edmund tells me solid tops aren't worth it (will scratch, will stain bla bla bla). That said, it IS half the price of Quartz or more and my test was quite successful. Specially cooked chicken curry (with turmeric), to my husband's delight, to test the solid top sample. (my hubby LOOOOOVES curry) Light soya sauce, dark soya saue, oyster sauce, pasta sauce, tomato sauce and curry. The most "common" things I use to cook. If it passes these tests, should be good right? And also, I put a hot pan on it for 10 minutes, and also used a kitchen scissors to scratch it. Stain/heat/scratch Test Left this for well over 16 hours. \ After rinsing off with tap water after >16 hours: Expectedly, the turmeric stained the surface. After cleaning with Daiso magic sponge (white color; not my favorite, I ran out of my 3M blue and white magic sponge) Not too bad, 70% came off easily. After cleaning with Method multifunction spray and cloth Ehhhh. About 30% left? Visible but not that obvious anymore. Cleaning with vinegar: Only visible under certain light. About 10% remains. After 10 minutes of burning hot pan sitting on top of it: Visible scratches from resting pan on top, but very light, can be buffed off with 3M buffing sponge; but kitchen scissors scratched it easily. It has to be said that I could have just cleaned with vinegar from the start (left it for 30 minutes then clean with magic sponge) but I wanted to test my often-used cleaning supplies to see how it affected the stains. Also, I hardly ever leave turmeric stains for more than 5 minutes, let alone 16 hours! STAIN TEST: 8/10 (takes some effort to remove and might not remove 100%) HEAT TEST: 9.5/10 (no visible damage for the most part) SCRATCH TEST: 4/10 (easily scratched but can be buffed out gently) Will also buy 3M stainless steel cleaner to try cleaning solid top, heard it works and saw it at Selffix the other day.
  8. Last Taobao shipment (hopefully): We're at the last leg of "purchases." Pending a trip to IKEA to get the rest of our stuff, and for our friend to help us with the Sealy mattress, soundbar and TVs, we're all set. Harvey Norman discontinued the Pablo dining chairs, forcing me to go back to TB to hunt for some, after unsuccessful trips to furniture stores (BLEH). My last shipment just reached me, collecting it on Monday due to the hubby's work schedule, but excited! Not sure how my medallion will turn out. This shipment consists of mainly decorative items that I cannot find in SG or is wayyyyy too overpriced here. Still cannot find any wall art for my office so might have to go back to paying Etsy prices for those. And also, since hubby preferred (and we bought) the mirrored bedside tables from Taylor B, we're also no longer ordering the mirrored stools from Nook and Cranny, which is making me doubt all my other buys. We might go white for the entryway table (from IKEA...) and then DIY a coffee table instead of paying $369 for it - since I already need to stock up on spray paints, might as well use them all right? Can't wait for it all to be over. Carpentry's scheduled to come in before end of October (about two weeks from the beginning of this week), so hopefully we can move in by mid-November - still need to talk to the landlord about this. AND I need to start packing Still reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Hopefully this shipment will turn out good, too. Still in doubt over the rainshower set for the hubby's BR outside. BLAH. Small wall art for our respective bathrooms (whale and Batman, my hubby's fav); cross for the entryway; beautiful flowers for throughout the house (fresh flowers are waaaaay too expensive for the amount I need. I love flowers EVERYWHERE! They make a house a home IMO); my tufted dining chairs (lighter color than in the picture); velvet hangers x 60; signage for the office; marble contact paper; carpets for the entire house; anti-slip mats for the bathtub; long, anti-fatigue mats for the kitchen and a baby gate + extension for the walkway so the bunnies don't get in the rooms (and harass us, seriously, my buns are like CLOCKWORK every morning when they want food). Hopefully I will check off everything on the list to buy soon. We've already hit the budget and counting...
  9. Thanks for the offer, bro. Due to our time constraint, we cannot source from outside and have already confirmed for my contractor's carpenter to settle it all for me. We'll nego for the pricing elsewhere.
  10. SLEEP ON ALL OF THEM. I slept on plenty of Sealy beds... And decided on mine. Haha! I did not try other brands though.
  11. My contractor recommends the higher range drawers for the big drawers.. Meaning instead of S1, go for S2 or S3 instead. So top up more.
  12. I'm also painting one by myself for my master bedroom... should be fun.
  13. Taylor B buys: Bought two Crystal lamps for the bedside tables Bought 2 mirrored bedside tables And a mirrored tray for the living room decor Still need to go back again for other small decor pieces as I've got $80 store credit now... Trying to hunt for the rest of my pieces so we can be done with the reno stuff and start paying bills
  14. Hey guys, any advice on soundbars? Thinking if we should get a set anyway since we have a contact, even though we're not super into sound effects etc. Looking at Sony / Harman Kardon / JBL / Yamaha... Any advice or thoughts? Harman Kardon seems to only have 1 model that's $1999 before discount I really like the brand personally. Haha. TIA!
  15. Yeah I love the view!! Especially when there's no haze. I could stare out forever... If only I had a balcony to these views.
  16. My dinner not so ex leh. Hahahaha! I got 9 drawers total so if top up all is extra $400-500 depending on range. While small amt compared to other things in Reno... These items add up! Haha. Pocket alre bleeding. Unlike a lot of youngsters in SG, we got no access to MaPa Enterprise leh... Must be prudent! I also must speak for the "normal" drawers la. I use at my current rental it's really quite solid also. No complaints.
  17. Mine quite big diff leh... Cus it's big / deep drawers So one top up $70 instead of $50. Plus, my contractor give me a lot of discount on the non-Blum ones... So it's madness to still top up $280 for the Blum But ah well... My hubby says this makes the most sense. So go with it lor.
  18. Cus of night shifts. And suppers. Anyway you poison me. I might be changing my 4 big drawers to Blum. Small ones remain cus don't need heavy duty.
  19. I see. Yah! He buibui now... His weight fluctuate like women's mood on PMS one.
  20. No la! That one is the lousy toilet bowl from HDB. My new toilet bowl is chio one... My contractor don't want it up now cus he don't want workers to dirty it!
  21. Guest BR 2 Master Bathroom (looks brighter IRL! haha!) Corridor / Walkway area Very happy it's SO bright (don't know why it looks muted in the pictures) and that I get to save energy since I didn't overbuy the wattage. Haha. Anyway decided on mattress today! Sealy PosturePremier Fusion with EuroTop. Really enjoyed it even more than the expensive range. Happy!
  22. Small updates. Went at night to make sure our lights were bright enough... Since everyone keep saying our 22W and 12W lights are not bright enough. Was worried for a while, but for naught! WAY bright enough, though I would have loved my Philips light to be able to change colors as well as intensity... But ah well. You can't get the best of everything right? Maybe the next TB shipment after this round spoils. Hahaha. Random pic of my night view. I think quite pretty, more pretty IRL. WORTH LA Living Room with only 1 light (the other one is ceiling fan with light, not installed so early) Other view Service Yard (12W LED) Guest BR (with the ledge up and my kerb fixed!) SO MUCH BETTER
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