KITTYKTY

Hello again... Last few weeks have been really hectic... I still haven finish packing... But the new place is almost ready for move in... Still need to work on the decor to make the place look less bare and more cosy.... Varnished the coffee table top white with ikea varnish.. Happy with the results! Kitchen work table... Came in unfinished pine... Used white ikea wood varnish to give it a layer of protection... Did the coffee table.. This top was already varnished, thus one coat and it turned out like paint..

Hi no id babe... Can recommend contractor and carpenter only

I would agree... And its very tempting ro buy on impulse... But having the so called "theme" at the back of yr mind and trying to pull the whole look together and yet make it seem effortless is a challenge... I try not to get any remotely expensive furnishing for fear that it will not match then i will have to ditch it or sell it... And i also like decorating and foresee myself changing the soft furnishings frequently so i try to stick to a budget too... Haha

The bulk of my budget when to hacking and carpentry and aircon... Other than that if urs is a simple one like mine, its a healthy budget..

Here it is... Managed to get it for u

Hi..I have broken it down in one of my earlier posts.. Sorry i dunno how to link it here..

Yes its a 4 room..

Some more pics to share... Dual track bi fold doors for the bathrooms in white... But S asked for black rubber/silicon seal for the side inside the bathroom so that dirt will not be visible and the unsightly black looking stuff (mould/algae?) will not be visible... My dining area... We want swap and put the table widthwise so we will not have problems getting into the seats as the side nearer to the wall is quite a squeeze.. S will have to move the lamp too.. The taobao coffee table... Think i will spray the legs white... Looks kinda odd now against all the light colored/white furniture...

Could u not have used paint for exterior walls.. They shld be able to withstand the elements better..

Ok i finally can upload the master wardrobe pics... The shelves are adjustable in case i wanna move it around in future... Floor space below the for items seldom reached out for but still keep.. Haha... Lots of hanging space and also the top part is unobstructed to maximise the space.. Had wanted to hollow out the floor space at the hanging section to "customise" the area in future but was advised other wise by cynthia... Hmmph... Kinda disappointed.. But oh well... The completed look... Except for the unpainted partition sides... Full door with floor tracks on the floor... Completed common room wardrobe... Finally painted the classic doors on sunday too...

Been a very hectic week! Went to my new nest juz now to check on the completion of my master wardrobe and the end of reno! Missed my ezbuy delivery though... They came right on the dot at 1pm when i chose delivery as betweem 1-4.30pm... Haizzz.. Never mind.. Pretty happy that all the dust is over and now can really start the cleaning of the place and putting up the furnishings... For a start, my master bedroom journey gave me a huge headache.. With such limited space and me wanting a wardrobe huge enough to fit both me n S's stuff, it left me quite undecided on how to build my wardrobe.. I am not one for clutter so i want everything to be behind closed doors... As a walk in wardrobe is out, i explored other avenues like a pole system wardrobe but that was also not feasible after some feedback from frens already using them... Finally settled for a design that cynthia, the carpenter, had suggested earlier, a "slim fit" wardrobe carcass, somewhat like a pole system, but a wider body... With sliding doors... Cant really describe it properly... Looks like this... I can't seem to upload the pictures now... Will try upload it later..

Final to do list.... After sitting down after lunch and going through the to do list, I realised that most things are already done.... I only need to get the final touches of furnishings and a few appliances... I think our journey is a simple and straight forward one had we started on it earlier with a clear idea... Let me break down what we have done so far and the cost involved and also what is left to recce or buy... Completed works... 1) Hacking of kitchen door, built up extension for half height wall and overlaying of kitchen tiles, base for cabinet and shower kerbs in 2 bathrooms- $2200 2) Window grills, service yard window and 2 dual track bifold doors - $1500 3) Classic doors for 3 bedrooms - $660 4) L shaped wardrobe for common room(est 8ft), kitchen cabinet with iQuartz top(9.5 ft) and master bedroom L shaped wardrobe with sliding doors (est 9.5ft, added on recently) - $7600 5) Box up water pipes in kitchen - $300 (its some composite material that can withstand moisture better than gypsum board... If gypsum board, its cheaper) 6) Total cost of paints (Painting is DIY) - $240 approx (with brushes, palletes, plastic shield, tape and water based sealer) Total: $12500 (bulk of which goes into carpentry) Major Appliances & Furnishings... 1) LG system 4 aircon - $3299 2) Living room ceiling fan with light (JB)- $280 3) Simple led light x 6 (JB) - $96 4) Hanging lamp for dining area with bulbs (TB) - $65 5) Track lights for kitchen and living area - $220 6) Led ceiling lights for 3 bedrooms (TB)- $125 7) Sofa - $400 8) Armchair with ottoman (TB) - $120 9) Coffee table (TB) - $69 10) 4 Dining chairs (TB) - $180 11) Dining table (TB) - $260 12) Kitchen counter (TB) - $120 13) TV console (TB) - $120 14) Kitchen Tap (TB) - $40 15) Oven, hob and hood - $929 16) 2 Panasonic instant water heaters (JB) - $220 Total: $6500 approx To buy list.... 1) KDK / Panasonic wall fans ( although i find that they dun look nice aesthetically, but they do free up floor space and dun hang down precariously from the too low ceiling) 2) French door fridge - I came across good reviews for Beko, some locally and mostly overseas... So might consider, if not it will be an LG one we saw at courts..and this is courtesy of my aunt... So not part of our expenditure list.. 3) Curtains, rods and shower curtains - looking at simple ikea ones 4) Carpet/rugs to complete the cosy home look - ikea again... ( what seperates me from ikea currently is an overhead bridge... Hahaha) 5) Mirror - S said he will customise it at a shop along jalan besar to fit our wall size.... Remember the wall with aircon in the living/dining area... I plan to put a mirror there to make the space look bigger... 6) Bathroom accesories - i dunno, maybe tb, hoe kee or even ikea 7) Bed and cupboard for lil S - definitely ikea 8) A new bed for the our bedroom... - i cannot find what i like!!!!! N should i get a storage bed? Means got chance to hoard rite? So estimate maybe need about $2k more? So that is about all except foe minor stuff that can be bought along the way and doesnt really affect our move in... I bought lots of knick knacks from our holidays to add to our new nest too... Also those kitchen ware u get from GSS are worth to buy and keep coz they are pretty cheap then... Esp those WMF stuff... TV is courtesy of daddy and we are bringing over the front load washer from our current place as it is still new.. So so far, we have spent almost $20k and thank god its almost completing so we can breathe easier now and start building back our drained accounts... We saved quite a bit on painting, plumbing and electrical works as S is very hands on and was adamant that he does these himself.... And so far, so good... Only left with minor drillings and fixing of lights when they arrive from TB.. Feel free to ask me if u need more info on where i get my things...

Thank u! I was very happy too considering that it was a diy project by S... We love that the colors are not too in yr face kind of blue or pink... But bright enuf to make the room look cheery like our lil Sunshine..

You shld... Some home looks like showroom but those that look lived in and cosy are the best... If u notice, they normally play with lightings.. So i suggest, a good play on warm and cool lights can really change the way a room looks.... My original kitchen track lights were warm white and i find my kitchen look really classy then... Hahaha... But for practical reasons n the amount of cooking i do daily, we changed them to cool daylight and the whole 'feel' of my instagram kitchen is gone... Hahaha

$300

Some thoughts... I am sure at this point, many have noticed that we took the unconventional route of not engaging an ID... We chose not to have an ID coz to find a good true interior designer with original designs that are centred ard our ideas will cost a bomb... Probably around $4k onwards... ( we have ID frens) And if we choose to work with those ID's from the run of the mill "interior design" company's who are actually 3rd party contractors (as in they engage sub con and then charge u a bomb coz need to mark up prices), they are just going to feed us with recycled generic designs that high chance they used before and present to us in the color that we like or want... And i really wanted to make this home uniquely ours, thus we chose to work on our ideas our way... Honestly many things caught our eyes... One of which that was on my want list were louvre doors for everything... Very french... But because i am such a practical person and anal about dust and cleanliness, the idea has to be scrapped... We like the barn doors too but S said that it will eventually go out of style n we will be stuck with them... True.... We wanted a mini walk in wardrobe but due to the layout of the master and also for practical reasons such as dealing with mildew and dust as it is close to the bathroom, that has to be bid adieu too... Then we saw this "pole system" wardrobe from one of the expo exhibition... Look so nice but one of my colleagues told me that its a bit difficult to manage as you cant really maximise yr closet space as things will be falling off yr shelves if you push them too deep... Another idea to say bye2 to... Those cool looking ceiling fans caught our eyes a long time ago, but when we felt the air that it circulates at a fren's place, we thought it was not worthwhile paying such a premium for something that wont serve its purpose well... The vinyl flooring i mentioned earlier, we were so sure we were getting it coz we liked how it makes a room feel and look... But recently, my helper pointed out to a small bulge on the vinyl floor at my aunt's place right outside the bathroom.. And hers didnt come cheap and she lives alone but still can have issues so i scrapped that idea for our home... Maybe only the rooms... Eheh.. Still like it leh... S wanted shower screens and have even derived a solution to make it streak free but after reading about cases where the tempered glass shatters in new bto homes... The idea was scrapped... I was secretly very happy coz i honestly saw no point in having a wet and dry bathroom area if people cannot use the sink without splashing water all around... (Rolling eyes at S.....) Which brings us to having a vanity cabinet below the sink... Wooden ones will warp eventually due to all the moisture and water dripping all over... Wont be a pleasant sight after a while...So we left the bathrooms as they are until its time for a reno... If we live here long enough... Why i kept my kitchen cabinets to a minimal is so that i wont be a hoarder... No space so forced to throw out stuff instead of hoarding all the unwanted stuff.. (Hope this works...) I chose to overlay my kitchen coz i feel that the hdb tiles tend to absorb spills and stains easily for the matte ones like the kitchen..So juz went ahead with it since we already engaged the contractors for the hacking of the walls.... We actually also wanted a built in full height shoe rack beside the bomb shelter but because of a ceiling beam there and also the width that we have due to another wall beam, we put it hold coz we want to minimise the storage look and keep the whole place looking airy...besides the width that we have may not be able to hold a size 9 or 10 men very nicely.. Have to figure a way to keep all that shoes the men in my household possess.. Yes they have more than me... So that were some things that were originally on our plan that we ditched... We were glad we had our full say in this coz then we can blame no one but ourselves if something didnt go as planned...

Continued... So with the blue sofa, i need a new direction for inspiration... So back to pinterest... For ideas to style a room with blue sofa.. Something i totally dun expect.. My coffee is a similar design to the above but smaller Really like how the above looks... So comfortable and inviting... Ohhhh... This one i really like that bright yellow armchair! I tried to convince S to get a yellow armchair but he is not keen... When it comes to bright colors, S is definitely not adventurous... Hmmmmph.... The blue also quite bright wat... And i have a weak spot for cheery yellow but he detest yellow.... Hahaha... Talk about opposites... He told me to stick to other safe colors for the rest of the decor... So with the recent 11.11 sale on taobao, i got an armchair and a tv console... But guess wat, when i went thru taobao yesterday, i saw an armchair that i like better.... And they have it in bright cheery yellow with studs to match the sofa... How like that? Ehehe.. So tempted to make that purchase..

Sofa Drama Saga Since im on AL tmr, so can spend some time to share a little more... As all the major works are almost completing, October was a month where i bust my mobile data surfing the internet for the perfect furniture or decor to accessorize the home with... Physical shopping is good to look at the real thing, but i am such an online shopping addict that i will take a chance.. Coz there soooo many pretty things that u can find online... As mentioned, i got some furniture already on taobao but the perfect sofa juz deludes me.. Cant seem to find one that i actually like... We went to Star Living one day, and S really liked this blue L shaped sofa.... We were kinda desperate.... But i still didnt quite like it coz of the peg legs.. Looks unsturdy leh... Paranoia sets in again for me.. I actually really like the fabric chesterfield kind ala those french homes but coz of lil S, we wanted to make it as homy and cosy as possible for her as well... The fabric chesterfield i liked was of coz in a beige, off white kind of color so really not practical with kids around... One day, i happened to browse carousell again and came across a simple grey sofa that i quite like.. Whatsapped S and he liked it as well as its the correct length that we were looking for... So i pmed the seller asking the availability... While waiting for his reply, i came across another sofa that i instantly fell in love with.... Quickly showed S and he loves it too... Its a tuxedo style... Tufted or buttoned like the chesterfield but no back cushion, so kinda like a more streamlined modern version.. The seller actually has a warehouse in Sungei Kadut and its only available at the showroom so i quickly got the address and opening hours and instructed S to be there first thing they open at noon... I didnt sleep well that nite coz i juz felt that something will go wrong... At about 2pm the next day, S texted me a pic of a fuschia sofa followed by a blue sofa.. He told me he liked the blue one... ???? Its nice but i like the other beige one better i said so quit being fickle... And ever so gently, S tried to break the news that the beige was juz sold to another couple about an hour ago... Wat?????? I felt a lump in my throat and wished that S was juz pulling a fast one... After S told me that the first grey sofa was actually blue and he liked it so we shld get it as i liked it first... (Quite true... ) Then he said the beige one is not nice coz the tuxedo has got high armrest so it wouldnt be comfortable.. I tawt, i get it, u told me its sold out coz u dun like it! I made S feel so bad that he took a pic of the beige sofa close up with the note SOLD and the delivery date... Like seriously, the ad was up on carousell for 3 months and other sofas from the same post were sold except for this one... N i did check if it was available before making S go there and its SOLD?? The sales rep told S that even if he came at noon he was too late as the couple who purchased the beige sofa was waiting outside even before the showroom was opened... So means i cannot blame S for being late.... Grudgingly, i told S to juz get watever he wants if he likes it.... I was too disappointed and too worn out from the relentless search... So S got the blue sofa that i originally tawt was grey and i actually liked first... Hahaha... After the delivery, i tawt it actually looked nice and added a pop of color to an otherwise very muted space.... I like white but too much white can make a place seem too clinical... Not a look that i want... I want it to be homy.. (got such word anot?) So against the backdrop of our muted bluish wall... The sofa looks great.. N S really liked it... Watever makes him happy, im happy too.. . Awwww.... Ehehe... One more touch that S managed to convince me was to paint the timber wood skirting white.... I tawt, y not for the living room only.... So heres the sofa and a sneak preview of the living room with 1 coat of paint.. Looks ok rite... Haizzz... But i haf to agree with S that if we had gotten the beige sofa, it may not go very well with wall color...

One thing that i have at the back of my mind is whether we shld engage those people to spray the bathroom tiles to a nicer color... We actually wanted to overlay but tawt might as well save the money and do a toilet reno once the current ones wear out... Overlay may seem ok now but we dun wanna run into problems in the future esp with the not so up to par work of those hdb sub contractors... And the bathroom is one highly used placed day in day out so we dun wanna take any chances here.. Have anyone done the spraying of the floor tiles? What do you think?

Ezbuy-Taobao Haul 2 N i'm back to update with regards to our Taobao delivery... Surprisingly.... I am so delighted that everything came like how i saw it in the pictures... I somehow felt that i would not be very happy with everthing and even imagined that the items dun look one bit like how i saw it on the web... Hahaha... Paranoid... But can u believe it, after all the excitement, i forgot to take pictures of my haul to share... Only this pic of the dining chairs.... It actually feels sturdy and the workmanship for the seat and seatback is neat and nice... Like something from those trendy online furniture shop... (I suspect some things they get off taobao also coz looks so eerily familiar) The dining table was also good just the way i like it to be in the color that i wanted.. White legs with a light colored wood top... As for the coffee table, it is those industrial loft kind.. Black legs and wooden top... S and me, we are contemplating how we can "project" on it to make us like it a little more... Hahahah... Other stuff from the haul are lil S led ceiling light and stainless steel rack for toiletries in the common bathroom.. 2 more items are in sg but too late to arrange for delivery today... Maybe this weekend when more things arrivel so can deliver together..

Continued.... So with the kitchen tap, we also got a curved shower curtain rod from taobao... We chose to have no shower screen to keep cleaning easy... Turns out the stainless steel rod is sturdy... So i was very impressed and happy with my successful first purchase... This gives us the confidence to make more purchase from taobao via ezbuy to ease the hassle.. And some of the packages are going to be delivered later today! So excited! But crossing my fingers and really hoping that they will turn out ok.. Stay tuned for more updates!

Kitchen & Ezbuy-Taobao Haul 1 As u can see, we really dun plan to do anything major to change the look of our house... We want a simple look that will be easy to change with times.. A cosy and warm home... Before i move along too far, did u notice that in the service yard, on both sides, there are those huge water pipes... After the carpentery was up, one side managed to be hidden from view.. S hates it so much so he called in the palsterceil experts to conceal those pipes... Work in progress... Pipes concealed and my kitchen is also completed! We got a tap like finally.... And its from Taobao... Our first test purchase and it turned out to be of pretty decent quality... Originally, we wanted solid surface top but cynthia managed to secure a decent price for us so she suggested that we take up the iQuartz offer... As we were communicating via whatsapp, n she sent us some colors to choose, S picked this brown... On hindsight, when we actually saw the catalogue, S felt that he shld have chosen the dark grey color, if it was me, i would have chosen the non "sparkly" ones... Overall we still like how it turned out..

Aircon After painting lil S's room, he started on daddy's room and completed it within a few hours... Talk about efficiency... Hahaha.. At this juncture, we started looking for aircon... It seems kinda late but i didnt want "hidden" aircon trunking for practical reasons... Furthermore, lil S's room had no build in wardrobe so it was not an issue and daddy's room was the last room so dat room will not be very affected by the trunking... We almost wanted to get the panasonic system 4 but one weekend, we went to an expo electronic sale on the last day just to look see and we came across this booth selling an LG system 4 for $3299! It came with 3 x 9000 btu and 1x 24000 btu with a 28000 btu compressor... Not bad... And it came with 3 ticks for the compressor... We were so excited but decided to walk around first just to think and not make hasty decisions... Daddy's place is also using LG and its still going strong after more than 6 years with minimal maintenance... We rationalised and decided to take up the offer... Paid a deposit and waited for carpentry works to finish before we arranged for the installation... The aircon guys did a good job despite some negative reviews that i read a tad too late about the company... Very happy with the workmanship and of course very happy with the price! Lil S room.. Location in living room.. Master room... We are changing the wall color coz a tad dark... But i will share my master room journey a bit later.. After the aircon were up, S started on some electrical works... Installed the water heaters as well as some track lights that we had decided to put in the living room... He also added some extra points and did a bit of relocation for some points... S secret project was also to paint the boards and nesting concealing the pipes.. Looks not too bad coz the colors matches the existing tiles...

JB Spree 2 So as i mentioned, there was a second jb spree... It was kinda impromptu coz i happened to clear a day off in lieu and S and my dad were free too... So off we went..i didnt really know what i wanted to get this time round but S knew he wanted to get paint.. So our first stop was this lighting shop to look for a few more simple led lights for the doorway and walkways... We got a door bell too from this shop... As we were paying, i noticed they sold panasonic water heaters too and after an enquiry on the prices, we bought 2 of them... I was actually pretty undecided on water heaters... It was either instant heater or gas heater... But daddy was telling me to take instant ones and the panasonic we are currently using at daddy's place works really well even after almost 8 years.. Hopefully the ones we got can last as long if not longer... As carpentry works was almost completed, S wanted to start painting soon after so we got paint.. We used it before for daddy's place and it turned out well so we decided to get them again.. Its Dulux Inspire and its the matte kind which is also washable and it is low odour.. We got some water based sealer as well.. So back in sg, S was excited to start his mini project on lil S's room.. N i must say he was very determined... Dats the outcome, 2 striped walls on opp sides and pink walls on the other 2.. Can u see the colorful fan... That was S's first project for this room... Until we decide that a ceiling fan was out and decided to move this fan to the living room and spray painting the blades white again.. Haizz... Waste time...

Yes, the pics are so inspiring.... I like the instagram homes too... Soooo pretty...