owlNbear

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Happy CNY! It's amazing for us to be a (cyber) part of someone else's dream home transformation, too Can't wait to see the final unveiling!

Over the last few months, a lot of our time has been spent planning and preparing for the reno. It's really quite amazing. We were prepared to be very hands on (without an ID), but we totally did not expect things to be this intensive. Of course it's not a bad thing...when you're busy time flies, and before you know it, the house is ready! I actually have a lot more things to update over here. But for now, I'd like to share more about our experience with shopping for kitchen appliances. Our search for kitchen appliances began shortly after the first week of reno, and we settled everything in 3 days. Although we had a budget to keep to, we also didn't want to spend too much time travelling and sourcing for the lowest prices. So we kept our selection relatively small and only went to Hoe Kee, GainCity, Bathroom Warehouse, Hupfarri and 2 aircon stores in IMM (but eventually dropped them because of the terrible reviews). (Oh, this isn't a biggie, but I have an experience to share about Hoe Kee at Katong. So we were attended by a slimey(!) salesman (I forgot his name) who gave me really bad vibes. He actually badmouthed his colleagues from another Hoe Kee branch to us. And while we were deciding on what hob to get, I showed Bear an image on my phone, and I actually caught him sneaking a peek to see what it was. I was seriously turned off! Smh.) Anyway, here are the items that we've finally purchased. GainCityGainCity was the first and also the last place that we went to. After going around comparing prices, we felt that GainCity has very competitive prices. We went to the Sungei Kadut branch and found the salesmen to be top notch. Attentive, patient, knowledgeable, and they also offered us attractive discounts. To top it off, we also received a free Hitachi Cordless Kettle, and an Electrolux Stacking Kit, so that's cool. $530 (after discount) ELECTROLUX FRONT LOAD WASHER, 7.5KG $799 ELECTROLUX FRONT LOAD CONDERSER DRYER, 7KG Our initial choice was a different Electrolux washer + dryer package. However, the loads are 7kg and 6kg respectively. I intend to use my dryer to dry bedsheets, which require a 7kg load, so a 6kg load does not cut it for me. Furthermore, we found out that the dryer comes with a side vent, and a big vent hose that looks like this. We were taken aback because none of the other sales people had told us about this. We were not willing to have this hose sticking out from the side of the dryer, so misfortune averted! What we actually needed to get (and did get eventually) was a condenser dryer (shown above), that has a small, neat tray at the top for the steam to condense into. $969 (after discount) HITACHI 3 DOOR FRIDGE, 365L My mum actually bought this fridge a few years back and it's in my 娘家 right now. It's a skinny fridge, not too big, which is fine for us because we don't cook much. This might seem strange to some, but what caught my eye is the ice-making function in this fridge. You fill in the small water tank at the top section. After the ice has formed, it will be collected at the bottom section, ready to be scooped out. Easy peasy, and, to me, super convenient. For some reason though, very few fridges at this price range have this function. $619 (after discount) ELECTROLUX BUILT-IN OVEN I'm not a cooking sort of person. But now that I'll be having a kitchen all to myself, I think it would be a waste not to at least try. After much deliberation, we decided to get an oven as well. Although Electrolux is a decent brand, I haven't seen any much reviews on it. Though I have seen some good reviews in Renotalk on Elba built-in ovens, so I might be switching to this instead (GainCity allows for item swaps, as long as the item has not been delivered). $3239 (after discount) TOSHIBA INVERTER SYS3 The AC selection was a really long and tedious process. For us, there were many things to take into consideration. Because an AC requires maintenance long after it has been purchased, we feel that the reliability of the company / salesperson is just as important. After much doing research on AC supplier companies and much time spent talking to aircon sales people, our hearts were finally won over by Lennon, a Sungei Kadut GainCity sales rep. Here's the 'long story short'. We had already shortlisted 2 brands, Mitsubishi and Toshiba, with our main priority being price and functionality. The Toshiba (which, we were told, has only one Sys 3 model) has a slightly lower BTU than the Mitsubishi models. However, because there are only two of us, our consumption is going to be lesser than that of a family with 3-4 members. This would make Toshiba the more suitable choice for us. Also, because of the $150 capital mall voucher thrown in, this evened out the prices, making Toshiba our final choice. We also upgraded to: Premium 4 years extended warranty that comes without a cap on the amount ($129) 1/2" Armaflex insulation (forgot the amount)Bathroom Warehouse $195.68 (after discount) CARYSIL LARGE BOWL GRANITE SINK Initially, we wanted a double sink but decided to settle on a single one instead, to save on countertop space. A single bowl is also larger than either side of a double bowl, and would fit a large pot or pan more easily. We'll just pop in a dish-drying rack at the side in future to dry our dishes. $216.38 (after discount) KOHL SQUARE SINGLE LEVER SINK MIXER Nothing much to say about this mixer except that it's nice and matte (the above picture is the chrome model). Our initial choice for taps/sinks was Grohe (because Hansgrohe is too pricey). However after realizing that Grohe is made in Thailand, we decided that we aren't ready to shell out that amount of money. Also, we're also not avid kitchen users, so this is an area where we put in the least amount of research. $720 (after discount) RINNAI HORIZONTAL INDUCTION HOB An induction cooker runs on electricity instead of gas. Energy consumption wise, both are equal. Because this has the sleek, modern look that we want (and because I have phobia of a toppling my pots over while using a gas stove), this is naturally our first and only choice. For those who are not aware, note that there are 2 very similar looking cookers - induction and ceramic. Here are some difference that I learned about: Induction hobs heat up quicker than ceramic hobs. Induction hobs are heated by electricity. Ceramic hobs are heated by coiled metal elements underneath. Induction hobs will only work on materials that are magnetic in nature (eg. stainless steel). Ceramic hobs can be used to heat up any material. Induction hobs are cool to the touch, and only the area under the pan is heated up. For ceramic hobs the entire surface will be heated up.And that's all for now. Next up, bathroom appliances

Hi rxgn, on top of the usual shipping fees, Assisted Purchase is an additional $1/KG for air, and $5/0.1cubicmeter for sea. Link here .

Sure, will PM you. Thank you! Help yourself to the links and happy shopping Thanks for dropping by! Glad to know that I made the right purchases Sure! Will PM you.

Nice, sounds like it's going to be raw and classy at the same time. Can't wait!

I loled at this! Don't worry, I'm sure humour and wit are as appreciated by a woman as 'romance' Jokes aside,maybe cover it up with a feature wall (plain one if you have a tighter budget) / false wall panel. For me, my TV will be sitting on top of the TV console, so the cables behind are hidden.

Haha! Your house looks large enough to store everything comfortably! Anyway, can't wait to see how you get them all organized and displayed. That's one of the most exciting parts of a house reno to me

Awesome! It's really not visible at all. I'll tell him to use the same

Lucky Penguin (now I know who is who hahaha) Bear just sits one side and pooh-poohs whenever I show him something cute

Haha this must be the most chopchop renotalk t-blog I've seen. Great before and after pics!

Thanks for dropping by Freb! You have some really amazing looks going on at your place

Jiayou alprakas! ! ! ! I'm really looking forward to seeing your reno journey as well. I think it's a good call to leave whatever is still in good condition. Especially tiling and hacking. That will really save you quite a bit of money

Hi Sanguine, fellow 3room-resale-kaki! Sorry for taking so long to reply. It's been 2 weeks and I saw that you've already found a contractor and getting started on your reno. Well done It's always the first step that's the most difficult. Btw, Bear says he loves your writing style also. Cos it made him laugh

That platform and those beanbags make the perfect spot to curl up and read a book with a nice cup of hot tea. So so so cozy!

I see a lot of very cute loots! Must be courtesy of mrs p. Hehe.

Your place really looks manly! I know my fiance would definitely love to bunk in with you, haha!

Your sofa is super super gorgeous! It's so awesome to see everything coming together. I just wanna ask for this area of your floor where 2 different floorings meet, how did you manage to do away with the joining cap strip?

Because @matchalatte requested....... Introducing my very first ever batch of purchased items from Taobao! The prices are in SGD, and per item. From left-right, top-bottom: Hanging caged lights for bathroom, above the sink. $15 Hanging mesh lights for bedroom, above both bedsides. $20 Hanging caged lights for kitchen, above the row of bottom cabinets. $10 Hanging bird cage lights for living room, above both corners of the living room window. $14 Track lights (20w), Track and track connector for all rooms. $4, $1 and $0.40 respectively Hanging wall lights for still unknown (lol). $40 Hanging pendant lamp for study room, above study tables. $21 Craftstone bricks for living room and bedroom. $6 per box (1 box has 66 tiles and covers 1 sqm) Rustic wall clock for living room. $14With the time we took searching for the perfect pieces (1 month!), you'd think we would order dozens and dozens of items, lol but....no. We spent the longest time EVER searching for these items. Because we were new to Taobao, the entire process was completely alien and stressful to us, and it took us almost a month to finally complete the entire process. Though the savings kinda make all the pain worth it. Besides, you really only need to go through it once, and you'll get the hang of it. The agent that I used is Oops. I was pretty lucky because a friend of mine had used their services to purchase items for her house, and so she was able to give me valuable coaching. Off the top of my head, here are a few things to take note of: 1. Sea Freight Vs. Air Freight Sea Freight - Calculated by volume: SGD$11.11/0.1 cubic meter - Minimum requirement: 1 Cubic Meter (or pay for the same amount ie. $111.10) - Use for big and/or heavy items like furniture, craftstone bricks, etc. Also use if there you have plenty of items - Pros: Can be used to ship a large amount of items over, including heavy and bulky items - Cons: Slower than air freight. Will arrive in 2-3 weeks timeAir Freight - Calculated by weight: SGD$2.22/500grams - Minimum requirement: 500grams (or pay for the same amoun ie. $4.44) - Use for light items like cloth, small containers, little items etc. and if you need them urgently - Pros: Faster than sea freight, will arrive in 1 weeks time. Don't need to buy in a large volume quantity. - Cons: Too expensive to be used for heavy or large items2. Place Order (Assisted Purchase Service) Vs. DIY Place Order (DIY Reship Service) Use "Place Order" if you are very unfamiliar with the Chinese Language, or are not confident in making a purchase even after translating the page. Oops (or your agent) will make the purchase for you instead. Conversely, use "DIY Place Order" if you are able to make the purchase on your own. 3. Communicating in Mandarin on Taobao Be prepared to communicate with the Taobao sellers in Mandarin. Use the little chat icon on the item page, or download the taobao chat tool. You will probably need to ask them about the volume or weight of the item so you can calculate the shipping fees (from China to SG). You will also sometimes need to inform them to add in the local shipping charges (from the seller's location to Oops's China warehouse). Not all, but some sellers will charge for this. If you're not sure, always check with the seller. 4. Taobao Item Refund Taobao has this nifty function that allows for a full refund (hurray!), as long as your item has not yet been shipped (I'm not sure if the same applies after shipping has begun). All you need to do is contact your seller and inform them of your decision, navigate to the refund page in Taobao, and request for a refund. The seller will then proceed to refund your money, no questions asked (at least in my experience). I'll make a separate, more detailed post (probably on my personal blog) when I have the time

Hello everyone! Happy Chinese New Year to all HUAT AR! Thank you all so much for dropping by. I've been so busy with work that I haven't had time to update. I also took a short break from the renovation because I felt like I was going to be seriously burnt out if I didn't. And THAT would have been disastrous. Anyways, I'm just popping to say that I'm still alive and no, reno has not killed me yet. Haha Will be back soon with proper updates so stay tuned! For those who've asked, I'll be sending pm's your way soon.

Oh, also, my taobao purchases have finally arrived and are due this friday. I'm so excited!! Hoping to blog about the taobao process as well. It was a bit of a nightmare for me, so I hope now that (almost) everything has finally been settled for me, I can help at one person figure out how to use that monster site lol

Nice story! I actually love reading the thought processes that go behind different renovation ideas and processes. It can sometimes reveal really interesting aspects about a person and their everyday lives (oops somehow that sounds kinda intimidating, lol). Do share more please

Omg yeah! So cute. Or maybe you can even buy some big chess pieces and place them around the floor as deco, hehe