stitchgal

Hi there, i'm in love with shaker style as well as that was a top priority when I designed my interior. I LOVE the blue shaker style cabinets on your mood board. Looking forward to more updates on your renovation!

RENOVATION PROGRESS (12th NOV): My mix-matched stone is rectified fortunately as shown below. Another issue that I faced with regards to outsourcing my own countertop is that we failed to communicate the measurement of the countertop properly to both carpenter and countertop supplier, resulting in my bottom cabinets door smacking right into the granite lol. My carpenter grumbles a bit hahahaha saying that the countertop measurement wasn't what we originally agreed lol. I guess that's why most people get an ID as ID will make your reno process easier? Anyways, another big thanks to my carpenter for his willingness to spend an entire day to re-do the entire bottom cabinet doors (lowering them). Here's the closeup look of the kitchen granite, I'm in love with the stone despite the whole saga with it's original owner (supplier) The black granite countertops.... eh blue specks not very obvious compared to when we saw it in the factory <refer to my post above this> .... I'll be honest with ya'll, I'm not gonna say I absolutely love the black granites, don't see much blue specks on the granite. I would insist on perhaps marble vanity countertops if I can turn time around.... haha! Above is the newly installed Taobao white sink (I noticed a lot of Singaporeans got this type of oval sink from Taobao too), Taobao gold tap and stopper to complement the 'marble gold' theme that I was going for. As you can see above, the tap from taobao works really well (At least for now). I'm hoping that these Taobao purchases will last me long . Bedroom flooring.... After what seems like an ages, my contractor is removing the the layer of cardboard that was once placed on the floor to protect the floor tiles so that they can start cleaning the place. For a long time, I felt as if I've no proper flooring due to the floor being hidden underneath the cardboards. So it's very refreshing to see the actual flooring Now that I'm coming to almost an end of my renovation, I look forward to show you all how this flat will turn out with furnishing on. But before that, I'm dreading the post-reno cleaning haha! Thank you for following my reno journey, and feel free to leave any comments or feedbacks you have. Ciao.

Hihi, I believe mine is the RM Statuario, without the gold 'streaks' in it. When we went to check out the Hafary tiles, there was only this option Good that there are more choices now. Re the granite supplier, I'll be able to let u know once this saga with them is over yeah? Cos right now they still owe us some items (custom-made some marble furniture) so wanna play safe first until they deliver everything to us . Are you on the lookout for a granite supplier now? If so, why not u can PM me whom u are planning to approach and I'll give u my two cents worth haha...

In this post, I'll like to touch more on our countertop material saga. This has been something that my fiance and I were dealing with ever since we came back from overseas. WE SELECTED OUR OWN COUNTERTOP VENDOR: All along, we wanted marble countertops and that has been part of my design. Hence, we decided to outsource our countertop to a stone supplier that my fiance's colleague recommended, instead of going through my contractor. Selecting a stone for the countertops was our NO. 1 PRIORITY when we return to Singapore, as the renovation had been put on hold as my contractor needs the counter tops to be installed before they can proceed with the last lap of reno - installing sinks, taps, toilet accessories etc. At the stone supplier's warehouse, my fiance fell in love with this black granite because of the blue specks in it. While I'm not a big fan of this, I wanted my fiance to have a say in the design as well so I won't become an alpha female. We decided that we want this piece of granite to be our bathrooms' countertops. And there goes my original marble countertop design.........down the drain.... Like I said, I really really love to have marble countertops... however, I think at this point of the junction (having to deal with all sorts of feedback and comments from relatives on my new flat...), I was already sick of everybody having to keep telling me how hard it is to maintain my white doors and white carpentry (I became worried too hahahaa). I do not wanna be burdened by brooding over how hard it is to maintain marble countertops.... Hence, we decided to go with granite countertops for the kitchen. So the whole countertop vendor saga begins when we fixed an installation date with this vendor in late October to install our countertops. It was a weekday, so my contractor has KINDLY agreed to be there for the installation to ensure things go smoothly. However, on the installation day, this vendor did not turn up for installation, nor did he notify us that he couldn't make it until we called him. Well, I understood mistakes happen, so we fix another date for installation. God knows...On the day of the second appointment date that we have fixed, the vendor did not show up AGAIN! Neither did they inform us that they could not make it unless we called to chase them on why no one showed up or no news from them. Not to say that they were least apologetic at all. Finally, on the day of the actual installation (which was 1 week after they missed 2 appointments), they turned up, but... with the wrong stones and configuration We are actually fine if they rectify the issues because mistakes do happen and that is okay. BUT the Big boss refuses to change the stone for us. We got into 3 phone calls and multiple whatsapp with him to request him to take back the wrong stone, yet he kept insisting that 1. it's the same stone, 2. our business deal is so small compared to his other projects, 3. WE SHOULD JUST ACCEPT IT. HE KEPT ASKING US TO ACCEPT their mistake and hang up on us. Long story cut short, it took us back and forth to finally get this supplier to agree to rectify the countertop for us in the end..... You can see the mismatched stone below. When the stone vendor finally fixed our mismatched countertops on a different day, I'm happy to say that my renovation journey is coming to an end very very soon. Right now, my contractor and his sub-cons are focusing on tying up loose knots (places that we need them to rectify), cleaning and installing fixtures

Hi Everyone, I apologised for the lack of updates ever since I went abroad in Sep for a month. I came back on mid-Oct, but our overseas trip did not deter our renovation from progressing while we were away. RENOVATION PROGRESS (Mid-October): My contractor and his subcons (carpenter) have been updating us with pictures of our reno progress while we were away for a month. I'll like to show you the progress of our flat when we were back in Mid-October. LIVING AREA SPACE: I had initially wanted a good size bookshelf in the study room, however later on, I decided to better utilise the space by combining my bookshelf with the TV console in the living room. The 'fireplace' mantel was something that I've been toying about forever. It didn't seem realistic to place a real fireplace in Singapore because you don't need it. But I love the idea of having a mantel so I could decorate the mantel during Xmas etc. Hence, my carpenter (thanks god to his brilliant idea!) suggests to turn the entire 'fireplace' into a storage area so we we could place our amplifier, TV box and other electronic devices in it. Love it REFRESHMENT COUNTER + DINING AREA: The dining lights was installed only recently. I've gotten this from Taobao, it's really beautiful. The only regret is, it's a tad bigger than I expected given my small dining area. I've been toying with the idea of building a kitchen island, however, I decided against it this time round as I'm worried about not having sufficient dining space. Hence, instead of an island, we build a coffee/wine counter against the bomb shelter wall. That piece of marble artwork you see over there, is laminate from Lamitak. KITCHEN: I love the kitchen backsplash we got from Hafray! It truly compliments my kitchen cabinets. Here I'm still missing a few cabinet knobs from Taobao. It's missing the countertop, which I'll share it in another post. MASTER BATHROOM: We are so in love with this bathroom door. But, I was in horror to find out that my carpenter uses transparent glass on the door. I am not as 'open' as he thought we love to be la.... So we are waiting on him to change the glass. Additionally, I told him I want a gold door knob, however, he claimed that he selected this knob colour to match the existing HDB knobs colour. Hmmm.... I'm still not liking the knobs, and I'm contemplating if I should continue burning a bigger hole in my pocket for new door knobs BEDROOM: We turned the existing HDB BTO bedroom doors into a modern contemporary design by painting the doors white, and added door trims to it. As mentioned above, the doors will be more perfect if the door knobs are gold.... >.< COMMON BATHROOM: This is the common bathroom. I decided against building a shower glass door in the shower area because I dislike the look of the metal rod on the top of the glass panels. However, my parents and relatives commented that without a shower door, water would ruined my vanity cabinet and door in no time... Now... we are looking to switch it up and install a shower door.... More $$ burned...

Hi there, I feel pretty lucky that everything went pretty well. But not to say that there isn't minor imperfections, there is and we are getting them to fix it. However, all in all, I would still recommend him. You may PM me, and I'll be able to provide my contractor's info instead, and he will recommend his carpenter to you.

I didn't use a farmhouse sink, instead, I'm re-using what HDB has provided for our master bedroom

*Renovation updates as of 5th Sep* My cabinets are 70-80% installed already and I'm currently 1 month 1 week into my renovation I've always read that carpentry comes in last when the house is in an almost ready state, hence I'm blown away by how efficient my contractor/sub contractors are. At first I didn't believe my contractor when he assured me before the start of the renovation that my flat will be 80% done by 11 September (the day that my fiance and I fly off to Canada/US for A MONTH). Most reno (especially big scale ones like mine) took 3 months to complete. In terms of carpentry works, I'm still pending all cabinet doors to be installed, shoe cabinets, fire place and bookshelves for my living room, floor skirting and doors and door frames. MRB Closet I've hacked the wall between my MRB and the 2nd bedroom so that my MRB's closet could 'eat' into the space of the 2nd bedroom. This huge closet is then built in between two bedrooms. My contractor suggested to do sound proofing works behind this closet as shown below. This layer of soundproof is then covered by a plank of wood as shown below. It will then be plastered and painted the same colour as our white wall. My carpenter suggested to build top cabinets for us on the back of our closet. I'm not sure how accessible the top cabinets are since it's a bit too high to reach out for, but no harm to have extra storage space as he didn't charge extra for it. This is in our study room aka home office by the way. Kitchen cabinets The counter space on the right in the picture above will be our refreshment area. I'm thinking of placing our hydroflux water filter machine, coffee machine, tea and wine display. Bathrooms cabinets You guys are probably sick of seeing another picture of my bathroom (or probably I'm the one who is sick of showing my bathrooms again considering that there isn't much changes since the last, except for an additional cabinet that has been installed today). My contractor just updated us that we will be installing our vinyl flooring (F.I.N.A.L.L.Y) on Monday. I can't wait for it, considering that the complete flooring look will change the whole look of the apartment.

*RENOVATION PROGRESS 1ST SEP* My flat's renovation has progressed immensely in the past week! Kitchen cabinets and closets were in, most of our lights and fans have been installed, and the first coat of painting were done. We have selected the Nippon Paint Odour-less All-in-1 series. I was debating to get the Odour-less Easy Wash initially but it cost a tad bit more than the All-in-1. As you can see from the above, we've selected Nippon's Snow Flakes for our white wall. I've took a picture of the first coat of paint as follows. There is a slight difference from the actual white paint colour (ceiling colour), but I feel that it is not very obvious in the picture. I have chosen a different shade for this wall in the study room (shown below). My plan is to make this wall a little special and to divert a bit from the usual white colour so as to create a cosy corner for a home office. I'm not sure how this will turn out honestly, since this is just the first coat. The colour I've selected is called 'Rose Fragrance' from Nippon paint. Hopefully it will turn out great after the final coat. I'll be hanging some wall paintings on this wall when the room is ready. Also, as you can see on the pic above, I've have a HIDEOUS AC trunking on the wall above the door. Anyone has any ideas or recommendation on how to make this HIDEOUS AC trunking UN-hideous? We finally have the fans we bought from JB (fortunately we bought them before the sales tax were implemented!) installed in the bedrooms & living area! The one seen below (in our study room) can swivels from the left to the right and vice versa. This fan below (in our guest room) cannot swivel left and right. It's a different model from the same brand and it's smaller than the one in the study room. Our white Aeraton fan is installed in the living area as shown below. It's produces absolutely no noise, but it doesn't seem to produce as much wind as the KDK fans though. To be fair, I need to properly review it after moving in. Toilet lights are up! I bought these lights from Taobao and they are absolutely stunning! The glass is HEAVY though so I worry that I may break it eventually when I have to change to a new lightbulb lol. Oh... also, if you realise, we switch to a new toilet window as well! No more glass-panels window. My electrician said that the taobao light I bought below is quite dim. The lightbulb given by the Taobao seller is only 5W. Hence, he recommended we go buy a 8-10W lightbulb to replace it to make the toilet brighter. I regret not buying the MRB light (the one with the heavy glass) instead haha! Glimpse of my MRB: All lights and ceiling speakers have been installed perfectly. My wardrobes (currently in dismantled pieces) were also in. Glimpse of my Kitchen cabinets: Totally recommending my contractor's carpenter! I've placed a lot of emphasis on my carpentry request to ensure that the end products are what I have envisioned. For example, shaker cabinets cost A BOMB here in Singapore as they typically require spray painting. However, I'm not willing to compromise with going with non-shaker style. Hence, after some proper research on my side, I requested for my carpenter to proceed with shaker cabinets using laminates instead of spray paint. That will help save some money. Now, I know that not a lot of contractors/non-experienced carpenters will NOT agree to it, because it IS A LOT MORE time consuming for them to accept such requests at a lower fraction of profit. However, my carpenter didn't complain much (he just went into deep thought when I made such request haha). All in all, I'm still thankful to him, and I'm pretty surprise that the cabinets came in so fast. Thumbs up to his efficiency!

Thank you I really do love the look and aroma of the oak wood. Now I'm crossing my fingers that the vinyl tiles matches the rooms's oak

I've visited the site over lunch today. The other workers were out for lunch, except for my carpenter who was busy installing the kitchen cabinets. My kitchen suddenly looks extremely small with all the cabinets in I wanted to take a picture of the kitchen but I didn't dare to do so as I felt I'm in the way of my carpenter as he was heavily focused on the the installation. Hence, I went to check out my bedrooms' flooring. I can smell a very nice oakwood scent as I walked to the bedrooms. A layer of recycled wood has been installed in the first bedroom. The hardwood flooring installers are in the way of laying the oak wood in the MRB and 2nd bedroom (which will be converted into a home office).

@aldoteng & @blueygirls: I went to take pictures of my master bathroom yesterday. I wanna assured you guys (if you're thinking of having a shelving wall in the shower) that it will not compromise a lot of your showering space. As you can see from the pictures below, it can still easily fit 2 people in the shower . RENOVATION PROGRESS (26 August 2018) Fiance and I visited our home on a Sunday, 26 Aug as we hadn't been able to be onsite for the past 2 - 3 days. We (or rather I) are/am SO EXCITED to see that our LED downlights/spotlights have been installed in the living room . As reviewed on my earlier blog posts, we have gotten these downlight from Malaysia (malaysian brand LED lights instead of the famous Philips brand). What we really like about these downlights is that we can switch from WARM lighting (orange) to WARM WHITE (between white and orange) to WHITE LIGHT (white). Unfortunately right now Philips do not carry these models that allow you to switch up the colours! Pardon the huge mess on the ground... The rubbish have been there forever, I wish they can clear it soon since they are going to paint the walls soon! CURTAINS Our curtain brackets are also up (installed)! We are installing white venetian blinds in all 3 bedrooms. Speaking of curtain supplier, I count myself very lucky to came across a HIGHLY recommended curtain supplier (Mr. Ang). He's a sole proprietor I think. I met a rather rude curtain supplier named 'J' before coming across Mr. Ang, and 'J' actually told me off when I asked to meet him on a Sat or after office hours. He claimed he only work office hours due to work life balance . It was during that day when Mr Ang suddenly replied my FB message (think I might have msged him on FB weeks ago so I totally forgot HOW i even got his contact). Mr Ang is SO NICE, he is willing to meet me on a sat at my flat despite short notice to come take measurements. I requested for Mr. Ang to do the curtain brackets first (this is what my contractor recommended me to to do before the cleaning) and Mr. Ang willingly came to do it EVEN BEFORE HE COLLECTED MONEY (he didn't even request for a single cent nor deposit) from me. He's very personable and I HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND HIM FOR HIS SERVICE ,. Do note to call him/whatspp him better than FB msg him -> Find Ang Interior Decoration on FB or PM me for his mobile. KICTHEN CABINETS: Another pleasant surprise on a Sunday was, we are SO SURPRISED to see our carpenter and his teenage son moving our kitchen cabinets in ON A SUNDAY! I always feel I could trust him when working with him, but to see him and his son bring our heavy kitchen cabinets on a SUNDAY brings my respect for this man on another whole new level man cabinets still missing my shacker-style cabinet doors That's my carpenter's son. It's so touching to see father and son carrying my heavy cabinets into my house on a Sunday morning.... FULL RESPECT!

Hi everyone, thank you so much for reading and following my renovation journey. Thank you! Here's an update on my renovation process (23rd August): Although majority part of the renovation goes smoothly so far, I did face a fair share of issues during the reno as well which I'll take everyone through. Tiling works in both bathrooms: The tiling works in both bathrooms are completed. I really LOVE the marble ceramic tiles that my fiance has selected from Hafary. Even though the bathroom look good, on closer inspection, certain tiles pops up a little when I ran my hand across the tiles. I'm unsure whether this is unacceptable or should I just leave it be. Recently, I've noticed a puddle of stagnant water in my common bathroom just outside the shower area . As I wasn't planning to build a shower screen in the common bathroom because I dislike the shower screen's metal rod being so close to the concealed pipes, stagnant water became a MAJOR concern to me as it is literally stagnant and the drainage area is so far from it. I don't want mosquitoes to breed in here.... At first, we were brainstorming on how else to prevent the water from spraying out of the shower area, by perhaps extending the length of the glass on both sides of the shower. However, that poses an issue as it will limit the opening of the shower. When I brought my father down to my flat today, my father suggested that this issue might be resolved by having the tiler to REDO the flooring, such that he could do some leveling work to allow the water to flow towards the drainage. I've contacted my contractor and they said they will check it out tomorrow and see what they can do.... *cross-fingers* My electrician 'RUINED' my AC trunking: To our horror, we noticed that our AC trunking was severely damaged. As you can see from the pictures, it was damaged and there are a lot of unpatched holes. I was really furious and demanded GC to fix the AC trunking, only to find out that there was ceiling speaker's wiring in the AC trunking. We verified with our electrician and found out that he was the one behind it. I wasn't sure if he has the intention to patch up the 'damages' [well, its not really damages because these can be patched up] because it has been there for a good 1.5weeks! I called him today and he said he has "forgotten" to patch it up. Anyways, I've gotten GC installers to rectify for me already. I've blindly accused GC guys, I'm so sorry... Ceiling works completed: I thought the false ceiling and box up were done nicely, I highly recommend the false ceiling sub contractor! He's a very professional, honest, reliable and nice fellow! Kitchen Backsplash completed:

Haha! Yeah my contractor did feedback that I should avoid spray painted kitchen cabinets cos spray paint cabinets will become yellow after a while. Hence, I've opted for white laminate kitchen cabinets instead which I hope it helps. I'm not too worry about staining the backsplash or cabinets, but more worried about the marble countertops, unfortunately, we really 'gian' the marble countertops As for cleaning, I think I have to come up with a habit of cleaning every day after cooking if I ever do heavy cooking haha...

Hi Blueygirls, no hacking is required to build this shampoo area. I think they build it with concrete bricks or something like that. I was quoted $450 for this wall, excluding the tiles. Hope that helps!