Reiki

01. Aubrey, the first thing that came into my mind reading about the slippery tiles, is the safety of your mum. When you can slip, it is better to caution your mum so that she is very aware of the situation. I dont think much can be done but maybe uncle can [better] advice you. The only thing is to place anti-slip and a floor mat just outside the bathroom. 02. I prefer consistency in one area. When designing my place, I limited the choice of colours to the custom-made cabinets - since they are permanent fixtures, to maximum 2. Personally, when there are too many, it clutters the area and each cabinet will seem to be screaming for attention. Look around your living room to decide the colour, aubrey. If you do not want the shoe cabinet to 'scream', perhaps flush it with the colour of your walls or a colour of another cabinet diagonally opposite it [if any].

Design is nice and, indeed, it looks good in pictures. It looks [from all the masking tapes] a handful of rectifications. Hope they can be carried out without causing you too much inconveniences.

My walls are all white. And kitchen is black-white. Err, click on signature for pictures of my place. hehe

It sounds good to me. Basically, there will be consistency and you can add colours or 'zen-nise' the surrounding atmosphere/ambience with furnishings. To have a full glass bookcase gives umph but the problem would be maintenance. Hehehe, basically, it has to look neat and organise inside all the time. It is fine to go for bookcase with wooden laminate for the bottom, aubrey. For the bottom part, you can always store all the odds stationery.

LOL .. back to my kaypoh mode and bump up Angel's thread. Rasp, I never knew [before the reno] that such height can be tailored. The idea was suggested by our ID and we are thankful that she did it. She recommended that our lower kitchen cabinet must catered to our height so that cooking/washing will not be tiresome. When the full height 850mm of the lower kitchen cabinet was on the drawing board - and we felt comfortable, the depth for each drawers was then distributed. I must say it is comfortable. But not to my tall guests.

If you are getting the system direct from Blum, it is best that your ID/contractor do it on your behalf. From my understanding, there is always a trade discount when these groups of people getting it. Of cos, the cost will still be bloated into your quotation from the ID/contractor but definitely it will not be too much. The best way, in my opinion, is for you to get them direct from Blum re-seller. Liaise with your joiner as what are the items needed before the purchase. Hehe, or you can always, as an informed customer, tell the joiner where to get them [from reseller] - this way, the joiner knows that you know your stuffs.

Such a nice layout you have, hkching. Congrats. Chengal wood is good for balcony for it is hardy. Do look-see This Site for the choice of how you would want to 'join' the woods together. Enjoy the renovation!

Congrats, stormcontrol!

Ah, at last, aubrey!! Happy for you that you finally moved in. It has been quite a journey for you. Nice house. Just hope that all the inconveniences with the outstanding reno works will not zap your energy further. Re the choice of laminate for your bookcase - this is just my opinion. When you mentioned abt the smoky color for your living room and you felt 'dark' for your liking, I kinda feel that you need consistency. I would choose the same laminate as your wardrobe so that there will be not too many 'colours' around the house. I like the laminate of your wardrobe - there's a feel of 'serenity' in it. Enjoy the new house, aubrey.

Hi Daniel, Congrats on your home ownership. To hack or not to? - Guess, you have to ask yourself whether to have the extra 2 rooms are needed. Questions like are you going to have kids in future? Are your parents going to stay with you? What is your lifestyle like? The answers will guide you to make the decision. I combine MBR and another room into one. Simply, I just love a big MBR where there will be uncluttered space for wardrobe. At one end, is my study area too. Personally, I feel there is no way to have an open concept kitchen and worrying about the aircon in the living room. You have to sacrifice something here. Alternatively, you can always create glass panel dividing the living room and kitchen. Glass gives you the illusion of space and when it is closed, it contains the aircon within your living room. Do read Tblog for more ideas, Daniel.

We did the same thing too. We got our electrician to spray paint all the backing that will be exposed in the house. I have forgotten the silver code but you can get it by calling legrand.

Angel, hehehe .. sorry that I kaypoh here. Rasp, mine is 850mm - hehe, also to cater for short dwellers.

new, Does your supplier has the dimension 2 x 10"? I think the effect to have a slightly longer one will be less cluttered looking. If I can recall, there is no price difference between the 8" and 10". The one thing to reno-smart, if you can get a supplier [for any trade] that is cheaper, I believe your main contractor [Mr Yeak] should not mind it. Guess, you just need to inform him - hehe, hopefully he can match the price and that will make it easier for you too as he can monitor the progress. Glad you decided on no skirting throughout the house to keep the consistency throughout. The one thing to look after laying parquets - after the sand-down and first varnish, look at them from an angle to detect for 'waves'.

For those who are free this weekend, and looking for such items: There will be a Scanpan Warehouse Sales on 6th and 7th June, 10 am to 5pm. The address is 49 Jalan Pemimpin, #01-05 APS Building. Featured products include 70% off for display units. Major participating brands such as GE, Smeg, Transtherm, Nakamichi, Vintec and Cuizino with products ranging from Branded Audio, Ovens, Fridges, Hobs, Hoods, Wine cabinets, Cooking/kitchen accessories, etc will also be on offer with price up to 70% off.

It is how you work with the carpenter. Once the design is confirmed, you can always get the stainless stain drawers [with its dimension fixed] and let the carpenter customised the cabinet dimension to the exact size. Important for the carpenter to know your intention.

Hehe, he is sooo cute!

Cute furbabies! Somehow, the effect without skirting gives that feeling - "no boundary". I believe it is possible for laminate. Just that, the last piece joining the wall must not have groove.

How about do away with it and save the cost there? Though it is aesthetically nice, it does not serve a purpose. You are right, in the long run, without a good maintenance, it will be more of a chore. Plus, the design will leave you with a 'dead' top side cabinet where the class is. I like your ID's idea, could be yours too, to have the ledge to prevent the MBR wardrobe to cover the window. It will, definitely, bring in more light since the wardrobe will not be smacked and 'steal' part of the windows.

Having read many comments/experiences/relationships from Uncle's clients in their TBlog, there is a sense of honesty and sincerity with this man. What is important here, Uncle delivers and he is able to do that within a small and tight budget [ok, it may not be the cheapest but still within reach]. Infact, I am full of respect - not only to Uncle Soon, but for uncle's clients. I don't feel that they are idolising him. Just that, there are now too many of his clients here, resulting with his name pops in many posts. Naturally, the bandwidth in RT seems bloated to readers. No renovations are trouble free, be it when owners engaged an ID or a contractor. Guess, bottomline, when we put in our hard-earned money into renovation, it is only natural that we get ourselves involved in the process too. Perhaps, the difference - owners with an ID rely heavily on the ID to manage the whole project. To be the only person we liaise with. Sadly, it is always easier said than done. There are too many areas, with different trades involved in one renovation, and it is not viable with one person overseeing all. Owners, with expectations, need to step in too. Uncle seems to be doing fine in this aspect, though room for improvement. My observation - uncle needs to know that he will be the only person a client will chase for errors/rectifications. And, when there are errors, a client should get the sub-cons to stop works till uncle give his final decision. At the end of a renovation, important that we learn. We learn about the trade. A lesson that will make us wiser. Cheers.

Wow, what a big 4 room flat - 113 sft! Congrats and welcome, forkie. Hehe, you also have a choice to make the living room bigger eh? - with the wall adjacent to the balcony hacked away

I salute you, aubrey. It is not easy running around, to get everything, and giving all your energy on renovation. 01. General cleaning I strongly suggest that you request for machine wash. It is effective and faster. During my reno, I had the tiler doing it manually - with water and chicken brand steel wool, to de-wax. Manual can be effective but it depends on the individual performing the job. The result - not uniform. At the end, since I was also rushing to move in, I requested machine wash. Those tiles not to my expectation, I manually did it [slowly] after moved in. For the yellowish grout, maybe you can request to re-grout. It is better to do it now. 02. LG free gift I will opt for LCD TV. Then again, it depends on your preference and lifestyle. As I hardly blast for surround sound, having a second tv can always be placed in either your room or mum's, and enjoy watching from the bed. Hmm, just a suggestion, since you have that wall from the living room TV console, maybe can place this 2nd tv back to back. I am looking forward to your HO, aubrey where everything will be swee swee and, at last, you will be stress free.

I was in that situation last year. The seller needed one month extension. Out of goodwill, I agreed [with no rental] but I got the agent to witness the arrangement. I didn't apply for utilities until they vacated the place. I also made a mutual arrangement where I can go down to the house, at both parties' convenience, for my ID inspection. Technically, after the 2nd appt, we are already the rightful and legal owner to the unit. Guess, you just have to feel comfortable - and goodwill, in such a situation.

Charemme, 01. Many thanks to update me abt recess area. This info is actually meant for a friend who is on the look-out for resale flat. 02. Ruby's departure still saddens us. Nonetheless, life must go on. How old are your dogs and what breed are they eh? 03. We wanted to achieve a cleanlined environment for the house. Our ID, who is also an architect, also suggested that we do away with skirting. Here is what I wrote in my blog about floor skirtings: The full content Here Regards.

Thanks for the info, Rasp. Hope you'll get the recess area.

Nice, cher! Hehe, the painting at the foyer caught my eye. Where did u get it eh?