Reiki

It is just a small thing but since it was designed to have it, we take it that our renovation is not fully completed. Hmm, we have stopped chasing our designer though.

Haha, your last part sounds [pardon me] funny though serious. Yup, it does pose some danger actually. I avoid hanging clothes outside. If you are not hacking the wall and only to have one entrance to the kitchen [from the dining area], you can always have a U-Shaped kitchen cabinet. Think that would also be a good idea - at the far end, facing the kitchen window, will be the washing area. For me, we have the cooking area and behind it is a cabinet to place the cylinder gas. I notice some units in my block have their bamboo hung above where my 'facing' cabinet is. Alternatively, invest in washer/dryer machine

Hi Smallboy, Just to share -- after the carpenters fixed the drawers, make sure you test them [open/close again and again] just to make sure the mechanism is working well. I was told that tandembox works well with heavy weights.

Many thanks for the compliments, stevetang and xherion. I am sure my architect designer friend will be happy to hear such comments. Hehe, actually, my renovation is still not fully completed. We are still waiting for the acrylic boxes to 'shade down' lights in our dining area and Master toilet.

To save cost, just get the Blum mechanism and not the whole system. Meaning, the drawers/cabinet structures are done by your carpenter but fixing these items with Blum mechanism. You just need to inform the carpenter and he should know. I can't find a thread here in RenoTalk but I do remember there is an owner who got the mechanism at a good price in one of the shops in Bukit Timah. I have a video of the Blum mechanism in my blog: For Blum Tandemboxen - http://reikisanctuary.vox.com/library/vide...8aad700002.html For Blum Cliptopen - http://reikisanctuary.vox.com/library/vide...ebb3a3000e.html

Oops, didnt mean to break your heart, Kari. I just want you to be strong and firm when you are communicating with your ID. From my past experience, a good carpenter can rectify the problem. If your ID failed to communicate with the joiner, you should insist that the carpenter rectify the situation. Usually, it is the ID that take things easy. Yes, you are right - it is not going to be easy to live in inconveniences. So, keep pestering her. Best if you are at the site together with her and the carpenter to come out with a solution. My apology if I had made you feel worse.

Hi Kari, I dont mean to dash your hopes here and hope that the problem can be solved. Technically, just looking at the drawing, she is right - that the total height is 14" inclusive of the depth. Since the structure has already been installed, it is going to be hard to remedy to achieve a 14" depth. The only thing you can insist is to go back to your instruction to her. Tell her the purpose of all your earlier measuring stuffs to be put inside that drawer - this is to show that you are very clear with what you want. She is the more technical person and it is her duty to convey your point/intention to the carpenter. I can understand your frustrations now that you have to re-think about placing your stuffs.

Yup, we have 2 entrances. We knocked down the wall [from the living room]. The area, err, not so sure but according to the house plan is 5.9 x 2.85. Our total square area for the house is 121.

Your house plan looks like mine. But, wow!, your common toilet is so much bigger! You will get used to the cylinder gas tank. Hehe, it is actually not that bad lah We didnt expect our house didnt have 'government gas' too when we purchased. Only found out during renovation. How big is your square area eh?

Wow! Can't help it but for having such a nice and big house layout. How big is the area? Hmm, think it is not hdb eh? Love the balcony and the living area. Congrats, vertigo_blues!

I always feel that when one is not comfortable making a decision, it is best to recourse the action. Else, doubts can manifest and whenever there is a mistake done by the contractor, we will end up having bad feeling. Renovation is a big expenditure and we need to feel comfortable with all the people involved. Hope you will find that peace of mind making the decision.

First you need to upload your pictures to an image hosting site. You can try photobucket to store your pictures.

Thanks m3wrx. We are lucky to find this unit. The kitchen is rather big - long but not that wide. The one thing good that comes with it is the side window in the kitchen. It gives, not only airy, but more light into the kitchen. And our black and white kitchen concept is suitable as it does not make the place dark. Thanks Ami. Haha, little we knew it has a japanese theme We wanted just a simple place - cleanlined and consistency. Yup yup, this Masterplan is kinda a blessing to us, eh! Thanks Yang Guo Thanks rolexboy. Yup, the amount of effort is taxing. It took us 3 months to plan and another 3 months to renovate. Kinda long and can be mentally, physically and emotionally tired. But it does pay off at the end of the day. As we are taking this home as part of our retirement plan, we just wanted to have something that can last and, guess, we didn't mind to spend. Something that we will not get bored with easily and something that provides comfort to our souls. 01. We don't normally do heavy cooking. Only once in awhile. 02. It is homogenous smooth tile. 03. The island hood does a good job. Guess, it is important to have a good one. So far, we have not find it slippery. Surprisingly, the parquet is more slippery to our dog than the homogenous tiles.

Thanks for the compliment, zonkkie Yup, we are on mid floor. We also thought the halogen lights would emit alot of heat. Perhaps, as we installed dimmers and don't lit at full strength, we don't really find it hot. Thanks Whitezzz. Guess, it is a matter of meticulous planning and we were glad that we had such a detailed architect designer. It was months of headache between us and our designer. I am sure such an accomplishment is achievable to all. Thanks tankee. I learned a lot from this forum too. Was glad that I found renotalk - it provided a good avenue for renovation.

Ah, a pretty interesting consideration. Infact, flats in Jurong East has kind of rocketted after we purchased our unit and, surprisingly, when property in general is going down. Perhaps, it has to do with the Master Plan for Jurong.

Thanks cher. Haha, nice set but burnt a big hole in our pocket. They are from ZXQT. Bought during GSS about S$6K. Thanks BunBun. Guess we were lucky to have our architect designer friend to make our dream house into reality. A resale HDB, and an old unit, is not easy to renovate. When we drew up the renovation plan, our budget was S$60K. However, when we started to renovate, there were more and more addons and we wanted to have good quality finish. Guess, we were kinda fussy too. Plus, we want a house that will last us till retirement - hehehe. In the end, hmm, the cost doubled.

We bought the sofa from The Furniture Club. My tips: The best price we got was from The Plaza, Beach Road. Had a good bargain with the manager there. Thanks for the compliment, Cloudy.

Just don't know where to post this, but here it is ... "HAPPY HOLIDAYS" [and to a Good 2009] to all members! Wishing You Peace, Joy and Good Health to you and your family. And also to all your loved ones.

More Pics One of the reasons that we bought this resale flat is the spacious recess area: Entrance to the house, as viewed from the living room: The Sofa Set: The Suspended TV Console The Sheer and Dress Curtains

We have now gotten all of our furniture that we ordered earlier. The Dining Set When we ordered the dining set in August, we were told that we could only get the set in November. Meanwhile, they agreed to loan us a temporary set. Haha, and see how ugly it is! Our dining area today: The dining set we ordered --> View of our dining room: - with the sheer and dress curtains just up Still waiting for the acrylic box to cover the led lights along the wall ledges.

Thanks tower. Guess, there's plus minus getting this resale flat. One of the things is not having a gas pipe - not used to having cylinder gas and always feel like the gas gonna empty soon after each cooking. Looking back, this renovation is such a great life lessons. Surely, it will stay within us down the years ahead. Err, what is w/m eh? Thanks oogachaga. Haha, indeed a lot of effort was put in. We had sleepless nights in the beginning too.

It's from Toto. Think the model is Ishibashi. There is a display of this set at their Toto showroom along Bukit Timah Road. Thanks pinkpetter. Thanks bubble-ling. Hehe, it is the only smoking area in the house too. Thanks mmycheng. We actually sat down with our architect friend since April this year just to go through the layout. We just want a house that is easy to maintain and one that can last us through our old age. Hehe. Thanks mwerkz. When we were planning for the master bedroom, we want to have a spacious entrance and a non-cluttered sight. That wall area is purposely planned. Our original idea is to have a sculpture but it will be too big for that area and might hinder movement towards the master wardrobe. With that idea mooted earlier from our planning stage, we already had in mind to have a light to shine down towards the object. For now, it is a painting. The painting is light and easily hang. Wah porkypig, u really went through! Guess we are lucky to have an architect friend who is super detailed. She has a good designer partner too. Hmm, must say the renovation costs us a bomb. It is a choice between having an expensive resale flat or to do a renovation that will last for a loooonnnggg time for us

Our master bedroom: Entrance to MBR The Bed with our 'Queen' The Blackout curtain

More pics: And closer look at our kitchen sink - really happy with it. It has a wide strainer and a deep scoop garbage disposal. The Dry Area The Utility Area The Balcony: Left Side Right Side [still waiting for the delivery of the daybed cushion]

At last we have moved in and not fully settled down yet. We are still getting some workers coming in every now and then to finish off some minor works. We find it a chore as we need to be around and not able to organise the house. Gosh, and we are physically tired and mentally drained. Here are some pictures: The Guest Toilet: The Shower Area The "Business" Area The Black and White Kitchen View from Living Room