Our Blessed Home, A Resale 2+1 Condo

[rachleng 0]

It is a 2+1 Study resale condo. We bought it 1.5 yr ago at a then market rate (cheap cheap). It was a 5-6 yrs old development when we bought it. We found a one-man company contractor who did the bare essentials for us at a mere 2K+. We were lucky that reno price was much much lower then

~ polishing of marble floor

~ re-varnishing and mending of 'holes' for parquet floors in all rooms

~ whole house wall & ceiling painting

~ re-painted all wooden doors & frames of our apartment (total : 11 doors)

~ chemical wash whole house floor and tiles

~ simple plumbing works to fix new bathtub mixer, shower & new accessories etc

He coordinated all the timings very well with various sub-cons and managed to handover the home to us in exactly one week.

The other fixtures (e.g. aircon system, feature wall, wardrobe, study-room built in cabinets/desk, kitchen cabinet, wall mount iron board, shoe/laundry cabinet at yard, hob & hood, built-in oven) were left in almost new condition by our ex-owner. We even took over his window blinds, refrigerator, micro-wave oven and still using. We changed the dining hall chandelier as we accidentally broke the old one .

Besides the 2K+ we spent above, the other main expenditures we had were on the furniture (mainly from Zen Tradition & Manhattan Collection) and tv for mbr. We very slowly increase our decorative items (e.g. paintings, frames, lamps etc) over time. The latest addition was the large wall mirror at the living hall which was installed 1 week + ago.

We also took over the Bang & Olufsen system from our ex-owner. Spent abt $1.4K for agent's repair before it is functioning well again.

We feel so fortunate and blessed that we were not required to get any renovation financing for this home .

Main Door View

Living Room View 1

Living Room View 2

Living Room Feature Wall (it's the study room on the left of the feature wall)

Dining Hall View 1

Edited March 2, 2008 by rachleng

[applefreak 1]

welcome to renotalk

beautiful place you've got there

1.4k for B&O is really a steal, makes me liao

and a private lift lobby :good:

Edited October 14, 2007 by applefreak

[rachleng 0]

Thanks Thanks Applefreak I saw your blog, you have a beautiful home too.

Yah, we really feel that we have a steal, especially for the B&O system. They seller did not mark up his selling price by throwing in all these items. And the home feels almost like new.

More pics here ...

Dining Hall View 2

Dining Hall View 3 (dining table can be extended 6-seater when necessary)

Hallway from MBR (and our small wine chiller at a corner)

MBR View 1

MBR View 2

No pics for the other bedroom as i only put in a writing desk and bookshelf for myself there.

Edited March 2, 2008 by rachleng

[applefreak 1]

thanks for your compliments

your place is very tastefully decorated

the knick knacks you add really gives your place it's character

you've got yourself a really good deal leh

next time got this kind of deal share share here hor

Edited October 14, 2007 by applefreak

[rachleng 0]

thanks for your compliments

your place is very tastefully decorated

the knick knacks you add really gives your place it's character

you've got yourself a really good deal leh

next time got this kind of deal share share here hor

Hee.... all my knick knacks are cheap cheap items from ikea, carefour and denso $2 shop. E.g. :

~ all wall picture frames are from ikea and carrefour between $10 to $15 each

~ wall-hung plates are $20+ each from Christopher Vines (bought at Robinsons sale) and a shop at IMM

~ 2 white rose frames from ikea during their mega sales at abt $35 each

~ $2 vinery picture frames from Denso

~ cushion covers are the 3 for $10 types from HDB estate

~ "round ball" table water feature at $50 from a closing down shop

~ Japanese serving tray (at dining table) at $12 each from the same closing down shop

~ candles and candles holders from ikea

~ dining hall chandelier @ $280 (incl. delivery & installation) from a HDB lighting shop

~ MBR chair is a field chair bought from golden mile market at $30+ (very sturdy chair as i always

stand on it - lazy to use ladder )

~ 2 bedside table lamps from a lighting shop at IMM @ $30+ each

~ Hung a $5 perfume pouch to an old recycled table lamp at MBR (beside TV)

The only more costly items are the living/dining hall furniture from Zen Tradition & Manhattan Collection and the wall mirrors. Even my bedroom furniture are quite budget items from Nova and Red Apple.

I think we used about $12K+ (incl. minor reno + furniture for living/dining hall, 2 bedrooms + one washer and one dryer) for this home.

I hope the overall feel doesn't look as 'cheap' as we paid for .

Edited October 14, 2007 by rachleng

[applefreak 1]

hehehe, it's never about the price of the items

but the 'feel' it affords the place

the items you've picked gives character, so it's really worth it even if you paid more for them

just like designer items, they are expensive because of the 'feel', not so much the quality

also, the same items most prob cost twice as much or more if you've gotten them from those 'upmarket' shops

you really know where to find good bargains

[bluberi 0]

wow, wat a nice place!!

[rachleng 0]

hehehe, it's never about the price of the items

but the 'feel' it affords the place

the items you've picked gives character, so it's really worth it even if you paid more for them

just like designer items, they are expensive because of the 'feel', not so much the quality

also, the same items most prob cost twice as much or more if you've gotten them from those 'upmarket' shops

you really know where to find good bargains

It's all about patience. We really did the house up bit by bit over the last 1 yr+ and still not done. We did not rush into buying anything we like whilst shopping (or rather i hardly go shopping in the last 1 yr ) due to laziness. It took us about 3 months to get a MBR TV & the half height shoe rack (which i use it to sit the TV and to store all my linens/bedsheets and hide the unsightly fax machine, internet routers etc), about 6 months to get the dining hall chandelier (after it has been broken since day 1 we shifted in ), 8 months to subscribe to SCV, 9 months to get a small wine chiller, about 12 months to engage our B&O system for repair & overhaul and more than 15 months to get our mirrors.

Only 3 weeks ago, we installed the very much needed ventilation fan in the MBR bathroom (can you believe the whole ceiling was full of moulds due to bad ventilation ?) and i DIYed the paint sealant and ceiling-repainting myself (without hubby's assistance as he hates DIYing) So far so good, at least no mould in sight now, crossing my fingers that this ventilation fan will help us.

Edited March 2, 2008 by rachleng

[rachleng 0]

wow, wat a nice place!!

Thanks thanks bluberi

My wish list hasn't completed. The next thing i am targetting would be to change from Roman blinds to day & night curtains. I prefer more sunlight into the apartment by leaving the day curtain on. Roman blinds kinda block the lights into the home. Now pondering what kind of colours to choose for the curtains loh A bit loss now. Any ideas?

I recently broke the toilet cover again by accidentally slamming it (hubby says i am extremely clumsy). This is the second new toilet seat cover i broke and each one cost almost $50. Was telling hubby might as well change the whole toilet bowl c/w new cover rather than use the aftermarket types which always break.

If he gives me the green light, i'll soon change my 2 toilet bowls, and perhaps the common bathroom basin?

[applefreak 1]

better buy slowly and find pieces that you really like

then to anyhow buy and regret right

me have not even start looking for decorative items,

but i've only shifted in over a month.

guess got to buy the necessary things e.g. tv, bookcase etc first

with my limited resources

i'm sure the ventilation fan will help a lot with the mould problem

seeing so many forummers have them

me still thinking about whether to get one or not

coz my bathroom seem to dry rather fast

[rachleng 0]

better buy slowly and find pieces that you really like

then to anyhow buy and regret right

me have not even start looking for decorative items,

but i've only shifted in over a month.

guess got to buy the necessary things e.g. tv, bookcase etc first

with my limited resources

i'm sure the ventilation fan will help a lot with the mould problem

seeing so many forummers have them

me still thinking about whether to get one or not

coz my bathroom seem to dry rather fast

You are lucky to have a well ventilated bathroom. I so envious. It is really annoying to 'bathe' with moulds everyday

Yah... buy slowly one by one, at least you won't regret for making hasty decisions and it's financially less burdened too. I can empathise as we had to be very careful with our own financial planning as this is our second property which hubby is financing solely while i am financing the other 5-room flat which i co-own with my dad (my parents are staying there, i could co-own the condo with HDB's consent as i was marrying out).

[babyQ 0]

I recently broke the toilet cover again by accidentally slamming it (hubby says i am extremely clumsy). This is the second new toilet seat cover i broke and each one cost almost $50. Was telling hubby might as well change the whole toilet bowl c/w new cover rather than use the aftermarket types which always break.

If he gives me the green light, i'll soon change my 2 toilet bowls, and perhaps the common bathroom basin?

wowwww! lovely lovely home u've got there! l looks so good! and you're such a good bargain-hunter!

i saw the Self-fix ad in the papers, they are having road-shows at diff locations and selling the soft-closing toilet seat cover for >$50. can consider that if u're not changing yr whole WC so soon!

i don't work for them!

[applefreak 1]

You are lucky to have a well ventilated bathroom. I so envious. It is really annoying to 'bathe' with moulds everyday

Yah... buy slowly one by one, at least you won't regret for making hasty decisions and it's financially less burdened too. I can empathise as we had to be very careful with our own financial planning as this is our second property which hubby is financing solely while i am financing the other 5-room flat which i co-own with my dad (my parents are staying there, i could co-own the condo with HDB's consent as i was marrying out).

yes it's irritating esp when your eyes can't help but stare at the moulds

now you won't have to suffer that anymore

can understand how you feel as i'm financing my flat alone too

got it when the market hasn't gone crazy yet too

so think i'll be still hunting knick knacks a year down the road like you

[rachleng 0]

wowwww! lovely lovely home u've got there! l looks so good! and you're such a good bargain-hunter!!!

i saw the Self-fix ad in the papers, they are having road-shows at diff locations and selling the soft-closing toilet seat cover for >$50. can consider that if u're not changing yr whole WC so soon!

i don't work for them!

Thanks thanks babyQ i like your wardrobe leh... i think your design & colours will fit nicely into my bedrooms My current ones provided by the developer are a little mismatching.

Thanks also for telling me about the Self-fix toilet seat cover... i may want to check it out. But, we had quite hard time sourcing for a suitable seat cover as the size was quite different from most toilet bowls in the market. I checked many retail stores such as SSC, Hoe Kee etc... all didn't carry the brand "villeroy & boch" which make it difficult to replace the covers. If this "self-fix" size doesn't fit, then changing to new toilet bowls may be a longer term solution as the only size which fits now breakes easily

so think i'll be still hunting knick knacks a year down the road like you

It's actually quite a fun process as there's always something new to look forward to every month

Edited October 16, 2007 by rachleng

[Cantona7 0]

Hi Rachleng,

Veri nice house Everythings seem to be new so envy can save quit alot.

B&O at $1,400 is really cool.