Opening A New Chapter Of Our Lives ... 2nd Home In 7 Years

[Chunky Monkey 2]

chunky: we are using fascina for the whole house as well, and we got a quote something like $60k for it, expensive? and have never heard of bestview aluminium, do you have a contact for us to consider. Thanks.

wuga, sorry for this late reply. I did have difficulty assesing renotalk over the past couple of days.

The contact person for me, at Fascina is Alice. But you should call and speak with Alice's boss Christopher, and ask for a better discount. It's not possible to comment if $60K is too much for your installation after A&A, because it all depends on how many openings you are installing these uPVC windows or doors & their sizes, and the type of glass that you have asked for etc.

At Bestview, look for Helen. She's really very nice.

Chunky: Sorry to hear this, are you using an ID or architect for this A/A?

Hope we can share on some of these findings as we are quite similar as i need everything starting from scratch.

No, no ID nor architect. Only husband and wife team.

Sure, of course. Anyway I can help, just PM me.

[Chunky Monkey 2]

Wow! We got ours for $3.50 psf, using for our bedrooms.

Good for you! Wonder if the size you ordered is the same as what I'm using.

Hey, I didn't know you got a t-blog going on here!

Your house sure got alot of nice gahgets - very informative!

Thank you.

hi chunky monkey

me olso. didnt know you have a t-blog here too. your house is really BIG when the date of completion. looking forward to more pixs

Soon ... in a couple of more weeks. We're onto the touch up stage now ...

[Chunky Monkey 2]

Book shelves/General storage in Living Room

What the interior looks like. Instead of the normal plain white laminate, we have Sycamore.

And a close up of the layout of the laminate on the doors. We are very happy with with the results. This was previously thought only possible with veneer! We basically asked our designer to make use of the recon oak grain look alike lami squares, to create zig zag patterns on the doors. The look of a straight piece of lami would just look so dull and boring.

Completed Kitchen Sink

[gumbokins 5]

gorgeous gorgeous house. got open house, must call ok? lol!

you got that fancy kitchen tap i've always wanted (but can't afford, gak!). and what's the stainless steel grid for?

[Chunky Monkey 2]

what's the stainless steel grid for?

It's to protect the bottom of the sink (The drainer side of the sink has its own grid as well) as well as to facilitate water flow, especially when the sink is full of dishes.

These grids probably come across as weird/funny to most Asians but they are a NECESSITY or standard accessory to European home owners.

They work the same way as stainless steel baskets. I have a Foster sink in my current home, and it has a wire basket as well. I can't do without these things in my kitchen sink.

I can imagine how these would get in the way for people who have the habit of throwing all sorts of food waste into the sink, as they would get stuck in the grids. We don't do that. We make sure all our plates and bowls are scraped clean of food bits before putting them into the sink to wash.

[gumbokins 5]

yes, well i suppose it's a matter of diet as well...when i was in NZ there were hardly anything left on our plates after eating because everything was boneless, skinless, tastelesss..(). oh, and we were hungry students.

the 'auntie' alternative is the 50 cent round basket from the sundry shop heh, preferably red colour.

the dishrack is really popular now...mine is similar, and my cousin has the same one in her house. my IKEA dinner plates dont sit very well in that. tsk.

[Chunky Monkey 2]

50 cent round basket? Still can't protect the surface of the sink really.

That dish rack was from Hoe Kee. I have the same one in my existing house. It comes in various width. 60cm, 80 and the longest is 90 cm. I'd have loved a 90cm dish rack but I want my window to look out when I do my dishes, so I have no choice but to shrink the size of my dish rack to 80cm wide only.

A friend came to view our new house a few days ago, and noted that our new kitchen looks so much like my current one. LOL. We like our current kitchen so much that we are practically replicating the key layout.

Edited December 30, 2007 by Chunky Monkey

[Chunky Monkey 2]

31st Dec 2007

The first round of chemcial cleaning took place today. And for the first time, DH and I were able to heave a sigh of relief. We have some touch ups to do, and the exterior wall needs to be textured and then painted. Give it a couple of weeks, I think we will be ready to move in! Yipee!

Here are some updated photos ...

Children's Playroom with Full height wardrobes & TV enclave, and cantilever book shelves

(to see what the TV enclave looks like, see the picture below)

Children's bedroom with Full height wardrobes & TV enclave.

Attic Wardrobes / General Storage

Right Side of Attic

Left Side of Attic

We asked for 1 very deep drawer in each unit, so that it can store away our spare comforters, bedsheets & pillows.

Other pictures of the Attic

[Chunky Monkey 2]

View of the Stairwell from Attic

There were requests for handrails to be installed, so we will install a wall fixed handrail over the next 2 weeks.

Ceiling Fan

We were concerned that there may not be air circulation in the stairwell leading up to the Attic, and felt the need to have a ceiling fan, overweighs that of a nice set of hanging lights. And we were so happy when we found a ceiling fan that has such short fan blades and adequate for the stairwell.

[applefreak 1]

your attic is the size of my living room

or even bigger :bangwall:

like the idea of the tv enclave for your children's rooms

must keep this in mind in case i want to revamp my wardrobe

Edited January 2, 2008 by applefreak

[mist 0]

so coool! u got an attic! i've always imagine attics to be dusty and full of secrets.. but ur attic very nice.

i like the roof lighting from the slanted windows. wah u can sun tan nude in ur own home.

[mafiawife 0]

CM! u even got the cassette ac in ur attic!! cool... but ur electric bills going to cost ur attic going to be ur study area?

really love ur kitchen.. big, spacious and beautiful... can show ur lounge area or not? curious to know.. hehehe..

[Chunky Monkey 2]

like the idea of the tv enclave for your children's rooms

must keep this in mind in case i want to revamp my wardrobe

I sure hope the children won't want to watch too much TV in future. But I am prepared for the eventuality that they want their own TV sets when they are older. I would be happy to convert the internal space for more storage if the space is not utilised.

Edited January 2, 2008 by Chunky Monkey

[Phantom 1]

Hey Chunky,

Have you and your hubby picked out furnitures yet?

[Chunky Monkey 2]

CM! u even got the cassette ac in ur attic!! cool... but ur electric bills going to cost ur attic going to be ur study area?

really love ur kitchen.. big, spacious and beautiful... can show ur lounge area or not? curious to know.. hehehe..

It is actually very breezy up in the attic because of the airflow right across. We do not foresee ourselves using the aircon a whole lot. Only occasionally. The attic is my DH's hideout, as well as my in laws' room when they visit us from London.

Lounge is still full of electrical appliances. When the mess is cleared up, I will post some lounge pictures.

Hey Chunky,

Have you and your hubby picked out furnitures yet?

We are actually going to use back a lot of our existing furniture from our current home. It's not easy furnishing 4 floors of space. I think we will make changes along the way.