The Reiki Sanctuary

[ausbee 0]

hi reiki, your place is very nicely done up.

May i have your ID contact pls? so that i can put it in my consideration list.

Thanks!

[Reiki 0]

Hi Reiki, your sanctuary is certainly deserving of its name It's got a quiet elegance about it, very lovely.

Anyway, could you tell me where you got the rectangular ottoman from? And also its dimensions? I'm looking for a rectangular ottoman but I've only seen square ones so far. Thank you!

And I envy your glass windows, January. I have always felt that tall glass windows make a house classy.

I got the ottoman from Furniture Club @ Beach Road. It is 60 (w) x 120 (l) x 40 (h) cm. It is actually custom made. The original (as in the picture below) has double legs for all the four corners:

[Reiki 0]

Hi, been a lurker here for the longest time and this is my first post. May I compliment you on your lovely flat, you have achieved a well balanced and relaxing look which is modern without being clinical/cold. In reading through your blog, you made a comment that you had issues with the installation of your island style suspended cooker hood and referred to "good" ceiling height. May I ask you to elaborate on this and to give me some pointers on measurements to take in the flat and specifications to check for any prospective hood choice? I am intending to have an island in my flat too.

Cheers

RMG

Hi RMG,

Many thanks for the kind compliments.

First, I must say that the island hood is becoming a white elephant in the house. It is hardly used and I wonder whether I had made a good decision to have it installed.

There were few problems I had during the installation. First, having a false ceiling in the kitchen made the floor-ceiling height shorter. Little did our ID realize that the full length for this Franke Island Hood was kinda longer and the equipment was not 'flexible' enough to adjust its length. To have it hang from the false ceiling, made the glass hood (marked A in the picture) too low.

We had to rasie the false ceiling at the stove area to have the 'perfect' height:

I may be wrong but Franke Island Hood had a fixed exhaust or recirculation outlet where the length could not be adjusted (marked B). While the extension panel (marked C) could be adjusted, any adjustment would cover the exhaust outlet partially.

Perhaps, there should not be a problem if the kitchen had not have a false ceiling.

I would recommend that you get the full length of the island hood during your purchase. And then, measure it from your ceiling to see if the glass hood be at the right height for you.

Regards,

Reiki

[Reiki 0]

hi reiki, your place is very nicely done up.

May i have your ID contact pls? so that i can put it in my consideration list.

Thanks!

Thanks, ausbee.

PMed sent.

[january 0]

And I envy your glass windows, January. I have always felt that tall glass windows make a house classy.

...tall glass windows also make the place quite hot, and ours especially since they're *gasp* west facing.

I see that you chose different legs for your ottoman? I think it looks better than the original. And the material you used doesn't look like leather either, is it fabric?

Not sure if I wanna go through the process of customising an ottoman with FC, especially since I'm not getting anything else from them.

Thanks for your help!

[dexufto 5]

Hi Reiki,

Thank you for sharing your drool-worthy home. It is absolutely beautifully and tastefully done.

Just realised that your place is already been some 2 years old already.

Is there anything you can share with us that you could have done bettter? or without?

remembered you mentioned about your island hood issue..

Just realised my contractor did something similar, love the trunkingless look. it's much cleaner.

ahhh so can conceal without illegally concealing them in walls! no trunking for you! So nice!!

Three long months, but it is certainnly worth the wait isn't it?

I gave my contractor 2 months for my little 3-room (cos I wouldn't be moving in anytime soon anyway)

Thanks thanks, monkichi.

Renovations took almost 3 months

[rmgthatsme 0]

Hi Reiki,

thanks so much for the very detailed response. The photo you attached explains very clearly the issue with the hood design and getting adequate exhaust flow if the ducting is shortened.

I'm a little puzzled over why you rarely use the hood now after all the effort and expense to install it? Is it because it doesn't do a good job i.e. inefficient unit design or you rarely cook or your rarely cook food which produces smoke or oily vapours or you find that without using it, the air in the kitchen is still fine and surfaces remain clean? I do hope it doesn't spoil your enjoyment of such a lovely kitchen!

Regards

RMG

Hi RMG,

Many thanks for the kind compliments.

First, I must say that the island hood is becoming a white elephant in the house. It is hardly used and I wonder whether I had made a good decision to have it installed.

There were few problems I had during the installation. First, having a false ceiling in the kitchen made the floor-ceiling height shorter. Little did our ID realize that the full length for this Franke Island Hood was kinda longer and the equipment was not 'flexible' enough to adjust its length. To have it hang from the false ceiling, made the glass hood (marked A in the picture) too low.

We had to rasie the false ceiling at the stove area to have the 'perfect' height:

I may be wrong but Franke Island Hood had a fixed exhaust or recirculation outlet where the length could not be adjusted (marked B). While the extension panel (marked C) could be adjusted, any adjustment would cover the exhaust outlet partially.

Perhaps, there should not be a problem if the kitchen had not have a false ceiling.

I would recommend that you get the full length of the island hood during your purchase. And then, measure it from your ceiling to see if the glass hood be at the right height for you.

Regards,

Reiki

[Reiki 0]

...tall glass windows also make the place quite hot, and ours especially since they're *gasp* west facing.

I see that you chose different legs for your ottoman? I think it looks better than the original. And the material you used doesn't look like leather either, is it fabric?

Not sure if I wanna go through the process of customising an ottoman with FC, especially since I'm not getting anything else from them.

Thanks for your help!

Hi January,

Yup, sometimes it can be quite an hassle just to customize one item and we got to pay premium price. Guess, I was lucky to have met the store manager at that time who was able to cater my needs at reasonable price. Hehe, I can PM you for the his name should you are still interested but not sure if he is still working there.

I got the ottaman changed to fabric, though cant recall the exact fabric material used.

[Reiki 0]

Hi Reiki,

Thank you for sharing your drool-worthy home. It is absolutely beautifully and tastefully done.

Just realised that your place is already been some 2 years old already.

Is there anything you can share with us that you could have done bettter? or without?

remembered you mentioned about your island hood issue..

Just realised my contractor did something similar, love the trunkingless look. it's much cleaner.

Three long months, but it is certainnly worth the wait isn't it?

I gave my contractor 2 months for my little 3-room (cos I wouldn't be moving in anytime soon anyway)

Haha, you are too kind with the compliments, dexufto. Yup, it has been more than 2 years living here. Actually, the whole renovation process took us more than 6 months. Just after we found the flat, we had been sitting down with our ID to go through every details, from layout planning to sourcing of materials. This went on for 3 months during the HDB processing. The renovation proper started 1 month (late July) after we got the keys as the previous owner had requested for a month extension and ended sometime in October 2008.

Looking back, it was a good but hectic process. It is now proven that our ID is giving us a comfortable home to live in. We are very appreciative of her meticulous works to all details.

Hehe, if I can turn back the clock, these are the things that I would do differently:

01. Lay gloss homogenous tiles in the dry areas of the two toilets.

02. Eliminate downlights in the dining area.

03. Skip the island hood.

04. Extend higher the bed headboard.

05. Install fibre optic cables

06. Fix two dedicate telephone lines

Have been following up on your TBlog and your house is beautifully done, dexufto. And, there are whole lots of good information.

[Reiki 0]

Hi Reiki,

thanks so much for the very detailed response. The photo you attached explains very clearly the issue with the hood design and getting adequate exhaust flow if the ducting is shortened.

I'm a little puzzled over why you rarely use the hood now after all the effort and expense to install it? Is it because it doesn't do a good job i.e. inefficient unit design or you rarely cook or your rarely cook food which produces smoke or oily vapours or you find that without using it, the air in the kitchen is still fine and surfaces remain clean? I do hope it doesn't spoil your enjoyment of such a lovely kitchen!

Regards

RMG

Glad that the photo hleps, rmgthatsme.

Hehe, guess it had to do with our mindset. When we told our ID that we would want the cooking area to be at that area, we visualized that an island hood would kinda enhance that area but, obviously, it is now not that wise-wise move. What we didn't pay much attention then was the layout of the flat and our lifestyle.

Our kitchen is airy. Fortunate for us, there are windows front and side of the stove area. Secondly, we are not into heavy cooking. We don't deep fry things. Still, I do think that the island hood can be useful for those into heavy cooking. Occasionally, when we do deep frying, the island hood actually dissipates smells faster.

[rmgthatsme 0]

Hi Reiki,

thanks once again for the very comprehensive answer, the reason I am asking in such detail is because I have never used the recirculating type of hood and so am uncertain of it's usefulness. It's good to know that when you do need it, it actually does have some use. We don't deep fry ever but if you're grilling steaks or roasting a joint or chicken, you can't avoid generating smoke/smells. We are very much into cooking so guess the hood will come in useful. Thank you again for taking the time to explain your experience.

Cheers

RMG

Glad that the photo hleps, rmgthatsme.

Hehe, guess it had to do with our mindset. When we told our ID that we would want the cooking area to be at that area, we visualized that an island hood would kinda enhance that area but, obviously, it is now not that wise-wise move. What we didn't pay much attention then was the layout of the flat and our lifestyle.

Our kitchen is airy. Fortunate for us, there are windows front and side of the stove area. Secondly, we are not into heavy cooking. We don't deep fry things. Still, I do think that the island hood can be useful for those into heavy cooking. Occasionally, when we do deep frying, the island hood actually dissipates smells faster.

[Cavalier 0]

Reiki,

Happy New Year! Can't send you a PM; think your PM is full, dude.

I wonder if you are interested to help my friend who is collecting materials for deco magazines. I mentioned to him about your place.

Will you be interested?

[Reiki 0]

Reiki,

Happy New Year! Can't send you a PM; think your PM is full, dude.

I wonder if you are interested to help my friend who is collecting materials for deco magazines. I mentioned to him about your place.

Will you be interested?

Hey, Happy New Year to you and family!

Sorry, was away. Haha, don't think I would like to get my place featured, Cavalier. Plus, it has been more than two years now and things are getting to look 'old-old'. Hope your friend is able to get his materials.

Regards,

Reiki

[Reiki 0]

To a forummer who asked for the picture of the anti-slip for my bed platform, here is the picture.

Basically, what our carpenter did was to have the plank custome-made with an anti-slip material. It is very useful as it makes the mattress to stay firmly. I am not sure what is the proper name for the material. So far, it does not seem to trap dirt and it is easy to clean.

Also in the picture is the 'Bedsheet grip' at the mattress.

Hope this help, and sorry for the late reply.

[Cavalier 0]

Hi Reiki,

First many thanks for allowing my friend and his wife to view your place. They want you to know that they find your place very nice and well maintained.

I saw in your blog that you have a new rug in the living room. I mean this one - http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4k_bBNkdd5g/TblnvdneVwI/AAAAAAAAAX0/SVFjfLCxlj0/s1600/Living+Room+01.jpg

Did you get it from Furniture Club too? What happen to the old one?

Cavalier