Honeygal 1 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 hahaha. When we were given the two book of samples, we almost fainted. So many...see until my eyes crossed. Dun be pai say to use your coin or pen to do a 'scratch test' on those samples. We were so totally lost and confused with those laminates that we even went down to their factory/showroom to ask for advice. In addition, seeing the big piece of laminate can also help you make that decision. Once laminate is up, too late to change your mind liao hor. lucky that you had time to visit the factory. i was given a mere 2 hours to reselect the laminates (coz i was told, the laminate supplier closes from today), and didn't have much of a choice from the 2 books. it was also so tough having to visualise how it will look as a much larger piece . just keeping my fingers the selection turns out ok. errr, yes i was pai-seh and i did not do the 'scratch test' as i was afraid of defacing their sample books! haha, i used to work for hock siong! there really is a lot of stuff there. just about the whole building is packed with their furniture. they even have warehouses in sungei gedong (they really need the space as they clear whole hotels at one go). there is an incredible selection of furniture, curtains, pictures, etc. think eclectic when you go there you will need a lot of time and patience to sort through everything and to dig out the best deals. some of the stuff is amazingly classy since they come from suites. but you will have to visit them quite often as their inventory changes quickly. i just visited their website from your post (they didn't have websites back then) and it really brought back memories for me..hehe one tip i have for you is to carefully check out their curtains. most of them are dirty since hotels don't ever wash them, but the material used is excellent. also, each piece weighs a lot because of the black out curtains typically sewn into them. just cut them out and wash them and alter to your size. confirm won't regret. i was shocked the first time i saw what hotels get billed for furnishing. one tiny cushion from the really high class suites goes for almost $500. and thats about 8 years ago. its crazy... wow, you have now gotten me even more excited about visiting hock siong! i was expecting at most, one floor of display space. thanks for the many tips, i certainly plan to get stuff from there, provided the pricing is reasonable. i have no qualms about using pre-owned items at all. gosh, i can't wait for saturday to visit the place!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zeegi 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 I like the Molecule butterfly clocks but abit pricey and need to drill holes into the wall =( which clock did you buy? Any pics? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeygal 1 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) All the tiles are in. And all are made in China. Urgh. Let's hope the quality is as good as they look. Now got to patiently wait till 4 February for reno work to resume. New PVC pipe in common toilet installed. Big, fat, hideous and taking up much precious space. Was expecting slimmer looking pipes. I feel this is going to be the biggest eyesore in the flat: Bought lamps from A Lighting (highly recommended by forumers here) today. Paid $550 for 9 pieces. Forgot to take pics. Pricing very reasonable. Great service. Range is small though, but enough for a small unit like mine. Edited January 24, 2009 by Honeygal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkpetter 0 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 All the tiles are in. And all are made in China. Urgh. Let's hope the quality is as good as they look. Now got to patiently wait till 4 February for reno work to resume. New PVC pipe in common toilet installed. Big, fat, hideous and taking up much precious space. Was expecting slimmer looking pipes. I feel this is going to be the biggest eyesore in the flat: Bought lamps from A Lighting (highly recommended by forumers here) today. Paid $550 for 9 pieces. Forgot to take pics. Pricing very reasonable. Great service. Range is small though, but enough for a small unit like mine. I bought some of my lights from A lighting too! Alex has some photographs of lights which he has but not on display one. If you see other shop have, can describe to him he can get them too. hehe mm i think all the PVC pipes in the toilet is like that. I first tot that mine will be an eyesore too but I realised that it's ok in the end... after all the other stuff are put in Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ponytail 0 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 Carpenter claims a few of my laminate selection are out of stock, so i had to re-select asap - and from only 2 miserable book samples! So here are my final selection, hope they do not turn out 'obiang': Laminate for MBR toilet vanity closet: Laminate for MBR wardrobe: Laminate for Study Room bookcase: Will shop for lightings this week and post pics. Hi Honeygal, I've also shortlisted the laminate which you're using for the MBR. For me, I'll be using for my kitchen, but not confirm yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrspiglet 2 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 A Lights at Geylang? Post ur lights pics when u get a chance! ur 9 pieces dun include downlights? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeygal 1 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 A Lights at Geylang? Post ur lights pics when u get a chance! ur 9 pieces dun include downlights? i do not have any downlights in my flat . remember, mine's a no-frills decor i don't even have air-con, or any TV in the bedroom. No tap mixers, no door bell, no cooker hood, unbelievable but true. The 9 pieces include lights for every room, including storeroom and toilets. only realised i forgot to take pics of the lights on my way home, silly me! So can only post pics of the lights when they are installed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrspiglet 2 Report post Posted January 26, 2009 Gd gd, no frills means less maintenance too! No tap mixer for me as well, i wonder why would i need hot water to wash plates? hmm... u wun need TV in the bedroom becos u own the whole house! But no door bell... the postman gotta knock real hard on ur door! haha! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeygal 1 Report post Posted January 27, 2009 Gd gd, no frills means less maintenance too! No tap mixer for me as well, i wonder why would i need hot water to wash plates? hmm... u wun need TV in the bedroom becos u own the whole house! But no door bell... the postman gotta knock real hard on ur door! haha! yep, my existing place has aircon, bathtub, tap mixers, cooker hob etc all of which i never use. neither do i use any of the condo facilities here. so i figure i could easily manage without these. as the unit is so small, thought i would take the chance and do without a doorbell too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rdnest 0 Report post Posted January 28, 2009 tok abt doorbell, not many visitors use it when visit my hse. I still dun noe why??? so big a door bell, can miss it meh? can't wait to see ur lights soon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeygal 1 Report post Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) Visited Hock Siong warehouse today. These were a few of my finds. The furniture in the following pictures are extremely dusty, otherwise the condition is really very good. Bought two of these rosewood armchairs at $140 each. Cushions included. To match with my existing Chinese table & cabinets which i will be moving from my current place. Hope to achieve a contemporary Chinese feel to my living room, and not too chink-chong. These are classics and never go out of style: This lovely uniquely-shaped glass-covered top study table is made in Toronto, Canada. This fact is imprinted at the bottom of the table and discreetly inside the drawer. Culled from Four Seasons Hotel (that's what the sales person told me). Beautiful gold handles. Only $260. Terribly regret making my study table too soon, which cost me $380 and in my third-choice laminate. Does not look half as classy as this. May want to buy this as a living room console table instead. Not sure if it goes well with the above armchairs and Chinese furnishing in my living room: Thinking of getting this as a bedside table, $80 only. Made in North Carolina, USA: Welcome all comments!! Edited January 28, 2009 by Honeygal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeygal 1 Report post Posted January 28, 2009 tok abt doorbell, not many visitors use it when visit my hse. I still dun noe why??? so big a door bell, can miss it meh? can't wait to see ur lights soon You are so right, i realise the usage simply does not justify getting a door bell! Especially since i am only home in the nights and weekends, if at all. Pics of lights will have to wait till end Feb when they are delivered and installed!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silentjess 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2009 Hi honeygal, noticed u mentioned u didn't engage a main ID, so how did you communicate with the contractor on which walls to hack, the final layout & flooring & tiles for toilets and stuff? look forward to ur updates! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeygal 1 Report post Posted February 1, 2009 Hi honeygal, noticed u mentioned u didn't engage a main ID, so how did you communicate with the contractor on which walls to hack, the final layout & flooring & tiles for toilets and stuff? look forward to ur updates! I did everything on my own - ie. told the contractor which walls to hack, which tiles to hack, which tiles to keep, locations of lighting points, desired dimensions of cabinets, etc etc. Also designed all cabinets and mixed and matched the laminates myself. Likewise for wall and floor tiles colour coordination. The final layout is in my head and is a work-in-progress all the time. My flat will certainly not be of showroom standard, but hopefully it will have more character than those ID-designed ones? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roytan30 1 Report post Posted February 1, 2009 My flat-hunting was over in 2 weekends, total time spent was probably not more than 5 hours. This unit which I eventually bought was the third i viewed and liked. To keep my options open, I viewed another 8 units. The flat-hunting was such a breeze coz I specified to the agent, which blocks I preferred, thus saving lots of time. I fell in love with the many conveniences at this AMK unit - wet markets, coffeeshops, supermarket, provision shops, bakeries (7 at last count), medical halls, clinics, beauty salons etc were all only a minute walk away. This was a god-send as where I am staying now, the nearest place where I can find food is an upmarket Italian restaurant, a good 15 walk away. Get real, who needs Italian food when hunger pangs strike? Oops, I digress. For my reno, not using ID. So managing everything singlehandedly. Am trying to keep costs as low as possible, so I have engaged one main contractor, an electrician, a carpenter and the window/door contractor. Will reserve my comments on these chaps after my reno is over. Have selected tiles, laminates and paint colour, let's hope everything blends in nicely! Reno starts tomorrow, yippee!!! Will post pics as soon as i figure how to do so. Hi I am planning the costing for my house too, do you mind to share how much is the cost for your reno?(excluding the loose item) Thank you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
