M & M Love Nest In Tenteram

[Marcussy 0]

hello Marcussy and chipydale,

please count me in. but i'm far from being your neighbour. My future nest is in Sengkang.

I will be getting my keys in July. So far we only went to IMM and "steal" ideas from those IDs.

Ideas "stolen" are only layout. No one will draw the 3D for us to see wiithout having us to commit.

But read that IDs are so expensive. Contractors will be within our budget as we're revamping the whole house too.

Me & min went down to borders to scout those design books, which are in abundance. Some are spore based and got feature HDB flats. You may want to go and take a look at these books too. Then select one that you like and talk to your contractor about it and ask him to do the same thing. In that case, you can save on the potential higher ID cost yet get a designer home. Having said that, of cos having an ID will take care of more things for you especially if you are busy.

[Marcussy 0]

This is the sofa which I just bought from Lorenzo:

It's a 3-seater full leather sofa. We prefer leather to fabric cos got higher headrest. Colour chosen is peach, cos we wanted a light colour. The original display set of white colour was actually very nice but we reckon it will be impractical as it will get dirty easily. I originally wanted another set but min likes this more. So she starts sellng her reasons to me: 1. Movable headrest is more fashionable now, and can adjust to our different way of slouching. 2. Shape of the sofa is squarish (i like roundish things) so it will give a more shapy and stable feeling to the whole room. 3. Higher headrest than the one that i preferred, so more support, given both of us are tall. So in the end, we got this cos the reasons are all valid Been to many places but still feel Lorenzo's sofas are the most comfortable & value for money.

Added a ottoman too to go along with the sofa. We are doing away with a fixed coffe table, so the ottoman will double up as a coffee table when we are not resting our legs. This idea was given to us cos we face space constraints in our living room. Now looking for a small roller table which we can push around to put our foodstuff, magazines & newpapers.

[Marcussy 0]

Been sourcing around for contractors and got a few referred ones from friends who have positive renos done by them. However, I checked HDB website and realised that some are not registered with HDB. Is there any implications if I use their services?

[merryman 0]

Been sourcing around for contractors and got a few referred ones from friends who have positive renos done by them. However, I checked HDB website and realised that some are not registered with HDB. Is there any implications if I use their services?

HDB advises you to use registered companies, but only renovation works that are not permitted by HDB will have to be rectified...

oh, btw, how much did you pay for your sofa?

Edited June 28, 2009 by merryman

[Marcussy 0]

HDB advises you to use registered companies, but only renovation works that are not permitted by HDB will have to be rectified...

oh, btw, how much did you pay for your sofa?

I paid aout $2.5k for the sofa and that includes a full leather ottoman which is about two-third the length of the sofa.

So as long as the works that I do are permitted, its doesn't matter if I use HDB registered contractors or not right? Cos I got a contractor who was recommended by my friend and the quotes are very reasonable but is not registered with HDB.

[merryman 0]

I paid aout $2.5k for the sofa and that includes a full leather ottoman which is about two-third the length of the sofa.

So as long as the works that I do are permitted, its doesn't matter if I use HDB registered contractors or not right? Cos I got a contractor who was recommended by my friend and the quotes are very reasonable but is not registered with HDB.

Well, they said no to non-registered contractors.... but

Q: If renovation works have been carried out by a non-registered renovation contractor, must they be removed?

[ Home Owners > HDB Renovation Guidelines > Renovation Works ]

A:

Only works that do not comply with HDB’s renovation guidelines and conditions must be removed.

If the works carried out by the non-registered renovation contractor comply with HDB’s guidelines and conditions, you do not need to remove them.

Flat owners should always engage HDB registered contractors to avoid running into problems of unauthorised works.

If the renovation works have complied with HDB’s Renovation Guidelines, they are allowed to be retained. However, as flat owners are responsible for the renovation/electrical works in their flat, it is in their best interest to engage only HDB registered renovation contractors

I can't say out much, you have to decide for yourself

[pinkpetter 0]

mmm ya it's a risk. check carefully and decide carefully? It's not a problem as long as there are no problems...

BUTTTT recently.. my friend's car was SMASHED by a window pane from the 9th floor. When they checked, the windows were not HDB approved and the window guy is not HDB registered. SOOOO because of this incident, the HDB officers entered the "culprit's" house and looked for MORE non-approved things.

mm So you must weigh the pros and cons. source for more quotes first?

[rierie 0]

Been sourcing around for contractors and got a few referred ones from friends who have positive renos done by them. However, I checked HDB website and realised that some are not registered with HDB. Is there any implications if I use their services?

mm..i know of a few contractors whose company names are not on the list cuz it was registered under their personal name. did u check their personal names out?

[Marcussy 0]

mm..i know of a few contractors whose company names are not on the list cuz it was registered under their personal name. did u check their personal names out?

Yup checked out their names liao but can't find. I will talk to the one whom i want to engage soon. See how he normally does things. Since he has done many flats and is highly recommended by friends because of the workmanship and cost, I will prob go with him.

Edited June 28, 2009 by Marcussy

[chipydale 0]

Yup checked out their names liao but can't find. I will talk to the one whom i want to engage soon. See he normally does things. Since he has done many flats and is highly recommended by friends because of the workmanship and cost, I will prob go with him.

Care to share ?

[Marcussy 0]

Care to share ?

Sure once I talk to him and is comfortable, I will share with you. His quotes are quite competitive. Asking him to go down to my new flat on Wed to talk abt renovating stuff. So u started scouting ard already too?

[Marcussy 0]

The dining table that I bought from Lorenzo:

Bought 6 chairs as well, but they are not shown in the pic. Hope it looks good in my new home.

[Marcussy 0]

Here's my living cum dining room, taken from the perspective of the TV console:

Won't be doing reno here cos condition is good. Just a fresh coat of paint. And the owner has a built in shelf which I can display my stuff. I will basically do the same as the owner now, just replace with my own sofa & dining table. Thinking of doing a string curtain just behind the sofa so as to add a "divider" to demarcate dining & living rooms, and to make it more cosy.

[Marcussy 0]

huh,each sold seperately ah?usually if it comes with a set should be cheaper right?

Buy as a bundle, 6 chairs + dining table. Did not choose the chairs displayed here but another set which is more matching to the table. Originally bought 4 but min's mum says buying only 4 means we are not welcoming parents from both side to come join us in the house (some inauspicious meaning la) so we went back to add another 2.

[Marcussy 0]

Here's the living cum dining room taken from the opposite side:

The built in tv console stays, as per the feature wall. All lights are staying too. The reason why we like is probably because of the living room, since it is nicely done up and we like it immediately when we stepped in.

Still thinking about the shoe rack and my display cabinets (i have some collections that i want to display). And also whether to deco the walls with some pics.