Henderson Makeover

[macbart 0]

I enjoyed reading your blog. You've written it in a very storylike way...

I noticed that your bathroom is rather long..

and I love that lavender in your bedroom. LOoking forward!!

Hi Pinkpetter, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was wondering if anyone other myself would like it.

The bathroom is rather long (about 3.9m). I like that about it. But it's not very wide (just 1.1m).

My wife is the one who picked the colour for the bedroom. She wanted a darker shade of purple. But looking through the colour swatches, she couldn't find the right (darker) shade. So in the end, we settled on Purple Ash.

BTW, I'm glad the whole air-con saga has been resolved.

[Mrs_Macbart 0]

Hi everyone again!

Today the carpenters were in to do the kitchen cabinets and the bathroom vanity top.

My hubby took some photos and he took some videos too.

The tall burgundy cabinets look awesome!!!

I can't imagine how the lower white cabinets will look once they are done up with the sink and hob.

As for the bathroom vanity top, the small lilies laminate we chose goes very well with the lighting and wall tiles.

SO EXCITEDDDD!!

I can't wait to see everything this Saturday ....

I will let you know how much my jaw drop then! LOL!!

Hubby will post pictures soon

Stay tune!!

Signing out again....

[pinkpetter 0]

Hi Pinkpetter, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was wondering if anyone other myself would like it.

The bathroom is rather long (about 3.9m). I like that about it. But it's not very wide (just 1.1m).

My wife is the one who picked the colour for the bedroom. She wanted a darker shade of purple. But looking through the colour swatches, she couldn't find the right (darker) shade. So in the end, we settled on Purple Ash.

BTW, I'm glad the whole air-con saga has been resolved.

Your writing is a little different from our usual fact-stating entries.

I think the long (but slightly narrower) structure is good. Then you can place your items in a line. I used to think my squarish bathroom is good until I wanted to plan for the items to be placed inside. Then I realised.. longish is better. And you save money when you just have to place one piece of glass across as the shower screen instead of having an L-Shaped one.

Ahhh and your wife just mentioned BURGUNDY cabinets!!! I'm excited too! Please indulge us over the weekend!!

And yes I'm glad about the Air Con issue too. If only my sister can now make my mom cough up the air con remotes. (she's hidden them...)

[Mrs_Macbart 0]

Your writing is a little different from our usual fact-stating entries.

I think the long (but slightly narrower) structure is good. Then you can place your items in a line. I used to think my squarish bathroom is good until I wanted to plan for the items to be placed inside. Then I realised.. longish is better. And you save money when you just have to place one piece of glass across as the shower screen instead of having an L-Shaped one.

Ahhh and your wife just mentioned BURGUNDY cabinets!!! I'm excited too! Please indulge us over the weekend!!

And yes I'm glad about the Air Con issue too. If only my sister can now make my mom cough up the air con remotes. (she's hidden them...)

Hey Pinkpetter!

Yes we have our tall kitchen cabinets in high gloss Burgundy. This is for our larder unit and oven unit.

However, on the opposite wall of that is the low kitchen cabinets all in high gloss white where we have the kitchen sink and induction hob.

I haven't seen the photos of the white cabinets fully done up yet but judging from the burgundy ones which were almost complete, I am guessing it looks really nice (hopefully)

As for our bathroom, yes its quite long.

I am used to square bathrooms. So when the toilet and shower area were combined in our new flat, I was having abit of difficulty visualising how it would be and wonder if its going to be long and narrow, with not much walking space.

I guess I have to wait until Saturday to see the vanity top together with the shower screen that was installed today, and would then have a better gauge.

[macbart 0]

Your writing is a little different from our usual fact-stating entries.

I think the long (but slightly narrower) structure is good. Then you can place your items in a line. I used to think my squarish bathroom is good until I wanted to plan for the items to be placed inside. Then I realised.. longish is better. And you save money when you just have to place one piece of glass across as the shower screen instead of having an L-Shaped one.

That's true. I didn't think about saving on the shower screen.

Ahhh and your wife just mentioned BURGUNDY cabinets!!! I'm excited too! Please indulge us over the weekend!!

That was her pick, as were the wall tiles for the kitchen. The remaining drawers will installed tomorrow hopefully, I'll be able to take a few decent shots that give an idea of the overall feel.

And yes I'm glad about the Air Con issue too. If only my sister can now make my mom cough up the air con remotes. (she's hidden them...)

What? Why?

[pinkpetter 0]

Firstly... I feel honoured that both replied me. hahahahha *self consolation*

Yes we have our tall kitchen cabinets in high gloss Burgundy. This is for our larder unit and oven unit.

However, on the opposite wall of that is the low kitchen cabinets all in high gloss white where we have the kitchen sink and induction hob.

I haven't seen the photos of the white cabinets fully done up yet but judging from the burgundy ones which were almost complete, I am guessing it looks really nice (hopefully)

I guess I have to wait until Saturday to see the vanity top together with the shower screen that was installed today, and would then have a better gauge.

!! Burgundy to contrast with white! Think that'll be a great combination cos having all burgundy might make it a bit dark whilst all-white might be a little boring (like mine....) Very daring idea.

As for the bathroom I'm sure it will turn out alright. 1.1m width should be sufficient. just FYI... between my toilet bowl and sink in the common bathroom, it's just 250mm. My brother knocks into it all the time cos he's much bigger sized compared to my sis and I. *evil laughter*

That was her pick, as were the wall tiles for the kitchen. The remaining drawers will installed tomorrow hopefully, I'll be able to take a few decent shots that give an idea of the overall feel.

What? Why?

Really looking forward to pictures of your kitchen. I think with such a combination you'll never grow bored of it.

The air con remotes?? cos she wants to make sure the temperature is "HOT enough" for air con to be turned on before she releases the remotes. This is from the woman who cuts her nails in the dark, turns off the lights and heater when the kids shower and washes the clothes before she places them into the washing machine to spin.

Lastly... I scrolled back up to look at your pictures again... how I wish I had your windows... haiz.

Edited December 9, 2009 by pinkpetter

[macbart 0]

Hi Pinkpetter,

Firstly... I feel honoured that both replied me. hahahahha *self consolation*

At least we didn't say the same thing.

!! Burgundy to contrast with white! Think that'll be a great combination cos having all burgundy might make it a bit dark whilst all-white might be a little boring (like mine....) Very daring idea.

I was thinking all white. My wife's the one who figured it would be nice with some burgundy.

As for the bathroom I'm sure it will turn out alright. 1.1m width should be sufficient. just FYI... between my toilet bowl and sink in the common bathroom, it's just 250mm. My brother knocks into it all the time cos he's much bigger sized compared to my sis and I. *evil laughter*

It does look ok. But I guess if anyone is at the basin, it won't be easy for anyone else to pass through to the other side.

Really looking forward to pictures of your kitchen. I think with such a combination you'll never grow bored of it.

I have some picture from yesterday and a short video clip of our carpenter putting together and installing an S2 drawer. I'll post the pictures later, but I'm not sure if I should post the video.

The air con remotes?? cos she wants to make sure the temperature is "HOT enough" for air con to be turned on before she releases the remotes. This is from the woman who cuts her nails in the dark, turns off the lights and heater when the kids shower and washes the clothes before she places them into the washing machine to spin.

Oh dear. Perhaps the first time it's hot enough, make sure you keep one of the remotes so you can use it in future.

Lastly... I scrolled back up to look at your pictures again... how I wish I had your windows... haiz.

The full-height windows? That's something that drew us to that block. But... as we've discovered, it's not always a blessing. We wanted to change all of them to white power-coated casement windows with green glass and the grilles to white horizontal bars. But HDB said we can't change the windows cos it's contrary to current reno guidelines.

What's worse is that the current windows are not all the same! On one side, we have bronze framed sliding windows in the living room (tinted glass) and the bedroom (frosted glass) and on the other side, we have bronze framed casement windows (tinted glass) for the other two rooms and the white powder coated casement windows in the kitchen and white powder coated louvred windows in the bathroom (we were allowed to change these). We're changing all the window grilles to horizontal bars (bronze for the bronze windows and white for the kitchen) and changing the glass of the windows in the bedroom to match the ones in the other rooms.

[pinkpetter 0]

It does look ok. But I guess if anyone is at the basin, it won't be easy for anyone else to pass through to the other side.

Don't think this will happen very often. heh

The full-height windows? That's something that drew us to that block. But... as we've discovered, it's not always a blessing. We wanted to change all of them to white power-coated casement windows with green glass and the grilles to white horizontal bars. But HDB said we can't change the windows cos it's contrary to current reno guidelines.

What's worse is that the current windows are not all the same! On one side, we have bronze framed sliding windows in the living room (tinted glass) and the bedroom (frosted glass) and on the other side, we have bronze framed casement windows (tinted glass) for the other two rooms and the white powder coated casement windows in the kitchen and white powder coated louvred windows in the bathroom (we were allowed to change these). We're changing all the window grilles to horizontal bars (bronze for the bronze windows and white for the kitchen) and changing the glass of the windows in the bedroom to match the ones in the other rooms.

HUH they don't let you change?? so mean!

full height windows can really add to the ambience of a house.. but if they are as uncoordinated as you described... *urgh* what a headache.

Anyway looking forward to the pictures tomorrow!!

[macbart 0]

Momentum Lost?

I woke up on Monday, December 7, feeling a little glum. After the first two weeks of the renovation seemed to have lots of work packed in back-to-back and we'd notice significant progress each time we visited, things seemed to slow down a little in the third week. Worse still, with changes to the original schedule, I wasn't even sure what would happen in this, the fourth week. When I spoke with Andy a couple of days earlier, he wasn't sure when the painters would be back to complete what they weren't able to the week before (door frames, front door and railings) and while he was hoping that the carpenter would be able to begin installing the kitchen cabinets on Thursday or Friday, he wasn't sure if they'd be ready.

I started to wonder if we'd really be able to move in before Christmas.

Then Andy called and informed me that painters would be in the next day, following which the remaining two rooms and the living room would be acid washed. The window grilles and shower screen would be installed on Wednesday. But best of all, the carpenter would begin installing the kitchen and bathroom cabinets on Wednesday. I perked up, especially when I heard that they would probably need just ONE day to complete the work!

Then, later in the morning, Steve from Opsh confirmed that they would go over on Thursday to install the pelmet and the bits on the side (is there a specific name for these?) and measure the space in preparation for the fabrication and installation of their pole-system wardrobe a couple of weeks later.

Yes, so we'll have to live without the wardrobe for a few days. But in the space of a few hours on Monday morning, everything seems back on track for us to move in before Christmas.

[macbart 0]

Day 27

By Tuesday evening, December 8, we had freshly-painted door frames to go with the new doors.

And although we didn't change the gate, it looks a whole lot better after being painted. The colour is apparently called "leather".

I've gotta run now... but I'll try to post pictures from Wednesday and Thursday (of the kitchen) when I'm back tonight.

[macbart 0]

Day 28 - Kitchen Day

Wednesday, December 9, was the day we'd been eagerly looking forward to from the moment renovation began. To be completely truthful, we had no idea when that day would be. But our main reason for sealing up the original entrances to the bathroom and toilet, combining two separate spaces into one, was so that we'd be able to have the kitchen we wanted - one with oven mounted at eye-level (and not under the counter), a tall larder unit, space for the refrigerator and washing machine and a decent amount of countertop workspace.

We'd dreamt about it, drawn various layouts on paper and using software, and eventually planned the layout (with some advice from Caroline, a showroom specialist a the Blum Showroom), but Wednesday was the when we'd finally be able to see, literally, our plans come to fruition.

I'd planned the units, decided which drawers to put in each unit and bought the necessary Blum hardware. I figured that it would be nice if our base cabinets had only two drawer fronts per unit, each of the same size. At the bottom of each unit, would be an S4 drawer that would be half the available height of the base cabinet. Above three of the units would be an S2, apparently the same size as the S4 drawer. However, when opened each would reveal an i3 inner drawer. The unit housing the hob would have an S3 drawer above the S4 drawer (and no inner drawer), while the unit housing the sink would have a fixed panel (covering the sink) above the S4 drawer.

I went over the plan with Andy and, subsequently, during the measuring of the kitchen, Andy went over the plan with Sam, the carpenter, while I was present, so we could be sure we were all the one the same page. Sam took it all in and came up with a really good suggestion for the panel covering the sink (I'll post a picture) and a great solution that would overcome the problem of the position of the drainage pipe leaving too little space for a Blum drawer.

The one thing we couldn't decide on during measurement was the positioning of the inner drawers in the larder unit. Andy suggested that we sort that out when Sam installs the cabinets.

With all the dreaming and planning I'd put into it, I was keen on watching the whole process of the kitchen taking shape. So when Andy told me that Sam would install it on Wednesday, I wanted to know what time I should be there. Andy said that they would probably arrive at about 12pm and so I should be there by about 2pm.

I made sure I was there at 12pm!

But when I walked in, I saw that the carcasses for the cabinets were already in place!

By the time I'd stopped drooling and remembered that I had a camera in my bag, Sam was working on the cut-out for the sink.

And his assistant was working on the oven and larder unit.

Since you've read this far, let me stop talking and just show you a few more pictures.

Here's our sink - a Bravo 18181 (795mm) - that we bought at Adamas.

Our larder unit (before the inner drawers were installed).

And a close-up of the Blum 155-degree 0-protrusion hinges we're using for the door of the larder unit.

[macbart 0]

The Kitchen continued

Blum drawers are a standard 500mm deep. The problem we faced in having a drawer under the sink was that the position of the drainage pipe for the sink didn't leave the required 500mm. Andy was wondering if we could have a shorter drawer. Sam had a better idea.

And instead of the fixed panel I'd wanted above that drawer, Sam suggested putting in a flip-down door that would allow plumbers access to the sink and pipes if necessary.

Now that you've seen what's in the sink unit, here's a look at the drawers in one of our units. Two of the others are identical, while the unit with the hob looks similar, except without the inner drawer (the one at the top).

And here's a peek at the oven and larder unit (high gloss burgundy) from the living room.

[macbart 0]

Four Weeks On - December 9

It's been four whole weeks since hacking began on November 12, and our living room and kitchen have come a long way in that time.

What you see on the right is a part of the oven and larder unit. It's got a high gloss burgundy, which is reflecting what's on the other side.

[macbart 0]

HUH they don't let you change?? so mean!

full height windows can really add to the ambience of a house.. but if they are as uncoordinated as you described... *urgh* what a headache.

Anyway looking forward to the pictures tomorrow!!

We were disappointed at first. But I've gotta say that the windows don't look half bad now that walls have been painted and we've had the window grilles changed to simple horizontal bars.

[Mickey M 0]

Hey macbart,

This is what i call a modern kitchen. Factors include high-gloss laminates used, tall unit to show full piece of gloss laminate and no kitchen handle for the cabinets (i believe u will not have it and no handles equal sleek). And the color burgundy is right! If i were u, I would have used burgundy for the whole kitchen. It is bolder and personally, I feel white laminates are not very gloss partly becos it is white in nature. But the choice is always best guided by one's personal taste.

Thumbs up! Nicely done.