lachesis 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2010 Hi everyone! Sorry for the loooong silence. We've been busy settling in - getting stuff organised and getting used to the new place! Finally unpacked the last box yesterday but there are still little pockets of stuff that have to sorted out. Also some minor minor rectification work on-going too that should also be resovled pretty soon. Promise will get some photos up soon - waiting for one last set of blinds to come in, then we'll be all set! Photos should be up by Christmas. Stay tuned! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matashi 1 Report post Posted December 23, 2010 Good job Mr J! Can u please stay in business for the next 10 years so that i can get u to do up my next hse? Yeah! and mine too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matashi 1 Report post Posted December 23, 2010 Hi everyone! Sorry for the loooong silence. We've been busy settling in - getting stuff organised and getting used to the new place! Finally unpacked the last box yesterday but there are still little pockets of stuff that have to sorted out. Also some minor minor rectification work on-going too that should also be resovled pretty soon. Promise will get some photos up soon - waiting for one last set of blinds to come in, then we'll be all set! Photos should be up by Christmas. Stay tuned! If you wan, better finish all the leftover work one shot. Dun be like me, everything stop for quite some time already. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lachesis 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2010 Hi everyone! Sorry for the long wait. The last item - the wooden blinds for our balcony finally came in, so here are the long awaited photos! The Front Gate We chose a straight design, with narrower openings at the bottom so the cats can't escape. The Foyer Changed to ceramic wooden tiles in 3-way staggered pattern. Tinker loves to look out when the door is open. Movable bench to perch, or for sitting to wear shoes with laces etc. White roller blinds installed at windows for privacy (these windows face the lift lobby). Asymmetrical tic-tac-toe feature wall serves a divider and privacy screen too. The Living Room Rich red colour for the walls and sofa. Custom-made TV console and coffee table in matching laminate. The lava lamp was brought over from our old house - now it has a proper place of pride! The colour goes with the red wall too. More photos to come... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lachesis 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2010 (edited) (cont'd...) Dining Room The Dining set was also brought over from our old place. We just got it revarnished, and it's as good as new. Added two new dining chairs (chose two with sandstone coloured leather to match the headboard of our new platform bed). The previous owner had a prayer-room in the enclave beside the master bedroom door. We hacked the wall to extend the master bathroom for a vanity top. On the other side, we built a flushed cabinet for storage. The Buddha-3D Sculpture Close-up of the Buddha sculpture we bought. It adds a calmness to the room, and is a real talking piece! Almost everyone has asked to take photos. The Balcony Nice outdoor feel with outdoor teak decking, outdoor furniture, frosted globe lights and BestView windows for an unobstructed view. The Utility Room The previous owners had made this room bigger. We pushed it back to its original size and installed shelving. We used our full height shoe cum storage cabinet to partition off the utility room, instead of building a wall. Saved us the cost of reconstructing the wall. The entry to the utility room was designed to look like the other doors of the shoe cabinet - so our utility room is actually a 'secret' room. More photos coming up... Edited December 28, 2010 by lachesis Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lachesis 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2010 (cont'd...) The Kitchen Went for light colours throughout to get the light and airy feeling. Love the little shelf above the washing machine for the rice cooker and hot water - leaves the counter top free of clutter (an idea we brought over from the old place). The tall unit houses the microwave, built-in oven and larder. Widened the kitchen entrance for better flow and openess. Glass sliding doors are handy for keeping fumes in and naughty cats out! The Guestroom Pretty bare for now - just a sofa bed we inherited, the exercise machine and the cat tree. Chose vibrant green for the wall- so refreshing. Guest Wardrobe More photos coming up... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lachesis 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2010 (cont'd...) The Study Good sized worktop for both of us and our Herman Miller chairs The purple sofa was brought over from our old place (how small it looks now!), so this room has a purple wall to match. Squeezed our guitar amps in the corner. Study Bookcase/Closet Managed to fit all our books, board games, PC games, photo albums etc in here. The Master Bedroom Our platform bed faces the 15 feet pole-system wardrobe. Installed a full height mirror so we can make sure we look spiffy before leaving the house. Replaced MBR bathroom door with a tempered glass one. Love the sandstone headboard - looks like pieces of chocolate! Has LED lights on either side for night reading. More photos coming up... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lachesis 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2010 (cont'd...) The Common Bathroom Kept to the brown woody theme. Moved the shower area away from the WC so that it's not always wet. The darker brown tiles - at WC and shower - have a fabric-like texture. Chose a two-toned colour scheme for simple but interesting variety. The Master Bathroom Went for a complete different look from the common bath. We'll be spending more time here, so wanted to really spruce up the place. Went with a simple beige/cream look for the dry area and a more exotic resort feel for the shower area (with Antracite and White Nigara tiles). A strip of bronze-toned mosaic separate the two. Simple box up for the Hansgrohe Croma shower pipe also houses the LED lighting and solid surface 'shelves' for our toilettries. The Vanity Cabinet which was built into the extra space created by extending the master bathroom. LED lighting provide illumination. The mosaic just below the mirror adds colour. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
headstomp 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2010 wow very nice.job well done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaskel 2 Report post Posted December 28, 2010 Good job Mr J! Can u please stay in business for the next 10 years so that i can get u to do up my next hse? will still be in the business in the next 10yrs. Hope you tio toto, 4D, then I won't need to wait that long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaskel 2 Report post Posted December 28, 2010 Yeah! and mine too! When u shift to landed property, hope by that time u have not forgotten me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leslyn Tan 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2010 Nice... : Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lachesis 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2010 Nice... : Thanks!! It's still a bit surreal, but now I just love coming home and enjoying the new place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lachesis 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2010 (edited) The End of the Journey It's been eight months since we first started our journey - getting an agent, looking for units, then looking for a contractor, doing the reno and finally moving in. PHEW! Despite being second time home-owners, there was still a lot to learn! In no particular order: i. Ceiling fans – tricky if you’re doing false ceiling. False ceilings lower your fan, so depending on how tall you are, you may want to cut a hole for the fan. Ceiling fans also need a minimum height clearance to be effective. ii. Tiles – texture is nice, but can trap dirt. Light tiles are prone to water marks. May seem like common sense, but easily forgotten when you get carried away looking at tiles in the tile shop. iii. Glass selection – bronze tinted glass with white spray paint on the back ends up looking muddy. Stick with bronze mirror for that bronze shine. iv. Design of kitchen cabinets – beware of having too many drawers. They may look nice on paper, but think of practicality. There’s no point having drawers so small you can only fit a dinner plate. v. Aircon – running of pipes for gas and water – run them separately so your trunking isn’t so huge. We ran our gas pipes in the false ceiling. Water pipes were run to the nearest bathroom. Thankfully our reno journey was relatively smooth. The only issues we had were delays – firstly of the hacking no thanks to HDB, then for carpentry as we had a LOT of carpentry and some slightly more difficult designs. We’re glad our issues were not serious ones like bad quality or wrong designs. In fact, the quality of the carpentry is very good. Overall we were very happy with Jason’s level of professionalism and service. He was with us every step of the way. Things got a bit tense nearer to handover when the carpenter could not deliver on time. However, Jason never once lost his temper or composure. He must be the most patient and even-tempered person we know! He also provides good advice – if something we want to do is not practical, he will usually highlight it to us. The layout and design of our house was mostly our ideas, but Jason really helped us bring it all together. He understood our tastes and requirements and was able to help us materialize our concepts successfully. We’d highly recommend Jason if you’re looking for a contractor (he’s not an ID, though his sense of design is good!). He’s reliable and responsible, though you have to give him room to run your project for you (i.e. don’t micro-manage!). When we started our journey, Jason was our contractor, the one we could click with. After four exciting months, he is now more of a friend. Thanks for everything Jason.. and Alex too of course! Edited December 29, 2010 by lachesis Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lachesis 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2010 Very nice. I love the kitchen colours especially. Another quality product from Jaskel Thanks! Colour scheme was entirely our choice. We went for a woody theme throughout the house, and we chose light woods for that light and airy feeling. For the cabinets, Jaskel had suggested choosing contrasting colours, but we decided to go with close shades from the same family of colour/laminate for a subtle feel. Glad we stuck to it - it turned out really nice. The kitchen cabinet colours are so soothing on the eye, coupled with the glass backsplash and white Corian top, it all goes well together. Plus, the workmanship of the carpentry is very good, which just makes it all the nicer to enjoy. It's also practical and functional - we cooked a full X'mas dinner last week - so it doesn't just look good. I LOVE my kitchen! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
