My 2nd Tiny Little Home ~ Duplex Apt @ Geylang

[vermilion 0]

its more than 3 years! have tenanted my little home @ telok blangah to a canadian

reno of my new place started last week, very simple reno this time,

living/ktichen

1) laminate floor

2) paint all main and bathroom doors white

3) hack existing kitchen island, fabricate a 4ft island + granite top

4) shift wash basin near to mirror, using back existing cabinet base + new granite top

5) touch up of floor for laminate

6) hack tv console

7) changed 3 lights to chandeliers

8) install new socket/scv

9) fabricate a study desk below spiral staircase

10) remove existing curtain tracks and reinstall

bedrooms

1) hack 4ft wardrobe

2) remove cornice for both bedrooms

3) fabricate a 13ft wardrobe cum study/vanity

4) installation of curtain tracks

5) changed lights to chandeliers

6) paint all doors white

this time... i have engaged the most humble contractor ~ patrick fr hobee! whom has done a great job for my mum's and friends' places... very good work! but, no contract was signed yet and no money was paid! he is not scared i run away lor! but hoh... actually... i'm more scared he ke-tok me! i cant help feeling uncomfortable cos his prices is the 2nd steepest among all! anyway, i trust him best after speaking to a few... am going to meet him at 11am to finalize quotation... better do something about his price and dun charge me an arm and a leg...

hacking of cabinets/wardrobe/cornice done (except masterbedroom), piping of wash basin done too, carpentry takes 2 weeks, aircon installation by gain city on the 9 june.... so its busy busy busy again... storage heater, induction hop, oven will arrive these few days... and of course i'm getting excited to see things going smoothly till now. except a small hiccup! fridge base is larger than usual patrick... ... ...

met his carpenter too. somehow, i still prefer ah keong whom seems to read my mind better and he could sketch out what i want immediately. ah long... very quiet, not much communication, i have to guess from his gesture if he understood me... getting a bit worried too... cos i always give very challenging task to carpenter... this time, a table under my spiral staircase (circle wall).

ikea has delivered some of the items, very very please. cheap and nice. honestly, i have always been a fan of ikea, not all of its products are inferior quality. who says custom made plywood shelves won warp? mine has! (done by an id), even handle came off! anyway, am very very very pleased my ikea new furniture + some as-if items

some pictures before reno to share...

living room

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its along a quiet lane

this is my ex tenant's trousers, a german

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masterbedroom & bath

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2nd bedroom

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common bath

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kitchen

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bosch induction cooker

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bosch oven

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bosch washer & dryer too

however, fridge is fisher & pakyel, same model as my present flat

chandelier for master bedroom

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chandelier for living room, with little black shades actually but not shown here

Edited June 3, 2010 by vermilion

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chandeliers for kitchen

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chandelier for 2nd bedroom

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lower floor floor plan

upper floor floor plan

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electrical & lighting plans

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the challenging study area below spiral staircase...

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masterbedroom concept

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2nd bedroom concept, bedroom will be painted black

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[vermilion 0]

i cant make up my mind, to buy the fabric or leather sofa... my place is open kitchen concept, am afraid that the fabric sofa will trapped food smell... hopping someone can share their experience about having fabric sofa... the maintenance and durability...

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Edited June 3, 2010 by vermilion

[Amy Choon 1]

Hey! Your place looks great! Love the spiral staircase too. And the canadian definitely kept your place tidy!

I have a fabric sofa for years. the only problem I have is the liquid that spilled onto the sofa.. the removable sofa covers can be washed, but the liquid will seep into the cushion and it's very heartpain... cos we spent quite a bit on the sofa.

seriously, food smell is the last thing you should be worried... just use febreeze? you cook a lot?

[vermilion 0]

hi merydith, thanks for sharing... yup can understand the pain. but i guess i'm not worried about the spill... my house is kids-proof! its so small that i cant afford to have kids running around. imagine 861sqft, 2 floor so each is only 461, minus off space for the spiral staircase and huge store room that is 2m x 1.2m!!

as for cooking, i usually bake cos its healthier. no deep fry, less than 10 times a year will cook stir fry rice/curry etc... dun like food smell in the house lor.

no no no... i will be staying at this apt. this is the one that's rented. my 3rm flat at telok blangah http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?au...blogid=209&

piccasso came visited my home!! duno who etched my rubbish chute!! from full overnight running tap to lights not switch off to duno wat's up next... so scared that i quickly brought back my chandeliers and put the tv console in the storeroom... hope these workers can be more responsible.

[vermilion 0]

hi merydith, thanks for sharing... yup can understand the pain. but i guess i'm not worried about the spill... my house is kids-proof! its so small that i cant afford to have kids running around. imagine 861sqft, 2 floor so each is only 461, minus off space for the spiral staircase and huge store room that is 2m x 1.2m!!

as for cooking, i usually bake cos its healthier. no deep fry, less than 10 times a year will cook stir fry rice/curry etc... dun like food smell in the house lor.

no no no... i will be staying at this apt. this is the one that's rented. my 3rm flat at telok blangah http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?au...blogid=209&

piccasso came visited my home!! duno who etched my rubbish chute!! from full overnight running tap to lights not switch off to duno wat's up next... so scared that i quickly brought back my chandeliers and put the tv console in the storeroom... hope these workers can be more responsible.

[summerflowers 0]

Since you bake most of the time, fabric sofa is ok.

When doing reno, it's good to make an effort to take of your things. For example, locking them up in a room that you're not renovating. Of course, this is not foolproof. Things may still go missing. The best way is to install before you're about to move in.

[vermilion 0]

i'm having this smell thing at present home now, if i bake pizza or fish, the smell will go into the rooms too, 65sqft house, very small... but it will disperse after few hours... just hope it wont get trapped in the sofa.

alamak, i always prefer to choose to believe in people. i have lots of things inside already, from paintings to lampshades, better go to pick up tonight. imagine, i have been living with housemates in sydney and singpaore for 7-8yrs, never had once lock up bedroom doors, and so far nothing went missing! i believe in trust.

so far the only valuable things in the house are my paintings and painted table lamps. cant find about 7-8 multi plug adaptors and chandeliers mounting screws, tot i brought the screws over and couldnt find since yesterday... am still searching. probably misplaced them.

got these nice lacquer paintings fr vietnam...

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[vermilion 0]

actually i believe patrick and his people from hobee are pretty trustable, i left my house for them to hack forgetting that i have to clear the cabinets & stuff!! after i was back from holiday... am really glad and surprise to see the tv, theater system, kitchen appliances, hangers etc all nicely put in the storeroom. feel bad and am very grateful actually... nice touch. carpenter ah long just called me cos i wish to deepen my study area. my worries was extra! he already did it without my saying great! am looking forward to the completion.

the most headache thing now is to find a nice fabric for curtain... black black curtain...

Edited June 3, 2010 by vermilion

[Honeygal 1]

beautiful unit with loads of potential!!!

i have just engaged Patrick too for my 800 sq ft apt, he will start next week. agree, his price is really steep. btw, did you do those drawings yourself or Patrick did those? how much is his quote ? did he do your electricals as well?

he quoted me $22k just for very basic reno, no fancy feature wall or carpentry at all. heart ache!

btw where did you get your chandeliers and how much do they cost?

Edited June 3, 2010 by Honeygal