iangohye 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2010 Hi guys! My very first post. Would like to make use of this t-Blog thing to document our renovation progress when it actually happens in ... oh maybe... March or so. Our first appointment is only scheduled in mid Jan. Have no clue when the 2nd appointment would be. All i know its gonna be a wild ride for my future wife and myself. First off, the original layout: Size: 104sqm Condition of unit: Original Expected reno costs: 20k (hopefully) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mae29 2 Report post Posted December 20, 2010 Hi guys! My very first post. Would like to make use of this t-Blog thing to document our renovation progress when it actually happens in ... oh maybe... March or so. Our first appointment is only scheduled in mid Jan. Have no clue when the 2nd appointment would be. All i know its gonna be a wild ride for my future wife and myself. First off, the original layout: Size: 104sqm Condition of unit: Original Expected reno costs: 20k (hopefully) Hey, welcome to reno t-blog. Seems like you have plenty of time planning and sourcing for ID/contractors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iangohye 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2010 (edited) Hey, welcome to reno t-blog. Seems like you have plenty of time planning and sourcing for ID/contractors. Thanks. Actually we plan on just using a contractor. Wife is design savvy so we arent using an ID. Anyway, we dont really like the designs that IDs have nowadays. Our opinion is that its too sleek and glossy and it doesnt have a very homely feel. But thats just a personal opinion, no offense to anyone here Heres a tentative layout plan i whipped out: Those colors are placeholders only. Wife would def want to change it haha Edited December 20, 2010 by iangohye Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iangohye 0 Report post Posted December 21, 2010 Here are some shots of the place in the condition it is right now. I was told that although its original, the condition of the place isnt that bad. No leaks, only have some paint cracks here and there. View from the living room. The living room isnt supposed to be that dark, i think its cos the light from outside is too bright. MBR Kitchen Bedroom 2 Common toilet We plan on using well placed mirrors to enhance the outside greenery and light into the living room. Probably full length mirrors above the planned position for the piano. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yeo99 0 Report post Posted December 21, 2010 (edited) Here are some shots of the place in the condition it is right now. I was told that although its original, the condition of the place isnt that bad. No leaks, only have some paint cracks here and there. View from the living room. The living room isnt supposed to be that dark, i think its cos the light from outside is too bright. MBR Kitchen Bedroom 2 Common toilet We plan on using well placed mirrors to enhance the outside greenery and light into the living room. Probably full length mirrors above the planned position for the piano. Welcome to renotalk. Your budget is 20K, based on the present condition , I think it will be difficult to acheive based on your plan(hacking of wall and retile the toilet and kitchen, etc). Do keep us posted as many people would like to know how would you achieve it, so that everyone will benifit. Edited December 21, 2010 by yeo99 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iangohye 0 Report post Posted December 21, 2010 Welcome to renotalk. Your budget is 20K, based on the present condition , I think it will be difficult to acheive based on your plan(hacking of wall and retile the toilet and kitchen, etc). Do keep us posted as many people would like to know how would you achieve it, so that everyone will benifit. Thanks! Yeah ive been advised that it would realistically be from about 25k to 30k. Although ive set my budget to be 20k, i also have a buffer of about 5 to 10k for when reality sets in. But we definitely want to see if we can try to get it below 25k. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermione 1 Report post Posted December 21, 2010 Thanks! Yeah ive been advised that it would realistically be from about 25k to 30k. Although ive set my budget to be 20k, i also have a buffer of about 5 to 10k for when reality sets in. But we definitely want to see if we can try to get it below 25k. hello, i'm a fellow t-blogger too. doing reno now. i like your floorplan, but i think you have less space than you think? i also had a hard time connecting reality with the floor plan since it always looked spacious on paper. plus ppl sitting in the dining table on the inside have no space to walk out if all seats are occupied. have fun toying with this! it took me a LONG time to decide on mine. i'm also trying to get it under 25k. my quote was around 20k odd, but in the end there are changes here and there, permits to apply for hacking etc, extra electrical works... but i'm still aiming for <$25k. mine is new flat tho, so no hacking the floors, plus my only carpentry is in the kitchen... not sure for yours. carpentry is pricey also... anyways, would be nice to see how it works out! i like the 4a in clementi, v spacious! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dexufto 5 Report post Posted December 21, 2010 Thanks. Actually we plan on just using a contractor. Wife is design savvy so we arent using an ID. Anyway, we dont really like the designs that IDs have nowadays. Our opinion is that its too sleek and glossy and it doesnt have a very homely feel. But thats just a personal opinion, no offense to anyone here Heres a tentative layout plan i whipped out: Those colors are placeholders only. Wife would def want to change it haha hi iangohye, I love the way your wife utilises the spaces; doubling the seating with storage space at the Hall just some suggestions: Prehaps the same shelves could turn to a full height after it crosses the piano? I'm assuming you are using one of the rooms as your personal entertainment room cum study room (desk by window)? You may add a sliding door to partition the two rooms so that one your partner rest/ study the bedroom is still undisturbed? Seems like the picture suggests parquet/ laminates. Do you plan to overlay your tiles with laminates according to the layout? Let me know if you need contacts The common toliet basin area is likely to be remained as a WC spot, don't think it is posssible to shift to the opposite side, upgrading to a sit from squat? Do leave a bit more workspace between the hob and sink area in the kitchen, this would facilitate the cooking experience. Your place has loads of room for creativity; do look around for ideas/ can ask id to recommend (don't necessary need to sign up with them) All the best. my 2-cents worth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
january 0 Report post Posted December 21, 2010 Hello, welcome to renotalk. Great floorplan. No TV in the living room, that's awesome. Just some thoughts about the piano; what type is it? If it's the electric type you may want to position it such that the performer and the audience can look at each other. So it's like an intimate performance venue. And maybe you don't need such a long seating/storage. Cuz the more storage you build, the more rubbish you store. (At least that's what happened to me). All the best for the reno. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iangohye 0 Report post Posted December 22, 2010 hello, i'm a fellow t-blogger too. doing reno now. i like your floorplan, but i think you have less space than you think? i also had a hard time connecting reality with the floor plan since it always looked spacious on paper. plus ppl sitting in the dining table on the inside have no space to walk out if all seats are occupied. have fun toying with this! it took me a LONG time to decide on mine. i'm also trying to get it under 25k. my quote was around 20k odd, but in the end there are changes here and there, permits to apply for hacking etc, extra electrical works... but i'm still aiming for <$25k. mine is new flat tho, so no hacking the floors, plus my only carpentry is in the kitchen... not sure for yours. carpentry is pricey also... anyways, would be nice to see how it works out! i like the 4a in clementi, v spacious! Hi hermione, thanks for the tips. Im only beginning to realize the difference in floorplan and actual spacing on the ground. But that layout i concocted is just preliminary. Will def have to work out the kinks. Yeah ive been advised that with our ideas, its most likely going to go further north of 25k. Oh well. Ill try my best. Hopefully can get to document my success Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iangohye 0 Report post Posted December 22, 2010 hi iangohye, I love the way your wife utilises the spaces; doubling the seating with storage space at the Hall just some suggestions: Prehaps the same shelves could turn to a full height after it crosses the piano? I'm assuming you are using one of the rooms as your personal entertainment room cum study room (desk by window)? You may add a sliding door to partition the two rooms so that one your partner rest/ study the bedroom is still undisturbed? Seems like the picture suggests parquet/ laminates. Do you plan to overlay your tiles with laminates according to the layout? Let me know if you need contacts The common toliet basin area is likely to be remained as a WC spot, don't think it is posssible to shift to the opposite side, upgrading to a sit from squat? Do leave a bit more workspace between the hob and sink area in the kitchen, this would facilitate the cooking experience. Your place has loads of room for creativity; do look around for ideas/ can ask id to recommend (don't necessary need to sign up with them) All the best. my 2-cents worth. Haha thanks. Actually that was my idea. I rented an apartment at Jurong west before. The owners were designers and i loved how they made their seatings duo purpose. Storage under, seating above. Simple and effective. Since the original tiling is still in good condition, we plan on just overlaying. From what i understand, its cheaper since i dont have to hack. Regarding the kitchen spacing. Im actually having alot of problems with spacing. LIke hermione pointed out, floorplans can be deceiving as it doesnt neccy translate into good layouts on the ground. Anyway thanks for the pointers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iangohye 0 Report post Posted December 22, 2010 Hello, welcome to renotalk. Great floorplan. No TV in the living room, that's awesome. Just some thoughts about the piano; what type is it? If it's the electric type you may want to position it such that the performer and the audience can look at each other. So it's like an intimate performance venue. And maybe you don't need such a long seating/storage. Cuz the more storage you build, the more rubbish you store. (At least that's what happened to me). All the best for the reno. Yup we prefer to entertain guests without the TV. although there will be situations where a TV would come in handy but i think we going to try to deviate from the norm for the living room. The piano is one of those electric piano types. Its use is just functional, for fellowship groups etc haha. Id rather face the wall when playing, not pro enough and... too shy! I agree with the seating/storage. I think we can get quite compulsive in hording stuff. But i view the extra storage space as a just in case i need it thing. Better to have it as opposed to not having it and wishing i did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marshmallow 0 Report post Posted December 22, 2010 The piano is one of those electric piano types. Its use is just functional, for fellowship groups etc haha. Id rather face the wall when playing, not pro enough and... too shy! welcome to RT~ haha in this case then maybe you should really consider facing the audience while playing? then you can see the song leader too dun worry, first few times you feel that you are not pro, after a few more times.... okie liao Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iangohye 0 Report post Posted December 24, 2010 welcome to RT~ haha in this case then maybe you should really consider facing the audience while playing? then you can see the song leader too dun worry, first few times you feel that you are not pro, after a few more times.... okie liao maybe next time i buy grand piano then can not shy alr lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iangohye 0 Report post Posted December 24, 2010 Argh realized that the kitchen layout isnt going to work very well. It looks ok from the top down, but ive been advised that there is not much space in reality. This is especially so if the washing machine, kitchen top and dining table are all lined up on one side of the wall. Going to have to rework the kitchen and maybe think of alternate layout ideas... Maybe we should go visit some IDs. Any ideas? Thanks. Actually we plan on just using a contractor. Wife is design savvy so we arent using an ID. Anyway, we dont really like the designs that IDs have nowadays. Our opinion is that its too sleek and glossy and it doesnt have a very homely feel. But thats just a personal opinion, no offense to anyone here Heres a tentative layout plan i whipped out: Those colors are placeholders only. Wife would def want to change it haha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites