The Best Journey Always Leads Us Home

[Ely1 0]

This is bliss ...

To sit there, with a cuppa of aroma java, and maxey/bondi sitting beside u, looking out to greenery..

非笔墨可以形容

Words cant describe the feeling i want to express

i can only imagine since from my house, sitting on settee and looking out to carpark, see any fatimah ard

Wahahahaa

LOL footprint! You're funny!

You just described my every morning (nights are with wine haha!) Both Bondi and Maxey are settling in very well - Bondi loves the balcony at night where he hopes to catch some unwitting insects.

It's odd that I still sometimes miss being at home, the security of the old and familiar - sitting at my desk every night and looking out to the road, listening to music, and writing. It's a strange familiarity that I miss, because it seems like a previous life, only hanging on me in shreds, fragmented.

- Ely

[Ely1 0]

Will have my post-reno report in a bit

[footprint 0]

LOL footprint! You're funny!

You just described my every morning (nights are with wine haha!) Both Bondi and Maxey are settling in very well - Bondi loves the balcony at night where he hopes to catch some unwitting insects.

It's odd that I still sometimes miss being at home, the security of the old and familiar - sitting at my desk every night and looking out to the road, listening to music, and writing. It's a strange familiarity that I miss, because it seems like a previous life, only hanging on me in shreds, fragmented.

- Ely

Shiok to have wine at night, sitting by the balcony.

I go for hard liquor! Thou I retire from alcohol Le, except when dd baking/cooking.

that's life isn't it?

Yes, sure takes time to get used to it,

But am sure u will cope well de.

There's bondi n maxey there with u!

Edited June 8, 2011 by footprint

[marshmallow 0]

wow Ely! your place is so pretty!!

stop saying it's cookie-cutter-ish or i will you......

[Ely1 0]

OMGAH my post reno report got eaten by teh internetz! GAAHH!

/facepalm

Not sure if I can replicate it since am now overwhelmed by "sian-ness". *grumble*

[insane 0]

Nice balcony!!

[Ely1 0]

DAY 108

It’s been about 10 days since we moved in and I’m still adjusting – The Husband is constantly asking where things are, and I’m always a little unnerved sitting at the new dresser where things are now in a different place. OCD much? Funny part about living in Australia and being nomadic during my years there was that I stuck by a certain vanity placement, and I even brought home the little Ikea shelf that housed all the different compartments for the different products according to which part of the face they go on

The pets are settling in very nicely. Bondi required no housetraining (of course, since cats are awesome), but Maxey is taking longer than I’d like with the Potty Patch. We now have a schedule to bring the dog down for toilet breaks.

In a large sense, this feels like a place I’m simply living in and not quite like a home yet. More like a holiday home like the house in Perth. I wonder how long people usually get that sense of belonging after moving in a new house, especially one that you’ve planned and worked so hard for. I expected to be overwhelmed by a sense of achievement, or pride, or relief and relaxation but I didn’t plan to be perplexed by strange emotions I cannot express.

The neighbour’s howling dog is still annoyingly persistent, and I haven’t spotted my owls yet. We’ve only had my family and ONE photographer friend come over, and he gave us a gorgeous print on rice paper. He’s going to be exhibiting it in New York in September so we’re thrilled we got such a precious, exclusive piece.

Lessons Learnt:

1) Not all tiles are created equal – for some reason, the black shimmer bathroom floor tiles leave an annoying print when stepped on by wet feet (or paws). Mopping doesn’t do it either, the best method I’ve found is cleaner and cloth and being on knees and hands to clean every inch of it. The wet kitchen tiles have a perpetual dusty feel, not very conducive for a textile-loving person like me. By far, the homogenous tiles are the easiest to maintain but they show up every single strand of hair (and clumps of fur) while the balcony wood-like tiles are my favourite in its ease of cleaning, texture and ability to hide dirt. However the off-white homogenous tiles do get marked easily so be careful when moving furniture around – we already have a few permanent black lines and the gout needs to cleaned with a toothbrush or maintained with a white gout pen.

2) Buy furniture only when renovations are almost complete – Too many miscalculations and over inspired, impulse buys especially when you do not take into account carpentry and the changes that will inevitably come. Even the best software cannot depict space/colour planning until everything is almost in its place. I’m not saying to put off that Noguchi coffee table on sale – just be prepared for changes, and be flexible  When the carpentry is fabricated, you’ll get a better sense of space and able to plan around the pieces you MUST have, then get the accents only after. You might find that the gorgeous baroque mirror you purchased don’t blend with the woodgrain laminate, or the robin blue wingback chair is too large for the bedroom once the cabinets and king-sized bed is in.

After our wardrobe was fitted, we realised how much smaller it was, and quickly changed our order of the zebra rug – thankfully the eBay seller was understanding enough to cancel the transaction. We also did not expect to extend our island top by another 10cm, which cuts into the space, but it allows for more comfortable seating and adequate leg room. We also had to rehack and re-tile one of our bathroom walls due to poor planning, to allow an extension of the wall for a normal sized wardrobe to fitted on the other side. We also changed all the Blum cabinets to normal casement as the full height shelves meant I couldn’t even reach the 2nd shelf, much lest operate the Blum door when opened. The dishrack was made according to my height but now poses a serious hazard. Have gotten so many bumps on the head from it, and even Mom was not spared!

3) Be thorough when it comes to planning lights, electrical points, switches – more is better than less, I think, though perhaps some people might disagree. If it’s too dark, you might find it a hassle to get another light installed due to the trunking, re-running of wires, etc, but you can always choose to switch on less downlights or use the dimmer, if it’s too bright. Electrical sockets are important – always determine your most used spaces for appliances and get enough sockets to accommodate your needs. I’m so thankful we ran sockets in our kitchen island when my parents brought the steamboat over! Computer/HTS areas should be catered for adequately, and plan for bedside lamps/clocks/chargers – we find that we’re using too adapters and power boards because we clearly misjudged our usage whereas there are empty sockets scattered everywhere else. Try to have a central socket you think would allow a vacuum cleaner would reach majority of the areas so you don’t have to keep unplugging it. Also important to get your electrician to check if the number of sockets etc would trip your electrical board. On our first day, we turned on everything just to make sure it would not overload our electrical board.

We ran the mistake of forgetting we had certain beams etc, and had to change lights according to which could be ceiling mounted or hanging pendants.

4) Buy white goods, electrical appliances, equipment, sanitary stuff first – This allows the carpentry to be fabricated around the appliances or you might find yourself with a fridge that is too wide or too long. Have all the dimensions and specs emailed to your ID/contractor so it won’t be a matter of he said/she said if there are mistakes. With the specs of the sanitary wear, the plumber will also know how to run the pipes and outlets, and the carpentry can accommodate a proper sized vanity, while the granite top can be cut precisely to fit your sinks and taps. We had to change our mixers thrice because we weren’t clear about wanting hot water catered to our bathroom sinks, then another change when the proportion of the tap and sink was wrong. Once the sanitary stuff is delivered, you’ll have a better idea of how they would look together especially when you did not purchase them together.

Re-use the granite cut-outs from the sinks if you’re planning a breakfast nook etc. This way, you save on material and it gives a more unified look.

5) Be neither too skeptical or too assured when it comes to buying online – Always read product descriptions carefully and ask questions before buying. You’ll find that some sellers show pictures of a different product, while specifying the real (similar) product in its description. I’ve had good and bad buys – I’m 50-50 about the steel floor-traps. They look good enough but flow is slow. It does however prevent roaches due to the valve that closes when there’s no water going through. The steel slits also do not prevent waste as well as the conventional ones. One metal art piece was disappointing and now relegated to the wet kitchen. All my lamps are gorgeous but they require local voltage bulbs. Despite needing an expensive transformer for my coffee drip machine (-1 for aesthetics), it performs better than the usual Braun ones they have here.

THINGS I’M HAPPY WITH:

- I was initially skeptical about the Electrolux washing machine and dryer and felt that I should have gone with the Bosch I wanted. We were told by the sales people at Harvey Norman that this was the Electrolux equivalent of the WAS28444ME and we were sold by the Time Manager functions. Our first use of it saw me jumping on top of the machine to stop it from shimmying its way to the other side of the laundry but we found that it was because we did not remove the brackets behind, so always read manuals first! Both are extremely quiet and perform really well, the washer comes with a tilted drum and both are equipped with a light so you won’t miss that last lingering sock. They’re not too hard on the eyes either. Not sure if the Made In Italy tag makes a difference, but am not disappointed with them so far. Perhaps, with our next place, we’ll jump on the Miele bandwagon.

- Electrolux oven also works efficiently and very user-friendly. Electrolux gas hob also performed better than I’d expected – huge flames that have a pot of water boiling in mere minutes! The Bosch wine chiller and island hood are both idiot-proof and extremely easy to operate. The Panasonic Inverter fridge, while not fancy, is great for a couple like us. The freezer below does, however, present some ergonomic problems when loading the ice tray. The Miele vacuum cleaner and Dyson handheld are the handiest tools around – easy to lug about, great performance.

- Like another post said, curtains are curtains are curtains. Shop around for the best rates – the workmanship and track systems are pretty standard anyway. We managed to get ours for half the price of one of the cheaper recommendations on the forum. The guy was in and out of our place in 20 minutes after some measurements, and his service was prompt and reliable. We were also glad that we had a wide selection of quality material since they were all priced the same, so no debating if we should limit ourselves to the budget swatches, or splurge on something fancy from the expensive catalogue. He even worked on a public holiday, and had everything in place, in time as promised. Curtains: John Yong (+60 16 733 2335)

- Wallpaper was also very efficiently and well-installed. Prices are very competitive with the cheapest quotation we got, with some room for negotiation. Overall, very happy with the service provided. Great quality material too! Wallpaper: Norbu (Jesper @ 9011 6198)

- KEC (for HTS) – A must for everyone looking at a HTS. They’re professional, no hard selling, and very customer oriented. Installation was a breeze, and they didn’t mind a bit installing equipment not bought from them. The guy even took the time to show me how all the controls work and was very thorough in his calibration and open with his opinions and suggestions.

- Service from Hommage, iwannagohome and Lifestorey:-

Eric from Hommage is indeed very reliable and easy to work with. Just be sure to be prepared for unexpected delays from the China factory and mistakes by the manufacturers. Eric is swift to rectify any mistake though that would normally incur another wait. Many of the items from his catalogue also require a minimum order so be prepared to wait if your particular piece requires at least 5 orders (or whatever) before they start making them. Also, take pictures of the product and your chosen colour swatch – I’ve found that the rectified bar table is made in the colour I chose, but the chairs are different, like wavy patterns but I’m going to live with the mismatching table and chairs because I cannot take further advantage of Eric’s easy going attitude. He accepted a full refund of the couch that was wrongly made and was very apologetic about everything else. Apparently, they’ve never made bar seats with back rests before so they assumed the dimensions for the bar table would be same as those that go with the stools.

Iwannagohome is like a treasure trove for me, and Yuli is such a gem. She even called me the other day to tell me about their sale. All their deliveries went without a hitch and on time.

Lifestorey is another store that boasts impeccable and reliable service. Great selection of couches and some designer pieces.

- Decals: they came from all over: etsy, eBay, Modishop, Decorette but all were like imagined, but glass is probably the hardest surface for decals to adhere to. Even had a letter break off due to my impatience - it takes like many days before it finally dries. My lovely ID installed all my decals so I can't comment on the ease of application.

- Mitsubishi aircons - They cool fast, quietly and apart from an initial problem with the compressor, they all work so well.

- Invest in good, luxurious sheets – they make a world of difference

THINGS I WOULD CHANGE:

- It comes as no surprise that at the top of my list would be initial plastering of the entire house. Now trying to avert eyes from the worst walls or trying to hide the smears and bubbles with pictures.

- Should have gone for a 55” TV for the living room. Initially thought the 46” would be sufficient and even chastised The Husband for suggesting 55” as felt it was overkill, like that crazy subwoofer but now regretful as I’m either squinting or wearing glasses if watching TV from the couch.

- Novita filtered water jug is a piece of crap.

- Foyer cabinet, as it’s too high and the press-open mechanism works very poorly. Got it from Ikea and spruced it up with nickel hardware bought online but it still does not look the way I want, and the doors keep opening by themselves! I can deal with silly mechanisms if it looks good but..

- DeLonghi electric cordless kettle is a piece of crap.

- The bed – should have gone with initial choice of Serta Willow Spring. The Dunlopillo isn’t bad but it definitely felt more plush and more ensconcing when trying it out at the Expo fair (perhaps it needs running in like speakers and shoes?)

- Several online buys that did not justify its shipping price.

- A little divided about the couch as I feel I should have stuck to a grey couch – the one we have from Lifestorey is comfy enough, and perhaps when the final art piece arrives, it would pull the look together.

Outstanding work:

Laundry pulley system and glass doors for the common bathroom (which are currently being installed as I type), more DIY for the wardrobe, pictures, art!

- Ely

[Ely1 0]

wow Ely! your place is so pretty!!

stop saying it's cookie-cutter-ish or i will you......

Thanks Marshy! You don't think it's cookie-cutter-ish?? Dunno, it looks and feels pretty cookie-cutter-ish to me. Not that I'm complaining though. It's just what it looks and feels like to me

I'll accept the spanking when I meet you next

- Ely

[Ely1 0]

Nice balcony!!

Thanks insane! The simplicity works for us! Probably the only place in the house that isn't cluttered haha!

- Ely

[Ely1 0]

WEDDING PREP:

Only one outfit has been confirmed. That's some progress at least.

Maxey - Dog of Honor:

- Ely

[Ely1 0]

You are only as weird as you let yourself be.

RB

Just read Graham Howe, and your comment came to mind. His take on normality:

"Normality is the paradise of escapologists, for it is a fixation concept, pure and simple. It is better, if we can, to stand alone and to feel quite normal about our abnormality, doing nothing whatever about it, except what needs to be done in order to be oneself".

Something to ponder about on a Friday night

- Ely

[adidaem 6]

Thanks Marshy! You don't think it's cookie-cutter-ish?? Dunno, it looks and feels pretty cookie-cutter-ish to me. Not that I'm complaining though. It's just what it looks and feels like to me

I'll accept the spanking when I meet you next

- Ely

Hmm, think I wanna spank you too! What cookie cutter-ish? If your place is considered cookie cutter-ish, then I think I won't dare to show my place when it's ready...

Now that spanking is done, can I invite you over to be my wall decal consultant when my place is ready?

[friends78 0]

THINGS I WOULD CHANGE:

- Should have gone for a 55” TV for the living room. Initially thought the 46” would be sufficient and even chastised The Husband for suggesting 55” as felt it was overkill, like that crazy subwoofer but now regretful as I’m either squinting or wearing glasses if watching TV from the couch.

When my bro first came to my hse, he also lamented on the size of my 40" TV at the living room. He said my TV is too small for my big feature wall... I console myself by saying at least the few Ks I saved on the TV is still in the bank... In this world, it's the available balance in the bank account that matters...

BTW, how's your rashes and asthma? Better? Take care yah....

[RimBlock 0]

Just read Graham Howe, and your comment came to mind. His take on normality:

"Normality is the paradise of escapologists, for it is a fixation concept, pure and simple. It is better, if we can, to stand alone and to feel quite normal about our abnormality, doing nothing whatever about it, except what needs to be done in order to be oneself".

Something to ponder about on a Friday night

- Ely

Ah spoken like true serial killer (Grahams quote, not you ).

Although surely normality is the desire of the conformists rather than the escapologists.

Just finished the first season of 'The Walking Dead'. ant wait for the second currently in production.

Up now after spending most the day rebuilding my NAS so all 20 drive bays will work and my workstation. Oh there were some challenges hence still up at 2am. Time for some .

RB

[Kobelala 8]

Sis Ely aka Shopping Queen .... after looking at the pics of your home... I got only 1 reaction :

very x 100 nicely done