The Best Journey Always Leads Us Home

[Ely1 0]

took some time to read and catch up and boy am i so enlightened and elated at the same time after reading up your tblog!

cause HTS, online shopping, art pieces are all areas that i'm looking into now for my house!

totally rewarding spending the past 1 hour reading up!

that's 3 exclamation nw, I'm really hyper. haha

but i must say, yr unit is one of its kind!

the original pics depict red bricks on the building facade and greeneries which exudes such vintage and rustic mood to it (really hope you are keeping the brick walls and not tiling over it). and boasting a staggering 1,527sqft - the balcony itself is enough to host a small gathering and the kitchen befitting to run a reality tv cooking series inside!

though i must say the agreement with your id is quite unconventional but i suppose all is good and underway. jus gotta watch out for any hidden or exploding charges to the reno cost in the end.

for landscape wise, giraffe is running a big fine zoo so that should be of good reference (last heard, she is not killing any more plants, so that's a relief).

living room tiles seems a good match to the balcony tiles and compliments the brick walls i feel.

think my wife (with all due respect, is a better color palette person than me) would comment it as more earth tone?

btw, i got the elkay equal double bowl undermount sink. if you do parties and gatherings, i feel it was not big enough as not many pots can go in at one time for a wash.

let me know if are still getting the elkay sink.. there are some donts that you should take note of.

my HTS research goes as far as to consider Onkyo which many commented is a good entry for HTS (considering my small entertainment rm, i was toying with the idea of jus a sound bar and sub only). but reading up here, guess i can take the research further and decide again. very keen on a short throw projection in the room too.

my online purchases have only so far to serve my wife's penchant for her bags and it was really awfully cheap. and it was only because of the card promo on shipping with comgateway that i decided to try online purchase. from there, i did make some cheap deals from OXO and Polder (dish drainer, but already spotted some rust).

THE PAINTINGS! am so so gonna poison my wife to get it. my house prides on grey, white and stainless steel stuff and one of the paintings can sure go on to the white wall. perfecto!

can't wait to see your unit's transformation.

trust me, am gonna be a stalker to your tblog. ha!

Hi Ne0,

Ooh, my first stalker - exciting times

I'm getting the double bowl Elkay sink for the dry kitchen, so the pots and pans will be used with the other Elkay situated in the wet kitchen. It measures 570cm x 450cm so I think that should suffice? Do share your experience with the Elkays. I might also go for Englefield Sapphire sinks at this point.

Thanks for the compliments about the apartment I'm actually not the rustic sort - am going more for a luxe feel. Not sure whether the red bricks will be retained - we'll adhere as much to the MCST regulations regarding that. We've hacked off the railings and planter box, making it a little bigger, and will be installing glass instead - keeps the view uncluttered and the cat from jumping out I'd have to admit that balcony is my favourite space as I see myself spending every evening there - there's owls to watch!

As for HTS: we're switching the 10.CC to the 10.CS. It's just a little bigger, and worth the $50 upgrade imo.

->

Check out the 3K budget system thread under Electronics - there's lots of banter there!

The living room/dry kitchen tiles are the typical homogenous white (slightly off-white), while the balcony is decked with wood-like tiles. A closer look:

-Ely

[Ely1 0]

Speaking of plants, that has just reminded me.

As you are over east IIRC, the gardening centre at Tanah Merah has water features / walls if you walk to the end past the soils. You may want to take a look.

Be aware though that they close around 6pm on week days.

RB

Thanks RB - definitely worth a look-see. The ID quoted us 3k to do the water feature

-Ely

[Ely1 0]

DAY 22

Shower fixtures all delivered - yes, both the 50l and 25l Joven heaters included.

All living/dry kitchen, balcony and bathrooms have been tiled, leaving the wet kitchen (we're retaining the parquet in the bedrooms).

Here's some photo updates:

Corridor/Dry Kitchen (with wall hacked and all ready for carpentry):

Living/Dry Kitchen:

Living (from balcony):

--cont'd

[Ely1 0]

Common Bathroom:

closeup of matte in-laid floral print for the shower walls:

dotted bronze splashback:

So, it all comes together then!

-Ely

[Ely1 0]

End of pet madness, I swear - a coffee table disguised as a pet bed, or the other way around. Regardless, it's stylish and oh so practical. The Chihuahua would fit right in.

-Ely

[january 0]

Hey there Ely1, just wanna chip in regarding the water wall feature.

It could be quite a bad idea asking your contractor to do this by trial and error (especially if you want to have fish eventually) because most contractors know nothing about pumps and filters and are usually too busy to get good information regarding this stuff. Also, have you discussed fees regarding the construction of this? Because if he's doing it through trial and error you're most likely going to end up paying for the mistakes he made... and eventually it might cost the same as getting it from an experienced company. Just something to think about

@green giraffe: Regarding the algae, there's this anti-algae coating you can buy from (I think) fish tank / koi shops that you can apply to prevent the algae from growing on the walls of the water feature. If your water is green and murky with algae you will need a UV filter to get rid of the algae.

Hope this helps.

Water wall feature:

So, does anyone know if it's easier to purchase from a landscaping company or easier to contruct? I'd like a water wall feature in my balcony, with a letterbox type containment, some uplights - simple. Something like this, but half the size:

Its cheaper to get your contractor to construct than to get landscape co to build one for you. We went down to the landscape companies along Upp Thomson road to check out the designs and mechanism. Luckily our contractor was familiar with the construction of the water feature. We just have to buy the pump, spotlights and a tap. We added fishes and plants later on. However we are facing the problem of algea on the feature wall. Scrapping algea off the wall is our latest bonding activity for the entire family.

Hi Green Giraffe,

Thanks for stopping by!

Good to know it's easier to construct, but the ID has no idea how and he would be trial-and-testing should we ask him to do it. I'm doing away with the plants and fish since I think they're all going to die on me... Best to stick with the hardy succulents imo! This is the "intended" look:

-Ely

[ne0mesis 0]

Hi Ne0,

Ooh, my first stalker - exciting times

I'm getting the double bowl Elkay sink for the dry kitchen, so the pots and pans will be used with the other Elkay situated in the wet kitchen. It measures 570cm x 450cm so I think that should suffice? Do share your experience with the Elkays. I might also go for Englefield Sapphire sinks at this point.

Thanks for the compliments about the apartment I'm actually not the rustic sort - am going more for a luxe feel. Not sure whether the red bricks will be retained - we'll adhere as much to the MCST regulations regarding that. We've hacked off the railings and planter box, making it a little bigger, and will be installing glass instead - keeps the view uncluttered and the cat from jumping out I'd have to admit that balcony is my favourite space as I see myself spending every evening there - there's owls to watch!

As for HTS: we're switching the 10.CC to the 10.CS. It's just a little bigger, and worth the $50 upgrade imo.

->

Check out the 3K budget system thread under Electronics - there's lots of banter there!

The living room/dry kitchen tiles are the typical homogenous white (slightly off-white), while the balcony is decked with wood-like tiles. A closer look:

-Ely

well, i do wish it was slightly bigger when i am doing gatherings or parties at my place cause as mentioned, not too many big pots at one time. but perhaps, i'm jus being greedy for a bigger size.

now that you are getting one, if you are planning to use the drainer and chop board that comes along with it as freebie, you must remind your carpentry again and again to give allowance at the sink edge i.e the edge of the drainer and chop board can rest on the sink edge. my id and i totally forgotten about it and in the end the solid top covered most of the sink edge and thus the drainer and chop board couldnt fit in. the drainer was ok to do without (ugly imho), but such a waste that the chop board couldnt fit in.

also if yr id is gonna to do acid wash for u, ask them to clean the sink thoroughly after the acid wash. there are some spots that i found on the sink surface after the acid wash. so i'm guessing the culprit is the acidic wash. but that's jus assuming.

lastly, is brand new and d a m n shiny and smooth. but it scratches quite easily. get soft sponge to wash yr stuff. i did the mistake of using those rougher ones and tried cleaning the sink as well. BIG MISTAKE! thankfully, it was bearable.

one more point to add, water stain and marks can be quite an enemy if left untreated. i used my Polder dish drainer over the sink and thought it was ok to leave the marks unattended. in the end, there are some very tough marks to get rid off.

OWLS? cool! i'm on the 4th flr and occasionally spotted some oriole and spotted doves perching on the branches. totally a joy to look at even though they are pretty common species! still, is better than sparrows and mynahs eh. btw, care to share where is this location.

yea, forum mates been asking me to check out that section on HTS. tks for the heads up!

[Ely1 0]

Hey there Ely1, just wanna chip in regarding the water wall feature.

It could be quite a bad idea asking your contractor to do this by trial and error (especially if you want to have fish eventually) because most contractors know nothing about pumps and filters and are usually too busy to get good information regarding this stuff. Also, have you discussed fees regarding the construction of this? Because if he's doing it through trial and error you're most likely going to end up paying for the mistakes he made... and eventually it might cost the same as getting it from an experienced company. Just something to think about

Hope this helps.

Hey January,

Thanks for the tip. He quoted us "roughly" 3k but we're planning to head down to some landscaping companies to do some research, because your point is very valid.

-Ely

[Ely1 0]

well, i do wish it was slightly bigger when i am doing gatherings or parties at my place cause as mentioned, not too many big pots at one time. but perhaps, i'm jus being greedy for a bigger size.

now that you are getting one, if you are planning to use the drainer and chop board that comes along with it as freebie, you must remind your carpentry again and again to give allowance at the sink edge i.e the edge of the drainer and chop board can rest on the sink edge. my id and i totally forgotten about it and in the end the solid top covered most of the sink edge and thus the drainer and chop board couldnt fit in. the drainer was ok to do without (ugly imho), but such a waste that the chop board couldnt fit in.

also if yr id is gonna to do acid wash for u, ask them to clean the sink thoroughly after the acid wash. there are some spots that i found on the sink surface after the acid wash. so i'm guessing the culprit is the acidic wash. but that's jus assuming.

lastly, is brand new and d a m n shiny and smooth. but it scratches quite easily. get soft sponge to wash yr stuff. i did the mistake of using those rougher ones and tried cleaning the sink as well. BIG MISTAKE! thankfully, it was bearable.

one more point to add, water stain and marks can be quite an enemy if left untreated. i used my Polder dish drainer over the sink and thought it was ok to leave the marks unattended. in the end, there are some very tough marks to get rid off.

OWLS? cool! i'm on the 4th flr and occasionally spotted some oriole and spotted doves perching on the branches. totally a joy to look at even though they are pretty common species! still, is better than sparrows and mynahs eh. btw, care to share where is this location.

yea, forum mates been asking me to check out that section on HTS. tks for the heads up!

Heya Ne0,

Great tips - will remind ID about the sink and the necessary allowances. Don't want freebies if I can't use them anyway! The Englefield Sapphire series is slightly cheaper without the freebies I believe - just deciding what we would really get use of.

I'm only on the 2nd floor, though it is a walk-up apartment *huff & puff* - but greenery completely surrounds the estate and I get kingfishers and lots of parakeets in the day. They're a joy to watch.

There's so much nature here and we recently had a gorgeous garden snake - green with a bright orange back - which was such a sweetie. I had a fun time playing with it for a good 15 minutes before it was taken away by pest control. There's also reported cobras so definitely caution should be taken with the pets. A cat recently got killed by one.

We're at the East - near Changi.

Happy art-hunting!

-Ely

[Ely1 0]

NOT pet madness, but ESSENTIAL. So yes, here's the potty from Amazon:

Hopefully the dog takes to it since he's so used to the big gardens we have.

[strikingreality 0]

Heya Ne0,

Great tips - will remind ID about the sink and the necessary allowances. Don't want freebies if I can't use them anyway! The Englefield Sapphire series is slightly cheaper without the freebies I believe - just deciding what we would really get use of.

I'm only on the 2nd floor, though it is a walk-up apartment *huff & puff* - but greenery completely surrounds the estate and I get kingfishers and lots of parakeets in the day. They're a joy to watch.

There's so much nature here and we recently had a gorgeous garden snake - green with a bright orange back - which was such a sweetie. I had a fun time playing with it for a good 15 minutes before it was taken away by pest control. There's also reported cobras so definitely caution should be taken with the pets. A cat recently got killed by one.

We're at the East - near Changi.

Happy art-hunting!

-Ely

I think my HTB will love your place... all the greenery and wildlife. I'm scared of snakes though.

Since you're so into online shopping (like me!), I'm gonna stalk your blog for all the good online home furnishing buys.

Just wondering. Which has cheaper/better shipping? Borderlinx or Vpost? Have you used Comgateway before?? I just use vPost, never ventured to the rest before.

Edited March 17, 2011 by strikingreality

[Ely1 0]

I think my HTB will love your place... all the greenery and wildlife. I'm scared of snakes though.

Since you're so into online shopping (like me!), I'm gonna stalk your blog for all the good online home furnishing buys.

Just wondering. Which has cheaper/better shipping? Borderlinx or Vpost? Have you used Comgateway before?? I just use vPost, never ventured to the rest before.

Glad you're here - another OSA member (Online Shoppers Annoymous)! Soon, we'd need some kind of official logo like:

Btw, reglxt heads this support group - you should check out her buys!

Always check for promos first. I use both Borderlinx and vPost - sometimes Borderlinx have 30% shipping discounts that run for months at a time. Currently, it's the "First to use" coupon code of US$20 shipping discount.

I also use both their calculators to check shipping pricing but find that they're almost the same. with vPost, I get all my Japanese stuff with the Japan address, and it takes a little longer to ship, about a week, and a little bit of hassle since you have to update all the invoices manually.

With Borderlinx, it's computerised, but that can be quite troublesome too - since I've caught them with weightage mistakes, so I always check shipping weight (Amazon is a good place to check) to make sure I'm not being overcharged. Borderlinx uses DHL so the shipping takes only 3 days and pretty flexible with delivery times, but like RB pointed out, you'd need a Citibank card to pay for the shipping (not the purchases).

With bulkier items, get them shipped direct if possible. Otherwise, the rates of vPost and Borderlinx are very close, even with vPost having a base charge. Both of them are reliable - have never tried Comgateway so no opinion there.

-Ely

[reglxt 0]

can your ac ryan do PPS direct streaming? or you need to DL the movies?

[Ely1 0]

can your ac ryan do PPS direct streaming? or you need to DL the movies?

It has UPnP Media Streaming and BitTorrent and supports live radio streaming and internet feeds (RSS, Flickr, Picassa) - check it out at: http://www.playonhd.com/en/?upn=products&a...p;info=features

I'm not sure if PPS refers "peer to peer streaming" or the Chinese tv thingy. If it's the latter, I've no experience with it.

It really depends how you want your system to be set up (RimBlock is a great point of contact for advice), but my plan is to use the AC Ryan as a NAS (wireless) attached to the receiver to help with choppiness from streaming, and have a separate dedicated Blu-Ray player. The other TVs have their own HD media player (Western Digital) that supports external HDDs. File formats are also different depending if they belong to "Good to Have" or "Just Movies" category. "Need" movies are hard-copy Blu-Rays bought from Amazon and eBay.

I'm still hunting for a "Need" blu-ray concert. Hmm..

Sorry I can't help more - PPS.tv is very foreign to me!

-Ely

[Ely1 0]

Got my kitty litterbox washstand today, so that's pretty quick. Have always loved Amazon's service.

Also got our sinks today. Two Elkays, both with chopping board and drainer, at $800 so I think that's a pretty good deal.

The double-equal undermount measuring 819mm:

And a 570mm single bowl undermount one:

Um, also ended up with a monstrous subwoofer that took up the whole of the backseat - it measures 39" tall and weighs like me~ I can so see it being the cat's favourite scratchpost~

Quick a productive day methinks! /pats on back

Now onto sanitary ware...and maybe an awesome scratching post... Hmm.

-Ely