Reno Bauhaus Style Hdb 4I - Simple But Nice & Cozy

[designez 0]

Finally found some time to update and hopefully inspire other forum users. Renotalk helped me a lot so I thought it is only fair to contribute too!

We bought our 35-year-old resale flat in the middle of last year. Good price for a great location (Queenstown). Old-school HDB 4-Room (4I) around 84 sqm in 'original' condition. We really wanted to have a no-frills renovation with a budget of around S$35K and get the basics right. We already had a lot of furniture and stuff so storage was also a priority.

Floorplan

Original State

We kept the cost down by hacking only two walls: the wall between living room & kitchen (for an open kitchen concept) and wall between the two bedrooms to create a storage room.

Renovation

The floor was still in good condition so we did a laminate overlay (Berryfloor) in living room & bedrooms. Ceramic tiles overlay in the kitchen & bathrooms as well. The kitchenwall was painted (washable paint) with black glass panels behind the stove, washbasin and sink.

Final Result

To save space we decided to put the washer & condens dryer under the kitchen sink. This is common in Europe but not so often seen in Singapore. It looks good and gives us extra kitchen workspace as well.

The lighting was kept minimal and warm: three LED spots on each side of the living room in a small L-box and indirect lighting that we could move around easily. Also added some square direct lights on the ceiling in case we need more light but we hardly use them.

Dark wooden venetian blinds in the living room, aluminium blinds in the kitchen and dark grey curtains in the bedrooms.

We hired Thomas Khor from NW Interior Design (93905679). He did an almost identical flat of our friend in the same block so we knew his expertise. He was great to work with, honest and very pro-active. Of course we had to keep track of all the details during the project but I think that is only natural. It helped him a lot that we knew what we wanted from the beginning and collected inspiration images to show him. I am a designer myself so we could also sketch out some of our ideas. However, I did not want the stress and headache to do the whole thing by myself.

I was happy with how he and the aircon guys planned and worked together to integrate the aircon trunking nicely in our flat. The Mitsubishi Inverter compressor & units are great: very quiet and energy efficient. The carpentry, flooring and plastering are good quality too.

The renovation started on 26 September 2011 and by the beginning of November 2011 everything was done, ahead of schedule! All in all a good experience. There are always things to stress about during renovation. But I think we managed to avoid the biggest pitfalls by following friends' recommendations & reading Renotalk!

Please feel free to ask me any questions. More than happy to help out others here!

Edited January 28, 2012 by designez

[Venus2012 0]

Final Result

To save space we decided to put the washer & condens dryer under the kitchen sink. This is common in Europe but not so often seen in Singapore. It looks good and gives us extra kitchen workspace as well.

Hi, tks for sharing, u have a nice n cozy house!

Pls share more on the dryer under the sink. How u fix the dryer vent? Are u using the original white vent provided by supplier ?

I planned to do the same but clueless how it can be done. Tks

[designez 0]

Thanks! The dryer vent is on the bottom front so we usually leave the cabinet door open when it is drying.

Note that you need to get a CONDENSER dryer to have it under the sink or in a closed space! The water vapour is collected in a removable tank and does not require an external vent. Only heat is released - all moisture is contained within the unit. We found a condenser dryer actually quite convenient because it doesn't make the air in the kitchen very humid.

BTW we got the Electrolux EDC67550W and are happy with it.

Edited January 30, 2012 by designez

[ayazumi 0]

Thanks! The dryer vent is on the bottom front so we usually leave the door open when it is drying.

Note that you need to get a CONDENSER dryer to have it under the sink or in a closed space! The water vapour is collected in a removable tank and does not require an external vent. Only heat is released - all moisture is contained within the unit. We found a condenser dryer actually quite convenient because it doesn't make the air in the kitchen very humid.

BTW we got the Electrolux EDC67550W and are happy with it.

This is good info. I always thought all dryers look the same to me. Didn't know got such function.

So the overall renovation, did you spend within $35k?

[designez 0]

Yes we managed to stay under the S$35k. Our ID mentioned that we could have done it a little cheaper if we would have gone for a package deal, but we are picky and wanted to select our own finishings and materials.

In the end the price difference would not have been much... The custom-made stuff is most expensive and we tried to avoid that as much as possible.

[ayazumi 0]

Did you do rewiring too? Windows changed, doors & door frames changed, the price quoted is good.

[designez 0]

Electrical rewiring and some re-plumbing in the kitchen were included too. We didn't do TV cables in all rooms and just added one LAN cable...

Only the windows (casement) on one side were changed. The corridor windows were still in okay condition and always covered by blinds and window grills anyway.

Edited January 30, 2012 by designez

[Venus2012 0]

Interesting and informative, tks!

Can I know where u bot the Electrolux EDC67550W n how much?

[designez 0]

We got the dryer from Kong Tai (Blk 504 Jurong West) for S$880! They are great and allow multiple deliveries if needed. Also got the washer, fridge, hob, hood & water heater from them.

Just call them for a quote 65658924/65658970. Or mail them: kongtaielectrical(a)yahoo.com

Edited January 31, 2012 by designez

[designez 0]

A high-res picture of the washer & dryer under the sink

[moss2000 0]

Hi designez! Thanks for sharing!

Would like to check with you regarding your open kitchen concept.. Do you cook frequently? Does this "pollute" the living room in a way?

Edited May 5, 2012 by moss2000

[rumrum 1]

Hi, can I ask your kitchen is it the long rectangular type? How do you install your kitchen door?

[adidaem 6]

Oh, is yours the curved block? Great location. Hope you are enjoying your new place and living in the estate.

[designez 0]

Hi designez! Thanks for sharing!

Would like to check with you regarding your open kitchen concept.. Do you cook frequently? Does this "pollute" the living room in a way?

Yes we cook quite frequently! You can smell it all the way in the living room but we just open all the kitchen windows and the smell is gone soon. We don't cook oily stuff though...

Hi, can I ask your kitchen is it the long rectangular type? How do you install your kitchen door?

Our kitchen has more of an L-shape and there is no kitchen door!

Edited May 25, 2012 by designez

[Kel13 0]

Hi Designez, I like the wall mirror next to your living room. May I know how much and where did you get that? Thanks!