Old New Flat On A Shoestring Budget

[taichipanda 3]

nice decor..

only 1 questions.. those cabinet strip door will it be easier for the coakroach to enter and lay egg.

I have the same thinking as you.

Not sure if TS has the intention to install insect screen behind the strip (inside the cabinet)?

[cleong 1]

It's the Hansgrohe Focus E2.

I'm looking at $180.

Hi, thanks for replying. The design doesn't suit what I need. Thanks for your reply!

[ashleymay 0]

Hi Ashleymay, I'm glad you liked the house!

Yes, it's an island with a shoe cabinet on one side and 6 drawers on the other. Size is 4ft(L)x3ft(W). The line design was specifically for ventilation, cos I hate having things growing on my leather shoes too, haha... Are you requesting pics of the cabinet door or just the island? There's nothing interesting at the side of the island, though towards the dining room side, I have a fold down table and power sockets attached.

Go to this website to see more Nathan Yong goodness. I think you'll find their close ups of "line design" cabinets and consoles helpful!

Didn't realise that your shoe cabinet was integrated with the island - that's the one sitting just in front of your kitchen right? The DWR website is a real help! I was wondering how the "lines" sit on the frame for the shoe cabinet so that I can ask my contractor if they can do the same. Now that the idea is more cystalised, a qn popped into my mind - is it difficult to clean between the "lines"? my first thought was feather duster through the whole side of the cabinet, but not sure if it would work..

[kirinshibori 0]

Didn't realise that your shoe cabinet was integrated with the island - that's the one sitting just in front of your kitchen right? The DWR website is a real help! I was wondering how the "lines" sit on the frame for the shoe cabinet so that I can ask my contractor if they can do the same. Now that the idea is more cystalised, a qn popped into my mind - is it difficult to clean between the "lines"? my first thought was feather duster through the whole side of the cabinet, but not sure if it would work..

Cleaning is quite straightforward, my fingers can fit between the strips, so it's either a damp cloth, kitchen paper with mild detergent or my vacuum cleaner with brush head.

[kirinshibori 0]

nice decor..

only 1 questions.. those cabinet strip door will it be easier for the coakroach to enter and lay egg.

All the cabinets with strips are for general and not food storage. So far so good.

I have the same thinking as you.

Not sure if TS has the intention to install insect screen behind the strip (inside the cabinet)?

No intention to install insect screens. And fingers crossed, no cockroaches observed around my corridor yet...

[kirinshibori 0]

Love the lamp shades my mother-in-law made for us!

Otsukaresama!

[theitsybits 0]

Love the lamp shades my mother-in-law made for us!

Otsukaresama!

i love it too! made with love and very pretty..goes with ur place..

can ask her to make and sell liao..

[ashleymay 0]

Love the lamp shades my mother-in-law made for us!

Otsukaresama!

wow...nice!

[PinkPluck 0]

Congrats on ur new place.seems like U really put a lot of thought into the design right down to the minute details. I love the genkan n am thinking of stealing this idea for my near future Reno design. Lol.

Anyway, ur t-blog has been a pretty educational read for me. Some brain cells died while reading, trying to digest the info. Haha

[jshome 1]

Love the lamp shades my mother-in-law made for us!

Otsukaresama!

Wow... Its really very nice!

[momiji 0]

Kitchen

Hi, I like the Japanese look in your house, esp the kitchen. Can kindly share with me the total cost of the carpentry work in yout kitchen?

Thank you!

[kirinshibori 0]

Hi, I like the Japanese look in your house, esp the kitchen. Can kindly share with me the total cost of the carpentry work in yout kitchen?

Thank you!

Hi, thanks. I can't give you an exact figure as my carpentry is charged as a lump sum of $8500. But deducting the cost of my bedroom wardrobe, tv console, altar and 2 bathrooms' carpentry, I'd say it's around $5-6000. Contact of the carpenter is in my sig.

[mafiawife 0]

Hi, thanks. I can't give you an exact figure as my carpentry is charged as a lump sum of $8500. But deducting the cost of my bedroom wardrobe, tv console, altar and 2 bathrooms' carpentry, I'd say it's around $5-6000. Contact of the carpenter is in my sig.

i love your kitchen!! look cozy and make used of every single space.. very well done for DIY. can i hire you as my ID? lol

[momiji 0]

Hi, thanks. I can't give you an exact figure as my carpentry is charged as a lump sum of $8500. But deducting the cost of my bedroom wardrobe, tv console, altar and 2 bathrooms' carpentry, I'd say it's around $5-6000. Contact of the carpenter is in my sig.

Hi, Thanks n appreciate your reply!

I have contacted your carpenter for quote. He talks very fast.

Can I check with you, how do you find his workmanship for all items? and esp bedroom wardrobe?

[kirinshibori 0]

Hi, Thanks n appreciate your reply!

I have contacted your carpenter for quote. He talks very fast.

Can I check with you, how do you find his workmanship for all items? and esp bedroom wardrobe?

Yes, he talks very fast indeed and always seems to be entertaining calls for new business.

To give you further insight, his main trade is in making sofas, so he actually subcontracts the rest of the carpentry work. Somehow, he's able to still keep his overheads low and thus quotes very reasonable prices. So he pretty much is the supervisor and QCs the work his subcontractor does. You will deal primarily with him for any requests or rectifications.

Decline if his subcontractor is an uncle named Ah Song. The chap is a one-man show, very accommodating but requires constant attention. He gets the job done but takes too much effort on our part! That's why I mentioned that you get what you paid for, in my case, I paid low in monetary terms but high in terms of time and attention. If you mentioned that the owner of the Upp Boon Keng flat with the Ash strips kitchen warned you about his experience, he'll take heed and reassign another subcon to you. I think it was a greater nightmare for him than me, lol!

Back to the wardrobe... I wasn't too happy with it initially as there were some alignment issues and the sliding doors were too stiff. The sliding doors are still stiff but I'm living with it... Initially wanted to buy my own soft closing tracks from Hettich/Hafele for them to install, but they cost in excess of $200 not including top up for workmanship, so opted to save money and skip that.

As my carpentry does not involve laminates, I can only vouch for their woodwork. Exterior wise is fine. Functionally ok, not great. Internally, as wood can be patched up, they patched holes that were incorrectly drilled with wood putty, sanded and re-lacquered the surface instead of changing out the entire piece to keep the cost down. Obviously, you can't do this with internals with PVC... in any case, if you're not fussy about it, it's pretty ok.

So bottom line is, he's great if your budget is low and require labour intensive work as he doesn't quibble with manual labour. The job gets done and he has a lot of pride in his work. But engage him with your eyes open.