Japanese Minimal/ Scandinavian Living On A Budget

[wowach 0]

Lights make a huge difference to the feel of your house. If you are going to spend so much on your renovation, I highly suggest u increase your budget for lightings if you are buying them in Singapore. Or similarly, you can buy the same exact lightings from Malaysia at 1/3 of the price, this will easily reduce your spendings on lights at least by $1k.

For myself, I opt for whole house LED downlights/bulbs/tubes/strips since it was within my budget when I purchased them in Malaysia instead of SG.

I totally agree with lighting making a difference. Unfortunately I do have a strict budget to work with and I intend to get some stuff from taobao to cut the costs.

[AlisaWu 4]

for my budget planning, i added the budget for all the items i hope to get the carpenter to do as well, like tv console, kitchen cabinets etc... but i use the ikea planners to plan how much it would cost if i were to get ikea instead.. so that if the carpenter is able to match or beat ikea's price, then i get custom furniture, if not, i will settle for the ikea version..

also means that you need to build your own furniture though, more trouble but if it saves money, i would rather..

i highlight all the stuff that i'm unable to do myself, like hacking of walls, plumbing and electricals..

and then lastly, i separate out the items into 2 categories, the "must get now" category and "can get later" category..

you might want to check these websites for stuff

taobao - for furnishing, lights, faucet, etc

beds.sg - for beds, mattresses, sofa sets and dining sets

ikea - for system wardrobe, kitchen cabinets, tv consoles, etc

coolserve - for aircon, i only use this as a tentative price as i have not gone price hunting

lion city - for other appliances, also using this price as a tentative only

me and hubby restrict ourselves to nothing fancy.. no thousand dollar dining set, no hundreds of dollars pendant light, etc..

especially since we are already splurging on the reno and so much things to buy, those that are built-in and we have no choice then go ahead and buy, those that can be easily replaced, like dining set and sofa, no harm getting a $120 set to warm your butt, next time got money then buy the thousand dollar one..

[barcadibreezer 0]

I totally agree with lighting making a difference. Unfortunately I do have a strict budget to work with and I intend to get some stuff from taobao to cut the costs.

Hi,

I just completed my Reno and did purchase some items from taobao, I'd like to share with u that lightings in JB is really as cheap as taobao, and good thing is u can test before u buy and exchange if there's any defect, as for taobao, u can't touch feel and try and long waiting time, if u pay for express delivery then the cost end up is higher than u purchase locally. I bought all my led down lights from JB and their decorative pendant lights (those replica designer lighting) are selling as cheap as below RM200. I bought my replica George Nelson pendant light at RM130 only. I source from taobao also the same price but haven't include shipping cost. Just my 2 cents of word cause I understand not everyone likes to travel to JB.

[eekenji 3]

Am still meeting IDs and Contractors. And as expected, most exceed my budget of 30K. I now have a good sense of the market rate, and I'm gonna try to trim my requirements to fit the budget. Am a firm believer of keeping to initial budget, else it will never end, isn't it?

....

I am already going low-end for most of my stuff. No highend mattresses like Sealy, but beds.sg, for example.

wowach, I also spent around 20k for non-reno items .. I also bought beds from beds.sg.

Just try to keep track of what you have purchased with the budget you have .. For us, we managed to play within 18K for all the non-reno items including sink, tap those bathroom and kitchen accessories, electrical appliances, furnitures, decor stuffs, curtains, household stuffs etc.

While for reno items, it's something we cannot control .. coz will depend on what the contractor quoted us, sigh. The only way to control the reno cost is either remove the item or replace with something else which might not be what we want

Hi,

I just completed my Reno and did purchase some items from taobao, I'd like to share with u that lightings in JB is really as cheap as taobao, and good thing is u can test before u buy and exchange if there's any defect, as for taobao, u can't touch feel and try and long waiting time, if u pay for express delivery then the cost end up is higher than u purchase locally. I bought all my led down lights from JB and their decorative pendant lights (those replica designer lighting) are selling as cheap as below RM200. I bought my replica George Nelson pendant light at RM130 only. I source from taobao also the same price but haven't include shipping cost. Just my 2 cents of word cause I understand not everyone likes to travel to JB.

Agreed with barcadibreezer, I bought most of my lightings and celing fans from JB .. have spent total around S$1.7k. But unfortunately, some of the lightings we like cannot be found in JB. So I ordered 2 lightings from taobao, still waiting for them to deliver to singapore ... the shipping fee already more than 100 bucks for about 40kg stuff. Overall, still cheaper than buying in Singapore

[wowach 0]

First unpleasant incident happened today.

Went for my second appointment yesterday, and collected my keys from sellers. During the final inspection, seller said they "maybe" can move out by 30th. We were prepared to give them a few days extra to clear stuffs. Yesterday morning (on the day of second appointment), however, my agent told me they can pass me the keys today. Naturally I was glad because there will be no extension required.

Lo and behold, today when we went to do the ong-lai and stuffs, we saw tons to stuffs still in the unit. And I really mean a lot - 4 cabinets, bicycle, ladder, trolley and lots of miscellaneous stuff. My mom was adamant that we had to clear all the stuffs before we do the Chinese rituals. End up we had to move the stuffs to the corridor, and it was no mean feat. The unit was really dirty and dusty. I called town council to see if they can help with the bulky, but they said need 3 days in advance and I risk being fined if I leave stuffs in the corridor.

We had to call the agent up and get his counterpart to solve the problem. End up, the sellers idea was that they can pass us the keys during second appointment, and still access the unit to clear their stuffs. I was flabbergasted where that understanding came from. They left the door unlocked when i opened this morning - what if some illegal immigrants or druggies go into my house? The liability would be mine because the unit has been transferred.

Ridiculous advise from their agent. Totally didn't do her job as a professional.

[ultimax 2]

First unpleasant incident happened today.

Went for my second appointment yesterday, and collected my keys from sellers. During the final inspection, seller said they "maybe" can move out by 30th. We were prepared to give them a few days extra to clear stuffs. Yesterday morning (on the day of second appointment), however, my agent told me they can pass me the keys today. Naturally I was glad because there will be no extension required.

Lo and behold, today when we went to do the ong-lai and stuffs, we saw tons to stuffs still in the unit. And I really mean a lot - 4 cabinets, bicycle, ladder, trolley and lots of miscellaneous stuff. My mom was adamant that we had to clear all the stuffs before we do the Chinese rituals. End up we had to move the stuffs to the corridor, and it was no mean feat. The unit was really dirty and dusty. I called town council to see if they can help with the bulky, but they said need 3 days in advance and I risk being fined if I leave stuffs in the corridor.

We had to call the agent up and get his counterpart to solve the problem. End up, the sellers idea was that they can pass us the keys during second appointment, and still access the unit to clear their stuffs. I was flabbergasted where that understanding came from. They left the door unlocked when i opened this morning - what if some illegal immigrants or druggies go into my house? The liability would be mine because the unit has been transferred.

Ridiculous advise from their agent. Totally didn't do her job as a professional.

Sorry to hear about this bro ... I hate to say it, but real estate transactions and renovations seem to bring out the worst in people. You'll see all types of pattern, some which boggle the mind and make you wonder if there's any hope for mankind

But let this be a lesson for your renovations. Never assume anything, always make sure all parties are on the same page, be very careful with the "give and take" because not everyone will extend the same courtesy to you, and always look out for your own interests. Because if the @#!@ hits the fan, you will find there's very little recourse for you. So prevention is better than cure!

[wowach 0]

for my budget planning, i added the budget for all the items i hope to get the carpenter to do as well, like tv console, kitchen cabinets etc... but i use the ikea planners to plan how much it would cost if i were to get ikea instead.. so that if the carpenter is able to match or beat ikea's price, then i get custom furniture, if not, i will settle for the ikea version..

also means that you need to build your own furniture though, more trouble but if it saves money, i would rather..

i highlight all the stuff that i'm unable to do myself, like hacking of walls, plumbing and electricals..

and then lastly, i separate out the items into 2 categories, the "must get now" category and "can get later" category..

you might want to check these websites for stuff

taobao - for furnishing, lights, faucet, etc

beds.sg - for beds, mattresses, sofa sets and dining sets

ikea - for system wardrobe, kitchen cabinets, tv consoles, etc

coolserve - for aircon, i only use this as a tentative price as i have not gone price hunting

lion city - for other appliances, also using this price as a tentative only

me and hubby restrict ourselves to nothing fancy.. no thousand dollar dining set, no hundreds of dollars pendant light, etc..

especially since we are already splurging on the reno and so much things to buy, those that are built-in and we have no choice then go ahead and buy, those that can be easily replaced, like dining set and sofa, no harm getting a $120 set to warm your butt, next time got money then buy the thousand dollar one..

Alisa, thanks so much for your suggestion. I agree Ikea is a good comparison point. They do have some hidden gems with very good materials. Besta, for instance. And of course the forever favorite Billy bookcases. Will need to find a fine balance between Ikea and custom carpentry.

Thanks for a great list of reference. I would really love to try taobao, but kind of worried about the shipping and stuff. End of the day, its something I can see but not touch.

[wowach 0]

Hi,

I just completed my Reno and did purchase some items from taobao, I'd like to share with u that lightings in JB is really as cheap as taobao, and good thing is u can test before u buy and exchange if there's any defect, as for taobao, u can't touch feel and try and long waiting time, if u pay for express delivery then the cost end up is higher than u purchase locally. I bought all my led down lights from JB and their decorative pendant lights (those replica designer lighting) are selling as cheap as below RM200. I bought my replica George Nelson pendant light at RM130 only. I source from taobao also the same price but haven't include shipping cost. Just my 2 cents of word cause I understand not everyone likes to travel to JB.

Thank you! I will be definitely be dropping JB a visit!

[wowach 0]

wowach, I also spent around 20k for non-reno items .. I also bought beds from beds.sg.

Just try to keep track of what you have purchased with the budget you have .. For us, we managed to play within 18K for all the non-reno items including sink, tap those bathroom and kitchen accessories, electrical appliances, furnitures, decor stuffs, curtains, household stuffs etc.

While for reno items, it's something we cannot control .. coz will depend on what the contractor quoted us, sigh. The only way to control the reno cost is either remove the item or replace with something else which might not be what we want

Agreed with barcadibreezer, I bought most of my lightings and celing fans from JB .. have spent total around S$1.7k. But unfortunately, some of the lightings we like cannot be found in JB. So I ordered 2 lightings from taobao, still waiting for them to deliver to singapore ... the shipping fee already more than 100 bucks for about 40kg stuff. Overall, still cheaper than buying in Singapore

Totally understand the pain when you have to remove some item which you want from the start. I have already dropped my idea of platform in dining area.

Will be dropping the Tampoi Lighting store a visit.

[wowach 0]

Sorry to hear about this bro ... I hate to say it, but real estate transactions and renovations seem to bring out the worst in people. You'll see all types of pattern, some which boggle the mind and make you wonder if there's any hope for mankind

But let this be a lesson for your renovations. Never assume anything, always make sure all parties are on the same page, be very careful with the "give and take" because not everyone will extend the same courtesy to you, and always look out for your own interests. Because if the @#!@ hits the fan, you will find there's very little recourse for you. So prevention is better than cure!

Point definitely taken. Will try to put down everything in black and white for my reno.

[wowach 0]

PS: Can someone teach me how to use Multiquote? I clicked 3 posts and then followed by "Reply" but it doesn't work.

Just some points on the IDs/Contractors that I have spoken at more length so far:

1) OrangeCube

The ID was one that I met during the Expo show. She was quite pushy and was trying to get us to close deal on our very first visit. Not even a site visit. The price was above our budget initially, but she dropped the price quite substantially from the first quote on the very same day. The usual "cut GST for you" came. Not very comfortable with the ID. Don't really feel the sincerity.

2) Mr. K

Super popular these days. The price tag was also probably also reflective of his popularity. Way above our budget, even higher than IDs for very similar stuffs. He mentioned that he don't use cheaper materials, so I suppose he is mainly catered to the premium group.

3) IDees Interior @ Vertex

Young IDs. Introed by a colleague. Price point closer to my budget, but still not close enough. Also did the "Cut away GST for you" thing. For an ID, thus far its me saying what I need and want. Not much design suggestion from them. I think the "interior design" part will come in only during the 3D drawings, which I can really do without. But credit to them, they did help me think of some ideas to cut costs. Shortlisted.

4) Ah Huat

Recommended by eekenji. Turns out he is my mom's kampung friend. The site visit ended up to be a catch-up session between my mom and his wife. He is very proud of his experience and even invited me to view his works. I can feel his sincerity but end of the day its the works and costs that matter. I think there's quite a lot of air-talk in the industry where there are a lot IDs/contractors who promise the skies but delivery falls short. Will be receiving the quotation very soon. Hope its good.

4) Alan

Just made contact from him. First contractor that can SMS with me in English! Very prompt in his replies. No further discussion until next Wed.

SIDENOTE: Where can I source for nice decor stuff in Bangkok? Going soon!

Edited December 4, 2012 by wowach

[theitsybits 0]

i got lots of stuff from JJ market..and you can drop by Asiatique, they have quite a few good shops for home stuff..

[wowach 0]

i got lots of stuff from JJ market..and you can drop by Asiatique, they have quite a few good shops for home stuff..

Hi itsy, thanks for the pointer! Will certainly look out for it. Your house is such an inspiration.

[wowach 0]

Oops, neglected this thread. Bought quite some stuff from BKK, will show the pictures later.

Any suggestions on what I can do to this recess area for both my toilets? The recess area is in the shower area for my MBR toilet. I can do glass shelfs, but the area is too big (costly) for me to do glass shelves for the entire recess area. Further, I don't have that many shampoos!

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[wowach 0]

Any suggestion for the above?

Does anyone knows how much does wood-alike tiles cost? My contractor is allowing me to choose up to 3.80$ tiles. Wonder if such tiles fall in range?