The Experience: Our First Home

[summersann 6]

sorry to be a spoil sport but i swore that i will never ever get a philips hair dryer again. few years back i bought one & the mechanism fused/blew (i heard a crackling sound) & the dryer died immediately. i was lucky it didn't explode.

Oh dear, sounds serious. Good that you're safe!

These things vary quite a bit though. I've come to believe that it's about the unit that you got. I once had a television set blow up out of nowhere in my room. Like literally blow up with a spark and smoke. It was an established tv brand too. I'm the sort who seems to have no luck with electronics. Hahaha

[summersann 6]

I might be the only blur-do who doesn't know this, but IT show is this weekend! Would have missed it if I didn't catch the advertisement by chance in the papers today

We've been waiting for the IT show to come around to go get some stuff for the house. Need some suggestions again!

Should we get Wii or Kinect? (I know this isn't a very good question because all my friends tell me it depends on what games we like to play, but we really have no clue!)

[Makanology 29]

My Mr E says if you are going for family-oriented games that kids will play, go for Wii. If you are looking at action, all those 'ping ping bang bang' games, first-person shooting ones, then Kinect!

[summersann 6]

Thank you Makanology for your recommendation Hope everything works out for you!

On another note, we finally have our keys! Met our IDs today to do a final viewing after the rectifications. Still some little things here and there, but nothing too huge that's do or die. They handed the keys to us, but told us that they won't collect the final payment until everything is to our satisfaction.

At this point, I think a review is due! We may not have moved in yet, but we've been to our place often enough to know more or less about the quality of work.

I'll try to write as objective a review of our IDs as possible!

[summersann 6]

And now, at the end of our renovation journey, I should do a recap of the experience. It's going to be a long one!

Chemistry

I can't stress how important it is to get someone who understands what you want to achieve. They need not have the same taste, but they must appreciate what you like. They must also have good taste, even if their taste may be different from yours. Our designers had that balance. They have distinct tastes, but remain open to other styles and put their hearts into each of their designs. Despite the difference in preferences, they gave us many ideas that contributed to the whole feel of our house, and remained objective in giving us their opinions.

The dilemma we faced when approaching renovation was whether to get a contractor or designer. Most said we should hire a contractor because I have a distinct preference and style. But our reasons for hiring a designer was clear: 1. We didn't want to have to worry about whether the contractor understood what we wanted (because most of the contractor-IDs we met didn't), 2. We wanted an overall look that flows well and needed someone with good design knowledge to help us ensure that (a lot of the houses I saw online that were done by contractors looked great in one area, but the choice in another would appear jarring from the first), 3. We're intending to stay in this place for good (hopefully no en-bloc!), so we wanted something we would be really happy with.

Our designers fulfilled all of that, and gave us many suggestions and ideas along the way. We learnt quite a bit from them!

Project Management

We met the site manager on a couple of occasions, and he seemed diligent enough in being on-site to ensure work is done according to instructions. There were no miscommunications in the work done. We had exactly what we wanted where we wanted them.

Workmanship

This portion will be rather subjective, since this is our first renovation and we don't have other accounts to compare with.

Workmanship wasn't the best, because there were slight dents and chips in many areas. Rough edges, uneven plastering, chipped plaster, and minor gaps were common. (Read Rectification for more details about how they handled this.)

Carpentry looks good and feels solid, so we have no complaints there.

Service

Our designers were very contactable, and would respond to our queries within the day or by the next day. They would call if they needed to inform us of anything major, or whatsapp to give us updates. They remained patient and answered all our questions, always speaking with smiles.

Efficiency

Our renovation started on 21 December 2012, and works were mostly done by 9 February 2013, with some minor works here and there.

Rectification

Because of the slightly shoddy workmanship, there was quite a list of things to be rectified before the official handover. With CNY in the way (and we suspect multiple big projects on their hands), rectifications were only completed on 8 March 2013 (today).

As evident, rectification took a while, but to be fair, we didn't rush them or ask for completion asap. We saw no point in rushing for works to be done as it was quite clear that workmanship was shoddy in the first place because they were rushing to complete before CNY.

Payment

Our designers were never pushy about this, and we appreciated that. Of course, this arrangement worked because we didn't abuse their trust. We were comfortable with each payment we made, which was important for us because we never felt pressured to pay.

Some of the rectification that would require more work were supposed to incur additional charges. We stated that we didn't see why we had to pay additional for rectification of things we're unhappy with. In this area, our designers were commendable because they would absorb the additional costs without putting up a fuss.

We asked about the final payment today after the handover. Our designers told us to move in whenever we want, and that they would get the remaining (small) things fixed before they collect the final payment. Good service!

And that's more or less the written review!

Shall do a photo review of the place once we move in, unpack and make the place more like home!

Edited March 8, 2013 by summersann

[Z3phy 2]

I might be the only blur-do who doesn't know this, but IT show is this weekend! Would have missed it if I didn't catch the advertisement by chance in the papers today

We've been waiting for the IT show to come around to go get some stuff for the house. Need some suggestions again!

Should we get Wii or Kinect? (I know this isn't a very good question because all my friends tell me it depends on what games we like to play, but we really have no clue!)

kinect! more movement, more exercise.

wii if u like mario sorta games.

[spikedoll 2]

Summersan, like the way how you gave the reviews on your ID

Great to know your Reno journey been a smooth and pleasant one. Of coz hiccups are unavoidable but most importantly things are rectified.

Looking forward to see more pics !!

[Makanology 29]

More pics, more pics, more pics

[razzberrie 3]

Thanks for the organized review! Am too looking forward to more pics! Hahaha

[Yika 0]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing !

[summersann 6]

Thank you everyone for your kind words!

Will be going down to the place to do some general cleaning this weekend. Can't wait to move in next weekend! Also can't wait to pick up our chairs, armchairs and coffee tables.

Meanwhile, for those of you doing furniture/home accessories shopping, drop by this lovely place!

The GoDown, opposite Great World City.

[summersann 6]

Dropped by Blum's showroom today to get accessories for our kitchen drawers. Tried getting the dividers from IKEA, but the measurements didn't fit.

A list of what's possible for Blum drawers (Tandem box).

The Orga line is now on sale for the month of March.

The starter kit is good for those who would have use for everything that comes in the box. We didn't like the plate holder and spice rack, so we did it a la carte instead.

You also get a 10% discount off regular-priced Orga line products if you like Blum on Facebook.

Edited March 9, 2013 by summersann

[razzberrie 3]

Thanks for the info! Do they sell trays with adjustable depth or width?

[summersann 6]

Thanks for the info! Do they sell trays with adjustable depth or width?

They have trays that have slightly adjustable widths, but not by much. And they usually only sell trays of a fixed measurement for depth (for 50mm depth drawers) if I'm not wrong!

[summersann 6]

Yesterday was a day of cleaning and tidying up in the new place, before the move-in this coming weekend

Still can't quite decide if I like the combination of chairs at the dining table/island. Hmm... (we're still missing one chair! Delivery expected only at the end of April )

Our collection of crockery!

My chair for the study/lounge in our room. Loving the socks

The study/lounge area is slowly taking shape!

Edited March 11, 2013 by summersann