imbuedwithlove 0 Report post Posted October 6, 2012 My new apartment is coming! This will be my first apartment with my husband. I'm totally bursting with anticipation and itching to get my hands on the keys. In less then 1 month, I'd be straddled with a mortgage, but all I can think about is what colour scheme and theme I should use! Mine will be 5 room HDB flat about 116 sqm - 3 bedrooms, 2 toilets, a balcony, service yard, bomb shelter, living room and kitchen.Below are some inspirational photos I have for my kitchen.The dining table appears to be an extension of the kitchen. The colour scheme is warm, orange and the copious amount of woodwork gives this place an outdoorsy feeling. I'm not so sure about the "pumpkin" light though. Did you notice the giant fork and spoon on the left? We plan to tear down one of our kitchen wall to fulfill our dreams of an open concept kitchen. As we do not have the space to do an island, we will settle for breakfast table. This butcher block wood-top with side storage seems like the perfect scheme for my breakfast table. Instead of a woven baskets, I'm thinking wine storage racks.Finally, the big reveal, my apartment layout dimensions on paper. The actual dimensions of the room is smaller as you have to take into account the thick walls. Can you guess which wall I'm knocking down?I've sent the photos to my ID, so I hope that she will give me a good design that I can share with you guys. In the meantime, I will post up more inspirations photos late. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Batman 0 Report post Posted October 7, 2012 Congrats! All e best in ur reno journey! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imbuedwithlove 0 Report post Posted November 24, 2012 aiya surely is the bedroom 2 walls to make MBR bigger lo.. 7 out of 10 houses are doing that lo.. i suppose living hall is big and airy, so going back to the room should be small and cosy..Thanks Batman! @Luciusteo Good guess! But I'm actually tearing down the kitchen wall for an open concept kitchen. My hubby loves to cook Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imbuedwithlove 0 Report post Posted November 24, 2012 Just did the pineapple roll last Fri when we got the keys to our flat Thought I'd share we you some of my ID's designs: We've gotten the 3D drawings from our interior designer (ID) from IMM and we have since gone through 3 rounds of discussions to fine-tune the designs. I'm glad that I had chose to go with an ID instead of a contractor as I realized that renovation costs a lot of money and it's good to have a picture in hand so you know what to expect. In my case, as this is the first time we are dealing with renovation, I decided to go with an ID just because I wanted a 3D drawing, which a contractor may not have been able to supply. And I'm glad because our style for our 5 room HDB was a "country style flat with faux fireplace" which would have been difficult to visualise and possibly difficult for a contractor to fulfil. It's hard for you to visualise also right? So this is where the ID comes in. You can tell her what elements you like, what colour scheme you prefer and viola! You can a drawing - then you can work with her to fine-tune it. As I did not want a bland designs, I challenged our ID to surprise us. *Note: If you don't mind the usual sleek modern designs, or just want to replicate a certain photo from or Apartment Therapy, I'd say go ahead with a contractor, as they will most likely be more affordable. Be aware of replicating looks though, I find that HDB flats comes with lower ceilings, exposed wiring, piping, ugly windows and grilles which may mar your attempts to replicate the look of ang mo houses. For example, our living room took the longest to conceptualise First Drawing: The colour scheme was good, but it felt a bit bland and run of the mill for me. So I asked for a faux fireplace TV console. This proved to be quite challenging for my ID.... Second drawing: Where do I start? This was miles away from what I was expecting. The fireplace looks so stodgy and squarish. And there is the wallpaper which I have no intention of putting up. So yes, a pictures says a thousand words and with this picture it was back to the drawing board for my ID. So I sent her this inspirational look, which I thought look great! Don't you think so too? But alas! ID said that this won't fit our long living room layout and that this involved plastering, which was different from the laminated boards that were part of our package. -_- Third drawing: This looks more like a fireplace. Structurally, this is close to acceptable. But the colour scheme makes my living room look very cave-like and eerie. Not exactly the bright and airy feeling I was looking for. My ID seems to have a thing for brick wallpaper, as you can see. ^_^; According to her, the plastering is difficult to render with the 3D software. This TV console/fireplace is actually functional, in that the bottom platform actually contains drawers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imbuedwithlove 0 Report post Posted November 24, 2012 Here's an example of what I mean by functional TV consoleSo yes, at the moment the living room design is still a work in progress. For me, this design process highlights the importance of getting a ID for the 3D designs. With the 3D drawing, I will have enough time to evaluate if the designs are what I like and make changes before it's too late. Also important is an ID you can get along with. I've spoken to a few companies and you could tell that some of them were inexperienced or just trying to hard-sell you. I finally settled on this ID as I felt that I could connect with her and that she understood what I wanted. But I'd leave the final judgement on how good the company until I see the finished product On a side note: When you google "hdb fireplace" you will come across this photo: No comments other than this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imbuedwithlove 0 Report post Posted November 24, 2012 We wanted a country feel to our kitchen, which I don't feel has really been achieved by the ID. I don't know if it's because it's hard to achieve with laminated boards or what, but it's not really like the inspirational looks that I had envisioned. What is lacking? Do you guys have any suggestions? Maybe some wooden moulding? Nice handlebars and knobs?Because I felt that we had enough storage in the kitchen, I did not ask for more shelving above the sink. This way, my narrow kitchen would have more breathing space. Blah. I think I'm going to ask my ID to add a glass display cabinets in the upper cupboards to break the monotony. Maybe something like these above to display my plates and glassware? Nice isn't it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HaiDeChen 0 Report post Posted November 24, 2012 Hello there, congrats on your flat and have a wonderful reno journey!Been reading your posts and looking at your inspirations, it's actually possible to get what you want but you really have to go ask around and look for more IDs, and of course to use real wood as part of your renovation will definitely incur quite a fair bit of costs! Possibly not to get package deals it you really want to customise your place so that it does not look run of the mill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imbuedwithlove 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2012 Hello there, congrats on your flat and have a wonderful reno journey!Been reading your posts and looking at your inspirations, it's actually possible to get what you want but you really have to go ask around and look for more IDs, and of course to use real wood as part of your renovation will definitely incur quite a fair bit of costs! Possibly not to get package deals it you really want to customise your place so that it does not look run of the mill. Yup, I think in hindsight you are right. But we've already signed on a package...Do you have any idea where I can buy wooden moulding for the cabinets should I decide to DIY? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
angmoh 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2012 congrats on your new home !!to me design is secondary, more importantly is the designer's attitude and sense of responsibility. There's plenty of design drawings in the cyberspace, just print them out and throw to designers, and tell them to follow.. haha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HaiDeChen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2012 Yup, I think in hindsight you are right. But we've already signed on a package...Do you have any idea where I can buy wooden moulding for the cabinets should I decide to DIY?Unfortunately I'm not a contractor.. No idea where to get stuff. U can try the McPherson industrial areas, I've seen some woodworking shops there Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imbuedwithlove 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2012 Unfortunately I'm not a contractor.. No idea where to get stuff. U can try the McPherson industrial areas, I've seen some woodworking shops thereThanks! Apparently my ID has a supplier for the wood moulding as well, and she says it'd be afforable, so I'd keep you updated! On a side note, I just went to select my tiles today. It's so different from looking at drawings when you go to choose the tiles in person! We went to tradehub with our id and decided on colours for the bathroom that were completely different from the 3D drawings! Instead of a brown and blue shade for the bathroom floor, we went to a dark grey tiles design with modern blue mosiac tiles for the master bedroom bathroom. Lol! We are so fickle-minded! I wonder this happened to other people as well? >_<We took about 2 hours to chose 4 types of tiles. And a lot of the differences between were very subtle - horizontal/random grain, rough/smooth texture, warm/cool grey, sparkly bits etc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Batman 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2012 Congrats on ur new home! I am also saddled w debt since clock turned 12.01 few hours back. Became a 'millionaire' overnight liao.Regarding ur country style kitchen, there's a shop along Paya Lebar Road that have such country style cabinets. Its beside the traffic police building. Can't remember e name liao. But their things r quite nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlisaWu 4 Report post Posted November 29, 2012 did you sign their package for your kitchen cabinets, if so, and they are limiting you to laminate, then it will be difficult to do country style..otherwise, you can try ikea for kitchen cabinets (which is what came to my mind immediately when i saw the white country kitchen you posted), their Lindingo off-white cabinet doors can give you a country look.. country style kitchen specialist usually charge an arm and a leg, so unless you got money to burn....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imbuedwithlove 0 Report post Posted December 2, 2012 @ Batman! Congrats to you as well! I just found a nice blog which features the addresses of places with "shabby chic" or country furniture. Is the paya lebar shop you mentioned on of those inside?Yea, its a shame about the laminates - so I'm going for wood print laminates instead. Its amazing the kind of laminate textures that they can do nowadays. Some actually have very nice wood print pattern with nice wood-like texture! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
junkang2004 0 Report post Posted December 18, 2012 Hi imbuedwithlove, congrats on your new place! Looking forward to the 3D pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
