A Canvas To Our Imagination: Thoreau

[koori 45]

Hi....with regards to the 'color' of the rubbish chute, I think it is a sticker.

My mum just changed her rubbish chute and it's yellow. I took a closer look yesterday and saw an edge peeling off the right corner already. I guess you can peel it off. Mom's 'babying' the new rubbish chute and didn't want to peel off the sticker yet though. haha....

[inthechouse 8]

hmm...i thought its a sticker that can be peeled off? hmm...once i'm back from India, i shall go take a look.

btw, thanks for the scratch test on the iquartz. good to know that its the 2nd less obvious. Actually, the iZen is chosen by my ID ( i didn't have any preference so trust the ID's choice).

no worries! some time ago we even did a coffee and wine test on iPure for fun. haha. they were easily wiped off, but i think we didn't keep them on it long enough for the test to be valid.

Hi....with regards to the 'color' of the rubbish chute, I think it is a sticker.

My mum just changed her rubbish chute and it's yellow. I took a closer look yesterday and saw an edge peeling off the right corner already. I guess you can peel it off. Mom's 'babying' the new rubbish chute and didn't want to peel off the sticker yet though. haha....

hi koori! i tried peeling off a little, but it wasn't easy. the adhesive was pretty tough. haha so cute of your mum! well i hope there won't be any ugly sticky bits after peeling it off. will try to remember to update about it here once i've mustered the courage to do it.

[inthechouse 8]

So... apparently, second wash done, touching up of grout lines done, and the cabinets are ready. I was too excited checking the latter that I didn't quite notice the former. Here are some latest pix.

Quite excited seeing the oven sitting in there! All the kitchen is waiting for now is the quartz surface. And a microwave. We're not fans of microwaves so if we decide not to purchase one, that space can be used for other purposes.

One thing to share about the wardrobes. If you're doing swing out/casement doors like what we have, do specify your needs clearly. There's an overlap of our wardrobe doors so we can't open the left door without opening the right one. It may be the norm these days, or perhaps everybody's used to it, but for years I've been able to open either side directly and effortlessly (so lazy!) so these new doors are gonna be a challenge for me. Hurhur. Didn't think to specify this habit to Ah Gui coz I assumed it wouldn't be any other way.

P.S: The laminate for the vanity cabinet is Lamitak's glossy nautical blue. Not black.

Edited February 20, 2014 by inthechouse

[mellenur 11]

my black galaxy quote from contractor is SGD110 per foot run.

re scratching, yes you won't scratch with scissors but there are other culprits: rice cooker, air fryer, kettle --> all cannot drag across the surface. my prev maid scratched mine by dragging the tupperware rice container. ouch

of course logically the house owners won't do that.. and if you invite me over, i also won't. I promise!

Granite costs more than quartz right? I guess not. Though I've come across many rave reviews of Black Galaxy. By the way, I did a scratch test on iQuartz's grey and black samples last night. Hehe. Check this out. It's the least obvious on the non-reflective grey (Metal Alumnico), followed by the reflective grey (iZen), the messy-patterned grey/black (Nutty Granola) and finally, the black (iGalaxy). Obviously nobody's gonna deliberately scratch their surface with a pair of scissors everyday. We were just bored and curious that's all (while waiting for Alan's update).

[inthechouse 8]

my black galaxy quote from contractor is SGD110 per foot run.

re scratching, yes you won't scratch with scissors but there are other culprits: rice cooker, air fryer, kettle --> all cannot drag across the surface. my prev maid scratched mine by dragging the tupperware rice container. ouch

of course logically the house owners won't do that.. and if you invite me over, i also won't. I promise!

hehe. woah that's cheap. but i've run out of time. yeah, for sure the surface will get scratched due to wear and tear as the days go by. i heard you get some surfaces polished right? thought i read about it somewhere on RT. i won't be surprised if my iZen gets scratched soon enough, coz i can be quite "chor lor" at times, especially while in a hurry.

[inthechouse 8]

Dear fans of Ikea, you may wish to take note of this piece of news. Not sure if it applies to Singapore but we'll see. Also, just to share that Expedit in "Birch" colour is on sale right now.

IKEA plans to stop selling its iconic "EXPEDIT" shelf and replace it with a different wall unit, IKEA spokesperson Janice Simonsen told the Huffington Post.

Click here to read more.

Got this from Google. Authencity unverified. Can't see much of a diff, judging from this image alone.

[guojiawen 101]

So... apparently, second wash done, touching up of grout lines done, and the cabinets are ready. I was too excited checking the latter that I didn't quite notice the former. Here are some latest pix.

Quite excited seeing the oven sitting in there! All the kitchen is waiting for now is the quartz surface. And a microwave. We're not fans of microwaves so if we decide not to purchase one, that space can be used for other purposes.

One thing to share about the wardrobes. If you're doing swing out/casement doors like what we have, do specify your needs clearly. There's an overlap of our wardrobe doors so we can't open the left door without opening the right one. It may be the norm these days, or perhaps everybody's used to it, but for years I've been able to open either side directly and effortlessly (so lazy!) so these new doors are gonna be a challenge for me. Hurhur. Didn't think to specify this habit to Ah Gui coz I assumed it wouldn't be any other way.

P.S: The laminate for the vanity cabinet is Lamitak's glossy nautical blue. Not black.

Just sharing, my parent's house has this kind of wardrobe where we can't open the left without opening the right.

I think one of the reason is for aesthetics? So the gap between the doors will have the same colour as the laminate. If it's just two doors together without overlap, the gap will show the inside of the wardrobe if alignment is not perfectly done up.. So the job actually gets harder for the carpenter or whoever's fixing the doors

[Songz 132]

My house (Mum's house) wardrobe have the same issue too.

Like what guojiawen said, i think its to prevent the gap thingy look.

[inthechouse 8]

Thanks, both. Yeah can't be helped. But I would've tried to explore alternatives if I had paid enough attention to the design. Nevertheless, the wardrobe and cabinets look good and study, so that's all that matters.

[Songz 132]

Thanks, both. Yeah can't be helped. But I would've tried to explore alternatives if I had paid enough attention to the design. Nevertheless, the wardrobe and cabinets look good and study, so that's all that matters.

Yap i agree on that.

The opening thing just a minor issue.

[inthechouse 8]

So the Ikea stuff arrived on time yesterday. But we found two cracks - one on a bedside table and the other one a shelf - after the workers left. Think they assembled it too fast too furious. Do check everything before the workers leave. For they should be able to take damaged items back with them.

We may just keep it. Got too many other stuff to tend to.

A little unsightly that the top of the shelf is so far from the bottom of the beam. Maybe we'll place some small boxes there.

Nice lil' white Expedit.

Gahh.. gotta make another trip to Ikea coz there's an item which requires another 2 "legs". Can't say the Ikea staff who attended to us did a good job. In fact, even the guys who delivered and assembled our items said Ikea's customer service has dropped coz "they use many part-time staff".

Edited February 21, 2014 by inthechouse

[inthechouse 8]

Also, yesterday, the paint team came down for what they called the "final, final touch up". I was not informed of this. So were they gonna do the "final, final touch up" without my presence? Nevermind. So the Ah Beng was a little better this time round. However, 1 of the 2 foreign workers was still indignant. He also blew his top when his supe was away. To which the other worker said to me: "Nevermind, you tell me, I do for you." I interpreted it as "ignore him".

As for the paint marks all over the skirtings - presumably the result of NOT taping the lines prior to painting - nobody is taking it upon their shoulders to remove it. One team said it's the other's job. So we'll just have to do it ourselves. From my understanding, thinner should work yeah? I tried, but it wouldn't come out. Anyone's got any advice for me?

The only thing that the paint team taped were the door hinges and knobs, and the powerpoints/sockets. It was freehand for everything else.

Also, the plastering team had plastered all over the window frames. So that's gonna take some cleaning up too.

Feel like paying a part-time cleaner to come do everything, coz it's ineffective for me to do it myself, since I am suffering from a chronic case of lateral and medial epicondylitis on my right arm due to years of tennis.

That's pretty much how most of my skirtings look like.

Edited February 21, 2014 by inthechouse

[elin1029 23]

So the Ikea stuff arrived on time yesterday. But we found two cracks - one on a bedside table and the other one a shelf - after the workers left. Think they assembled it too fast too furious. Do check everything before the workers leave. For they should be able to take damaged items back with them.

We may just keep it. Got too many other stuff to tend to.

A little unsightly that the top of the shelf is so far from the bottom of the beam. Maybe we'll place some small boxes there.

Nice lil' white Expedit.

Gahh.. gotta make another trip to Ikea coz there's an item which requires another 2 "legs". Can't say the Ikea staff who attended to us did a good job. In fact, even the guys who delivered and assembled our items said Ikea's customer service has dropped coz "they use many part-time staff".

Expedit fan here too.

Ikea service is especially bad in Tampines. You can hardly find any staff around in most departments. And the worst part is that even if you're arranging for delivery, they still want you to self collect the (heavy and bulky) items. It's almost impossible for me to self collect so many items and push them to cashier and delivery counter all by myself. At the self serve area, you don't see any Ikea staff when you need one, but when you find one, you find the whole group of them. (apparently it's more fun to attend to one customer in a group).

[inthechouse 8]

And.. another suprise visit yesterday.. the glass team came down and did their thang. Had I known there were so many people coming (I was really only expecting Ikea), I would've gotten help from 1 person to be present and supervise along with me.

Anyway, while being pre-occupied with the painters, I realised that the glass team had put up a mirror at my vanity area. We did not order this, and frankly, it's much bigger than what we had in mind. So I asked for the mirror to be removed and this gentleman had to wipe off all that muck on my tiles. Unfortunately, he did not remove much of the silicon he had applied all over my wardrobe's laminate. Told Alan about this and he said "OK". Hope the laminate doesn't tear off.

As for the glass panel for the master bedroom - which was what we've ordered - the team sawed the alum frame right outside my door after measuring the bathroom, and brilliantly got it wrong (frame shorter than glass). I didn't notice, of course. But the workers told me sheepishly and semi-apologetically that they will have to come back again to fix it. That's fine.

[inthechouse 8]

Expedit fan here too.

Ikea service is especially bad in Tampines. You can hardly find any staff around in most departments. And the worst part is that even if you're arranging for delivery, they still want you to self collect the (heavy and bulky) items. It's almost impossible for me to self collect so many items and push them to cashier and delivery counter all by myself. At the self serve area, you don't see any Ikea staff when you need one, but when you find one, you find the whole group of them. (apparently it's more fun to attend to one customer in a group).

That's what the lady who was Q-ing behind me said too! Ugh. But I live rather close to the Tampines store ($8 by cab off-peak). Sigh. We're missing legs and drawers. Didn't wanna return so soon but guess we don't have a choice. Gotta be smart about this upcoming visit: Do all our research online, visit the store when it's not crowded, and take all the time in the world to locate and pickup the items.