A "scandustrial" Concept ~ Sengkang Ea

[Harriette 42]

Hi vicx1234,

when will you be moving in? I'm planning to get a LG washer cum condenser dryer. Any chance of you moving in and giving a review of your LG condenser dryer before end Feb 14?

[vicx1234 38]

Hi vicx1234,

when will you be moving in? I'm planning to get a LG washer cum condenser dryer. Any chance of you moving in and giving a review of your LG condenser dryer before end Feb 14?

Hi Harriette,

We will only really be moving in at the beginning of March since that's when my wife returns to Singapore, but all the appliances will be in by early Feb which means I can try out a few cycles over some weekends in Feb and let you know how it performs.

By the way, I've heard that it's not advisable to get a washer cum dryer, especially if you really need the dryer function. Essentially you're splitting the performance between washing and drying in the same machine, which can't be as good as a machine with a dedicated function. Came across one comment from long ago which was quite insightful below.

"i had initally wanted a washer/dryer combo as well

till i notice the pricing methodology

there are washer/dryer out there cheaper than washer alone

and that is for the same load; i.e. 8kg/4kg washer-dryer can cost less than 8kg washer for the same brand

somehow i think it should not be this way

till i realise the drying cycles in most of such machines take anything from 2 to 4hours

imagine a 1.5hr wash cycle and a 2.5hr dry cycle... twice since a full wash load needs to be broken into 2 dry loads

moreover, a breakdown in 1 function means the loss of use of the other function

of course, it may take many years to break down but i think not worth the risk "

I can provide you with my review but I'm afraid if you're going to get a washer/dryer combo, my review won't be of much use! Do browse through some of the older posts on washer/dryers on renotalk and decide from there? Might save you some headache further down the road. Cheers!

[vicx1234 38]

Hey guys, we're trying to find some nice black or gold door knobs/handles for our MBR double door. Does anyone know any shop which carries nice designs for cheap?

[lynnzlq 11]

Time for some mood pics. We received a lot of inspiration from websites such as Pinterest and Houzz - there's just a ton of pictures to browse and you can be sure to find the style that you like from such websites.

To reiterate, our concept is a mix of Scandinavian and Industrial, and I firmly believe that they can go very well together.

Less talk more pictures!!

Inspiration for bathroom. Loving the subway tiles with black grouting for contrast

We will be using black framed windows and doors throughout - French, cafe and industrial styled all at once.

The idea is to have a monochromatic/neutral colour scheme as a base, then add pops of colour as and where necessary.

Inspiration for kitchen - we will be using white wood-effect tiles as well

Gotta love the monochromatic look of black & white - hi, where did you buy the above lights from?

thanks, Lynnzlq

More of the framing effect

[vicx1234 38]

Time for some mood pics. We received a lot of inspiration from websites such as Pinterest and Houzz - there's just a ton of pictures to browse and you can be sure to find the style that you like from such websites.

To reiterate, our concept is a mix of Scandinavian and Industrial, and I firmly believe that they can go very well together.

Gotta love the monochromatic look of black & white - hi, where did you buy the above lights from?

thanks, Lynnzlq

Hi LynnzIq thanks for stopping by. I didn't actually get those lights pictured in the mood pic, but I believe these guys carry it:

https://www.facebook.com/likelights

[vicx1234 38]

Reno updates (almost at the 1 month mark):

Completed Items:

- Tiling has since completed (except for the Evorich HERF which will be installed next Monday)

- Running of aircon trunking and drainage pipes done, although with a lot of headache

- False ceilings up

- Rubbish cleared (finally! the place was looking like a dump)

- First coat of paint just went on

Things left to do:

- Install EVORICH HERF flooring

- Install carpentry works

- Install lights, switches and faceplates

- Install aircon

- Move furniture and personal belongings in

- Move ourselves in and start life anew

Problems that we've had/encountered so far:

- Complaints by neighbours: Immediately after our 3 day hacking permit ended, some neighbours started to complain about the noise going on in their estate. Got so bad that our HDB estate manager called me up personally to ask me to do something about it. Of course, I threw it to our ID to handle it and asked him to apply for an extension of permit. Problem solved, but in the spirit of good neighbourliness, I wrote and sent our personal letters to the units above, to the side and below and asked for tolerance (nicely).

- Kenna played out by my carpenter: We had originally decided to use my old contact and carpenter friend to carry out our carpentry works instead of giving it to our ID to do. He promised us that he had cleared his schedule in order to accommodate our house carpentry, but in the end slotted in more work and told us he could only deliver the works at the end of February at the earliest. Felt a bit played out and stranded because our ID did not know if his carpenter could take on the work. Luckily, our ID did good by contacting his carpenter immediately and arranging for the measurements to be taken. The good thing is that he didn't take this opportunity to make me a "carrot head" by quoting an exorbitant price for the works, like I'm sure many other contractors would not hesitate to do. +1 point for our ID. Sometimes, it's just easier to let your ID handle everything albeit at a premium. It simply saves you time, stress and some brain cells.

- Aircon trunking: We chose E's uncle to be our aircon contractor because of family ties and the fact that he was known to be reliable from past experience. But the problem here wasn't to do with the quality of the work, but rather a total breakdown in communication between us, our aircon contractor and our ID. It went a little something like this: we communicated our wishes to the aircon contractor, our aircon contractor liaised with our ID without keeping us in the loop, and our ID assumed that the aircon contractor knew exactly what we wanted without further clarifying with us. Some details got lost in between and the aircon guys started work getting stuff completely wrong and ran the trunking and drainage pipes all over the place and completely opposite of the way we wanted it.

The red circle represents where the hole was supposed to have been, and the yellow circle depicts where they drilled the hole wrongly. Almost a disaster! Luckily I caught it in time and called my ID immediately. The thing about my ID is he's not always around to supervise, so sometimes you're left to catch the mistakes yourself. I think he can and should carry out supervision better for his customers in the future.

- Colour of the windows: Not a major problem in terms of executing the renovation works, but we can't stand the look of the original HDB orange windows. Is there any way we can paint over this? People keep telling us that we can't.

- Size of the toilets: There are serious limitations to what we can or cannot do within the toilet space as it's just so tiny! We've had to scrap some ideas as a result.

Admittedly a renovation could be much worse than that described above, so I thank the Lord above that we've gotten this far without too much drama. Let's hope it all goes smoothly from here on out.

Edited January 7, 2014 by vicx1234

[vicx1234 38]

Progress pics:

False ceiling with provision for cove lighting up in the MBR

Guest toilet tiled and box up of pipes done. Ignore the dirty floors, they're supposed to be black.

Liking the shower niche - good for storing shampoo bottles and such without having to buy those stainless steel baskets or glass racks.

Kitchen tiles on one side of the kitchen up, we're not doing the other side.

Our sole accent wall for the master bedroom, should go really well with our choice of bed frame fabric (light blue)

Finally get to see the cement screed lookalike flooring after weeks of hiding!!

[vicx1234 38]

More views of the space:

View looking into the MBR. In a month or so, you should see a dresser table with a mirror above it.

Contrast between living room and kitchen tiles

Expanded views of the living room area.

Pardon the dirty floors, it really doesn't do justice to the tiles! Will take more pictures once the place is cleaned up and when the Evorich tiles are laid.

[plainsharon 20]

Furniture

We managed to find a good deal for the sofa above. Quite a popular design and more places are beginning to sell it, but it's still the cheapest at this store though. The colour selection available wasn't great though, grey still being the nicest.

Hi Vicx,

Have you purchase this sofa from star living? I saw the same sofa and though its really really cheap, in fact like you said, its the cheapest, we did not commit until we went to see more and found hommage and saw a similiar sofa and the quality seems to be better at a slightly higher price. Maybe could take a look at hommage.

[vicx1234 38]

Hi Vicx,

Have you purchase this sofa from star living? I saw the same sofa and though its really really cheap, in fact like you said, its the cheapest, we did not commit until we went to see more and found hommage and saw a similiar sofa and the quality seems to be better at a slightly higher price. Maybe could take a look at hommage.

Hi plainsharon! Thanks for stopping by. You know what, I actually headed down to hommage after seeing the sofa in your blog (yes I was one of those silent readers before), especially since I work a few blocks down the road from hommage. I agree the material is better since they are using premium fabric, but unfortunately the downside was that the covers were not removable! We figured we'd probably have to wash our sofa covers every once in a while since I admittedly am not good with Singapore's tropical weather (i.e I sweat, alot).

I actually plan to remove the covers at some point and bring them to an upholsterer to replicate another set, in a colour and fabric of our choice. That way when we get bored of it, it's as good as getting a new sofa!

[plainsharon 20]

Hi plainsharon! Thanks for stopping by. You know what, I actually headed down to hommage after seeing the sofa in your blog (yes I was one of those silent readers before), especially since I work a few blocks down the road from hommage. I agree the material is better since they are using premium fabric, but unfortunately the downside was that the covers were not removable! We figured we'd probably have to wash our sofa covers every once in a while since I admittedly am not good with Singapore's tropical weather (i.e I sweat, alot).

I actually plan to remove the covers at some point and bring them to an upholsterer to replicate another set, in a colour and fabric of our choice. That way when we get bored of it, it's as good as getting a new sofa!

Thanks for being one of my readers.

Yes, i agree on the downside on the non removable covers. It was one of our concern too. But eventually we decided if the fabric is too dirty will tailor another one. That is the only alternative hommage given. But its good that you went down to see before deciding.

[retchlow 7]

your cement-screed lookalike floor tile is making me drool & jealous! i should have done this for my house.

[vicx1234 38]

your cement-screed lookalike floor tile is making me drool & jealous! i should have done this for my house.

Thanks retchlow! Talk about the best of both worlds right? The raw and edgy look of cement yet without the maintenance and upkeep usually associated with it. Win win! YTMO also has the same floors btw, though in a darker shade, also very nice.

[vicx1234 38]

Today was the first time in almost a month that I didn't pay a visit to our flat, only because there wasn't much going on. Not sure how many of you feel the same way, but I absolutely love going down to our flat to check up on progress and to see the house slowly taking shape. There's something really therapeutic about the whole process.

Anyway, apparently subway tiles aren't as popular as I thought they would be. haha. For one, my mom asked me if we were going to change our subway tiles to something else (thinking they were old)....pengz Alas, she was not the only one. I think we've received at least a handful of those comments. Starting to wonder if we actually have bad taste! haha

Also, I just wanted to say that even though our ID Jimmy has his shortcomings (e.g he doesn't have a keen eye for detail, and he may not be the most active project manager around), he has been wonderfully accommodating to us in terms of being available for lengthy meetings (yes our meetings stretch for hours even at this stage) and he has been rather responsive thus far all things considered. I haven't had too much difficulty finding him even though I've now made our 3rd tranche of payment to him, so previous comments about him disappearing after receiving payment appear to be overblown. I sincerely believe Jimmy is one of the more honest contractors out there, and he's very fun to talk to. I would not recommend him to someone who's very particular and fussy about the smallest details, but for someone who has a strong ideas about the direction they're headed and has time to go down to the unit to supervise or catch mistakes on occasion, Jimmy could be the contractor for you. Perhaps the reason why it seems he's not eagle eyed about everything on this particular project could be the fact that he's not familiar with Scandinavian or industrial designs? Heck, he couldn't even pronounce Scandinavian when he tried. In my very limited mandarin, I told him 北欧 style, so hopefully when he takes on such projects in the future, he'll be more familiar with it

Oh yes, your Chinese needs to be at least half assed when engaging Jimmy, cos his spoken English isn't the best. He did however mention that he has had Filipino clients before, and how they got around was through lots of finger pointing, body language and "you want this? yes? no?" haha

So far Jimmy has performed right about at expectation, though I had hoped that we could have come up with less energy and supervision ourselves. Still, so far so good and I don't really have any major complaints. After all, he did save our *** with the carpentry.

Edited January 8, 2014 by vicx1234

[vicx1234 38]

Carpentry Works - designs and dimensions

Our unit looks super bare now!! As previously mentioned, we were played out by my carpenter friend, so we only just confirmed the carpentry items and designs. We started off thinking that we would not have too many built in items, but somehow we've expanded the list of carpentry items to include full height cabinets, panels to cover the store room and shelves for the various room recesses. Here they are:

L-shaped kitchen cabinets - the previous owner had an island but we did away with it. We will be doing top and bottom cabinets for the entire length of the back wall (which includes a space for our washer/dryer), but only bottom cabinets for the left wall. On the opposite of the left wall will be our fridge and baker's shelf from Commune. Should think we have more than enough storage here.

Living room display cabinet / panel to hide bomb shelter - to hide the bomb shelter door located to the right of the entrance, we will be constructing a panel with a tic-tac door. The panel is then linked perpendicular to the display cabinet which will have a cut-out to serve as our bar. Can house my nespresso machine, wine bottles, wine glasses here.

We will also be painting the leftmost panel of the display cabinet with chalkboard paint, so that we can dress it up with a menu description or misc drawings when guests come over.

Nothing much, just some shelves and bottom cabinets to fully utilize the recess area located in the rooms right now. To be clad in black laminate to have some contrast with the wall.

TV console and dresser for the MBR with attached WIW - part of the TV console will be suspended and our TV will rest there. That position will be right smack in the middle in line with where our bed will be. E's dresser will be to the other side, where she'll be spending lots of time I'm sure.

Sliding doors to the left of the MBR entrance - basically this is what we will see from our MBR since we combined 2 rooms into 1 and converted one of those rooms into a WIW. We will also be going for black tinted glass doors as per the picture below.

Really can't wait for the carpentry and pole system to come in, hate the wait!