Hacking Out A Home-Shaped Hole @ Cassia

[fahrenheitbunny 5]

soon we will decide on our ID! yay!

-sound system : why did u leave out the one that looks like a turd. it is civic duty to warn others of ugliness.

- gas heater we shall go with!

- in general, we will be broke but happy .

[Dwinsplace 48]

Does anyone know what internet shopping portals I can use besides taobao (my chinese is terrible) and amazon (quite expensive)?

[Dwinsplace 48]

We have finally chose our ID!

It was a long long road but we are really happy with our final selection. All the guys we met were really nice people but in the end we had to choose one. The following is my honest review of my experiences with some of the designers in each firm. While some may sound bad, please note that I thought all of them were nice. Just not right for our project in various ways.

1. **: I've seen their ads on home and decor a ton of times and their portfolio was varied and interesting. They are a really big company that works in a rather unique way. The project is handled by a team of designers even tho you only deal with one. And the designer you deal with doesn't really go on site. That is left to a quality control team that overseas several projects. The QC guy will go down a bit each day and post pics and update the designer who then updates you. Conversely, instructions are passed from you to the designer to the QC to the contractor on the ground. I'm sure this method has worked for them to date, but I really prefer my designer to be more hands on and to have the chain of instruction shorter. I mean, so many ppl to pass message through, will the message even be correct at the end? And maybe not in time also.

Also, their design.... wasn't really distinct. Kind of what you see on the magazines as a nice HDB lor. Then the presentation say colours will be white, black and wood, with emphasis on dark colours. But 3D picture shows me sand coloured walls.

2. Poh: This guy is an architect and does homes from the ground up more than just interiors but cos he's worked with a close friend of mine and came highly recommended, we went to chat with him. Like you would expect from an architect, he's very conscious of the process and space planning and had some very out of the box ideas like wood clad ceilings with concrete floors so I could get industrial but still keep it warm. Unfortunately, besides that bit, he refused to talk about aesthetics until we had settled space planning which kinda irritated me cos all his space planning ideas were very modern looking in my head so I just wanted to know that he could do the look that I needed. But then he kept making me feel like I was the impatient child jumping the gun. No good.

3. The Carpenter's: Not to be confused with Carpenters!! VERY different look and design. Anyway, we LOVED their office and they could obviously do the look we wanted. The designer was also super sincere and had like 3 different proposals and had thought through just about every single configuration we could think of. Everytime we went: "what about...?" she would reply "Yes I thought of that in this plan here....but then..." So we were super impressed with how meticulous she was. But in the end the costing was and the connection just wasn't there. Maybe if I had more cash and approached them earlier, this would have been a real contender. As it was, i didn't spend as much time refining the plans/quotes with them before making a choice.

4. Oblique Interiors: Great guys and they nailed our aesthetic right from the start. They had some really creative ideas and their price was very VERY reasonable for the finishes that we were asking for. Unfortunately, at the end of the day we felt that they were too hung up on their own vision of the house and unable to tweak it sufficiently to meet our lifestyle and needs. Whats the point of having a beautiful house that doesn't suit you right? Still, we alllllmost went with them cos of the aesthetic and cost factors. I felt a bit bad dragging them on for so long cos they were the first company we met and one of the last we held on to but what to do? Thats the process i guess.

5. Habit LLP: These 2 ladies are EXTREMELY meticulous and a pleasure to speak with. We had such a great time just chatting with them. A real connection. Unfortunately in the end their aesthetic was not quite industrial enough for me. They have a distinctive look if you go to their website and they do that look very well. Then their costs also very high. But looking through their quotation and speaking with them, I can tell that they charge that amount because they are very particular about doing things RIGHT. The foundations and workmanship must be excellent. It killed us to turn them down but I would HIGHLY recommend others to have a look at their work and consider them if their look suits you.

6. And finally! The one we chose is..... *drumroll* 3D conceptwerke!

Alot of people on renotalk have considered them and given them mixed reviews. All agree that they are pricey. I'll add my vote in on that too. But I also believe that I'm paying for some very ***** ideas and quality workmanship. During our conversations, they could always come up with 2-3 different ideas for every problem I threw at them. In fact, during their initial space presentation, i didn't like both their proposals, but as I was explaining why, Dess just took a piece of paper and in 5 minutes showed me a new layout that completely addressed my concerns. That ability to think on the fly will be very useful i think when we run into the inevitable hiccups during the project itself. We are working with a designer called Vanessa who is super cute and sweet and has some kickass ideas too.

In the end we were just the most comfortable working with them. The most excited by their ideas. And the most touched by their willingness to negotiate the pricing to suit our pockets. They seem genuinely keen and excited to work on our project and thats a great feeling! As for the budget... eat less for a while lor....

[Dwinsplace 48]

oh interesting... renotalk automatically censored the name of the first ID firm i wrote about.

Well we can't have that since I named all the others....

So they were D*istinct I*dentity.

[OceanEleven 203]

I second on the gas heater, your concerns are genuine but the safety aspect of gas heater are approve by Citygas prior to local sales.

Gas leakage are quite unlikely and can be monitor by monthly bills. And I believe you will be airing the area where the heater is as well.

If gas leakage is a concern, then how about for the hob then? Flames are visible but not expose and not easily be in contact with anything as well.

For the vinyl flooring, you can always try other brand.

Awareness for Evorich is higher compare to other brands as they did a good job in advertising.

After looking thru and comparing, I deem other brands no difference between them and Evorich. I used Krono-O by the way.

I had a short write out at the below link. The price is great (approx. $5 psf) and I have no qualms about the quality.

Price is subjective, mine area is significant so one may not get the same price if doing like 2 bedrooms size only.

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/63586-back-to-the-west/page-4

Edited May 16, 2014 by OceanEleven

[Dwinsplace 48]

I second on the gas heater, your concerns are genuine but the safety aspect of gas heater are approve by Citygas prior to local sales.

Gas leakage are quite unlikely and can be monitor by monthly bills. And I believe you will be airing the area where the heater is as well.

If gas leakage is a concern, then how about for the hob then? Flames are visible but not expose and not easily be in contact with anything as well.

For the vinyl flooring, you can always try other brand.

Awareness for Evorich is higher compare to other brands as they did a good job in advertising.

After looking thru and comparing, I deem other brands no difference between them and Evorich. I used Krono-O by the way.

I had a short write out at the below link. The price is great (approx. $5 psf) and I have no qualms about the quality.

Price is subjective, mine area is significant so one may not get the same price if doing like 2 bedrooms size only.

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/63586-back-to-the-west/page-4

Yep! In the end I believe we will get gas heater! Went to the showroom and I was fairly sold on the idea by the salesperson. You're right. It's kinda silly to worry about gas leaks. Haha

Looking forward to lower utility bills in the future!

I think our ID is proposing krono as well! We liked the lifetime warranty on evorich but I'm pretty sure the products are fairly similar. If one is so successful then the rest are sure to follow.

[fahrenheitbunny 5]

im so happy with our final choice. i like working with 3D conceptwerke so far ! and they are industrial enough for the hubby! they also have creative solutions and are very keen to think outside the box. the creative process is thus very inclusive and we all feel we are collaborating to build a great home. it's not just client and ID , it's more like teamwork. http://www.three-d-conceptwerke.com/

Habit was a very close contender. they are really really great to talk with and very very detailed and helpful. Please do check them out if you are interested. https://www.facebook.com/habit.llp

As for The Carpenters at East Coast, very thorough.. but wow, prices shot through the roof. i dont know if this matters but their office was my favourite. sometimes u look at the ID's office to get a feel of what their aesthetics are .http://www.thecarpenter.com.sg/contact.html

[Dwinsplace 48]

My speakers came!! All nicely boxed within boxes within boxes. Super protected haha. Now they are sitting in my living room and taking up space till I can give them their proper new home.

speakerboxx by dwinsplace, on Flickr

adiva in box by dwinsplace, on Flickr

Adiva by dwinsplace, on Flickr

Love my new Anthony Gallo Adivas! Size of a grapefruit and has a good weight to it. The stainless steel finish is also gorgeous. Unfortunately, the grill covers were grey when i wanted black. I checked online and its true, they are only black when the body is also black.

But when I wrote to them, they wrote back the next day and said they had black ones and would send them to me free of charge! Whoo! Ten points for customer service.

Now the bigger adivas will match the smaller surround ones:

Micronucleus by dwinsplace, on Flickr

And this is my bigass (and super heavy) subwoofer. Can't wait to hear movie explosions off this baby.

TR1box by dwinsplace, on Flickr

TR1 by dwinsplace, on Flickr

[Dwinsplace 48]

We have also been shopping for kitchen stuff that we feel doesn't need ID input before we buy.

So things like oven, hob, fridge, washer and aircon.

We went to different places to compare and based on model and service and cost, we eventually placed a deposit with Mega Discount Store for the items! Their service was really top notch. They had suggestions and good information on all the brands and models and characteristics too. No hard sell and replied to whatsapps almost immediately. They told us even after confirmation we could change or remove items. And that they would match promotional prices for GSS if they were lowered. How to find this kind of thing??

Honestly though, I was more inclined to wait for the quotation from a wholesaler but the wife liked them alot so we just went with it. In the end, the wholesaler came back and it was only $18 cheaper for the items and they were a super pain to work with. Every time wife called them they said that they were very busy and didn't have time. Only when she asked them : "you dont want my business is it?" then they paused and paid attention. $18 not worth that sort of headache.

Anyway this is what we ordered!

PBD9331SG- Bosch Hob

- Safety gas valve (shuts off in case wind blows fire out.)

- 92 cm wide so that i can place a pot in the middle without losing the use of the outside ones.

- black tempered glass for easy cleaning and sexy looks

- 4.5KW flame for the 'wok hei' in my stir fry!

bosch hob by dwinsplace, on Flickr

HBN331E2J Bosch Stainless steel Built in oven

- 67L capacity. Large enough for christmas turkey!

- triple glass door (on new models) so the door doesn't feel so hot

- Digital timer for autocutoff

- great reviews from bakers

- doesn't have self cleaning but the side rails are really easy to snap off so the whole cavity can be cleaned easily.

bosch oven by dwinsplace, on Flickr

Edited May 21, 2014 by Dwinsplace

[Dwinsplace 48]

Samsung Bottom Freezer Refrigerator RL4013UBASL

- Nett internal capacity 380l

- I love bottom freezers cos i hate bending down every time i open the fridge to get a drink. Which actually meant I hardly had any choice.

- Sleek stainless steel look

samsung fridge1 by dwinsplace, on Flickrsamsung fridge2 by dwinsplace, on Flickr

Samsung Top Load Washing Machine WA80F5S7

- 8kg load

- wobble technology thats supposed to keep clothes from tangling.

samsung washer 1 by dwinsplace, on Flickrsamsung washer 2 by dwinsplace, on Flickr

Mitsubishi Electric Starmex system 3 Aircon:

We were looking at panasonic at first cos of the air purifying function. But the salesperson told us all aircons have that sort of thing. And then told us Mitsubishi Starmex was a lot more popular but generally more expensive. He did say that the starmex seems to have an ability to blow the cold air further which cooled the room faster. Dunno whether true or not but we were convinced especially since he matched the price of the mitsubishi to the cheaper panasonic. I've read renotalkers rave about both so i was quite comfortable with either one.

aircon by dwinsplace, on Flickr

If you guys have any inputs on our choices pls comment! We haven't bought them yet! haha

Edited May 21, 2014 by Dwinsplace

[fahrenheitbunny 5]

megaDiscount store has amazing service !

[OceanEleven 203]

PBD9331SG- Bosch Hob

HBN331E2J Bosch Stainless steel Built in oven

Hi there, keen to know the prices for this 2 pcs.

[fahrenheitbunny 5]

Hello Ocean Eleven, u can call Henry at 84489168 he gave us a bundle price with many other items so it's best you get the quote directly from him .

Hope this helps!

[guojiawen 101]

megaDiscount store has amazing service !

I have to agree, bought most of my stuff from them too

Is Henry the uncle who always sit around the hood hob oven area at the Kallang Leisure Park branch? I can't remember the uncle's name. Was about half a yr back since my purchase

[fahrenheitbunny 5]

hallo! may i ask if there are any comments / experiences with these :

(1) bathroom stuff

http://www.bathroomwarehouse.com.sg/

(2) lights

http://ottawa.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/9-sq.jpg

:-) renotalkers are such a great resource! thanks in advance