A New Beginning...

[MrWhiteKnight 10]

So my renovation progress kinda slow down as now i have to plaster, patch, smooth and render the whole house before proceeding any further.

Anyway is it normal for the workers to be working till about 3 plus?

Since the start of the reno, i've been going down at about 4plus 5 and they already lock up the place and left. My ID said everything is on schedule.. However, yesterday i reached at 3plus and nobody was around!

I must say though, when i went down on Sat 3.30pm, the workers and the project mgr was around doing the electrical works.

Just hope things will start progressing...

[MrWhiteKnight 10]

Still undecided to get a glass hob or a stainless steel hob.

Pros of glass: inner flame & looks nice

Cons: Scared it shatters or crack under heat or weight

Pros of SS: Easy to clean, safety issue

Cons: No inner flame for the brand i'm interested in, not as good looking as glass hob..

Decisions.. decisions.. one after another

[shir1307 6]

your pseudo marble tiles look good! For the hood and hob, i had same considerations as you but in the end i went with glass hob. My mom has been using glass hob for almost 10 years and till now it still looks good and no cracks whatsoever. Also she told me that it is easier to clean as well.

[Songz 132]

Still undecided to get a glass hob or a stainless steel hob.

Pros of glass: inner flame & looks nice

Cons: Scared it shatters or crack under heat or weight

Pros of SS: Easy to clean, safety issue

Cons: No inner flame for the brand i'm interested in, not as good looking as glass hob..

Decisions.. decisions.. one after another

+1 vote for glass.

Actually it doesn't shatters or crack easy

[MrWhiteKnight 10]

Yea! I ordered a glass hob already

[OceanEleven 203]

Master bedroom

My mother is not pleased with the wardrobe design, in her own words she said "this design so common, looks like bought it from a furniture shop. Then what for i ask him design one for me?"

So we showed him afew designs that my mother like and ask him to come up with something. I feel most of the designs i like mainly have some mirror or glass but my mother doesn't like mirrors or glass reflecting her.

Have requested him to used glossy and shiny/bling laminates in his design instead.

Bedroom 2

My bedroom! Love the idea of the black tinted glass, feels quite classy. But I don't like this pattern of the laminate. Chose a black theme instead.

Dislike the 2 white pieces of board there as the mini console. Feels kinda ugly.

Just take note that shiny/glossy/bling laminates has high maintenance.

Such laminates are fingerprint and dust magnets. Also using wet cloth leaves dried water streak marks, if wet cloth is too wet.

Any future scratch marks are magnified in glossy laminates. Clean cloth happen to have some grains of whatever does damages to laminates when wipe across.

Just a food for thought.

[MrWhiteKnight 10]

Just take note that shiny/glossy/bling laminates has high maintenance.

Such laminates are fingerprint and dust magnets. Also using wet cloth leaves dried water streak marks, if wet cloth is too wet.

Any future scratch marks are magnified in glossy laminates. Clean cloth happen to have some grains of whatever does damages to laminates when wipe across.

Just a food for thought.

Thank you for ur input! really appreciate it. glossy will only be for my mother's wardrobe as she is more "gentle" and can take care of things well.. I will also keep reminding her the vulnerability of it.. haha

[MrWhiteKnight 10]

Not much updates on the reno recently. Shall share what I've gotten for the house!

Living Room

Television

Samsung UA55H8000AK

55" Curved FULL HD 3D SMART LED TV

Managed to asked for additional 3D glasses, so we've got 4 pairs of 3D glasses!

Whats a good TV set if we don't at least upgrade the sound output?

Even though the hype now is sound-bars, we decided to forgo the sound-bar and got a 2.1 home theatre system HTB 7255D from Philips.

HTB 7255D: Crystal Clear Sound. Soft dome tweeters. Premium Class D Amplifiers.

The highlight for me is this

• Wireless music streaming via Bluetooth

The technology allows for easy wireless connection to other Bluetooth devices, so you can play your favorite music from any smartphone, tablet or laptop, including the iPod or iPhone

Sofa

L- Shape Recliner Genuine Cowhide Leather Sofa

This sofa is kinda love at first sight for my mother and after she tried others she sat down on this and told me she have decided to get this sofa even though it is not the most contemporary modern looking design available.

Comfort level + 1. Aesthetics - 1.

I bought this in black though, even though the off white colour really tugs at our heartstrings. Our walls are gonna remain pure white to give the illusion of a brighter bigger space, as such we have to play around with the furnishings. Also, the massage chair that my mother bought comes only either in Black or Brown, as such we are not able to match the off white sofa with the massage chair which will be placed next to it.

OGAWA Massage Chair (Black)

Trade in our super old Osim iDesire to a OGAWA Smart Sense Trinity 3D massage chair. We had actually paid a deposit for it almost more than 1 and a half years ago however due to our family situation we could not ask for it to be delivered to us. Really thankful for OGAWA's flexibility to allow us to put a minimal deposit and delay the delivery till so late, locking in the promotional price and free gift of OGAWA EZ Tone *$1

Coffee Table

Coffee table with 2 "hidden" stools

Despite it not being the most contemporary design available, we were attracted to coffee tables that had much more functionality over design ever since we saw a similar piece at my mother's friend house.

I'm a very 好客 person and I love to invite friends over to my house to chill or just to sample my cooking so whenever we have guests over, we can roll out the hidden stools to provide seats for them if there isn't enough space on the sofa.

The glass panel is also a place where we can DIY. Personally, my style for my home is to personalise it with photos to add in a more homely feel.

Carpet

Carpet from Taobao

Carpet to be placed beneath the coffee table, I think it provides a good colour contrast to our black sofa and dark coloured coffee table.

That's about all for the Living Room! I still have to get some items to DIY and spruce up the foyer area.

[HK N DN Daniel 2]

your pseudo marble tiles look good! For the hood and hob, i had same considerations as you but in the end i went with glass hob. My mom has been using glass hob for almost 10 years and till now it still looks good and no cracks whatsoever. Also she told me that it is easier to clean as well.

May I know the brand of the glass hob? Thanks.

[MrWhiteKnight 10]

I was very happy with the decision to shave off the idea and cost of having L-Box with LED down-lights for the living room. However, after re-wiring the whole house, it seems pretty unsightly. Even though I've been to houses where they do not do any concealing and i found it to be acceptable. But when I step into the house with it's current state I can't visualize it looking acceptable.

Maybe I'm used to seeing the concealed effect in my house done up by my father. It looks really ugly to me when I see the trunking everywhere now.

My ID proposed once again to do the L-box, after recee-ing the site for a few times. I decided to go ahead.

Today, the moment I step in to see... I'm astonish to see how "boxed up" my ceiling have become, giving me a very low ceiling feel. Perhaps I am not use to such a scale of box up! Previously ours was only a box up around the sides of the ceiling and not boxed up to create a rectangle shape.

Now I'm concern how it will turn out after installing the crestar airvac 54" fan. Hopefully once the painting is done, I will be able to visualize it more.

[MrWhiteKnight 10]

My glass hobz and fujioh fx900 hood delivered today!

Can't wait for it to be unboxed and installed! Excited to see it in my kitchen.

I was actually recommended the Rinnai inner flame (RB-2CG) hob by my ID but it's way beyond my budget.

I have been very impressed with HOBZ when i went to my friend's house as the flame is really big and it cuts her cooking time by alot. After some research, the feedback for HOBZ is that they have big flame, so i guess it's not just a "one-off" thing.

When i was apprehensive about getting a glass hob I was very keen to purchase the exact same HOBZ HC-682 stainless steel model as her as it is what i need in terms of functionality.

But after giving a call directly to HOBZ asking them more and places where I can view the various models. I was introduced the glass hob with inner flame with the other burner being a big flame burner.

Since i no longer have a L-top kitchen cabinet to help block the wind out in the kitchen, I am really keen in having an inner flame hob. I also decided to give glass hob a try despite the reviews of it cracking or shattering, i think my cooking is actually pretty simple and basic that i will not be heating the hob for too long at 1 time. *keeping my fingers cross* As such i decided to go with HOBZ HC 1782 BK.

The cost is a difference of only $10! Good deal!

As for the hood, initially it wasn't in my plans to buy one as my previous one died on me pretty early and before it died it was actually being under utilized. However after researching, I decided to spend abit of money to get one to prevent my top cabinets from warping due to direct heat and laminates being grimy and sticky due to the oil and grease.

Going for the best bang for my buck, i chose the Fujioh FX900. Not too cheap that it will not serve it's purpose and not too expensive that when it becomes an white elephant in future I will regret splurging on it.

Edited September 18, 2014 by MrWhiteKnight

[MrWhiteKnight 10]

Have been some time since i last updated. As the progress is a little slow.

I'm kinda disappointed with my ID as right from the start we've told him that we have a tight schedule to follow. Things were on schedule, and perhaps complacency set in upon seeing that we are kinda chill most of the time.

My view was that since we had chemistry, he's a nice chap and he said he will get it done, i will not be so pushy and just let him handle it. Afterall, who likes to work for someone that's so uptight? We all need some "space" and we will work well...

Think i have to be more firm to my ID to get things done.

Currently in the midst of installing all carpentry works. Major disappointment when the carpenter brought in all the prepared woodworks on Saturday and saw that the MBR wardrobe design is totally not what we wanted.

We have told our ID numerous times that we did not want his design and sent him a picture of the design we wanted. Even on the day the carpenter came down to measure, I reminded my ID in front of the carpenter of the wardrobe design. He said he will send it to the carpenter.

In the end, it came wrongly. And when we spoke to the workers they called my ID. My ID told them because we made last minute changes! So furious that i send my ID a firm text to remind him the dates that i confirm with him the wardrobe changes and it was not last minute on our part.

Thankfully he did not attempt to persuade us to accept it like some of the stories shared here.

Also, things are speeding up I hope...

Actually, apart from the delay and this cock up. Things are generally ok. Especially the professionalism of the electrician, aircon guys and carpenters. They provide good advise base on their expertise and experience and take pride in their work!

Keeping my fingers cross that the end product will be fine.

[MrWhiteKnight 10]

After 1 week! We finally moved in to our "new" home. As our short term accomodation is up, we have no choice but to move back in first while there are still some touch ups to be done.

Despite the minor screw up, everything else turns out ok.

In terms of working schedule, it is abit slow. But just glad that things manage to proceed on without much problems.

Will update more on the reno process again when I have time.

Now is back to mopping and mopping, wiping and wiping.

Even after the general cleaning and chemical washing, the floor still feels dusty and sticky.

I personally sweep, vacuum and mop twice already but is still feeling abit dusty and sticky.

For the kitchen, i scrub and wash again and no longer feel the dusty/sandy feel.. its the hall and rooms.

Anyone can advise?

[guojiawen 101]

Same issue faced.. Can only continue mopping to get rid of it. Hubby and I must have done that at least 5 to 6 times. It's much better after we have shifted in..

[bianzi 52]

I am still sourcing for a good mop to use... I absolutely hated the srotchbrite one that I bought...