Somewhat Scandinavian~ 2Room+Studio

[Rachel 5]

Week 6; Deepavali PH

Remember the wood feature wall from the 3D drawings, we decided to tackle it on Deepavali since D, my dad and I were off work..

First the wood supply- gotten from a wood supplier in Sungei Kadut - actually the wood supplier for DnT classes in a secondary school where D teaches... We chose solid pinewood which came in 2 widths (1.2cm and 2cm) and they helped to cut the wood down to our required size, 2ft, 3ft and 4ft, the stuff was delivered the stuff to our place within a few days of D placing the order

Prepping the wall - initially we wanted to overlay a piece of ply-wood on the wall and stick the individual planks onto the ply.. but our ID quoted us $700 for the plywood - which we knew costs <$100 including delivery if we ordered it direct !

So we did a little more research, and found out that a base plywood layer is not necessary after all...

So being very OCD and particular about stuff I insisted that we had to 'dry-lay' the planks on the floor so I can plan the pattern/layout of the planks to achieve a 'random-but-good-looking' final product

D said: " you arrange la, so you cannot blame me if you don't like it -.-

The tools/materials that we used include:

Brown paint

Pine wood (10% extra for wastage/ allowance/ ugly-damaged ones)

Composite glue, think we used about 5 tubes

Saw (Zig-zag saw and hand saw)

Sander & Sandpaper

Spacers : we used thick ice-cream stick-the doctor's kind

*Air-Gun, conveniently borrowed from carpenter FOC , otherwise i've read that regular hammer + nails also works

Spirit level - very important

Masking tape + pencil

Wood-coloured putty (optional)

First, painting the wall, so white wouldn't show up in the gaps between planks - painted by D, incase anyone thinks our painter did a shoddy job... lucky he doesn't read my post.. haha

Of course me being me, I wanted to do something a little extra to document our progress .. but not my original idea, saw it on a blog..

So the planks can be installed from :

top-down : more difficult to level, but visually more pleasant since odd sized planks will be out-of-sight

bottom-up: easier to level, but odd-size planks will be at the ceiling

Of course I insisted we had to start at the top

D and my dad hard at work - promise they are not carpenters. haha.

Can you spot the makeshift spacers a.k.a ice cream sticks ? Also the air-gun belong to the carpenters? we did ask for permission to use, and they provided us with the nails !

Shall let the pictures do the talking! we worked all day+ skipped lunch.. so effort.

[Rachel 5]

Couldn't include more pictures in the previous post, so here it is:

 

 

Reaching the bottom. finally! - miss-comm with the ID as to how much allowance to leave for the socket... had to re-do that particular plank.... this was almost the most tricky part, cause the hole is across 2 rows...

 

Product at the end of day one- no more energy to measure/saw/past the last row!

 

We are so proud of ourselves! The DIY gene is totally strong within me and my dad.. slowly we are influencing D to be more hands on even the ID said its nice! (WL. of course man. all our effort)

ID suggested that we cover the area around the aircon... a job for another day... lots of measuring/trimming for that area...

 

Edited August 2, 2018 by Rachel

[James N Joean 8]

Very inspiring DIY u got there.... I'm sure u will feel very happy looking at the wall and recalling the DIY experience for many years to come.... Love it!

[diva79 5]

Oh my! Where did u order the planks from?really awesome diy u have there...

I was looking at http://www.stikwood.com but it's more expensive than yours ..

Edited November 10, 2014 by diva79

[Rachel 5]

Oh my! Where did u order the planks from?really awesome diy u have there...

I was looking at http://www.stikwood.com but it's more expensive than yours ..

Timber is ordered from this place, think it cost us $900+ for the wall and extras,

This Stikwood sounds awesome - a bit expensive, but worth it for the convenience. Only thing the final product wouldn't have "depth". Tempted to do like a headboard or overlay my foyer area walls..!

Also, when we remove our planks, the wall will be gutted. I guess Stikwood wouldn't have the same issue

[sugarkitty 0]

Nice job on the wall! Very inspiring.

Is the wood treated? It looks untreated...

Would using plywood backing solve the issue of destroying the wall when you are removing the plank? Actually i think Stikwood may result in damaging the wall when removing too.

[Doris Chin 4]

Nice!! Congrats! I would love to DIY, but totally no skills!

[Rachel 5]

Nice job on the wall! Very inspiring.

Is the wood treated? It looks untreated...

Would using plywood backing solve the issue of destroying the wall when you are removing the plank? Actually i think Stikwood may result in damaging the wall when removing too.

Hi Sugarkitty,

Think the wood is treated by the timber company - its not used wood like pallet so should be okay.

We haven't varnished/ lacquered after putting it up as we don't want a darker appearance - still hunting for a TRULY CLEAR finishing

No, plywood also need to glue+nail... so the wall will also be ruined, but at least its removal of a large piece or wood rather than individual planks = easier

Nice!! Congrats! I would love to DIY, but totally no skills!

Hi Doris - don't need much skills, just effort and lots of research online!

[Rachel 5]

More pictures of the carpentry of our bedrooms

Its tough to fit the whole structure into a photo.. sorry! time to bring a proper camera soon..

 

The steps are a little steep, but okay you a 'youngish' person.. the stairs also double up as storage..

View from the top of the loft- not too bad! .. *disclaimer* this is the view from the 'foot' of the bed, rather than the 'head'... due to the orientation of the room door

 

Study area:

Supposed to be a swing down door for the study table, and a swing up door for the bottom section. However, easily seen from the picture that the bottom door was #fail...

The door's so huge and heavy that it cant stand at 90 degree =( And the measurement's wrong the two doors are supposed to align!

See the little panel do wood doing nothing but scarring the outward appearance of the loft? Our ID said top door can be X height... ( i.e. the size of the bottom door) but in reality, X was too long, but the material has been cut... so use a small panel to patch the hole since only a shorter door can be used. OMG. as an ID, your job is supposed to plan the stuff properly right?!?! Also, he didn't offer to fix it, until i ask if the gap can be filled in /minimized. minus 1,000,000 points

As for the bottom door... I was also the one who came up with the solution to fix (forgot to take picture..oops) ID didn't help us solve it WHY?!

 

Using the stairs as the study chair... idea only. probably wouldn't work unless the user is super skinny!

 

To give a perspective on the height - our ceiling is 2.8m - so with a a mattress, should still be able to sit up right

 

Edited August 2, 2018 by Rachel

[Rachel 5]

Sorry for the lack of updates- it was a busy 2 weeks with deliveries and touch-ups and more reno-woes..

we had several staycations at our new house. hehe.

Living room cabinets:

The 3D diagram- we made several changes but the 3D was updated

 

To confirm what configuration we wanted, we actually traced the whole structure on the wall before we confirmed the carpentry specifications. Maybe overkill, but we able to see how it fits visually on to the wall and if its balanced. The TV may look too near the balcony- but its almost centered to the sofa.

 

Part of the cabinets being delivered:

 

In Progress- I must say it wasn't a very easy job trying to get each component aligned. As expected each piece didn't fit tightly with the next Some spacer pieces were required and it affectd the appearance

 

Structure fully up, but without most of the doors - actually it took them 3 trips to properly fix all the doors, since they had insufficient hinges, forgot to bring the tic-tac mechanism

I really wanted to add extend the track lights so that it'll be same length as the feature cabinets, but both D and the ID say NO ! ..aw man... does it look OK like that?

 

The gap in the middle door of the TV console was too small - so they took it back to widen the hole...

New feature wall together with our DIY feature wall... The coffee table is actually 2 "cubbys" from the bottom of the structure - fully removable and can be used as seating too !

 

What do you think of our living room/ feature wall ?

Edited August 2, 2018 by Rachel

[Rachel 5]

I've been wanting to update on our kitchen - the room with the most EXTENSIVE renovation in our house. but alas there's been delays and mistakes and glitches so its still not complete yet

SO to distract myself. here's a post on my kitchen appliances... well, whatever that didn't come built in by the developer anyway..

Fridge:

Its been my dream to have a side-by-side fridge, so I can fit a whole cake or mixing bowl into the freezer without worrying about space constraints! Lucky my kitchen can accommodate the width! Some of my neighbours can't… Whew.

Samsung glass front vs LG stainless steel

D and I always wanted the Samsung, cause it looks nice, and has a flat profile… Upon visiting HN, the sales people where pushing the LG quite hard- its newer, the door is easier to open, the door compartments are height adjustable.. But we went for looks in the end, since it sorta matches our kitchen cabinet laminates

Washer+ Dryer:

Haven't been able to live without a dryer ever since staying in Hall during uni days… Our preference went from combined washer dryer to separate machines to combined washer dryer…

Me: I'm not going to carry the wet laundry from the washing machine (below) to the dryer (stacked on top).. It is too heavy, you'll have to do it
D: HUH . (why you like that ) Lets get the combined one then
Me: Huh. If cannot dry 100% how, like what all the sales people claim
D: Then hang lorh.
Me: We are not installing a clothes hanger. Its so ugly.
D: *speechless*

Anyway- we got the combined in the end, bought extended warranty too . Just in case

We were choosing between a gray machine (forgot was it Samsung or LG) or white (Electrolux) ...

I guess the "European" brand and white (which matched our fridge) was the deciding factor!

It has a 10kg washing, 7Kg drying capacity…. Investing a bit more $$ to get a larger drying capacity… better to wash bulky stuff like bedding

I'm happy to report that out of the 3 times the machine has been used - the clothes dried 100% without needing any hanging… the last time was a load of dish/hand towels - hmm maybe I didn't choose the right setting?

My last major appliance purchase is *drumroll* a dishwasher ! there's really no alternative expression for it ! Well, technically my mom's expression is my grandma's expression is .. "you mean this machine can wash dishes?!"

In fact the dishwasher was a 'make or break' factor when we were selecting our ID ... I think 90% of the dishwasher are the large built it/freestanding one... However, it was impossible to fit them in unless I choose to dismantle and rebuild my cabinets #wishfulthinking , so its down to the counter-top size Bosch or Electrolux one, which can fit into my existing cabinet next to the sink....

Dishwasher delivered, but couldn't be placed in the cabinet cause carpenter installed the shelves at the wrong height, and failed to correct it after several reminders

After the shelf was adjusted, the machine is able to fit perfectly, with maybe a 2cm allowance , really held our breaths from buying it - to its delivery and eventual hook-up by the plumber ! Verdict: success ! And #noregrets

Loading it for a test wash

This is probably my most frivolous buy for the house... but in loving it! Wonder if anyone else also bought a dishwasher ?

Edited November 26, 2014 by Rachel

[Sundown 2]

I bought a dishwasher too!

[Rachel 5]

Hi Sundown!

How often do you use your dishwasher?

[Eriko 0]

Also the 3D images provided by Buzz, our ID:

Master Bedroom: since we are not planning to have TV/ Study desk in the bedroom, decided to do a L shape wardrobe to make use of the void space in the room...

This is not the final components of the wardrobe- incorporating more hanging space and less shelves... also, decided to go for DOORS. since various #voiceofreason said its really #notpractical if i go for open concept

only downside is its kinda of awkward for the person sleeping on the inside to get to bed =x but seems that several Renotalkers also have a similar layout for their bedrooms, so I'm not too worried... anything goes as long there a LARGER wardrobe #womenwoes

Common Bedroom:

as well as storeroom, study room, guest bedroom

spending a fair chunk of $$ to achieve the 'multi-purposes-ness', keeping our fingers cross that it will look nice as well as meet our needs!

Hi, very nice loft bed you have. Can i know what's your ceiling height? Would you share with me height for the top and the bottom. I am trying to do something similar but is pretty constrain on the height.

[Sundown 2]

Hi Sundown!

How often do you use your dishwasher?

Whenever I have pple over (I have a live in helper) I got the gaggenau one so its quite big and no Eco mode. Have the fisher and paykel one at my pil place which has Eco mode. enjoy it. I love it even if I inititially was against the idea of having it and it takes up space in my already small kitchen