Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 The Search [https://jumbobnb.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/jumbo-bnb-2/]Welcome to our Blog which records our journey which started from the search of a HDB Resale Unit to finally the purchase and renovation of our Jumbo BnB!Our initial 3 main search criterias were: 1. LOCATION – Close proximity to MRT as we do not own a car and are too lazy to walk long distance. We are willing to pay a premium for location as we see it as savings from not buying/maintaining a car. 2. HIGH FLOOR – Great view, more windy, less insects, less noise from playground and void deck activities. If you get the top floor, you have the added advantage of not having to deal with waste pipes! In all honesty, for greater privacy, 5th floor is the lowest recommended before pedestrians can peer into your house from the ground level. Another consideration is that low floor units are too close to the base rubbish bin in the chute thus every time you open the chute, it is like you are under a chemical attack. 3. Non-Corridor Unit - For greater privacy. Our other concern is that we might get evicted by our neighbours as we are noisy… ok very noisy, not us actually but our Home Theater System and propensity to watch action movies…Using the above 3 search criteria, we spent 3 months scouring the TPY & Bishan areas. The prime candidate was the Blk 79 A-E series near TPY MRT. However the COV and valuations were crazily high. But we must admit the view from those above 30th floor was crazily good!To cut a long story short, we settled for a 5-room unit near Braddell MRT. It only fulfills one of the above 3 criterias (i.e. location); it is a low floor and corridor unit. However it has one unique feature – it is made up of 2 adjoining 3-room units (total 6 rooms if you count the 2 added utility rooms) – which makes it very exciting to do up! =) Being travel bugs, we love hostels and this unit offers us the chance to do up our house like a hostel… hahhaha it wld be like living eternally in a travel hostel. We made an offer to a very nice lady and her mum on the 2nd day and ta da – the Reno Journey begins!PS You cant actually rent your HDB out as a BnB as it is against the regulations and you might lose your unit. Read http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/two-lose-hdb-flats-renting-them-tourists Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Presenting... [http://jumbobnb.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/presenting/]Thought we would document Jumbo before we destroy it. After more than 3 months, here is our final (more or less) product – Many thanks to our photographer for taking the photos! Living Room (s) Blinds Up, Blinds Down: Edited January 20, 2015 by Gingereve 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Presenting Part 2... [http://jumbobnb.word.../20/presenting/]Dining Rooms(s)Kitchen Edited January 20, 2015 by Gingereve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 Presenting Part 3... [http://jumbobnb.word.../20/presenting/] Room (s) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 Presenting Part 4... [http://jumbobnb.word.../20/presenting/] Toilets (s) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Floorplan and Challenges http://jumbobnb.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/floorplan-and-challenges/] As we have learnt a lot and received lots of help from the wonder people in Renotalk Forum, we decided to share our own renovation journey with everyone! Going to start with the customary Floor-plan! Being an sucker for details and precision, we actually used MS PPT to resize our floorplan to perfect scale and added 2 rulers on the X & Y Axis. Smart right!? These came in real useful when speaking to IDs/floor laminate guys etc.The few major challenges we faced were: 1. We wanted to convert the 2 BATHS into attached TOILETS to the master-bedrooms. This would require submissions to HDB and NEA (for the additional toilet bowls and waste piping. This would also mean that we will have the world’s tiniest toilet. 2. The units are North-South facing: GOOD – no afternoon sun, BAD – can be rather dark.3. Low Ceiling. As this is a very old unit (40+ years), the average ceiling height is only about 245cm. This means (a) ceiling fans can be dangerous and is limited to a few models (b) it makes our house appear even smaller and darker © false ceiling is out. We didn’t even consider this as it would make the ceiling height even lower. While L-shaped box was considered, we decided against it because of the theme we chose.4. Crooked/slated walls. There are no straight wall/floor/ceiling in the entire house! This means that the piping/trunkings/tiles/wardrobes will all look slanted. When installing fixtures, you have to decide whether to take dressing from wall/ceiling or floor.We decided to go for a “Scan-dustrial” look.Industrial - exposed trunking/pipes as a design feature (due to the lack of false ceilings) + track lights. Instead of a cement screed for the entire living room, we chose cement tiles to avoid possible problems when the cement screed were to crack (a very common problem) and when cleaning the house. An additional perk is we have the excuse not to clean up our house regularly so as to be in line with our theme.Scandinavian – As we prefer a bright house to a dark gloomy one, we needed to augment the industrial look with some Scandinavian characteristics i.e. (a) lots of natural light – clear glass windows, (b) some wood and natural material furnishings © light/white colour doors, door frames, windows. As mention in the first post we are also heavily drawn to the Cafe & Hostel look!Colourful Accents – So that Jumbo wouldn’t be too dull and white, we deliberately added splashes of colours in the house – including my fav birdie chair, iron man, signboards and sofa cushions.Haha so many things to do, so little time! Edited January 21, 2015 by Gingereve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doris Chin 4 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 Your house already looks fantastic! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Flash to the Past Part 1/3 [http://jumbobnb.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/jumbo-flash-to-the-past/]The house when we got the keys – Iron Window and Door Grills, Sturdy Solid Doors. Edited January 20, 2015 by Gingereve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 Flash to the Past Part 2/3 [http://jumbobnb.word...sh-to-the-past/] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 Flash to the Past Part 3/3 [http://jumbobnb.word...sh-to-the-past/]Lots of work to be done! Exciting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kimsim 8 Report post Posted January 20, 2015 Floorplan and Challenges http://jumbobnb.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/floorplan-and-challenges/] As we have learnt a lot and received lots of help from the wonder people in Renotalk Forum, we decided to share our own renovation journey with everyone! Going to start with the customary Floor-plan! Being an sucker for details and precision, we actually used MS PPT to resize our floorplan to perfect scale and added 2 rulers on the X & Y Axis. Smart right!? These came in real useful when speaking to IDs/floor laminate guys etc.The few major challenges we faced were: 1. We wanted to convert the 2 BATHS into attached TOILETS to the master-bedrooms. This would require submissions to HDB and NEA (for the additional toilet bowls and waste piping. This would also mean that we will have the worlds tiniest toilet. 2. The units are North-South facing: GOOD no afternoon sun, BAD can be rather dark.3. Low Ceiling. As this is a very old unit (40+ years), the average ceiling height is only about 245cm. This means (a) ceiling fans can be dangerous and is limited to a few models (b) it makes our house appear even smaller and darker © false ceiling is out. We didnt even consider this as it would make the ceiling height even lower. While L-shaped box was considered, we decided against it because of the theme we chose.4. Crooked/slated walls. There are no straight wall/floor/ceiling in the entire house! This means that the piping/trunkings/tiles/wardrobes will all look slanted. When installing fixtures, you have to decide whether to take dressing from wall/ceiling or floor.We decided to go for a Scan-dustrial look.Industrial - exposed trunking/pipes as a design feature (due to the lack of false ceilings) + track lights. Instead of a cement screed for the entire living room, we chose cement tiles to avoid possible problems when the cement screed were to crack (a very common problem) and when cleaning the house. An additional perk is we have the excuse not to clean up our house regularly so as to be in line with our theme.Scandinavian As we prefer a bright house to a dark gloomy one, we needed to augment the industrial look with some Scandinavian characteristics i.e. (a) lots of natural light clear glass windows, (b) some wood and natural material furnishings © light/white colour doors, door frames, windows. As mention in the first post we are also heavily drawn to the Cafe & Hostel look!Colourful Accents So that Jumbo wouldnt be too dull and white, we deliberately added splashes of colours in the house including my fav birdie chair, iron man, signboards and sofa cushions.Haha so many things to do, so little time!The next challenge should be your 2 main doors, how do you wanna solve the door to be dock it outside a door, but internal keep like furniture cover up.Cause 1 house cannot have 2 main doors in the Feng shui only. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Whalegaga 2 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 Looking forward to the transformation! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks to one and all for your kind comments =). Actually this is a retrospective blog for our renovation journey which started in July 2014. We moved in in Oct 2014 and are slowly doing up some minor items. The main bulk of the work has been completed (see post #02). We will update things we have learnt along the way in the next few posts. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Let there be Light(s)! - Part 1 of 3 [http://jumbobnb.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/let-there-be-lights/]When it comes to lights selection, functionality over-rules design for most of our choices.Main LightsOur main lights consist of LED Track lights. It wasn’t much of a choice as we wanted ceiling fans in all living rooms and hall the limited light solutions (without casting head spinning shadows due to the fan blades) are (a) Fan with lights – out because our ceiling is too low, the fans are too ugly and the lights are too dim. (b) Wall lights – initially we wanted to choose this solution, however wall lights can be glaring as they have to be placed only slightly above eye level and will shine directly into our face © track lights – a compromise. Pros: Cheaper installation cost as 1 track is considered as only 1 lighting point and you can mount as many bulbs as you want on it. Cons: (a) Expensive (but the price offered by ECO LED is very very very reasonable) (b) Can warm you up if point in your direction © Need to manage how the LED Bulbs are directed to avoid glare into eyes. Many a times it is directed against the wall to allow the throw back to light up the room. Main Room Lights are Black Lights with Black Tracks in Living Room & White Lights and White Tracks in Bedrooms. There is a mixture of warm light and cool light to choose from. Dining Rooms Light Taobao Lights! (1) Wooden frames with Edison Bulbs & Pirated White Tom Dixon Lights Edited January 21, 2015 by Gingereve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gingereve 3 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Let there be Light(s)! - Part 2 of 3 [http://jumbobnb.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/let-there-be-lights/]Kitchen Lights – Boring Square Bright LED Lights & LED Strip for Work TopDecided to get bright functional boring Square LED Lights for the kitchens. Got an LED Strip for the kitchen work top. You can see the boxed-up driver above. LEGRAND LightsFell in love with these lights the first time I cast my eyes upon them. They are meant to be outdoor lights but I use them as wall lights in the living room as well as ceiling lights in all my bathrooms. Do note that it is fully enclosed (so as to be weather resistant), thus you can’t fit in too big a bulb. Also as the heated air is trapped within the light, it is advisable to get low heat LED bulbs. Legrand Out Door Lights: (1) Wall lights in living room & (2) Bathroom ceiling light – splash proof! Master Bedroom Wall LightsGot these pair of beauties from Tao Bao! Useful to have wall lights which allows you to read in bed as well as switch them off without getting of bed. Tips: install lights with lamp shades below eye level to prevent glare. i.e., the light should be shining on the book on your lap and not your head. Edited January 21, 2015 by Gingereve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
