N&nloft @ Waterway Banks

[limpbiskut 1]

5 April - Carpentry 85% completed!

Rinnai chimney hood, hob, built-in oven and kitchen sink from Summer Hardware Trading. Our reno package includes Rinnai conventional hood, hob and the sink so we topped up to get a bigger sink (with free chopping board and drainer) and the chimney hood. Blum system for the dishrack only and managed to squeeze 2 pantry drawers since there was not enough space for the whole rack from top to bottom. This should be enough. My mom has the pantry system and we find that after 10 years, it can't be closed properly. The kitchen subway tiles is loveeee. Yet to install the black galaxy granite top and tempered backing glass on the other side.

Wardrobes with pull-out mirrors. Wifey so happy to get her dressing table.

Mirror with cabinet for master toilet bought at Adecco Living @ Sutera Mall, JB and mirror for common toilet from IKEA. SAVE COST The vanity cabinet for master toilet not done yet.

Edited May 8, 2015 by limpbiskut

[jaegger 0]

hihi, you overlaid your kitchen floor tiles. Why not hack? Does it make your kitchen feel smaller by overlaying?

[limpbiskut 1]

hihi, you overlaid your kitchen floor tiles. Why not hack? Does it make your kitchen feel smaller by overlaying?

Hi! We decided to overlay due to our tight budget and our contractor already determined the condition of our existing tiles (check for any hollow tiles etc) plus it's a new flat, we do not want to damage the existing waterproofing and void the warranty. For us the outcome is not much of a difference if we hack or overlay. Just that it's a bit higher than the living room tiles but hardly noticeable. since we hack the wall partition, the kitchen is more spacious.

As for the laminates, my wife specifically chose white for the top cabinets and the subway tiles so it creates an airy effect. Will upload more pics soon. Cheers~

[limpbiskut 1]

Granite vs Quartz vs Solid Surface

Ok firstly what is it? Granite is 100% natural stone quarried from within the earth, quartz though comes in various nicer colours is man-made (85%-95% crushed quartz with a resin binder and lastly solid surface is man-made acrylic or polyester plastics. Our reno package includes solid surface top but we decided to take granite due to the various reasons: not affected by heat, bacterial and highly scratch-resistant which means two things; IT CAN LAST LONGER with LESS MAINTENANCE. We are also heavy users of the kitchen so solid surface is out. Quartz (iQuartz/Caesarstone) is also a top quality counter which is also heat and scratch resistant that will last for years and a definite winner in terms of aesthetics since it is available in a variety of colours, patterns and textures. Wifey is in love with the iquartz i-series in ice crystal and paddy rice (the white look). Granite is somehow limited. For most people it's going to come down to the looks but when we had to compare between quartz and granite, we chose the latter cos of one main factor: COST. Enuf said. hahaha It's not a hard decision to make really cos we both know our budget very well, even when we did burst a little bit. *insert monkey see no evil emoji*

Another choice is kompacplus which is currently the rave for scandi theme kitchen. Price doesn't differ much from granite but we feel that it's still new in the market so we are afraid of any complications in the future. Of course they claim it's heat and scratch resistant but nah, sometimes old school is still the best. Eventually you choose what's best for your kitchen considering all the important factors. Wifey loves the look too and how it's thin and sleek compared to granite.

So finally our black galaxy granite top was installed last evening. I am totally digging it! Love how the white top cabinet makes the space airy and from far you'll think it's just a plain glossy wall. Haha

Tempered backing glass will be fixed to cover the ugly wall tiles. Basically we do whatever we can so our house won't appear like the 1st time we got it. Hence, that explains the tiles overlay and the skirting at the living room and bedrooms will be painted white too. (Not enough budget to replace it with the living room tiles) Lol

Master toilet vanity cabinet is up too. We bought the $90 Roz rectangular (not into weird looking ones. hehehe) wash basin ourselves from Hoe Kee (contractor recommended a $250 sink which is like errr nvm) and requested the carpenter to make the cabinet according to the exact measurements of the sink to avoid adding solid surface / granite top. That's one thing we like about Mr R. He won't push us to purchase anything that is not within our budget. If we can find something cheaper and what we like, by all means get it. He will install it for us. We had a bad experience from Hoe Kee Tanjong Katong though. We came one day to get the Joven storage heater only to find out it's not available. The staff didn't inform us the day before when we were actually there to ask her about the heater and sink. She (****, forgot her name) only mentioned it's cash and carry so we happily came again the next day and it's out of stock. Imagine the frustration. So that's another story all together and why we purchased the Joven heater from Summer Trading Hardware, the same place we got the kitchen sink, hob, hood & oven. Hmmm somehow the mirror looks small when it's fixed but seems bigger when we decided to buy. Haha always grab, never measure. tsk tsk

Featuring the wife's favourite hobby, makeup. She's elated to have her dream dressing table came true. But not every dream is sweet. The vanity lights are supposed to be daylight which is important when you are applying makeup to avoid looking like a clown when you leave your room. Oops! But the ones we bought from IKEA is warm white! This made her totally speechless. It's obvious to our eyes that the display lights at showroom is white so we grabbed 2 boxes. In fact, we actually rushed from Tampines to Alexandra cos the ones at Tamp were sold out. I suggested switching it to the white T5 lights but she decided that it's fine. Somehow that is still the look she's going for. Well, it's not as if she puts on heavy makeup every day. Hhehehe Sadly, the bulbs can't be changed too. But at least she has the white ceiling light to depend on. That's my wife, positive as ever.

I still wonder how she is going to spend her time applying makeup when we have babies in the future. hahaha

Edited May 8, 2015 by limpbiskut

[limpbiskut 1]

12 April - Toilet corner racks, bidet spray, rainshower for master toilet and kitchen mixer tap is fixed!

Shower curtain for common toilet yet to be installed.

We got our contractor to help us hang the letter/key holder too.

So far, all is done except the kitchen tempered backing glass and curtains. Our furniture will be delivered in 2 weeks' time. Can't wait to move!

Edited May 13, 2015 by limpbiskut

[limpbiskut 1]

Forgot to post these few items. Small vanity mirror for the dressing table is installed. A woman can never have enough mirrors.

T5 light for the recess wall. Fortunately the box is big enough for our framed honeymoon pic. So much for her panicking earlier. heheehe The space for our queen sized bed looks small in this picture but I assure you it's not.

Our very kind contractor also gave us the bedside shelf at no cost.

Edited May 14, 2015 by limpbiskut

[Ray Tay Hong Choon 4]

How come both the outlet connecting to the bidet are pointing upwards instead of pointing down?

[peachpokka 0]

Hi may I know where u got the kitchen stainless steel pull out tray?

[limpbiskut 1]

Hi may I know where u got the kitchen stainless steel pull out tray?

hi, i gt it from Summer Hardware Trading @ toa payoh

[limpbiskut 1]

15 May - Kitchen reno is now complete with the tempered glass backsplash. Suits our colour theme really well! Black, white, grey and mint. No more "kueh lapis" mosaic as my neighbour mentioned in their blog. hahaha That really cracks me up.

Renovation is 100% complete and no defects were found. We are very pleased with the outcome! The whole previous weekend was spent cleaning the house! So tiring yet satisfying at the same time.

The skirting in the living room and walkway were also painted white; making the whole place looks brighter and maybe more spacious without a divider in the middle. Plus we wanted to get rid of the original bto look. Hehehe

We're taking over our #nnloft this weekend and our furniture + electronics will be delivered tomorrow too! Will be sharing photos of our completed house with the full furnishing and decor. Stay tuned~

Edited May 22, 2015 by limpbiskut

[nadnut 1]

Wow! Nice! Future Punggol neighbour here!

[limpbiskut 1]

Thank you @Nadnut. Its just a simple reno w simple furnishings. Nothing extravagant.

☺

[kyooko 1]

Really like how the tempered glass back splash look! Might consider doing that too... though I am worried about getting water behind the glass

[limpbiskut 1]

hi kyooko, the tempered glass backsplash is sealed by silicon. there shouldn't be any worries about water seeping thru the backsplash.

[peachpokka 0]

Hi congrats on completing a smooth reno!

Do u mind sharing the laminate code for your kitchen and bedroom 3 carpentry? Yes in advance!