Emma - Our Em In The West

[dien 1]

Hi dien,

Thanks for the compliments! Haha actually I think I just am impatient to get the place and since cannot, must find other things that "work towards" getting the place. Otherwise feel very antsy. If we spend our time shortlisting furniture at least we feel like we are doing something instead of waiting around counting down to the key-collection date haha.

Space!! Haha actually my office is quite nearby so I walked down some time ago to check it out myself, but cannot lah, the price tags are all too scary!! Can only look, cannot even imagine buying!

A Big Yes, very expensive. it's a designers furniture. But like Ikea, they give ideas of what we can have alternatives for a good deal.

I used to run my printing shop at Sunshine Plaza 7yrs back.

[ricepapergirl 21]

Speaking of Ikea, we went down to Ikea (again!?) over the weekend!

For my kitchen, I was really inspired by Ikea's new METOD kitchen range, with their Blum fittings and also their door fronts and selection of countertops. I've never been very fond of the granite/natural stone type of countertop (nothing against them, I just don't particularly like them) and as my mood board photo of the kitchen shows, I'm quite interested in butcher-block style countertops (which is surprisingly really difficult to cater for outside of Ikea??).

But of course, as it is with Ikea, loads of people came up with protests and more-subtle side-eye incredulous looks when I mentioned I intended to have an Ikea kitchen. Everything from the fact that kitchens will be wet and particleboards will not stand up to it, to Asian cooking being greasy and not in line with western homes' requirements, to I'm-sure-your-ID-will-not-be-much-more-expensive etc.

I've been doing a lot of internet research/digging and asking around, and basically

1. there are really good reviews of Ikea kitchen cabinets in western countries, and most of the complaints come from bad installation or bad service,

2. there have been next to no bad reviews of the new METOD range but that's because it's so new, even in "Asian cooking countries", and even so, there does not seem to have proportionately higher bad reviews for Ikea kitchen cabinets than there are for ID/contractor kitchen cabinets (basically I figured the risk is about the same)

3. despite what people have been telling me, the average quote for a kitchen with my requirements (I have my kitchen layout planned out down to where the drawers will be and what each drawer will contain, and there are a lot of drawers) by IDs/contractors and by a specialized kitchen-carpenter are on average around $3-5k more expensive than the Ikea kitchen with the Ikea site visit and installation fees included, and

4. The best wood-like counter-top surface that non-Ikea kitchens have is Kompactplus, which is not like butcher-block wood countertop at all, much slimmer and much more expensive. I don't intend to get real wood countertop given how "wet" the prep work is for Asian cooking but Ikea also has wood-like acrylic tops which look like thick butcher block. This option does not seem to be available at all when I ask the IDs/contractors/carpenters.

Plus I've already decided to get an air-fryer and a strong oil-sucking hood.

Anyway the long and short of it was that I was half-decided to get an Ikea kitchen, until we called up SP services and found out that there was no piped gas to our block at all, so we were either going to have to use LPG gas cylinders, or electric plate/induction. I am not a fan of electric plate/induction type cookers because of their flat surfaces (you don't get the same heat coverage at the bottom of a round wok or pan as a proper flame) so it was LPG tanks for us.

For a month or so we thought the Ikea kitchen was not possible then because we weren't sure that the base of the Ikea cabinet could hold the weight of LPG cylinders, but! Over the weekend we asked an ID about it (our original idea was actually to build concrete cabinet bases and mount the Ikea kitchen cabinets over it) and he said the Ikea cabinets should be able to sustain the tanks (as he had a previous customer who did something similar) and also we checked with Ikea kitchen department as well and they said it should be more than fine, since their cabinetry is supposed to sustain the weight of much more than the cylinders...

So... it looks like an Ikea kitchen is back on the cards for us! Hope that it will go smoothly, and hope to contribute a review some years on so that others who are wondering about an Ikea kitchen can have more information than I do right now.

[nextstep 3]

ricepapergirl, congratulation congratulation!

how exciting for a EM.

Look forward to see the transformation of your new house.

[dien 1]

was at Ikea Tampines yesterday and was surprise that a lot have use Ikea kitchen for their homes. I should say that Ikea direction

is making a 1stop for homes reno I guess...my question, Seriously, the whole Blk have no gas pipe?

Apa seh. (What seh) 1st time hearing it. then all cook using gas cyclinders? Old skool seh..

[ricepapergirl 21]

Hi nextstep!

Hahaha yeah quite excited too! Though, stairs. And a lot of area to clean! We're already thinking of buying two roombas!

[ricepapergirl 21]

Hi dien!

Hahaha yeah our faces were totally when we first found out there was no piped gas. Jurong is an old district maybe? But yeah I confirmed and double confirmed it. We knew there was no piped gas in the unit when we first bought it but the owners said their neighbours might have had it in, just that their unit they didn't do it, so it was quite disappointing when we actually did call up and find out it was not the case. Thank goodness twinklecloud mentioned to call up SP Services early or we might still be in lalaland thinking we would have piped gas.

It's not a dealbreaker now that we've learnt about it and know to deal with it, and we've redesigned the kitchen a bit to fit in the tanks, maybe next time we can get the piped gas in after maybe 10 more years and it's time to redo the kitchen?

[nextstep 3]

Wow 2 roombas! I want one too but no budget as for now I think, or maybe looking for the Dyson to launch their model here in SG.

Btw the 1st pic you share is done by my ID, I love that EM a lot.

[ricepapergirl 21]

Oh! Is Dyson going to launch a model too?? We've been looking around at all the different variants of Roombas but thought we would stick to the original since it's generally well-reviewed. So far, the prices on Lazada have been the best. We are actually probably getting a Roomba 650 and an iRobot Brava (the one that can Swiffer and mop) and then alternate them for each floor. And run them twice a week and do a proper Swiffer+handmopping maybe twice a month.

I also want to get a Dyson mattress vacuum I'm the generation that grew up with my parents using a Rainbow vacuum on our beds and pillows and am feeling a bit grimy having not vacuumed our bed for months and months. The Rainbows and Delphines are too expensive though, like $3k for a unit which I would only really use on the mattress, so the Dyson one looks great for less than $1k. #vacuumtalk

Oooh I love that EM unit! And actually love your unit as well, we share similar aesthetic tastes. Perhaps I should get your ID contact lol but so scared it will be beyond our budget. Could you PM me anyway (though I think, should be quite busy recently?)?

[ricepapergirl 21]

This would be what we might be getting from Ikea.

This is the closest to my ideal Ikea kitchen colour scheme - Laxarby black-brown cupboard doors with the lighter oak brown countertop all around, the white subway tiles with dark grout though with darker-wood flooring. And brass handles instead.

Or maybe concrete-coloured flooring. Still trying to decide whether the wood-like tiles are worth it if my kitchen floor area is small. Not much impact if so.

I don't suppose many people here would have had their kitchens from Ikea, but any reviews (1st or 2nd hand) of the Ikea kitchen sinks? We'll probably get a better tap from somewhere else but a sink is a sink right? O_o.

[dien 1]

like those from Fixer Upper..very nice

[nextstep 3]

Oh! Is Dyson going to launch a model too?? We've been looking around at all the different variants of Roombas but thought we would stick to the original since it's generally well-reviewed. So far, the prices on Lazada have been the best. We are actually probably getting a Roomba 650 and an iRobot Brava (the one that can Swiffer and mop) and then alternate them for each floor. And run them twice a week and do a proper Swiffer+handmopping maybe twice a month.

I also want to get a Dyson mattress vacuum I'm the generation that grew up with my parents using a Rainbow vacuum on our beds and pillows and am feeling a bit grimy having not vacuumed our bed for months and months. The Rainbows and Delphines are too expensive though, like $3k for a unit which I would only really use on the mattress, so the Dyson one looks great for less than $1k. #vacuumtalk

Oooh I love that EM unit! And actually love your unit as well, we share similar aesthetic tastes. Perhaps I should get your ID contact lol but so scared it will be beyond our budget. Could you PM me anyway (though I think, should be quite busy recently?)?

PM you the number liao.

Here is the URL for the dyson 360eye https://www.dyson360eye.com/

[Reiki 0]

3. despite what people have been telling me, the average quote for a kitchen with my requirements (I have my kitchen layout planned out down to where the drawers will be and what each drawer will contain, and there are a lot of drawers) by IDs/contractors and by a specialized kitchen-carpenter are on average around $3-5k more expensive than the Ikea kitchen with the Ikea site visit and installation fees included, and

For a month or so we thought the Ikea kitchen was not possible then because we weren't sure that the base of the Ikea cabinet could hold the weight of LPG cylinders, but! Over the weekend we asked an ID about it (our original idea was actually to build concrete cabinet bases and mount the Ikea kitchen cabinets over it) and he said the Ikea cabinets should be able to sustain the tanks (as he had a previous customer who did something similar) and also we checked with Ikea kitchen department as well and they said it should be more than fine, since their cabinetry is supposed to sustain the weight of much more than the cylinders...

Hi dien!

Hahaha yeah our faces were totally when we first found out there was no piped gas. Jurong is an old district maybe? But yeah I confirmed and double confirmed it. We knew there was no piped gas in the unit when we first bought it but the owners said their neighbours might have had it in, just that their unit they didn't do it, so it was quite disappointing when we actually did call up and find out it was not the case. Thank goodness twinklecloud mentioned to call up SP Services early or we might still be in lalaland thinking we would have piped gas.

It's not a dealbreaker now that we've learnt about it and know to deal with it, and we've redesigned the kitchen a bit to fit in the tanks, maybe next time we can get the piped gas in after maybe 10 more years and it's time to redo the kitchen?

I am in favour of using drawers for kitchen cabinet and glad that I heed my ID's advice to do so. It is good that you have planned the details. When I agreed to the drawers for my kitchen cabinet, my ID made sure that I measured the heights for all the kitchen stuffs including the drinking cups, rice cooker, rice container, etc .. and even the cooking oil.

About the piped gas, it was a lesson learnt for me too. Somehow, the old flats in Jurong area are not yet equipped fo "enjoy" the amenity. I had the exact same surprise and disappointment. Glad that you found it out now and able to make provision.

Another reno tip that I learned from my ID .. while it is good that you are making plans to shop around for furniture, do note about the size of your space. Luckily for me, my ID would always insist to have the measurement of the furniture so that she could put them into perspective. She would translate the measurements - the furniture and the space in the house, into her technical drawing to let me "feel and see" how it would turn out.

[sarah833 3]

I don't suppose many people here would have had their kitchens from Ikea, but any reviews (1st or 2nd hand) of the Ikea kitchen sinks? We'll probably get a better tap from somewhere else but a sink is a sink right? O_o.

Good morning!

This home owner installed an Ikea kitchen less than two years ago:

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/62832-modern-em-reno-bukit-panjang/

Edited December 22, 2015 by sarah833

[kaisermisaki 0]

Hello!

I have a Dyson DC61. Came free when I bought my mattress! Works good. But because it is cordless, you have to charge it a bit. They have a newer model, but not sure the difference?

Oh! Is Dyson going to launch a model too?? We've been looking around at all the different variants of Roombas but thought we would stick to the original since it's generally well-reviewed. So far, the prices on Lazada have been the best. We are actually probably getting a Roomba 650 and an iRobot Brava (the one that can Swiffer and mop) and then alternate them for each floor. And run them twice a week and do a proper Swiffer+handmopping maybe twice a month.

I also want to get a Dyson mattress vacuum I'm the generation that grew up with my parents using a Rainbow vacuum on our beds and pillows and am feeling a bit grimy having not vacuumed our bed for months and months. The Rainbows and Delphines are too expensive though, like $3k for a unit which I would only really use on the mattress, so the Dyson one looks great for less than $1k. #vacuumtalk

Oooh I love that EM unit! And actually love your unit as well, we share similar aesthetic tastes. Perhaps I should get your ID contact lol but so scared it will be beyond our budget. Could you PM me anyway (though I think, should be quite busy recently?)?

[twinklecloud 2]

This would be what we might be getting from Ikea.

This is the closest to my ideal Ikea kitchen colour scheme - Laxarby black-brown cupboard doors with the lighter oak brown countertop all around, the white subway tiles with dark grout though with darker-wood flooring. And brass handles instead.

Or maybe concrete-coloured flooring. Still trying to decide whether the wood-like tiles are worth it if my kitchen floor area is small. Not much impact if so.

I don't suppose many people here would have had their kitchens from Ikea, but any reviews (1st or 2nd hand) of the Ikea kitchen sinks? We'll probably get a better tap from somewhere else but a sink is a sink right? O_o.

Wow!this is very similar to what I'm going to do for my kitchen! Ricepapergirl, we share the similar taste! Nice!