Emma - Our Em In The West

[ricepapergirl 21]

Hi nextstep!

Thanks for the PM! And wow Dyson Roomba... Not sure whether I would wait for it the hole in my wallet might spontaneously combust. But if it's already out when I'm buying my Roomba maybe will consider if the price is right!

Hi Reiki!

Thanks for the "upvote" for drawers in the kitchen! I used to use my mom's old kitchen including having to clean them out during CNY so I know the pain of being unable to reach deep into the back of shelves for that last pile of bowls/plates and having to squat to do so if its the lowest shelf near the floor! I'm definitely for drawers! They are indispensable for the lower cabinets!

Thank you also for the advice on the furniture! Actually we have been using Google Sketchup to do both our own 3D (before we got furniture in mind, we plugged in generic furniture models from online to get a feel for how the space felt in 3D) and also 2D floorplanning. Just yesterday we stuck in all the furniture that we've already picked out into the 2D floorplan to see how the space worked, and it looked good! There were a few surprises like how we didn't realize how long our TV was going to be as compared to our TV console but it was nice to know beforehand.

[ricepapergirl 21]

Hi sarah833,

Oooh thanks for the link! I actually read through that T-blog some time ago and forgot that they had an Ikea kitchen (I remembered it for their amazing tips on leaving space for roombas to charge and all those little bits catering to being a new mother!)! Shall go read it again!

Hi kaisermisaki,

I know what you mean, I actually can't figure out what is the difference between the Dyson mattress vacuum and the DC61, but I would probably go for the mattress one.

[ricepapergirl 21]

Hi twinklecloud!

Wow! Heh heh. Is Andrew going to do your kitchen up then? Does he do it with Kompactplus or with something else for that wood-feel countertop? I was quite set on my dark-coloured cabinet doors and my wooden countertop because I was worried about discolouration of the cabinet doors and didn't want a white (stains easily) or a black (cannot see stuff like ants or water on it) countertop!

[ricepapergirl 21]

To finish off the living room, I thought I'd might as well also list down the electronics we've already picked out for it.

For our TV: Sony R550C 48"

We didn't really do that much research on TVs, just that Sony was more well-known for its visuals and we didn't want a TV that was too big. Out of the Sony TVs, this one caught our eye because it is supposed to be dust-resistant with no-ventilation hole design and protects against humidity, surge and lightning. Plus it was Full HD and not super expensive. We didn't need a super-top-of-the-line model really and will probably hook up the TV to our own media console (maybe a Mac mini) so we didn't need the Android TV functions.

Soundbar: Philips HTL5140B/12

Again not much research done, just based on the fact that Philips has a good reputation for their audios. Generally good reviews online.

Ceiling fan: Fanco FFM7000 White 52"

We wanted a simple white fan with no lights and no need for remote. My mother-in-law's house has been using a Fanco for years and it's been great, and the online reviews seem to indicate Fanco being a good brand. We will have white track lights in our living room to account for the ceiling fan.

Also intending to get a PS4 for the TV, and bring over my old Xbox 360 with Kinect.

Edited December 23, 2015 by ricepapergirl

[arturobinewski 0]

Since we are newlyweds, we will have to buy most of our furniture except our bed and mattress, which we bought a year ago when we got married. We spent many weekends walking through different furniture areas like Ikea, the Furniture Mall, IMM, Tan Boon Liat etc and have most of our stuff picked out. Again, not sure we even have a theme, though we generally are attracted to stuff that have nice tapered legs, darker wood, and one of the conditions (which has actually reduced a lot of our choices) was that the furniture should be kid-friendly with rounded corners as much as possible, because we intend to have kids and anyway I have very young nephews and a niece who would probably be visiting us often.

So here are some photos of stuff we've picked out, though because we picked them out so early we may end up having to get something else if they no longer carry it by the time we get the keys!

Naomi sofa from Castlery in teal! It passed the butt+back test for us. We will get it with the matching ottoman to make it like an L-shaped sofa but with more flexibility in deploying the ottoman as extra seating elsewhere.

Instead of proper armchairs, which were a bit expensive and actually not that comfortable, we were aiming to get two of these Roselyn chairs in yellow from Castlery. They seem to be more like dining chairs but are actually really comfortable.

Not intending to spend too much on coffee tables (why is it that the pricing seems to be around $300 and up even at Ikea??) and saw this cheaper version on Qoo10. There's probably an even cheaper option on Taobao somewhere.

It's not easy trying to find a nice wooden TV console with rounded corners! We are probably getting something customized by Second Charm because how pretty is this?

Will post on the rest of the rooms in other posts!

Ricepapergirl, i had gotten most of my furniture early too, but one thing continues to elude me! My sofa.

I noticed you'd already trawled Tan Boon Liat, and was wondering if you also happened to visit Pomelo? I keep delaying my visits cos it's so far away and I've been so busy. Is it worth a trip down?

[kaisermisaki 0]

hello!

You can consider the Sony Android TV. That is if you are using an Android phone. You may like it

To finish off the living room, I thought I'd might as well also list down the electronics we've already picked out for it.

For our TV: Sony R550C 48"

We didn't really do that much research on TVs, just that Sony was more well-known for its visuals and we didn't want a TV that was too big. Out of the Sony TVs, this one caught our eye because it is supposed to be dust-resistant with no-ventilation hole design and protects against humidity, surge and lightning. Plus it was Full HD and not super expensive. We didn't need a super-top-of-the-line model really and will probably hook up the TV to our own media console (maybe a Mac mini) so we didn't need the Android TV functions.

Soundbar: Philips HTL5140B/12

Again not much research done, just based on the fact that Philips has a good reputation for their audios. Generally good reviews online.

Ceiling fan: Fanco FFM7000 White 52"

We wanted a simple white fan with no lights and no need for remote. My mother-in-law's house has been using a Fanco for years and it's been great, and the online reviews seem to indicate Fanco being a good brand. We will have white track lights in our living room to account for the ceiling fan.

Also intending to get a PS4 for the TV, and bring over my old Xbox 360 with Kinect.

[ricepapergirl 21]

Ricepapergirl, i had gotten most of my furniture early too, but one thing continues to elude me! My sofa.

I noticed you'd already trawled Tan Boon Liat, and was wondering if you also happened to visit Pomelo? I keep delaying my visits cos it's so far away and I've been so busy. Is it worth a trip down?

Hi arturobinewski!

Haha how did you know I've already been to Tan Boon Liat? But yes, we did. It's really quite nice but the price range was beyond our budget. We set ourselves budgets of around $2k for sofa and we were originally looking for L shaped sofas. I don't think any of the L-shaped sofas were anywhere near our budget so we bowed out.

Actually I think Tan Boon Liat is not as ulu as some other places . It's within walking distance from Great World City!

[ricepapergirl 21]

hello!

You can consider the Sony Android TV. That is if you are using an Android phone. You may like it

Hi kaisermisaki!

We do have android phones but when we were looking at the brochure, none of the functions for android TV really appealed to us. Do you have it? What is useful about it or what do you use it for?

[kaisermisaki 0]

well I don't have it! Sony launched it after I bought my TV

anyway, from what I understand, it is very similar to your phone. It is a smart TV for sure, but runs on the Android platform. You can also install apps using Google Play on the TV.

Hi kaisermisaki!

We do have android phones but when we were looking at the brochure, none of the functions for android TV really appealed to us. Do you have it? What is useful about it or what do you use it for?

[twinklecloud 2]

Hi twinklecloud!

Wow! Heh heh. Is Andrew going to do your kitchen up then? Does he do it with Kompactplus or with something else for that wood-feel countertop? I was quite set on my dark-coloured cabinet doors and my wooden countertop because I was worried about discolouration of the cabinet doors and didn't want a white (stains easily) or a black (cannot see stuff like ants or water on it) countertop!

For the countertop, not going to use the wooden kind... I'm using quartz but I do hear that kompactplus is quite good too! U can explore the possibility... =)

Wow.. So fast u r already into electronics and sofa... I haven't even started hunting for mine.. Haha...

[ricepapergirl 21]

Merry belated Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year soon!

Nothing much to update except that we met up with ID #4 over the weekend and he seemed really promising, so waiting for ID#3's revised quote and ID#4's quote, and also going to meet with ID#5 next week. Hopefully we can settle on our ID by our 2nd HDB appointment, which is end Jan, so that actual planning can start before we get our keys in March!

Also, finally bought a mattress vacuum (Dyson V6) because both my husband and I have been getting terrible sinus issues recently which we suspect might be due to our mattress being dirty, so we fast-forwarded our planned purchase and will start using it once we get it! Hope to update on a review of it soon. Lazada.sg was having a sale on it so we managed to get it for $462.90! Usually it's around $499 or $500+ when we see it in the departmental stores.

[hellofromanotherside 1]

Hello! I totally understand your excitement to buy all the furniture even before moving in. We've also bought most of our pieces, and are also getting our keys end of the month, or early Feb! Loving the look so far. Enjoy your reno journey! =)

xx Warm, Earthy, and a Little Bohemian xx

[foxygal 0]

Hi was following some topics on renotalk and saw ur blog.

I can totally relate to ur experience, lol... I recently bought a 20 yr old 5-room resale flat in Woodlands, size around 121 sq m. The home owners were e first owners of e she so the flat has not been renovated for 20yrs.

I just collected my keys more than a wk ago, and alr started hacking works.

Initially I was like u, went to research and did furniture shopping, biggest mistake was putting a $100 deposit before I had even decided on my design, haiz....

I had a prerequisit when shopping for IDs, they all must have in-house carpentry cos I have a lot of carpentry works. My initial Budget was $50k, however along e way I had to raise it higher and higher and now it's $70k. All e IDs were quoting like $80k to $90k and after seeing e quote I dare not include anymore items that I wanted.. On TOP of Reno I may have to spend another $25k on soft furnishing lol.... Gonna be broke

[Changbp 5]

+1 on ikea kitchen. Do note the butcher style blocks are wood. I don't think the acrylic ones have wood design.

There are 2 types. 1 is solid wood the other has solid veneers. Anyway their tops are cheap. So don't need to care much about longevity. You can change them once every 1-2 years for 10yrs to be the same cost as granite/quartz.

Ikea cabinets needs to be installed on flat walls. If there are pipes you'll have a problem. i wanted ikea look so much that I did cabinets customed to ikea door fronts.

[foxygal 0]

I didn't think of getting ikea cabinets cos e first thing that comes to mind is 'filmsy'. Just e hassle of renovating every few hrs is a headache, hahah....

I too bought my electronics b4 I got my keys. Now LG having promo so I rushed to buy their tv n fridge. Their smart TV is no1 for 2015. I got a 55inch Tv and they give 1 free 43inch TV, but that one have to self collect. I also bought Yamaha sound bar system cos I was so impressed when I heard it at courts, it felt like I was at e cinema.

Electrolux also having promo for washer and dryer.