Star Wars in the East

[rae 0]

Hello everyone!

First, would like to thank everyone who took the effort to set up a t-blog. I spent quite a huge amount of time on them this year. Finally completed the first appointment and felt that this is the best time to create a renotalk acc and start my t-blog. 

We will be receiving our keys and hope to move in before CNY! 

Floorplan

4A resale flat. More towards BTO style whereby the rubbish chute is outside. 

*Note that the kitchen entrance has been flushed to the right instead of the middle as in the floor plan. 

 

ID/Contractor Hunting

Being the typical kiasee/kiasu Singaporean, I started ID hunting the minute OTP was agreed on and first appointment booked.  Main criteria would be budget and timeline. We have just under 2 months to complete renovations!

Biggest regret was going through Q***/ R**** etc platforms to ask for quote. Would highly recommend not to do it as the IDs that respond often quote beyond expected budget.. Wasted a lot of time travelling to meet each and every one of them. I had more luck with the recommended contractors through the t-blogs and recommendations. 

Shortlisted:

N*** from R******: Got his contact from a t-blogger. Was straight forward and practical. Told us what can or cannot be done which we liked. Unfortunately, we felt quite that our small budget didnt impress him. Quote was slightly above our budget but N say he couldnt promise completion by CNY! 

J&E: I think no explanations needed. We didnt work with them was because they were unable to commit to our time frame. Also, as they are extremely busy, they prefer to talk when we have the keys. My preference would be for renovation to start on the day the keys are handed over due to the short renovation timeline. 

J from L*****: Recommended by a friend. Was quite skeptical as there were practically no reviews to be found anywhere!! Learnt that they work through recommendations / word of mouth during our first meet up, however, still skeptical..  Was a bit less skeptical after viewing his prior works. J was very upfront that the design came from the clients as he was only a contractor and would only execute. Quote that came back was surprising within our budget and J was able to meet our move in date!!!!!

Went with J from L***** in the end due to budget (sadly the force is not strong) and his commitment to meet our move in date! I do have some concerns about his promise since no other ID/Contractor was able to commit but YOLO! 

Scope of Work:

Overhaul kitchen, service balcony, master toilet & common toilet

Plaster/paint all walls

Polish existing broken marble flooring

Change all doors 

Change all windows (TBC depending on existing conditions)

Electricial wiring (J to advise if existing wirings are good enough. J mentioned that the older wirings are actually better than newer wirings and it might be better not to change!)

Edited October 3, 2016 by rae
added in reno scope

[rae 0]

Theme: 

Obviously Star Wars. hubs is a HUGE fan of Star Wars thus the inspiration. 

Color Palette

Leaning towards Return of the Jedi (3rd from left) and Revenge of the Sith (first from the right)! 

 

Some Inspirations:

Kitchen

The second most important area to me! I refuse to have top cabinets as it reminds me how vertically challenged I am! 

Blum's Urban Kitchen designs have blown me away. Hopefully my budget will be able to accommodate a full Blum kitchen. 

Constraints:

Due to budget, I will not be re-tiling the entire house. Just the service balcony, 2 toilets and kitchen.  Existing owners were kind enough to let us snap photos and do measurements. Please ignore the furnitures!

The bright side is that the existing floor is broken marble. J said that the marble will look extremely different and much nicer after polishing. Any renotalkers polished their marble floor and can comment on this?

House has a lot of indents(?) 

Space under MBR window

Beams everywhere!!!

Would be great if someone could tell me what this small window in the service balcony is for 

Edited September 25, 2016 by rae

[rae 0]

Shopping shopping shopping! Its never too early to start!

Appliances

Samsung Fridge RSH-5SUSL

Fisher&Paykel Dishwasher DD-60DDFx7 (opted for a 2 drawer dishwasher as this will be our dish drying rack as well)

Samsung LED TV UA-55KU6000

Samsung Soundbar  HW-K551 - we had no reason to get a soundbar but it was purchase with purchase at a decent price so we just did it!

Samsung Washer WW-70H5200EW

Furniture

Sofa - Hubs and I sat on it and it was like the most comfortable sofa ever! Purchased on the spot with no regrets! 

Bed - Went around sleeping on the 3S and settled on Serta Constellation. UOB had an extra 15% discount. Didnt get the bedframe from them as none was to our liking.  

TV Console & Coffee table - Crossing my fingers that they turn out fine. First 'huge' purchase from Taobao 

Bathroom & Kitchen

Grohe Euphoria Rainshower Set x2 (didnt really purchase it at a great price so will not be sharing where I bought it from)

Otto Kitchen Sink - We loved the built in chopping board! 

Hob & Hood - initially wanted Bosch but settled on Fujioh due to the promo package. We selected induction because it was easier to clean and we dont forsee ourselves doing any heavy cooking except on special occasions.

Fujioh FIH-2 & Fujioh FJS-900

 

 

Edited September 26, 2016 by rae

[rae 0]

Taobao Purchases (will try to include the links)

Chopsticks - https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=42950273815

Rice Container - https://world.taobao.com/item/521348857644.htm?fromSite=main

Pepper Grinder - not available anymore

Oil Containers - https://world.taobao.com/item/524342588972.htm?fromSite=main

Cat Plates - https://world.taobao.com/item/44992370582.htm?spm=a312a.7700714.0.0.IYVVOe#detail

Assortment of stainless steel plates - no link available

Edited September 25, 2016 by rae

[rae 0]

Free time = learning to use DIY tools. In this case, i picked up a copy of sweethome3d and mapped out my ideal layout (please ignore colors, am still learning to use the program~)

Any feedback is much appreciated! 

 

Also, if anyone could recommend wall mural painters that would be awesome!!!

Edited September 25, 2016 by rae

[rae 0]

reserved

[rae 0]

reserved

[gumbokins 5]

50 minutes ago, rae said:

Theme: 

Obviously Star Wars. hubs is a HUGE fan of Star Wars thus the inspiration. 

Color Palette

Leaning towards Return of the Jedi (3rd from right) and Revenge of the Sith (last on the right)! 

 

Some Inspirations:

Kitchen

The second most important area to me! I refuse to have top cabinets as it reminds me how vertically challenged I am! 

Blum's Urban Kitchen designs have blown me away. Hopefully my budget will be able to accommodate a full Blum kitchen. 

Constraints:

Due to budget, I will not be re-tiling the entire house. Just the service balcony, 2 toilets and kitchen.  Existing owners were kind enough to let us snap photos and do measurements. Please ignore the furnitures!

The bright side is that the existing floor is broken marble. J said that the marble will look extremely different and much nicer after polishing. Any renotalkers polished their marble floor and can comment on this?

House has a lot of indents(?) 

Space under MBR window

Beams everywhere!!!

Would be great if someone could tell me what this small window in the service balcony is for 

wah ur mood board looks very exciting! SW is one of those things that never gets old and tired...even though it's a long, long time ago

Marble floor must keep...and it's hard to get this kind of broken marble flooring now. After polish will be nice and shiny..

my brother has the exact same layout. It's nice and spacious. He has the same window too (are you neighbours? Tampines?), I just assumed they are for extra ventilation? The previous flat owners built a shoe cabinet in that recessed area next to the washing machine.

all the best for your reno journey!

[rae 0]

7 minutes ago, gumbokins said:

wah ur mood board looks very exciting! SW is one of those things that never gets old and tired...even though it's a long, long time ago

Marble floor must keep...and it's hard to get this kind of broken marble flooring now. After polish will be nice and shiny..

my brother has the exact same layout. It's nice and spacious. He has the same window too (are you neighbours? Tampines?), I just assumed they are for extra ventilation? The previous flat owners built a shoe cabinet in that recessed area next to the washing machine.

all the best for your reno journey!

Thats what everyone tells me about marble floor! Hoping it turns out awesome.

There is a high chance we are neighbours. We loved this house cos the rooms were bright and spacious.

Btw, i really loved your jungle tiles but I cant find a way to fit them in. 

[rxgn 2]

can advise how much you buy for tv / washer / fridge?

[ricepapergirl 21]

I'm assuming for mural painters you are getting them to paint star wars? I have seen a contact but I think he's more naturalistic. Yip Yew Chong (try fb.com/yip.yewchong) but apparently he charges about $2k to $3k for a 3m x 2m wall.

Alternatively if you were interested enough and it's star wars you can try this method:

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/04/03/guy-lifehacks-his-way-to-flawless-seven-samurai-wall-art/

[rae 0]

1 hour ago, rxgn said:

can advise how much you buy for tv / washer / fridge?

Paid about 4k from mega discount store

[rae 0]

28 minutes ago, ricepapergirl said:

I'm assuming for mural painters you are getting them to paint star wars? I have seen a contact but I think he's more naturalistic. Yip Yew Chong (try fb.com/yip.yewchong) but apparently he charges about $2k to $3k for a 3m x 2m wall.

Alternatively if you were interested enough and it's star wars you can try this method:

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/04/03/guy-lifehacks-his-way-to-flawless-seven-samurai-wall-art/

Thanks for the recommendation! Am checking him out right now. 

DIY method looks cool but i dun trust myself enough to do it 

[rae 0]

shortlisted a couple of ceiling fans, would be great if any ceiling fan shifu can advise on the number of blades vs wind efficiency!

1. Kaze Trio - like the sleek design of the fan. also, the light is quite flush and flat. price point is similar to kdk at 5xx

 

2. Fanco Icon - fan design is decent, didnt really like the round light. one of the cheapest option at 3xx including installation

3. KDK - quite well recommended in renotalk, price point is high at 6xx. definitely not looking at bringing in from JB as local warranty is important to us  

 

design wise, we prefer KAZE followed by Fanco then KDK.

Budget wise, FANCO seems to be the way to go.

Any advise or warnings about FANCO fans or any other recommendations? 

[bykaraanne 30]

I love my Fanco fans  

my landlord used in my rental last time, used alre v good

so my house I also use... electrician say now no big diff alre haha! Dk how true. Fanco Aroma looks normal but windy and cheap