First... We take Hougang

[Keithchan 0]

2 minutes ago, Ohwowitsmac said:

Hi Keith! Thanks for the compliments! I bought the living room rug from NYC, and the changing room's from IKEA

I actually like the one from NYC. 

Thanks anyway!

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

8 minutes ago, Keithchan said:

I actually like the one from NYC. 

Thanks anyway!

no problem!!!

[spooky 6]

14 hours ago, Ohwowitsmac said:

Took awhile. But here are some photos of the renovated space (pending some touch up). Also waiting for a few more pieces of furniture but this is what it is now. 

 

 

The living area looking into the kitchen

Entrance view looking into the dining area 

A closer view of the living space 

Dining area 

Study room

Bedroom

Changing room

Kitchen and closer look of the island 

An elongated view of the kitchen 

MBR/changing room bathroom

Your place looks great!! Love how the living room furniture has been placed, very atypical of HDB flats. Also love the colour of your kitchen laminates. Did you choose the same laminates for your kitchen cabinets, vanity cabinet and wardrobe?

[matchalatte 16]

i really like your string system, first time seeing black. also love your HAY tray coffee table! could you pm me your contractor/id please? thanks!

Edited April 10, 2017 by matchalatte

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

9 hours ago, spooky said:

Your place looks great!! Love how the living room furniture has been placed, very atypical of HDB flats. Also love the colour of your kitchen laminates. Did you choose the same laminates for your kitchen cabinets, vanity cabinet and wardrobe?

Thanks Spooky! I used various shades of grey laminates throughout the house. Kitchen is the darkest shade, wardrobe lighter and vanity medium shade. 

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

9 hours ago, matchalatte said:

i really like your string system, first time seeing black. also love your HAY tray coffee table! could you pm me your contractor/id please? thanks!

Thanks matchalatte  the hay tray coffee table is a loan set as the furniture shop literally lost my menu turning table... so while I wait for the replacement, they gave me this. I didn't use an ID. I have very clear ideas of what I want so I worked with my contractors to achieve the look I envisioned. I used ChunXiang, or commonly known as J&E on this forum. 

[sophia 0]

Hi I noticed that the photo of the toilet does not show the ugly pipings. How did you manage to hide them? Any special material since it's the toilet? BTW, love the clean look of your place.

[matchalatte 16]

1 hour ago, Ohwowitsmac said:

Thanks matchalatte  the hay tray coffee table is a loan set as the furniture shop literally lost my menu turning table... so while I wait for the replacement, they gave me this. I didn't use an ID. I have very clear ideas of what I want so I worked with my contractors to achieve the look I envisioned. I used ChunXiang, or commonly known as J&E on this forum. 

its really nice and suits your home! i love all the danish/european designer furniture but can only afford replicas from taobao lol

unfortunately J&E dont want to get back to me, maybe because im only due to key collection in a few months. but i want to start reno immediately after collecting my keys so i think it will be too late. im also staying very near their office and asked for a short meetup but they refused. too bad then lol

Edited April 11, 2017 by matchalatte

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

12 minutes ago, sophia said:

Hi I noticed that the photo of the toilet does not show the ugly pipings. How did you manage to hide them? Any special material since it's the toilet? BTW, love the clean look of your place.

Hi! I asked the contractor to seal up the pipes for the changing room (originally MBR) bathroom. They used a board to do so but I believe the material is waterproof. I think it's a common practice. You can ask your ID/contractor to do so!

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

6 minutes ago, matchalatte said:

its really nice and suits your home! i love all the danish/european designer furniture but can only afford replicas from taobao lol

unfortunately J&E dont want to get back to me, maybe because im only due to key collection in a few months. but i want to start reno immediately after collecting my keys so i think it will be too late. im also very staying near their office and asked for a short meetup but they refused. too bad then lol

Ah, I think they are really a very busy duo. At any given time it seems they are handling minimum 8-10 houses. Perhaps cos your key collection is indeed a bit further away. If you can wait, why not contact them again when it's 2 weeks before keys collection? Maybe the situation will change? They are very nice people to work with for sure. Honestly, as long as you already done some homework with other IDs/contractors in terms of look and feel and kind of stuff you wanna do, 2 weeks is fine. They can churn out quotation in 2 days. 

 

As for the furniture, yeah danish/European designs are really expensive so I bought them at year end sale when I exceeded a certain amount, I could enjoy more discount so just whack. also, I think of it as classic pieces which I can bring with me when I move next time so it pays out I suppose!

 

[matchalatte 16]

1 minute ago, Ohwowitsmac said:

Ah, I think they are really a very busy duo. At any given time it seems they are handling minimum 8-10 houses. Perhaps cos your key collection is indeed a bit further away. If you can wait, why not contact them again when it's 2 weeks before keys collection? Maybe the situation will change? They are very nice people to work with for sure. Honestly, as long as you already done some homework with other IDs/contractors in terms of look and feel and kind of stuff you wanna do, 2 weeks is fine. They can churn out quotation in 2 days. 

 

As for the furniture, yeah danish/European designs are really expensive so I bought them at year end sale when I exceeded a certain amount, I could enjoy more discount so just whack. also, I think of it as classic pieces which I can bring with me when I move next time so it pays out I suppose!

 

i cannot comprehend their "rule" about looking for them only when i have collected my keys because they will then have to make a trip down and measure each wall individually to quote. may be more accurate but its actually a waste of time also. oh well, will see how it goes.

yeah im looking for contractor actually. initially that was what did, i met 12 and their prices are not necessarily cheaper. i was even rejected by one because the uncle contractor said my "taste" too "european" and they only do simple reno. 

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

9 minutes ago, matchalatte said:

i cannot comprehend their "rule" about looking for them only when i have collected my keys because they will then have to make a trip down and measure each wall individually to quote. may be more accurate but its actually a waste of time also. oh well, will see how it goes.

yeah im looking for contractor actually. initially that was what did, i met 12 and their prices are not necessarily cheaper. i was even rejected by one because the uncle contractor said my "taste" too "european" and they only do simple reno. 

Actually I think you would come to appreciate contractors or ID who actually INSIST to do a site visit for measurements  for quotations. i had a mixture and I can really say that with the actual measurements I realized certain things can or cannot he achieved. Some IDs or contractors like to say can can can but without even visiting and when you get the quote before and after measurement you end up getting a rude shock (by you I mean me as I started narrowing the choices) or being disappointed cos suddenly those things that can can can become cannot cannot cannot. Or can can can but add money money money. 

 

Dont take it as a waste of time. In fact what I did was arrange for 1 day and slot everyone who I shortlisted to come and measure at different time slots. Then, it only take a few hours on 1 day. Win win. 

[matchalatte 16]

19 minutes ago, Ohwowitsmac said:

Actually I think you would come to appreciate contractors or ID who actually INSIST to do a site visit for measurements  for quotations. i had a mixture and I can really say that with the actual measurements I realized certain things can or cannot he achieved. Some IDs or contractors like to say can can can but without even visiting and when you get the quote before and after measurement you end up getting a rude shock (by you I mean me as I started narrowing the choices) or being disappointed cos suddenly those things that can can can become cannot cannot cannot. Or can can can but add money money money. 

 

Dont take it as a waste of time. In fact what I did was arrange for 1 day and slot everyone who I shortlisted to come and measure at different time slots. Then, it only take a few hours on 1 day. Win win. 

actual site measurements are a must but i only wanted to meet the shortlisted ones at my place. thats why i wanted to meet up first before i can decide whether i want to shortlist them? or how do you do even shortlist a person, just based on reviews and pics? 

so far i must have met around 20, 12 contractors and 8 IDs, they just said for BTO the actual thing will of course be smaller and there will be beams. then when the time comes they will go onsite to measure and do price adjustments if the actual measurement is indeed smaller. some even straightaway just minus out 5-10cm before quoting. but yeah like you said, certain plans will have to be forgoed or readjusted when the time comes, or topped up with more money. 

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

13 minutes ago, matchalatte said:

actual site measurements are a must but i only wanted to meet the shortlisted ones at my place. thats why i wanted to meet up first before i can decide whether i want to shortlist them? or how do you do even shortlist a person, just based on reviews and pics? 

so far i must have met around 20, 12 contractors and 8 IDs, they just said for BTO the actual thing will of course be smaller and there will be beams. then when the time comes they will go onsite to measure and do price adjustments if the actual measurement is indeed smaller. some even straightaway just minus out 5-10cm before quoting. but yeah like you said, certain plans will have to be forgoed or readjusted when the time comes, or topped up with more money. 

ah i see what you mean now! for me, i asked for a day from the seller (even before i collected keys) and got everyone i was interested to work with (no quotation prior) to go on site, brief and then ask for quotes. but yes, agree that your case, since keys collection is later, then a bit hard. but, if you feel that no loss working with J&E, then just move forward with your shortlisted ones! might be a good experience, no less!

 

[matchalatte 16]

10 minutes ago, Ohwowitsmac said:

ah i see what you mean now! for me, i asked for a day from the seller (even before i collected keys) and got everyone i was interested to work with (no quotation prior) to go on site, brief and then ask for quotes. but yes, agree that your case, since keys collection is later, then a bit hard. but, if you feel that no loss working with J&E, then just move forward with your shortlisted ones! might be a good experience, no less!

 

ah ok, so you didnt have any meetups before. because for me, apart from price, chemistry & rapport is also v important. since i want to buy lots of things from taobao, there are actually a few who're not agreeable because they either think the stuff will be of bad quality or they want you to buy from shops that they can earn commission from. or some just say everything cannot, or their prices are really ex. at least if you meetup once you can get a rough quote or decide whether or not you want to meet them again. even the famous mr. k set aside time to meet me despite him being very busy, this i really appreciate. but i guess all of us do things differently, and resale will be more straightforward since the unit is already there.

anyway i LOVE your home so so much! any reason why you didnt document your reno journey from start to end? i actually didnt even know about your thread until @spooky commented and brought yr thread to the first page lol