A Baker's 3 room BTO @ Skyline II

[matchalatte 16]

54 minutes ago, kingandbin said:

Yeap, was concerned that the different materials may look mismatched but thankfully they go together quite well  Bringing the kompacplus sample along to shop really did help! The colour of the brand new butcher block countertop in my home is slightly lighter than the samples in IKEA though, probably because the ones on display are touched/handled so much more on a daily basis.

We've yet to seal it (based on what we read online, it would be advisable to do so) but it's holding up well so far! After it is sealed the colour will deepen and match our kompacplus better I think. A contractor we met did an entire kitchen with the IKEA countertop before, even sink side. But he warned that it may spoil easily or have to be replaced sooner than other materials because it isn't as hardy and long-lasting.

The contractor I engaged was happy to help do up the IKEA top~ He asked us to get it on our own because he had previously purchased the wrong colour/type of IKEA butcher block and the client only realized/brought up the mistake months after it was installed..  He had to redo the whole thing out of his own pocket so to prevent it from happening again he requested we get it ourselves instead 

thanks for the tips! definitely bringing samples of my cabinet if im shopping for a counter top. the tricky thing now is if i go with a butcher block my cabinets would have to be white, or grey. im not really looking to do white/grey cabinets. my initial plan was actually a marble print top with walnut colored cabinets. i see that ikea has a marble print one as well but when i see the word particle board i was abit sian tbh. and the other tops like quartz & granite so ex its totally outta my budget. so most likely i will be going for a butcher block or marble print laminate. need to visit ikea asap! 

i think butcher block color will deepen regardless of whether u seal it or not. i hope you do another review of it in a couple of years lol

[matchalatte 16]

59 minutes ago, spooky said:

Really like some of these taobao picks mind sharing with me the link for the hexagon display shelves? Also, brave of you to buy toilet bowl from taobao! Since we're unable to get a feel of our butts on it LOL

OMG i actually LOL-ed when i read your comment. maybe its just me but i cannot imagine going to a sanitaryware showroom and then sit on a toilet bowl to see how it feels. i suppose this should be the way but to me, comfort ranks 0 on my list, how it looks and ease of cleaning rank first. afterall you dont spend hours sitting on it (but who knows when constipation strikes lol), also the default one HDB gives most people would use happy also. in fact now that you mentioned, i do feel that the HDB one which i've been living with for the past 17 years isnt very comfy haha. 

yup yup, heres the link to the shelves :

创意书架书柜客厅展示架陈列架六边形个性书柜落地组合儿童置物架），快来和我一起瓜分红包】http://c.b1wt.com/h.3MIy6c?cv=k0odmVlzSE&sm=24482c

i think i need to include links with all my purchases nx time. just didnt bother doing as i didnt think people would be interested in what i bought haha. 

[spooky 6]

5 minutes ago, matchalatte said:

OMG i actually LOL-ed when i read your comment. maybe its just me but i cannot imagine going to a sanitaryware showroom and then sit on a toilet bowl to see how it feels. i suppose this should be the way but to me, comfort ranks 0 on my list, how it looks and ease of cleaning rank first. afterall you dont spend hours sitting on it (but who knows when constipation strikes lol), also the default one HDB gives most people would use happy also. in fact now that you mentioned, i do feel that the HDB one which i've been living with for the past 17 years isnt very comfy haha. 

yup yup, heres the link to the shelves :

创意书架书柜客厅展示架陈列架六边形个性书柜落地组合儿童置物架），快来和我一起瓜分红包】http://c.b1wt.com/h.3MIy6c?cv=k0odmVlzSE&sm=24482c

i think i need to include links with all my purchases nx time. just didnt bother doing as i didnt think people would be interested in what i bought haha. 

Hahah! Ohhh comfort was one of the first things that came to my mind, then looks. Can't explain it but some bowls feel very rounded and... um... butt conforming! Hehe. But yeah ease of cleaning is important too.

Thanks for the link! Most people always ask about tb links on the t-blogs so you probably should, hahaha.

As for butcher block, if you like the wooden, thick wood look, you have 2 alternative options. 1) Solid plywood wrapped with kompacplus 2) Ikea countertop made of laminate/acrylic but with a wood-like look. I think both options would be more durable than a real piece of wooden butcher block for the kitchen

[matchalatte 16]

9 minutes ago, spooky said:

Hahah! Ohhh comfort was one of the first things that came to my mind, then looks. Can't explain it but some bowls feel very rounded and... um... butt conforming! Hehe. But yeah ease of cleaning is important too.

Thanks for the link! Most people always ask about tb links on the t-blogs so you probably should, hahaha.

As for butcher block, if you like the wooden, thick wood look, you have 2 alternative options. 1) Solid plywood wrapped with kompacplus 2) Ikea countertop made of laminate/acrylic but with a wood-like look. I think both options would be more durable than a real piece of wooden butcher block for the kitchen

yup thats it! the HDB one is very oval so its actually pretty uncomfy, its oval, and also very thin so you kinda feel you wanna fall in lol. and then the bottom part is too curved in so hard to clean. so this time round i want to buy a blocky one. fingers crossed it will be ok. 

oh the shelves, i do realize its kinda ex and review not so good. if you just search for 六边形书架置物架 there will be other options as well. most likely i will go for the cheaper one lol.

never knew you could wrap plywood with kompacplus. i always seen kompacplus tops being so thin. most likely i would go for a laminate but i don't like how the edges are so obvious when joined. i want a square edge one unlike those rounded ones in 1990s. 

Edited March 14, 2017 by matchalatte

[GallopingPuffin 3]

10 hours ago, matchalatte said:

anyone has experience with butcher block countertops? is it suitable for sg's climate? thinking of installing it coz i really like the raw natural look and also coz its cheap. i mean i do hope its cheap but i suppose anything that comes to sg can be inflated. i know ikea has it so it must be quite popular? i also like that the edges can be squarish. if i were to go for square laminate then the edges will show and its quite unsightly.

The thing about Ikea's butcher block top is that they stain quite easily. This was what I noticed from the ones on display in their showrooms. And they are there for like less than a year? Or you can ask your contractor to "wrap" a solid wood block with Kompacplus, giving it an illusion of a butcher block but with anti-stain protection, like what I did for my kitchen island (:

[matchalatte 16]

9 hours ago, GallopingPuffin said:

The thing about Ikea's butcher block top is that they stain quite easily. This was what I noticed from the ones on display in their showrooms. And they are there for like less than a year? Or you can ask your contractor to "wrap" a solid wood block with Kompacplus, giving it an illusion of a butcher block but with anti-stain protection, like what I did for my kitchen island (:

thanks for letting me know! do you have a pic of how a solid wood wrapped with kompacplus might look? i have a prob visualizing. do you have it on your blog? 

[matchalatte 16]

question of the day guys! what do you think of fake grout tiles? i was surprised to see them on taobao (im a noob when it comes to tiles) and from user reviews it looks pretty seamless when installed. 

 

i mean i think the idea is ingenious, wont drive the tiler crazy with doing individual tiles and no more having to clean the grouts, yes? lol

[GallopingPuffin 3]

Because we didn't like the thin profile of kompacplus so we asked our contractor to do this

[matchalatte 16]

Just now, GallopingPuffin said:

Because we didn't like the thin profile of kompacplus so we asked our contractor to do this

oh wow that is so beautiful! i actually dont like the thin profile of kompacplus too, i prefer things with substance lol. is it expensive to do it like that? like is it within the price range of laminate, quartz or? 

[BudgetLP 1]

I thought kompacplus isn't ideal for baking cause there are pores and colour may seep into them? I guess I'd probably be doing the kneading of the dough on the top and I don't want my food dyes to stain my top. I'm also considering this island idea and I think I'm going for caesarstone / silestone top. 

I may be wrong too! Please correct me if my understand is not right haha. 

My ideas are kinda similar to yours: much hacking, sliding door concept. Still waiting for them to quote. Will share if I find some good deals! 

[GallopingPuffin 3]

4 hours ago, matchalatte said:

oh wow that is so beautiful! i actually dont like the thin profile of kompacplus too, i prefer things with substance lol. is it expensive to do it like that? like is it within the price range of laminate, quartz or? 

 

4 hours ago, matchalatte said:

oh wow that is so beautiful! i actually dont like the thin profile of kompacplus too, i prefer things with substance lol. is it expensive to do it like that? like is it within the price range of laminate, quartz or? 

Not too sure whether it is comparable to quartz/laminate or not, but we paid an extra $700+ on top of the cost of the Kompacplus for the "wrapping" of the island top and kitchen cabinet top! But I think it was worth it because we achieved the look of a butcher block countertop plus the benefits of Kompacplus.

Because we didn't like the thin profile of kompacplus so we asked our contractor to do this

[GallopingPuffin 3]

31 minutes ago, BudgetLP said:

I thought kompacplus isn't ideal for baking cause there are pores and colour may seep into them? I guess I'd probably be doing the kneading of the dough on the top and I don't want my food dyes to stain my top. I'm also considering this island idea and I think I'm going for caesarstone / silestone top. 

I may be wrong too! Please correct me if my understand is not right haha. 

My ideas are kinda similar to yours: much hacking, sliding door concept. Still waiting for them to quote. Will share if I find some good deals! 

Kompacplus is actually stain-proof and fire-proof. Someone in renotalk actually did a tumeric stain test before. My wife bakes alot and so far there's no stain at all. And we have no qualms about putting our hot pans directly on the countertop. Caesarstone shld be fine too!

[matchalatte 16]

honestly guys, for baking, marble is the best. i mean for pastry like rolling out tart or croissant dough as well as for chocolate tempering. if working with whipped cream then marble + powerful aircon is the best! if you're working with lots of food coloring for piping buttercream on cupcakes or making korean buttercream flowers then i think most surfaces will stain one lor. then that one is better to place newspaper or parchment paper on the worktop then place yr piping bags on a steel tray, like the kind used in medical/dental surgery lol. 

@BudgetLP oh yay, nice to see someone with similar concept as i do! ya i think hacking & sliding door/glass stuff probably makes up the bulk of my reno. yours as well? yes please do share how much you're being quoted! i still dont have enough quotes to compare, and i did ask besglas, all i can say its mind boggling with the different names of glass. and not cheap also. 

@GallopingPuffin oh turmeric wont stain? then its good! because im quite worried as even though i dont work with turmeric i use lots of powdered food coloring, matcha powder, black cocoa powder etc. i dunno leh ultimately i do have a budget that is considered small so if possible it will have to be for hacking, sliding doors etc. countertop wise i might just use marble lookalike laminate for wet kitchen and real marble for my island. 

[matchalatte 16]

i need help! i received a quotation and under the plumbing works theres a charge for installation of storage heater, $200. when you buy storage heaters is installation normally included by the shop? also, all these installation of mirror, vanity cabinet, rainshower, towel rack, toilet bowl, they're all itemized and charged separately? really comes up to quite abit

[spooky 6]

55 minutes ago, matchalatte said:

i need help! i received a quotation and under the plumbing works theres a charge for installation of storage heater, $200. when you buy storage heaters is installation normally included by the shop? also, all these installation of mirror, vanity cabinet, rainshower, towel rack, toilet bowl, they're all itemized and charged separately? really comes up to quite abit

I'm not sure for all storage heater brands but I know AOSmith does provide installation service (at an extra fee). I guess either parties can do it. Usually small bathroom accessories are quoted at a lump sum, but installation of toilet bowl, rain shower/shower head, vanity cabinets are extras.