Project Muji Home - of white, wood and chrome

[Yune Ki 0]

That's good info. May I know which brand is this WY1244D ? Lamitak or Formica? I'm meeting E this Thursday but not sure if J will be around. 

[dietgalvon 14]

11 hours ago, Yune Ki said:

That's good info. May I know which brand is this WY1244D ? Lamitak or Formica? I'm meeting E this Thursday but not sure if J will be around. 

Lamitak

[homesweethome96 0]

Hello dietgalvon, 

Do you mind to share the link for your TV console?

TIA!

[p31j1n 0]

I love it taobao loots! Been eyeing many of the same stuff as well like the lights and the tv console! Could u give me the link to your wooden lights, track lights and tv console? I also pm u for J&E's quotation as I am thinking of engaging them too!

[dietgalvon 14]

22 hours ago, homesweethome96 said:

Hello dietgalvon, 

Do you mind to share the link for your TV console?

TIA!

@homesweethome96

Link to TV console: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.20.sW0OW6&id=545212908453&ns=1&abbucket=5#detail

17 hours ago, p31j1n said:

I love it taobao loots! Been eyeing many of the same stuff as well like the lights and the tv console! Could u give me the link to your wooden lights, track lights and tv console? I also pm u for J&E's quotation as I am thinking of engaging them too!

@p31j1n Have replied your PM!

Links below:
TV console: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.20.sW0OW6&id=545212908453&ns=1&abbucket=5#detail
Wooden light: https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=524794419362&_ezgpid=20000004392811
Track light: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=537751153901&_ezgpid=20000003712685

However, I have not received the items so can't vouch for the quality okay! I'll do a review when I receive them.  

[Stream 4]

On 4/30/2017 at 11:08 PM, dietgalvon said:

After we met with E, he brought us to exactly to the sport where we wanted to get the woody floor tiles! We were overjoyed when he said we could pick the Italy floor tiles which were $4.80 psf! He gave inputs on considerations to take note and what could be done to ensure that the lines match when overlaying, etc. He also recommended to get sister/brother tiles if we want to do different tiles for the wall.

Do you mean that you didn't have to top up to $4.80 for the tiles? That would be generous of the contractor!

Also, can you PM me ID "MH of L**** P****** S*******". TIA.

[dietgalvon 14]

15 minutes ago, Stream said:

Do you mean that you didn't have to top up to $4.80 for the tiles? That would be generous of the contractor!

Also, can you PM me ID "MH of L**** P****** S*******". TIA.

PM sent!

[dietgalvon 14]

Last weekend, we met with E and the electrician to discuss on the electrical and lighting points.

Very exciting to see drawings on our walls (like the above). Slowly but surely, the home is forming!

Had to give up having a fan in the kitchen because there was simply no space for us to put the fan. Oh well!

RENOVATION START! - 9 MAY 2017

 
Situation on 10 May 2017  

According to the project schedule, electric works will be done on Fri and Sat this week. And tiling next week. We have yet to see our 3D drawings though!  But so far, we have been very chill and let E lead us instead of chasing him for updates, etc. Heh.

We have yet to settle what laminates we want (the first set we submitted for 3D drawings was apparently done on impulse lol) and decided to just head down to Lamintak's warehouse to look at the samples instead of going through E, which might be cumbersome.

We expected to view A4 size samples only but actually they brought us to see the actual laminates! WOW!

Totally did not regret going down to Lamintak even though we had to take leave. Viewing the samples in A4 size and real size samples versus just looking at the catalogue is so different. We are set on the laminates mostly except for the kitchen cabinet trimming which we intend to make a trip to Kompacplus before we confirm.

***
Our only issue now is the HDB sub-contractor who is doing the cement screed. He is REALLY rude and kept yelling at me over the phone! I called in to HDB to request for a change (but they told me cannot change, will still be done by the same company). I am now afraid that the cement screed cannot proceed on the agreed date.  

Till the next update~

[May_dream1 14]

On 5/2/2017 at 8:12 PM, fifteenmay said:

Are u using storage heater or instant heater? I bought a rainshower fr tb but in e end cannot use cos i was using instant heater. So something for u to take note..i cldnt buy a toilet vanity cabinet fr.ezbuy prime leh.. They din wan to take e risk of damage so i bought mine fr spore instead.

i am using instant heater too and i also have rain shower. its working fine.... of course not very strong but its quite acceptable. 

 

[dietgalvon 14]

3D DRAWINGS

Dining + a glimpse of kitchen

MBR

Turned out we only have 2 views so we don't get to see how our toilet and shoerack will look like. The drawings turned out to be rather Scandinavian. We will be requesting to view in our new choice of laminates before we decide on the actual laminate.

We can't decide whether to go with a wood/white wardrobe or a full wood (with lighter wood laminate) wardrobe. Hope the amended 3D drawing can help us decide.

RENOVATION UPDATE - 12 MAY 2017

 Supposed to do electrical works today but E sent us a picture telling us that he can't go in the flat because cement screed is being done and it's almost finished!

It was a huge scare because I previously told the contractor that it is to be done on 17 May 2017, and HDB haven't gotten back to me if the liaison person has changed. If HDB had contacted the contractor directly and got them to do the cement screed, it means that they did not top up to the level I needed to lay vinyl!!

I rushed over to the flat and seems that they did it to the correct level.  Getting Evorich to take measurements and confirm that the screed is properly done on Monday!

Edited May 13, 2017 by dietgalvon

[Yune Ki 0]

1 hour ago, dietgalvon said:

3D DRAWINGS

Dining + a glimpse of kitchen

MBR

Turned out we only have 2 views so we don't get to see how our toilet and shoerack will look like. The drawings turned out to be rather Scandinavian. We will be requesting to view in our new choice of laminates before we decide on the actual laminate.

We can't decide whether to go with a wood/white wardrobe or a full wood (with lighter wood laminate) wardrobe. Hope the amended 3D drawing can help us decide.

RENOVATION UPDATE - 12 MAY 2017

 Supposed to do electrical works today but E sent us a picture telling us that he can't go in the flat because cement screed is being done and it's almost finished!

It was a huge scare because I previously told the contractor that it is to be done on 17 May 2017, and HDB haven't gotten back to me if the liaison person has changed. If HDB had contacted the contractor directly and got them to do the cement screed, it means that they did not top up to the level I needed to lay vinyl!!

I rushed over to the flat and seems that they did it to the correct level.  Getting Evorich to take measurements and confirm that the screed is properly done on Monday!

I'm doing Muji too and I've the same colour combinations problem that you're facing. Worry thatTaking all wood with different time will make it dark and combi with white will make it scandi

[dietgalvon 14]

4 hours ago, Yune Ki said:

I'm doing Muji too and I've the same colour combinations problem that you're facing. Worry thatTaking all wood with different time will make it dark and combi with white will make it scandi

Yes! I think if the laminate is of light wood, it won't look too dark. We will request to view the 3D drawings in lighter wood laminate then decide what to go with!

[Yune Ki 0]

3 hours ago, dietgalvon said:

Yes! I think if the laminate is of light wood, it won't look too dark. We will request to view the 3D drawings in lighter wood laminate then decide what to go with!

Good that you're sharing this. Then I can just tell E what I want. 

[dietgalvon 14]

RENOVATION UPDATE - 13 MAY 2017

Today Evorich came to check the cement screeding and take measurements. Apparently it was quite okay except for the drop at the main gate area. It was more than 5mm.

Sent the picture to E, and asked if he can settle for us since we are getting them to lay the entrance area with tiles. He said ok!

***

Today E sent us a picture of how our toilet tiles will be laid.

Like suddenly things are moving so fast? Fiance and I are really excited about the progress. Can't wait to make a trip down on Thursday! ^^

[Scteo84 0]

On 3/5/2017 at 5:40 PM, dietgalvon said:

THEME: MUJI-INSPIRED

Before we even decided on a Muji-inspired home, we knew that we are attracted to the a light wood/white theme. It was until we walked into Muji a couple of months ago that I told my fiance - I want a Muji Home!  I like how simple the whole store is, yet it can give off such an extraordinary feel. We decided on the colours that we will use: Light wood, White, and chrome.

This picture just about encapsulates the feel that we want our home to have - open, spacious and homely!

MEETING WITH ID & CONTRACTORS

Our plan is to make our home simple and functional without spending too much. Our initial budget was $30k, but we realized that it was not enough for all that we wanted. Our rule of thumb was - we would not compromise when it comes to our MBR (and my shoe rack ). In that respect, with some tweaks, we managed to keep within our budget (for now, at least).

As newbies, we didn't know what to expect, so we started our search with a plan to visit an ID firm whose projects (on Facebook) I like.

1. ID - N from W*****.com
We walked into this ID firm because we couldn't find the ID firm we planned to visit. We communicated to N on what we like and our budget, and arranged to meet him a week later. The quotation came up to exactly $30k but there were some items we didn't ask for and most of what we wanted were not in the quotation. No brief design layout at all. N was all the while trying to impose his designs and ideas on us and even asked us to sign on the spot or put a $1,000 deposit and he will proceed to draw the design for us. -_- 

Subsequently, N kept texting us and he wouldn't accept that we decided not to engage his services. He kept telling us that everything can be done within $28k. I also did not learn anything from him at all - bad experience! Eliminated~

2. ID - M from C*********

This firm was just beside that ID firm we wanted to visit and I recalled seeing their projects on Facebook. M was quite detailed, and we learnt a little regarding the materials used. We conveyed our style M and followed up with some pictures of the designs that we like. A week later, M showed us a 3D plan. It was not very close to what we expected, and the quotation was way out of budget. Eliminated~

3. ID - Z from A*******

This firm was the one we wanted to visit right from the start. This time, we did not exactly told Z what we wanted because we wanted him to give us some ideas instead. When we next meet, he gave us a brief design layout and we learnt quite a bit from him. Perhaps due to the scale of the firm, the perks were very attractive and the quotation was surprisingly very reasonable. We were very tempted to engage him until we saw a negative review of Z on Facebook. As Z was quite young and does not appear experienced, we did not want to risk having an unhappy journey down the road. Eliminated~

(At this point, I was so drained by all the visiting and we could not find one we could work with. I turned to getting contacts from Renotalk/blog instead - thanks to everyone those who replied to my PMs! I was SO GLAD I did this and wished I did so earlier because that would have saved me so much time! )

4. ID/Contractor - N from R*******

We could tell that N was pretty experienced and he is a very 'straightforward' man. There were some ideas he outright told us was 'ugly' but he also provided us with some good ideas. He gave us a quotation on the spot and said that his is a "no hidden cost" quotation. His quotation was quite reasonable but we were afraid he would not want to do some of the things that we wanted. Eliminated~

5. Contractor - J & E from C*** X**** (THE CHOSEN ONE)

I first met with J and I liked him immediately. We could tell that he is a VERY experienced man and he gave rather insightful comments. I personally liked that bit of 'old school feel' in his book with lots of hand-drawn drawings. E that day seem rather nonchalant and I was honestly quite afraid the renovation journey would be tough considering the reviews of CX (slow to reply, etc). We received the quotation and it was a little over our budget. I was trying hard to reconcile the pictures of their finished projects, the reviews of their carpentry, the cost of the renovation and the managing of the renovation. But I knew that, I really like them!

We next met with E to discuss on the revised quotation and yes I would agree that they require some nudging. But to my surprise, E was very welcoming and nice! The revised quotation just about fits into our budget too. I am totally blown away by their experience in the field and I know I would pick quality over price even if it takes more effort in managing. So, we chose them in the end!

6. Contractor - E from DX I*******

By the time we met with E, we are quite sure of what we want/need already. He is a quiet but nice man, and he also replies fast. I could tell that he is experienced despite how he is a man of few words. His quotation for some items are significantly cheaper than (5), and I was really tempted by the low quotation. However, by this time, I already have 2 very good choices ((5) and (7)), hence this is being KIV until further notice.

7. ID - MH of L**** P****** S*******

This was through a recommendation of a blog I follow. The reviews of MH was very good. Albeit he was a young man, he was quite experienced and REALLY patient. My fiance really like him - he has a soft spot for people who are easy to work with - and he told me after the first meeting that he would pay for such better services. We were really torn between MH and J&E because we want both experience and quality. What was taken into consideration was also my perfectionism that I would prefer to take charge of every single detail in my home. The final quotation was $2k plus more than that of J&E, and we eventually picked J&E.

And that's the end of our painful search for IDs/contractors. I was really, really tired but glad that the recommendations do not fail me!

Hi, as I am looking for Muji style renovation as well, do you mind sharing the contact information of your 5 (J&E) and 7th (ID- MH of LPS) as well for reference? Thanks!