Project Muji Home - of white, wood and chrome

[spooky 6]

Reno looks to be nearing completion! Happy for you I'm quite worried about how my lights from TB will turn out, whether or not they'll be bright enough. As for the vinyl, I'm glad you can change it to metal trimming. It really looks a lot nicer! I also like the Ikea mirror.... wonder if I should rush down to Tampines to check if they still have stocks for it :/

Btw could you share what you meant by "what we envisioned was different from what E advised" regarding T5 lighting? Now I'm worried cos I bought my T5 lights for bathrooms without asking my ID for his advice

Edited July 2, 2017 by spooky

[clong 1]

Hi,

Please pm me the contact. Thanks

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

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

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

 

[dietgalvon 14]

On 7/2/2017 at 10:31 PM, JennyTan said:

How much you bought the taobao vanity set? Can share the link?

@Jenny Tan It's close to $300 including domestic shipping and GST. Ezbuy has removed this item from Prime so I have lost the link. Sorry!

[dietgalvon 14]

22 hours ago, spooky said:

Reno looks to be nearing completion! Happy for you I'm quite worried about how my lights from TB will turn out, whether or not they'll be bright enough. As for the vinyl, I'm glad you can change it to metal trimming. It really looks a lot nicer! I also like the Ikea mirror.... wonder if I should rush down to Tampines to check if they still have stocks for it :/

Btw could you share what you meant by "what we envisioned was different from what E advised" regarding T5 lighting? Now I'm worried cos I bought my T5 lights for bathrooms without asking my ID for his advice

@spooky In general I think it's right to up the wattage if getting from Taobao! Did you check with your ID on the wattage? I just agar-ed the wattage myself hahaha. The IKEA mirror is really a steal at $49! You can check the stock availability from their website.

Oh for the T5 lights, for example 195cm doesn't mean that the lights have to add up to almost 195cm, the length of T5 lights needed is actually much shorter for my case. Omg now that I'm typing this out I think I was quite dumb. 

[dietgalvon 14]

15 hours ago, clong said:

Hi,

Please pm me the contact. Thanks

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

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

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

 

PM-ed.

[Sehn82 0]

On 7/2/2017 at 9:48 PM, dietgalvon said:

 

Service yard windows which we outsourced. The quote for windows were quote standard at $600 plus by contractors/IDs but I chanced upon a blog recommending a contractor that does windows and grilles for a 4room BTO at $850 only. I gathered that the cost for windows shouldn't be that high! I would think that it's not too troublesome to outsource windows - all it takes is 1 visit to take measurements (5mins) and 1 visit (30mins) to install. Somemore, it's all based on HDB regulations, so no need to choose anything also lol. Please get the windows done before second coat of painting.

 

So how much did you eventually pay for the windows? Mind sharing the contractor quote for the windows + grilles?

[dietgalvon 14]

15 hours ago, Sehn82 said:

So how much did you eventually pay for the windows? Mind sharing the contractor quote for the windows + grilles?

@Sehn82 I paid $370 for windows only. This contractor that I used charges $850 for windows and grilles for a 4room bto.

Edited July 4, 2017 by dietgalvon

[dietgalvon 14]

ELECTRICAL PLAN

Fiance and I ain't very sure of where to add electrical points, and along the way we took some advice from people around us. Electrical works can add up to quite a bit (especially if doing false ceiling?) but I know for myself how cumbersome it is if there isn't enough power points around the house. My mum also told me she regretted saving on this aspect.

Living Room

This is our TV wall and we shifted all the existing TV point and power points to the middle of the wall, and they will be hidden within our taobao TV console. The original points/sockets were right beside the windows and if we do not shift, wires for the TV will be seen running from the side of the wall.

There's also an existing single socket at the other side of the wall, where we can use for our telephone.

Dining Area

Here's our dining ledge and kitchen at the back - we hacked half of the kitchen wall. 

Lower left - existing power point. We added the double power point nearer to the top of the ledge. Contractor advised that we would need a socket if we want to eat steamboat haha.

Actually we had wanted to shift the double power point from the inside of the kitchen wall (that had been hacked) but somehow a new one is added. The original double power point remains at the other side of the kitchen wall.

Kitchen

The double power point beside the stove is shifted here from the existing one right in front of the stove area. We added 2 double power points at the side of the kitchen wall for the different appliances we may have over time. My current home is in a disastrous state due to the lack of electrical sockets, so I insisted on this!

The one single powerpoint at the side is existing and it's for our fridge. It fits nicely so we do not need to shift it at all.

We left the other side of the kitchen completely empty but now there's a double power point that's existing and only shifted further down because we hacked half the kitchen wall. On hindsight, that's not bad too because we can buy a low shelf and put some appliances there as well!

Service Yard

Changed the single power point to a double power point because we would be having a dryer as well.

MBR

This is the TV wall. We shifted the TV point to the middle of the wall, and also added a single power point there. Wires will then be blocked by the TV!

At the side nearer to the wardrobe, we have a 2 way switch for the light and a double power point hidden below our bedside ledge. We heeded the advice of many to have one charging point on each side of the bed so that both can charge phones at the same time lol. The other point can be used for charging laptop!

2 way switch was suggested by our contractor. My mum also told me that she regretted not putting a 2-way switch at our current home haha.

There wasn't any power point here initially because I don't use hair dryer. But after the electrical works were done, I scraped the idea of a lighting point at my dresser (to avoid the bulky look), hence this has been changed into a power point.

The power point here is supposed to be the water heater switch. But as we are using storage heater, we only need the heater switch at the common toilet. Hence contractor suggested that this can be changed into a power point.

As it turns out, I think our MBR has no lack of power points lol.

Bedroom 2

This will be our study room for the time being so we added a double power point just above where the study table would be. Can use it to charge laptops! The existing power points at the lower end of the wall shall cater to the needs of our desktop.

Bedroom 3

No addition/shift of power points as we ain't sure what to do with this room yet.

Edited July 6, 2017 by dietgalvon

[dietgalvon 14]

LIGHTS

Previously wrote about receiving my lights from taobao here and I'm back here to do a review of the lights, when in use! I used agar-ration when deciding on the wattage of the lights. One thing I heard is that if getting lights from taobao, one should up the wattage. I would say this is generally true.

Main gate

5W; neutral light. Just nice!

My mum said that the area outside our flat is too dark, and suggested that we add a lighting point here. Hence I got a wall lamp - it's really cuteee!

Electrician shifted this lamp a little higher (because our lamp points downwards haha) to ensure that when we open the main gate fully, it will not hit the bulb. Our electrician is very meticulous!

Living Room

1.5m track; 3x 7W track lights in neutral light.

Track lights at the entryway. We were only given one lighting point in front of the main door and we are not sure where else to place lights  for the shoe cabinet area without making the area look bulky and awkward. Hence we decided to use track lights like at the TV area. Better still, we used track lights throughout the living room and this track here is in a straight line as the one at the TV area.

Electrician shifted the track a little outwards so that the shoe cabinet doors can be opened without hitting the track lights.

1.5m / 3m track; 7W track light in 3 tones

I chose to use long tracks because I feel that it should at least be longer than the TV. The wall opposite the TV wall is twice as long so I put 3m track lol. Rather than having enough light, it's my OCD at work.

Electrician shifted the tracks here to be in line with the one he changed at the shoe cabinet area without us telling him. Meticulous like that, I like!

I'd say that track lights are sufficient to light up the house!

Dining

3x 7W; neutral light

It was a struggle deciding on the dining lights. We initially wanted woody pendant lights but non felt right. The one instant I saw this, I knew this was it!

I bought the long disc (at the ceiling) separately because I wanted 3 lights without the individual round looking disc.

Passage way

0.5m track; 7W track lights in neutral light

It's weird to have only 1 track light here, but 7W is really very bright for this area! I might buy 3W lights to place here. Note that my passage way is shorter than most flats due to the unique layout.

Household shelter

15W; white light

A good brightness. This black framed light is supposed to fit our monochrome common toilet but since we changed the theme after the vanity failed to arrive, this is kept in here instead. Lol.

Kitchen

36W; white light

The light is hugeeee and to be honest, I find it a little too bright. Especially when we do not have top cabinets. Heard from a friend that his ID recommended 30 to 36W for kitchen. I guess with top cabinets, 36W is okay. Else, I think I would prefer 30 to 32W for kitchen.

Service Yard

7W; white light

It turned our nicer than I expected! Love it.

MBR

MBR entry way. 9W; neutral light.

Boxing up of the air con trunking made the area rather awkward with a dent in the middle. Hence contractor decided to fabricate a false ceiling and advised us to get downlight instead. I love this downlight which I got from taobao, it's superrrrrr silm. It costs like $5 plus and I was initially doubtful if it would work. Well, it did!

For this small area, I think a 6/7W should suffice haha.

1m track; 7W track lights in neutral

We have 2 lights in the MBR (other than entry way) because we partitioned off the bed area. Absolutely no clue on what light to get for the wardrobe area. With my dresser there, I decided to use track lights as I can angle my track lights to where I want it to be.

24W; neutral light

Argh it is not flushed to the ceiling. Other than that, I love this light. Surprisingly, it is not easy to find a simple woody light.

MBR & common toilets

Ceiling light: 15W in white light
T5 lights in warm white

The T5 lights were bought locally. Should have confirmed the length earlier and bought from taobao instead haha.

Other than that, loving the effect of white and warm light (separately) and the acrylic panels too!

BR2 & BR3

30W
White light for BR2 (study room)
Neutral light for BR3

Brightness is good! My personal opinion is that white light is more conducive for studying.

If in doubt, can purchase the 3 tone light version instead, think it's only a little more expensive.

Summary

Hope the above is useful! One point to note though is that I personally prefer rooms to be bright so I prefer white light. Neutral light is to create a cozy bedroom feel. Haha. Warm T5 lights is great, though.

Spent in total about $500 inclusive of the extra track and track lights I got.

 

SELLING

I have some items which I did not use or have to give up in the process. PM me if anyone is interested!

1) 1x 1m white track (thickened version) - electrician approves of it! $5

2) 1x 6W square (super silm) down light (initially bought this for the passage way but we used track lights instead) $4

3) Solid wood Passageway/Balcony/Foyer Light (unable to use due to boxing up of aircon trunking) $20
- Comes with 5W warm light E27 bulb
- Supports up to 40W bulbs

Edited July 9, 2017 by dietgalvon

[dietgalvon 14]

Today while we were cleaning the house E brought someone up to view our flat! I think it's one of the readers here because E told us that they showed him a picture of our home.  

Anyway, our home progress will be stagnant for a while till handover next weekend.  Meanwhile, some backdates of the home - mainly plumbing works!

RENOVATION UPDATE - 9 JULY 2017

MBR Toilet

PD Door

The reason why we took a PD door is due to the cramped space left between door and the vanity when the door is open. As much as I prefer a glass door, the fiance thinks that the mechanism of a PD door is needed. We went for the simplest design and glad we did so. It turned out pretty nice especially when the T5 lights are on; I was afraid it would look cheapo initially lol. After all, it's a plastic door mah.

This is how our MBR toilet looks like! 

I prioritize counterspace, so we bought a smaller basin. I think the tap looks a little oversized here. But the way the water flows from the tap is really like a sheet of paper. Pretty! Fiance say it is not possible to achieve this if the tap is any smaller. Can only blame of the size of our toilet, that I can't get a bigger basin. Oh well.

I also have a hand towel bar at the side of our IKEA molger mirror!

Really love this mirror.  

Side view; how pretty is this tap!

Rainshower, glass shelf and bidet - all from taobao!

We will be installing 2 glass shelves instead.

Our toilet paper holder is a stick-on one, so we will stick it on when renovation is over.

Towel rack at the opposite side of the shower area. It's at a height perfect for me but a little dangerous for the fiance (it's directly at his eye level)! But the last I asked him he said it is fine as it is impractical if I struggle to reach it. 

A clothes hook behind the door!

Common Toilet

A clearer shot of the Taobao vanity!

Single towel bar, bidet spray and toilet roll holder - all from taobao again.

Towel bar is not exactly centralized; think it's due to the water pipes at the left side. Toilet roll holder has a cover because we ain't installing shower screen here and the bonus is the handphone rest! Fiance likes this lol.

Shower set provided by HDB, and a simple corner shelf.

We have one issue though. Initially we wanted to put shower curtains here, but realised that the windows there is in the way and we can't install the shower curtain rod! I don't know what can be done but surely I cannot allow water to splash every day because I don't want me vanity to rot. Shall see how since we won't be using this toilet for quite some time, I hope.

Our silm storage heater!

Last but not least, our kitchen tap is also up! I love this tap a lot!! It looks sleek even though it comes with a pull-out sprayer.  And the quality is AWESOME!

It's a little big for my sink (55cm) but it sure will look great with a 65cm and above sink. Again I got a smaller sink to maximize counter space. But I underestimated the length of my kitchen. I have twice the amount of counterspace compared to my own home now. Lol.

[hekimitsuru 0]

First of all, thank you for this thread!  super useful for me and husband too because we will also be doing a muji minimalist japanese style too. 

Already decided on ID but renovation have not started yet. Very excited after seeing all your photos!   

Just a few questions:
- Saw that you managed to install rain shower in the master bathroom! Did you purchase the rainshower from taobao and were there any complications trying to install? (since it almost touches the top of the ceiling)
- For both the common and master bathroom vanity, did you purchase all from taobao? I also wanted to save on the vanity carpentry cost.
 

Also, will appreciate if you can pm me the windows contractor cost. My ID charge me close to 700 for the windows.

[JennyTan 0]

Thanks for sharing your taobao stuff. Any good stuff to recommend from the stuff that you bought from taobao, ie rain shower, track lights etc?  Am thinking to buy from taobao to save cost but a bit worry about its quality. Thanks.

[Clarence Lye 10]

On 7/4/2017 at 3:32 PM, dietgalvon said:

10 hours ago, dietgalvon said:

Today while we were cleaning the house E brought someone up to view our flat! I think it's one of the readers here because E told us that they showed him a picture of our home.  

Anyway, our home progress will be stagnant for a while till handover next weekend.  Meanwhile, some backdates of the home - mainly plumbing works!

RENOVATION UPDATE - 9 JULY 2017

MBR Toilet

PD Door

The reason why we took a PD door is due to the cramped space left between door and the vanity when the door is open. As much as I prefer a glass door, the fiance thinks that the mechanism of a PD door is needed. We went for the simplest design and glad we did so. It turned out pretty nice especially when the T5 lights are on; I was afraid it would look cheapo initially lol. After all, it's a plastic door mah.

This is how our MBR toilet looks like! 

I prioritize counterspace, so we bought a smaller basin. I think the tap looks a little oversized here. But the way the water flows from the tap is really like a sheet of paper. Pretty! Fiance say it is not possible to achieve this if the tap is any smaller. Can only blame of the size of our toilet, that I can't get a bigger basin. Oh well.

I also have a hand towel bar at the side of our IKEA molger mirror!

Really love this mirror.  

Side view; how pretty is this tap!

Rainshower, glass shelf and bidet - all from taobao!

We will be installing 2 glass shelves instead.

Our toilet paper holder is a stick-on one, so we will stick it on when renovation is over.

Towel rack at the opposite side of the shower area. It's at a height perfect for me but a little dangerous for the fiance (it's directly at his eye level)! But the last I asked him he said it is fine as it is impractical if I struggle to reach it. 

A clothes hook behind the door!

Common Toilet

A clearer shot of the Taobao vanity!

Single towel bar, bidet spray and toilet roll holder - all from taobao again.

Towel bar is not exactly centralized; think it's due to the water pipes at the left side. Toilet roll holder has a cover because we ain't installing shower screen here and the bonus is the handphone rest! Fiance likes this lol.

Shower set provided by HDB, and a simple corner shelf.

We have one issue though. Initially we wanted to put shower curtains here, but realised that the windows there is in the way and we can't install the shower curtain rod! I don't know what can be done but surely I cannot allow water to splash every day because I don't want me vanity to rot. Shall see how since we won't be using this toilet for quite some time, I hope.

Our silm storage heater!

Last but not least, our kitchen tap is also up! I love this tap a lot!! It looks sleek even though it comes with a pull-out sprayer.  And the quality is AWESOME!

It's a little big for my sink (55cm) but it sure will look great with a 65cm and above sink. Again I got a smaller sink to maximize counter space. But I underestimated the length of my kitchen. I have twice the amount of counterspace compared to my own home now. Lol.

Very nice.

 

Mind sharing me the contacts for window + window grille please?
Also, your track lights for the living, are you intending to use how many bulbs of how many watts?

i using track too but not sure how many metre track and lights i should use..

[dietgalvon 14]

17 hours ago, hekimitsuru said:

First of all, thank you for this thread!  super useful for me and husband too because we will also be doing a muji minimalist japanese style too. 

Already decided on ID but renovation have not started yet. Very excited after seeing all your photos!   

Just a few questions:
- Saw that you managed to install rain shower in the master bathroom! Did you purchase the rainshower from taobao and were there any complications trying to install? (since it almost touches the top of the ceiling)
- For both the common and master bathroom vanity, did you purchase all from taobao? I also wanted to save on the vanity carpentry cost.
 

Also, will appreciate if you can pm me the windows contractor cost. My ID charge me close to 700 for the windows.

@hekimitsuru No prob, we're all here to share and learn

- For the rainshower, no issues at all. The height is actually adjustable so it was fixed to ceiling height.

- My common toilet vanity set is purchased from taobao, while the MBR vanity cabinet is carpentry, mirror is from IKEA.

PM-ed you on the windows contractor!

[dietgalvon 14]

17 hours ago, hekimitsuru said:

First of all, thank you for this thread!  super useful for me and husband too because we will also be doing a muji minimalist japanese style too. 

Already decided on ID but renovation have not started yet. Very excited after seeing all your photos!   

Just a few questions:
- Saw that you managed to install rain shower in the master bathroom! Did you purchase the rainshower from taobao and were there any complications trying to install? (since it almost touches the top of the ceiling)
- For both the common and master bathroom vanity, did you purchase all from taobao? I also wanted to save on the vanity carpentry cost.
 

Also, will appreciate if you can pm me the windows contractor cost. My ID charge me close to 700 for the windows.

@hekimitsuru No prob, we're all here to share and learn

- For the rainshower, no issues at all. The height is actually adjustable so it was fixed to ceiling height.

- My common toilet vanity set is purchased from taobao, while the MBR vanity cabinet is carpentry, mirror is from IKEA.

PM-ed you on the windows contractor!