My Modern Hut

[frenzzsg 0]

Finally decided to start a thread after hanging around for couple of months though my reno has started closed to 1 mth already hehe...Think it will be like a reno diary!

Let's begin with the original house floor plan.

It's a very simple 2 bedroom unit, with a service yard & a store room @ Bedok area.
 

After several weeks of research, i was pretty clear in the design direction

I like a modern them, not a very "woody" person..and i dont want industrial or scandi. Also, i managed to find a studio design that i really like.

 

1. Layout with requirements

2. My reference studio design!!

Edited March 31, 2017 by frenzzsg

[fifteenmay 40]

really modern looking! chic looking!

[frenzzsg 0]

Initially i was unable to decide whether to engage an ID or a contractor. On one hand, the thought was since i was very clear in the design direction that i wanted, plus i do know a contractor who is very good & trustworthy (based on what he had done for several friends, reasonably priced too). On the other hand, i know that my reno will be quite comprehensive, which means there will be lots of coordination work to be done.

As i had started planning in Oct, i had plenty of time to do my homework as i only wanna start my reno after CNY 2017 (which is in Feb).

I submitted my contact  (too greedy, should just choose 1 will do) and started getting many IDs contacting me. I spent close to 1 month talking to different IDs & 1 contractor, getting quotes and listen to their proposal. To be honest, this is a super tedious process.

For all the IDs, i would emailed them my requirements (indicated on the layout) and give them the link to my reference studio design. I thought that should had set a very clear direction for the ID to work on a proposal for me.....not!! haha. I have an ID giving me an industrial design on a 2nd meetup after i specifically indicated in my email that i DON'T WANT industrial. I have another ID propose to build a countertop seperating my living & dining area after i wanted to hack a wall on the area he proposed to have a more streamline design, etc. Sometimes i really wonder if they even listen or read my requirements.

Eventually, i had decided to engage Kelvin from Space Sense Studio to handle my reno. Was referred by a close friend whom just gotten her house done up by him.
He wins me over with his patience, his design and he pays high attention in all our discussion. Being an award winning designer, he doesn't put down my opinion but try to incorporate my idea into his design!! 

2 weeks after paying the 1st payment, i gotten my 3D drawing!! ^_^ 

1. Dining, kitchen, service yard & store room.

The idea is to hack away the original kitchen & the storeroom to have enuff space for a dry & wet kitchen. Will have a huge cabinet for storage in the wet kitchen area. My island will stretch across both dry & wet kitchen and i will have an extendable table for more dining space when there are guests.

2. Living room

Modern & Minimalist design as the attention will be on my HiFi. ^_^

3. Master bedroom & toilet

Again modern & minimalist design. Keeping my parquet flooring (gonna do some polishing) to save some $$ 
Will be getting a storage bed w/o bed head instead.

[matchalatte 16]

very beautiful, you have good taste! im also into the dark cozy look! how much is your reno, if i may ask? if its not convenient to reveal i could just pm you lol

we're similar in a sense that mine's also a 3 room, but its a BTO. im also hacking lots of walls to make it studio style, but since i bake, im trying to accomodate a small wet kitchen and a dry kitchen with island counter in my living room. 

i also used the request a quote on q*** was matched with 5. i didnt like any of them, either their quotes were too high (whos going to pay for their advertising on q*** but us!) or they didnt understand what i wanted. prior to that i also spoke to 12 contractors. had the same thought that since we already knew what we wanted contractors would be good. but they were either not cheap because some of my requirements eg. pole system wardrobe they had to outsource, or they were too intimidated and told me to find a designer. so all in all i also spent a month talking to these people. ended up shortlisting one ID recommended by a fellow renotalker. 

will be following your updates closely!

[mamit 6]

Very nice mood and 3D. Looking forward to more updates

[fifteenmay 40]

21 minutes ago, matchalatte said:

very beautiful, you have good taste! im also into the dark cozy look! how much is your reno, if i may ask? if its not convenient to reveal i could just pm you lol

we're similar in a sense that mine's also a 3 room, but its a BTO. im also hacking lots of walls to make it studio style, but since i bake, im trying to accomodate a small wet kitchen and a dry kitchen with island counter in my living room. 

i also used the request a quote on qanvast was matched with 5. i didnt like any of them, either their quotes were too high (whos going to pay for their advertising on qanvast but us!) or they didnt understand what i wanted. prior to that i also spoke to 12 contractors. had the same thought that since we already knew what we wanted contractors would be good. but they were either not cheap because some of my requirements eg. pole system wardrobe they had to outsource, or they were too intimidated and told me to find a designer. so all in all i also spent a month talking to these people. ended up shortlisting one ID recommended by a fellow renotalker. 

will be following your updates closely!

@matchalatte my recommendation? are you going with him?

[frenzzsg 0]

56 minutes ago, matchalatte said:

very beautiful, you have good taste! im also into the dark cozy look! how much is your reno, if i may ask? if its not convenient to reveal i could just pm you lol

we're similar in a sense that mine's also a 3 room, but its a BTO. im also hacking lots of walls to make it studio style, but since i bake, im trying to accomodate a small wet kitchen and a dry kitchen with island counter in my living room. 

i also used the request a quote on qanvast was matched with 5. i didnt like any of them, either their quotes were too high (whos going to pay for their advertising on qanvast but us!) or they didnt understand what i wanted. prior to that i also spoke to 12 contractors. had the same thought that since we already knew what we wanted contractors would be good. but they were either not cheap because some of my requirements eg. pole system wardrobe they had to outsource, or they were too intimidated and told me to find a designer. so all in all i also spent a month talking to these people. ended up shortlisting one ID recommended by a fellow renotalker. 

will be following your updates closely!

Thanks!! Took me lots of courage to finally decided to go ahead with the theme cuz many friends kept telling me that my house gonna be very very dark..

For the kitchen, if you look closely, there are actually 2 glass door separating the wet & dry kitchen! This is something that Kelvin proposed, which is completely diff compared to others. Becuz i told him i want an island with both wet & dry kitchen and i want a streamline view when u look into the kitchen area. 

[matchalatte 16]

54 minutes ago, frenzzsg said:

Thanks!! Took me lots of courage to finally decided to go ahead with the theme cuz many friends kept telling me that my house gonna be very very dark..

For the kitchen, if you look closely, there are actually 2 glass door separating the wet & dry kitchen! This is something that Kelvin proposed, which is completely diff compared to others. Becuz i told him i want an island with both wet & dry kitchen and i want a streamline view when u look into the kitchen area. 

we're doing the unconventional, which is good! people also tell me like "huh yr house so small still do until so dark" but i really like it! haha. im mostly going for dark grey, black or very dark slate blue/blue-ish green sort of hue. absolutely no white. am even thinking of black for my ceiling. have you decided what colors you're using? 

yes i saw your wet & dry kitchen! i thought of doing that as well, i think its a brilliant idea to be able look through the whole island and yet smoke/fumes wont escape when you're cooking, keeps the aircon from going to the wet kitchen also. 

[matchalatte 16]

1 hour ago, fifteenmay said:

@matchalatte my recommendation? are you going with him?

unfortunately, no

[frenzzsg 0]

As i mentioned earlier, i had quite a bit of time before my reno started. Not too sure if that's a good thing becuz it means more time for shopping!!! haha

For the next few posts, i will be sharing my shopping experience. For the bigger items or items require warranty, i got them from the local retail & local online shop from Qoo10. The rest are mainly from Amazon & Ezbuy. I was very surprised on the good deal u can get from Qoo10, using both the shop & sales coupons. If you dont need the items urgently, do some research online & retailer eg. HN, BD, Courts so that you know the brands/models/price range of the items. Add the items into your cart for reference or purchase later when it's time to use the coupons!!

Let the shopping tour begins! ^_^

1. Living room

I have some limitation when getting my sofa due to the size of the wall it will be placed against it. So the length has to be <2m, (The one i gotten is slightly out and Kelvin said it's ok) which left me not much choices and i had to give up the idea of having a L-shaped sofa as Kelvin said it wont be nice.. So i had to settle with a 2 seater + 1 ottoman. He also recommend a coffee table that i like it a lot!! All items are from Castlery.

Sofa with only 1-sided arm to have more sitting area. Recommended by Kelvin!!

Ottoman, same series as my sofa

My Coffee table that weights >80kg!!!! It can easily double function as a sitting bench! ^_^

[frenzzsg 0]

2. Kitchen Part 1

All my electrical appliances are from Qoo10!! Mainly from Audio House, Lion City, Mega Discount Store. I never really check out the item physically in store other than my fridge. Most research are done online (on the reliability, functions, review, etc).

This is the most expensive item in my kitchen, and consider i dont really cook!!! 
But i take it as part of the deco and it really stood out whenever someone look into my kitchen ^_^

Normal retail price is $1.6k everywhere but Audio House Qoo10 is selling at $1.4k++ and i got it with even more discount using the sales & shop coupons ^_^

Had wanted to get a 3 burner hob but change to this based on Kelvin recommendation again. He mentioned this will give the person cooking more preparation area instead the 3 burner hob will leave almost no space.

I gotten this sink from Amazon after reading all the good reviews here!! 
The model is : Kraus KHU24L Pax Zero-Radius 24" 18 Gauge Handmade Undermount Single Bowl Stainless Steel Laundry and Utility Sink
Manage to get the free delivery and the Sink only cost less than SGD500 and it arrives in less than 1 week!! The workmanship is superb!!

 

[frenzzsg 0]

Kitchen Part 2

 

1. Wine Chiller

I love wine, but usually dont keep that many bottles at home so decided on the smallest wine chiller i can get..heehee

 

2. Conventional Oven

I dont bake, but use Oven mainly for reheating of food (dun like microwave...influence from my mum haha)
You can get some really good deal from Lion City at times. For this model, Audio House is selling at almost 2x of the price i got!! 

3. Fridge

I wanted a fridge that has side by side door becuz the walking space between my fridge and the island is pretty narrow but yet, i dun really need a huge fridge. So this model fit my criteria nicely at an affordable cost!!

 

4. Washer

Planning to get a washer & dryer separately. Chance upon this LG Model : 8kg, 6 Motion Inverter Direct Drive Washing Machine WD-1480TDT. Equip with the latest technology, yet a small size at affordable cost! ^_^ Got it at a superb price again from Lion City with shop & sales coupons!

[hoWL 9]

I like the dark colors too, especially the bathroom from the reference studio design.

Oh, and your bed looks like it's floating!

[matchalatte 16]

ohhh nice purchases! at the speed you're posting you will be done very soon lol.

im having qualms abt buying from lioncity co coz i read many negative reviews abt them being rude, esp the old aunty there, think shes the lady boss. i saw their appliances on lazada as well but it stated no warranty so dont dare to buy. any idea whether qoo10 offers extended warranty on the appliances? 

[frenzzsg 0]

8 hours ago, matchalatte said:

ohhh nice purchases! at the speed you're posting you will be done very soon lol.

im having qualms abt buying from lioncity co coz i read many negative reviews abt them being rude, esp the old aunty there, think shes the lady boss. i saw their appliances on lazada as well but it stated no warranty so dont dare to buy. any idea whether qoo10 offers extended warranty on the appliances? 

Haha...that's becuz i have been looking around since last year!! so all the models are more or less cfm, just need to pay...

oh...i didnt know that abt Lion City. I always cfm the warranty before buying and they're all tied to the brand. Plus the model i gotten are all local models instead of the parellel imports. Keeping my fingers crossed then...