Stream 4 Report post Posted June 11, 2017 On 6/4/2017 at 9:08 PM, Ecnalx said: Below is a 2D layout that we designed. Is that a workdesk or bar counter, behind the sofa, facing the TV. I love to be able to watch TV while I'm working at my computer, so I'll layout my furniture that way too. It's very practical Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ecnalx 4 Report post Posted June 11, 2017 2 hours ago, Stream said: Is that a workdesk or bar counter, behind the sofa, facing the TV. I love to be able to watch TV while I'm working at my computer, so I'll layout my furniture that way too. It's very practical It's a workdesk. I will be placing my desktop PC for my web-surfing, gaming and work purposes. Same idea, i like to multitask. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lkccchris 0 Report post Posted June 11, 2017 Can share your contractor contact. TIA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ecnalx 4 Report post Posted June 11, 2017 35 minutes ago, lkccchris said: Can share your contractor contact. TIA PM-ed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M123456 0 Report post Posted June 12, 2017 Nice mood board!! love your ideas!! I'm gathering ideas for my flat -- going to take keys soon!! also thinking whether to have false ceiling or not. me and wifey like false ceiling, clean look, hates messy cables running across. but I'm tall, and as you said, hdb floor to ceiling height is only 2.6m, so got to consider carefully. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ecnalx 4 Report post Posted June 12, 2017 2 hours ago, M123456 said: Nice mood board!! love your ideas!! I'm gathering ideas for my flat -- going to take keys soon!! also thinking whether to have false ceiling or not. me and wifey like false ceiling, clean look, hates messy cables running across. but I'm tall, and as you said, hdb floor to ceiling height is only 2.6m, so got to consider carefully. Hi. I am quite tall too @ 1.8m. Another factor to consider is whether you are going to install ceiling fan. I am going with standing tower fans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
izong 4 Report post Posted June 18, 2017 On 04/06/2017 at 9:08 PM, Ecnalx said: As the topic suggests, we are going for a Smart Woody theme. "Smart" refers to Smart Home. I (Mr) am personally interested in tech stuff and have been using several smart devices in my room now. Smart devices that I have include Google Home, Google Wifi, Philip Hue lights, Samsung Smartthings. Using a combination of these allows us to automate my home and makes our life easier. For example, I can use voice command (Google Home) to control my lights (Philip Hue). I can use voice command to control my switches (Samsung Smartthings). I can use voice commands to ask Google Home to set alarms, ask questions, play music etc. Feels like I am 1% Tony Stark. Am writing more as requested by readers. Implementing a Smart Home is an expensive hobby. Be prepared to fork out at least hundreds of dollars before you can start to see the effects of a Smart Home. I will list down the various level of home automation in my personal opinion. For most home owners, you switch on the lights/electrical devices manually by pressing on a switch. The highest level of smartness are most likely controlling the power/channels of your TV/Fans/Home entertainment devices via a remote. Some people may use several mobile apps to control their electrical devices (eg lights, switches, aircon). Some may also install touch-based switches to control their electrical devices. However, I believe that this is not smart enough; at least not for me. Picking up a phone to control your other electronic devices (which is similar to Logitech Harmony series) is also a chore itself. Instead, I went for a more convenient and futuristic method, which is via voice control. I can now command most of my electrical devices by speaking. If you are interested in using voice command to control your electrical devices, read on. Voice Controlled Speaker This is the brain of your Smart Home; they control the remaining smart devices based on your voice commands. There are 2 main Voice Controlled Speakers in the market today; Google Home vs Amazon Echo. <PS: for Apple fans, Apple will be releasing a Siri-enabled voice controlled speaker called HomePod in end 2017.> There are plenty of articles on the web comparing these 2 voice controlled speakers. I shall not repeat them here. In summary, I chose Google Home as 1) I am using a Google account (android phone, gmail, drive, calendar, etc), 2) Better AI (backed by Google search engine), 3) Aesthetically pleasing (personal preference), 4) There are plans for Google Home 2 to double up as a router similar to Google Wifi. Note that both Google Home and Amazon Echo are not officially on sale in Singapore. They are however, sold via many of the online shopping websites. Setting up the Google Home is easy. 1) Plug in the power socket (you need to buy an adapter), 2) Download the Google Home app, 3) Using the app, connect Google Home to your wifi. That's it. Once done, you can now explore the functions of the Google Home. To give command to Google Home, always start with "Hey Google, ..." or "OK Google, ...". As at point of writing, you are unable to name your Google Home, which would be a nice and possible future feature. Here are some commands that I usually use: - Hey Google, what time is it? ... Google will tell me the time. - Hey Google, play eg 933 FM. ... Google will play the radio.H - Hey Google, what is 4 feet in meters? ... Google will do the conversion for me. Very useful, especially when renovations lengths are always in feet and inches. - Ok Google, set alarm at 5pm. ... Google will set an alarm - Ok Google, tell me a joke... - Hey Google, sing a lullaby... - If you are in the US, you can even make calls, order food, shop online via Google Home! Really nice features. Almost like a real personal assistant at your command. For more Google Home commands, visit https://madeby.google.com/home/features/#?filters=answers,entertainment,manage,plan,home,fun. Integration with Smart Devices Now, this is the part where things get more interesting. If the standalone Google Home amaze you, this is just the beginning. The next step of achieving a Smart Home, is to integrate other smart devices to your voice controlled speaker (so that you can control them using your voice). There are many smart devices in the market today; Smart lights, smart wifi, smart speakers, smart plugs, smart TVs, smart aircon, smart locks, smart security system, etc. All these smart devices can be integrated with your voice controlled speakers. For Google Home, there is a small but growing list of partners whom have direct integration (https://madeby.google.com/home/partners/). This meant that your commands need not be specific; Google Home can understand your command as long as the meaning remains the same. For example, Philips Hue is a partner of Google Home. For you to control the Philip Hue lights, you would need to purchase a Philips Hue Bridge, which acts as the brain that controls all the Philips Hue lights. Normally, the Bridge would be sold together with some Hue lights as a base to kick start your smart lights journey. The basic Bridge + 3 Hue bulbs has a RRP of $289. You can get at a cheaper price during the Philip Carnival Sale or online websites. In our new home, we will be using a combination of "normal" lights as well as "smart" lights. So I bought a Bridge, several E27 Bulbs, 1 Hue Go, and 4 Hue Lightstrips. I am currently using the Hue Go in my room. The basic commands for lights that you can control via voice are: - Hey Google, turn on/off lights. - OK Google, change XXX lights to YYY colour. - Hey Google, brighten/dim XXX lights to ZZ%. To be continued... I think there's lots i can learn from you, camping here bro! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ecnalx 4 Report post Posted June 20, 2017 On 6/18/2017 at 11:00 PM, izong said: I think there's lots i can learn from you, camping here bro! Thanks. Keep a lookout for my updates. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
G3tback0r 0 Report post Posted June 25, 2017 Can share your contractor's contact? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mannequin 0 Report post Posted June 25, 2017 On 04/06/2017 at 9:08 PM, Ecnalx said: Smart Home As the topic suggests, we are going for a Smart Woody theme. "Smart" refers to Smart Home. I (Mr) am personally interested in tech stuff and have been using several smart devices in my room now. Smart devices that I have include Google Home, Google Wifi, Philip Hue lights, Samsung Smartthings. Using a combination of these allows us to automate my home and makes our life easier. For example, I can use voice command (Google Home) to control my lights (Philip Hue). I can use voice command to control my switches (Samsung Smartthings). I can use voice commands to ask Google Home to set alarms, ask questions, play music etc. Feels like I am 1% Tony Stark. Am writing more as requested by readers. Implementing a Smart Home is an expensive hobby. Be prepared to fork out at least hundreds of dollars before you can start to see the effects of a Smart Home. I will list down the various level of home automation in my personal opinion. For most home owners, you switch on the lights/electrical devices manually by pressing on a switch. The highest level of smartness are most likely controlling the power/channels of your TV/Fans/Home entertainment devices via a remote. Some people may use several mobile apps to control their electrical devices (eg lights, switches, aircon). Some may also install touch-based switches to control their electrical devices. However, I believe that this is not smart enough; at least not for me. Picking up a phone to control your other electronic devices (which is similar to Logitech Harmony series) is also a chore itself. Instead, I went for a more convenient and futuristic method, which is via voice control. I can now command most of my electrical devices by speaking. If you are interested in using voice command to control your electrical devices, read on. Voice Controlled Speaker This is the brain of your Smart Home; they control the remaining smart devices based on your voice commands. There are 2 main Voice Controlled Speakers in the market today; Google Home vs Amazon Echo. <PS: for Apple fans, Apple will be releasing a Siri-enabled voice controlled speaker called HomePod in end 2017.> There are plenty of articles on the web comparing these 2 voice controlled speakers. I shall not repeat them here. In summary, I chose Google Home as 1) I am using a Google account (android phone, gmail, drive, calendar, etc), 2) Better AI (backed by Google search engine), 3) Aesthetically pleasing (personal preference), 4) There are plans for Google Home 2 to double up as a router similar to Google Wifi. Note that both Google Home and Amazon Echo are not officially on sale in Singapore. They are however, sold via many of the online shopping websites. Setting up the Google Home is easy. 1) Plug in the power socket (you need to buy an adapter), 2) Download the Google Home app, 3) Using the app, connect Google Home to your wifi. That's it. Once done, you can now explore the functions of the Google Home. To give command to Google Home, always start with "Hey Google, ..." or "OK Google, ...". As at point of writing, you are unable to name your Google Home, which would be a nice and possible future feature. Here are some commands that I usually use: - Hey Google, what time is it? ... Google will tell me the time. - Hey Google, play eg 933 FM. ... Google will play the radio.H - Hey Google, what is 4 feet in meters? ... Google will do the conversion for me. Very useful, especially when renovations lengths are always in feet and inches. - Ok Google, set alarm at 5pm. ... Google will set an alarm - Ok Google, tell me a joke... - Hey Google, sing a lullaby... - If you are in the US, you can even make calls, order food, shop online via Google Home! Really nice features. Almost like a real personal assistant at your command. For more Google Home commands, visit https://madeby.google.com/home/features/#?filters=answers,entertainment,manage,plan,home,fun. Integration with Smart Devices Now, this is the part where things get more interesting. If the standalone Google Home amaze you, this is just the beginning. The next step of achieving a Smart Home, is to integrate other smart devices to your voice controlled speaker (so that you can control them using your voice). There are many smart devices in the market today; Smart lights, smart wifi, smart speakers, smart plugs, smart TVs, smart aircon, smart locks, smart security system, etc. All these smart devices can be integrated with your voice controlled speakers. For Google Home, there is a small but growing list of partners whom have direct integration (https://madeby.google.com/home/partners/). This meant that your commands need not be specific; Google Home can understand your command as long as the meaning remains the same. For example, Philips Hue is a partner of Google Home. For you to control the Philip Hue lights, you would need to purchase a Philips Hue Bridge, which acts as the brain that controls all the Philips Hue lights. Normally, the Bridge would be sold together with some Hue lights as a base to kick start your smart lights journey. The basic Bridge + 3 Hue bulbs has a RRP of $289. You can get at a cheaper price during the Philip Carnival Sale or online websites. In our new home, we will be using a combination of "normal" lights as well as "smart" lights. So I bought a Bridge, several E27 Bulbs, 1 Hue Go, and 4 Hue Lightstrips. I am currently using the Hue Go in my room. The basic commands for lights that you can control via voice are: - Hey Google, turn on/off lights. - OK Google, change XXX lights to YYY colour. - Hey Google, brighten/dim XXX lights to ZZ%. In your Google Home app, you can rename your smart devices so that Google Home can recognise the specific device to control. For example, you can name lights as "Left TV lights" and "Right TV lights". Google Home is smart enough to understand the difference between "OK Google, change Left TV lights to red colour", compared to "Ok Google, change TV lights to red colour" (which will change both left and right TV lights). Other than Philip Hue lights, I am currently using Samsung Smartthings, which is also a partner of Google Home. To be continued... Hi I also bought Philips Lightstrip, could you please advise is it easy to install? My contractor, his electrician, said he never install before. I want to install around the mirror in my MBR, do i need to install any wiring from false wall to MBR wall tiles? Thank you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ecnalx 4 Report post Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) 10 hours ago, G3tback0r said: Can share your contractor's contact? PM-ed 9 hours ago, Mannequin said: Hi I also bought Philips Lightstrip, could you please advise is it easy to install? My contractor, his electrician, said he never install before. I want to install around the mirror in my MBR, do i need to install any wiring from false wall to MBR wall tiles? Thank you. It is easy to install. Just ensure that you have a 3-pin socket near the area you want to install the lightstrip to power it. If you dont have a 3-pin socket, you can get your electrician to add a 3-pin socket. Edited June 25, 2017 by Ecnalx Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mannequin 0 Report post Posted June 25, 2017 7 hours ago, Ecnalx said: PM-ed It is easy to install. Just ensure that you have a 3-pin socket near the area you want to install the lightstrip to power it. If you dont have a 3-pin socket, you can get your electrician to add a 3-pin socket. But there is no 3 pin socket inside MBR toilet, are we allow to install 3 pin socket in toilet? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ecnalx 4 Report post Posted June 26, 2017 4 hours ago, Mannequin said: But there is no 3 pin socket inside MBR toilet, are we allow to install 3 pin socket in toilet? I am not sure if there is any safety regulation/restrictions on installing power sockets in toilet. I think better check with your contractor or HDB. I would not advise for the electrician to connect the power directly to lightstrip; it would be difficult to change it yourself in future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mannequin 0 Report post Posted June 26, 2017 6 hours ago, Ecnalx said: I am not sure if there is any safety regulation/restrictions on installing power sockets in toilet. I think better check with your contractor or HDB. I would not advise for the electrician to connect the power directly to lightstrip; it would be difficult to change it yourself in future. Noted with thanks, i will check and most probably will install a socket. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
