House of Foos

[MsChocobanana 1]

Hello Guys,

I'm back again after 6 years. We just bought a resale 5rm HDB just so we have a wider choice of schools for our kids. Just as before, I like to share my renovation journey and also get suggestions from fellow forumers. I have to add a disclaimer that I have no intention to advertise for my husband who is also my ID (I don't really have a choice here ). 

When we were looking for a new place, this unit is the only one that has a spacious corridor, lots of sunlight and unblocked view. We hesitated to offer them because the floorplan is very strange. Perhaps some of you can have a look and tell me if you find it strange. Well, because of this floorplan, my hb and I have different views about how things will be placed. Considering my list of needs, I have to admit that it is challenging as something got to give. 

 

Space planning Needs/Wants*:

• A master bedroom
• 2 rooms for the kids
• 1 room for his office
• 1 room for the helper
• preferably all the room should have a window for ventilation.

After much consideration, I should give in to have 1 bigger room for the kids and we can cut up part of the living room if the kids request for separate rooms. 

 

Design concept Needs*:

• Brighter living area and kitchen
• Hidden storage all over to reduce clutter
• Herringbone something somewhere

 

Design concept Wants*:

• more plants (maybe a home herb garden if hb permits. he strongly believes that I have a black thumb as I have, well, indirectly murdered our Tie(3) shu (4) and some cactus. I definitely will need lots of help and tips from you guys in this aspect)
• Regal blue bedroom

 

*These are just my ideas. I haven't had time to sit down with Hb to discuss it properly without the kids climbing all over us and messing up the table (and with our minds).

Regards,

Mschocobanana

 

Edited July 10, 2018 by MsChocobanana
update

[michmichtooo 0]

Any renovation process pictures ?

[KFC1189 11]

Hello Jamie,

I like your squarish and functional flat. It is possible to have 4+1bedrooms that will meet your requirements.

Where is this place? How big is your new flat? 

[MsChocobanana 1]

On 3/13/2018 at 5:54 PM, michmichtooo said:

Any renovation process pictures ?

Hello michmichtooo! Pardon the super overdue delay. Photos will gradually be posted over the next few weeks

[MsChocobanana 1]

On 4/3/2018 at 10:24 PM, KFC1189 said:

Hello Jamie,

I like your squarish and functional flat. It is possible to have 4+1bedrooms that will meet your requirements.

Where is this place? How big is your new flat? 

This layout looks nice at first glance, however, its not as functional as you think. The living hall is surrounded by doors to the other rooms, main door and windows. Hence, it is not easy to place the sofa/tv. this is one of the reasons for my super delayed update. 

 

This place is in serangoon/hougang area, lots of older flats (also in tampines, pasir ris) have such layouts. 

[MsChocobanana 1]

Hello to whoever is reading this thread!!

 

I am so glad to be updating here. the past 2 months have been a roller coaster ride with coming up with new designs and getting rejected, redesigning and rejected again. Reasons for such a ride - Weird floorplan AND Fengshui Master.

 

Let me fill you guys in on this as much as I can.

Floorplan

• As mentioned in the first post, our floor plan at first glance looks alright. But soon when We ( my husband and I) start to seriously think of the space planning, things start to happen. Things = conflict. 
• When planning the flat, I tend to plan it around my kids. Kids, as some of you may know, grow quite fast and their use of storage, play area will change a lot in the next few years. Eg, they will want their own wardobe soon; they may want to slp beside each other or as far from each other as possible; they may need a study table and the study table will shift around the house to be in the 'best' study spot. Hence, i have to say, the list of requirements I have is quite long. (as mentioned in the first post).
• My hubby is my ID. He is an ID*. So naturally he knows what goes and whats out at the tip of this finger tips. 
• Conflict occurs when he tries to put it across that my list is not practical. It does not make things better when I drew out a floorplan and sent it to him. Those moments caused him undue distress and suffering . hahahah
• We managed to get a draft that I am able to accept. though not 100% but acceptance level is much higher than the previous 582 drafts. 

 

Feng Shui Master

• As it is, it is difficult to us to plan in a way that I get what I wanted. Having a third party in this process DOES NOT HELP.
• My Hb wanted to consult a master for our house, since we have kids, its better to have some advice on this. I am neutral - not a believer yet not a skeptic as well.
• Being practical, I told my Hb that is is possible that after all the planning and arguments, this FSM may throw all our plans out the window, bringing us back to square 1. As Murphy law would have it, our floorplan was rejected. 583rd draft was all wrong. OMGGGGZ. We cannot NOT heed since we paid good money for it. 
• We went back to the drawing board and Hb started to plan according to what I WANTED and what the FSM SAID. FHL. lol. 
• The FSM's advice made sense in many ways. Most of it is feasible only if

1. I don't have kids

2. I don't have a helper

3. Hb doesn't need a workspace

4. I don't need much strorage

5. I don't need a TV

             so.....something has got to go.

 

(*i am not soliciting any biz for him so no mention of his firm here). 

[MsChocobanana 1]

JTS.

One of my floorplans that I sent to my Hb. This probably made him questioned my sensibility.  and also caused him quite a bit of 

 

 

Well, if you haven't noticed, I totally left the kitchen out!

 

Edited July 9, 2018 by MsChocobanana
double image

[MsChocobanana 1]

Here are the photos of the flat in its existing state.

 

Here, we have the living hall. Love those windows and will have it opened up as much as I can.

The false ceiling thing with staggered design will have to go. The tiles are placed so strangely. Those will have to go. We will have to fill up the grout lines before laying laminates. 

 

The living hall and the study. The study is to be converted to a semi-open space as the craftroom. Before this, it was planned to be the kids room, kids play room, Hb's office, dinning area, chill out room (with a hammock).

 

 

The living hall facing the rooms. 

 

 

The kitchen. It is quite big. I have not much plans for this since I won't be cooking much. After consulting the FSM, the kitchen had the most changes - including color of our tabletop, placement of sink, type of cooking hob. sigh. 

The other half of our kitchen. This space previously was planned to be helper's room, kitchen, and now, store/office. 

 

I will upload the floorplan in the next post.  

 

Thanks for reading. 

Edited July 9, 2018 by MsChocobanana
Upload more photos

[MsChocobanana 1]

(just wondered why my post kept getting hidden, so tried to post again. Only realized that now the posts have to be approved by moderator). moderators, you may delete this post, thank you. 

 

Edited July 10, 2018 by MsChocobanana

[Ando Tadao 8]

The solution to your needs could be architectural interior design. You need foundational changes in floor plan layout and structural ideas to transform spaces and forms.

[MsChocobanana 1]

On 7/11/2018 at 1:47 PM, Ando Tadao said:

The solution to your needs could be architectural interior design. You need foundational changes in floor plan layout and structural ideas to transform spaces and forms.

Thanks for dropping by Ando Tadao.

 

Yeah, the floorplan changed so many times and it ranges from minimal changes to complete restructuring of the place . I will try to upload the floor plan up next. 

[MsChocobanana 1]

As promised previously, here is my finalised floorplan. FINALLY!

In the planning, in addition to our "Must haves", "Good to haves" and fengshui master's comment, we also factor in our lifestyles - E.G. A dinning area work for most family but not for ours, hence we have a small and functional one. 

Here are the main points of the floorplan.

• We have our a craft room where the kids can work and play, it will also be the place where I get to do some work.
• We have a bigger room for both kids. It will be where they sleep and get up to no good. 
• We have a workspace for the hb, where he will find peace when he work.
• The kitchen will be simple yet functional. 
• Helper will have her own room as it was in our previous place. 
• The dinning area is small and functional. With our staggered meal times, we seldom have dinner together at the dining table. 
• We opt for sliding door for a cleaner look for the craft room, helper and kids room. 

[KFC1189 11]

Hi, I think your new layout plan is functional with plenty of storage spaces. Wow!, your kids' room is bigger than the master bedroom!  

Just a question, the common bathroom door is accessible from the office space or from the kitchen?

[MsChocobanana 1]

31 minutes ago, KFC1189 said:

Hi, I think your new layout plan is functional with plenty of storage spaces. Wow!, your kids' room is bigger than the master bedroom!  

Just a question, the common bathroom door is accessible from the office space or from the kitchen?

Hello KFC1189!

Thanks for dropping by  

With the kids room, we wanted more space because I won’t know what they need as they grow up. Study table is not necessary for now, wardrobe also dont need big ones. N we need space to move these furnitures around just in case it the current configuration won’t work. If need be, we can split the room again when they r bigger. 

 

That’s a good question! At the moment, the bathroom 2 can only be access by the kitchen. My hb did suggest to hv a door from his office to kitchen also pointed out that it increase our budget. I’m thinking abt it, it’s unnecessary expenditure, we won’t go ahead with it. 

Are u also renovating ur place? If you have ideas for our place, pls do share. It’s gd to see things from another perspective. 

 

[MsChocobanana 1]

The space planning part is done. The next up would be to select a theme, which is the fun part! 

In our previous place, we did a dark, industrial theme (see https://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/50583-my-first-home/?page=22&tab=comments#comment-845914).

But as they say, when you have kids, your life changes alot. We realised that dark houses are not that ideas for our kids (and our well-being when they leave tiny toys on the floor for you to step on). This time round, we opt for a brighter design, making use of of our full morning sun that comes in from the living room window.

I can't decide if it is a more scandinavian style or a minimalist or a just something else. Here are some of the photos I used for reference.

 

It is important to note that we can only apply certain elements to our house such as the colour scheme, the placement of furnitures. The outcome will differ based on the following factors

1. Ceiling height - photos we source from the internet may look nice due to higher ceiling, thereby giving a perception of larger space.

2. Natural light - some of the photos have large windows, thus allowing more light in. These windows makes the house look brighter and more open. In comparison, some of our flats, especially the older ones, does not have such big windows.

3. Fan Fixtures - another thing to take note is that photos of houses often does not have a ceiling fan. such a ceiling fan will not only lower the height of the flat/apartment, it will also distract one from the overall design of the house.