American Classic Contemporary Theme: 5-room BTO

[stitchgal 4]

Hi Everyone! 

FOLLOW MY BLOG: https://dayre.me/stitchgal

INSTAGRAM: @calichanby

I've collected my keys on 19 July 2018 and I'm really looking forward towards witnessing the complete makeover of our 5-room BTO flat. My fiance and I were really lucky to ballot a 5-room sales-of-balance flat in a matured estate in Singapore on Oct 2015. I still cannot believe that our 3 years wait has finally came to an end. During the past 3 years, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading through people's renovation journey, and no doubt I've learned a great deal about construction and renovation (well... I'm still a noob to say the least), however, no words can expressed how thankful I am to all the previous homeowners cum bloggers who shared many good tip (THANK YOU all!!). 

Now, as I blogged my renovation process, I hope that this blog in some ways or so helps other new homeowners during this VERY STRESSFUL process (no joke when we said it's stressful... you probably read that in every homeowner's reno blogs! ). Putting the sleepless nights aside, I'll filmed a glimpse of our bare unit (for my memory before this transforms so we can compare the before VS after).

ID & Contractor Search:

We have started our ID & Contractor search ONE year before our key collection date. After so many horror stories about scams, I did my due diligence to meet up with IDs/contractors that only have RAVES. So here is it. I'm trying to be as obvious as possible in naming them because I thought you guys should know who they are, because 98% of the ones we visited are pretty good! 

1. Aid*n T: I came across Mr A's profile online and I kinda knew immediately that this designer will be able to deliver 101% of my expectation. His extensive portfolio impressed me and his design outlook is exactly what I had in mind. If you're into the ang moh home interior design style (classic contemporary like I do, he's the one for you!). We met up with Mr A twice at his then newly renovated office (indeed, his office's interior design represents who he is as a designer!). He is warm, friendly and no doubt he understands what we want, and has offered more ideas to us than we would have bargained for. He is one true designer unlike many other renovation companies out there who called themselves ID but they are just.. contractors. Mr A is also on TV (mediacorp's interior design reality show, season 2). All in all, I'll go to him in future if I'm richer haha... I strongly recommend him to anyone who is into REAL DESIGN and is willing to splurge on a true interior designer. *RECOMMENDED*

2. ER Stu***: I came across this ID firm because of it high reviews online (literally 5 stars). Met up with Mr E and Ms N a couple of time. They are very sincere and I would say experienced in this field. Top notch service from them, especially Ms N, who is willing to go all out to offer you new, unique ideas for your home. I really appreciate their advice during that period to make things work (what i wanted was beyond my budget so they kept offering me alternatives to lower cost without compromising the design!). However, ultimately we didn't go with them not because they aren't good but because I am quite adamant about the interior style (American classic contemporary) I want and that do cost a bomb. The quotation I received eventually isn't far off from what Mr A from Aid*n T quoted. *RECOMMENDED*

3. Te*g Ho*g R*novate: This is a contractor firm, not ID firm. However, I somehow knew about them online and I've checked their extensive portfolio on FB and I must say that I'm thoroughly impressed with their works, especially carpentry work. Most importantly, they can do the shaker stye cabinets at a third of what most ID firms quoted. We met up with the younger daughter of the owner, now, I would say that I may not feel as much 'chemistry' with her compared to ER Stu*** & Aid*n T, however the quote was reasonable and we believed that we can save at least 20% if we go with contractor rather than an ID, because at this stage, we already knew what we wanted for our home. We WOULD HAVE signed on with them if it wasn't for my father who strongly recommended his best friend to take on our renovation project. *RECOMMENDED*

4. The Associ*ti*n: I was recommended to this ID firm by a friend who did her renovation with them in 2016. Unfortunately her ID has left the company, so we met up with someone else instead. I don't remember his name, but during the first meeting, we kinda felt that we were just another random customer he was meeting. He didn't give us the feeling that he really want our business. Hence, the first meeting was also the last 

5. Earthwe**: This is a contractor firm which I got to know from renotalk. We met up with Mr E and Mr W near my parents' place and we had a good conversation. Mr. E also seems trustable. However, I feel that at times, he may not understand my design POV which worries me a little. Given that he came from a contractor background instead of interior design background, design may not be his forte however he does recommended a lot of practical suggestions.

In conclusion, we have more or less decided to go with Te*g Ho*g R*novate n hope to save some $ yet not compromised on the design aesthetic that I was going for. HOWEVER, in the end, we have decided to engage my father's best friend (who is a contractor) to do our renovation due to my dad's insistence haha. So there we go, we have handed this project to a family friend and renovation has just began!

 

Edited August 27, 2018 by stitchgal

[stitchgal 4]

Design Theme and Style: American Classic Contemporary Design

Pinterest has been my 'best friend' when it comes to sourcing for a design theme. I feel that the hardest part is to merge your own idea with your partner's idea, unless both parties have the exact SAME vision of their house. Hence, constant communication and compromises are ever so important during this process. 

My fiance LOVED marble and wanted to incorporated that to the theme. He initially wanted marble flooring, which was disputed by an ID we met. The ID claimed it is not necessary to splurge on marble flooring for a HDB flat because that wouldn't eventually fetch you a higher selling price when you eventually sell off your flat. That's so true! I'm glad the ID has managed to 'convince' my fiance otherwise! 

Nonetheless, despite not real marble flooring, we are still looking to include procelain marble into the design. Flooring wise, we are looking to do Vinyl flooring in the living/dining/service yard area while laying parquet for the 3 bedrooms. 

Vinyl Flooring suppliers: 

We have been out and about sourcing for a vinyl flooring supplier and it is really by golden chance that we chanced upon this wholesale vinyl flooring shop at Sungei Kadut that supplies to other vinyl flooring stores when we were around that area (went to Gain City). Their price is very competitive!

G***h***: We are getting out vinyl tiles here! It is $2 psf cheaper than MOST suppliers!

Jo****w***: The vinyl tiles came from German (not sure if it's made in Germany, that you gotta check with them). Their tiles are beautiful and the quality is really good. The only downside is the price! 

Vo*****er: We visited the warehouse or store, looks more like warehouse. The price is competitive but I was hesitant about the quality of the tiles.

Si****** Fl******: I don't quite remember our experience here, but i believe the reason it is off the list is either it is expensive.

T** F**** G******: It's more expensive than the supplier we are getting from.

 

Edited August 8, 2018 by stitchgal

[aldoteng 1]

Cool!! I am in a similar situation as you.

- I know my own design, I just need a contractor comfortable with Classical interior renovation.

- My bathroom is similar to yours, but in dark shades.

- My bed/living room is similar to yours, but in dark shades.

 

I'll be following your blog and also keep in mind i) your contractor, ii) Te*g Ho*g.

[stitchgal 4]

7 hours ago, aldoteng said:

Cool!! I am in a similar situation as you.

- I know my own design, I just need a contractor comfortable with Classical interior renovation.

- My bathroom is similar to yours, but in dark shades.

- My bed/living room is similar to yours, but in dark shades.

 

I'll be following your blog and also keep in mind i) your contractor, ii) Te*g Ho*g.

Yay! Thank you for reading and following my blog  When will you be starting your reno?

[stitchgal 4]

We have made quite a progress after my last update.

My fiance and I drove to JB last weekend to get our lightings and fans as like many couples in Singapore because that saved us a lot of money, and we are happy to have stick to our lightings/fans budget (we budgeted S$1.5K for 3 fans and lightings. The budget we set aside was derived from another blogger as well as it being based on my finace's own calculation on the amount of lights/fans we needed).  

We have disagreed on which living room's ceiling fan to get initially. I have wanted a white KDK fan (I think it's around $300+- RM as quoted by YES Electrical [good review from friends so check it out if you want KDK fans]) as I thought it could potentially save us some money, however, my fiance wants the light woodgrain Aeratron fan ($1+K RM) because he thinks KDK fan looks 'ugly'. He argued 'half' jokingly that the KDK fan will spoil his ceiling design and that the Aeratron fan will make his ceiling even more 'chio' . Since he was the one who designed our false ceiling and lightings, he got his way .

Never did we thought the light woodgrain Aeratron fan is so popular that it is out of stock in JB (we tried visiting a few outlets) and that it will only be available in September (this was literally my fiance's reaction:  ). Eventually, we decided on a white Aeratron fan since we can't wait till Sep.

If you decide to get your lights/fans in M'sia, remember to keep the invoices from your purchases for GST declaration at the Singapore custom. Security at the Singapore custom was really tight that evening and everyone around our vicinity were asked to open up their car boots for checks. They even shone flash lights into your cars to ensure you don't bring in weird things or people. For us, luckily I had my invoices ready for the officer when we were being asked. 

Anyways, here's the Aeraton fans for you purview (We got ours at HT Lightings):

LED lightings:

We are doing false ceiling in the Living/Dining as well as our Master Bedroom.

Hence, part of our JB trip was to search for downlights/spotlights. We knew we wanted the 3-colour tone downlights which provide the sort of warm ambience when needed but yet to have the flexibility to switch to white light if we ever needed. Between Samsung (more expensive) and a brand we never heard of (cheaper), we chose to trust the shop owner at HT Lightings and go with the Malaysian brand. The shopowner said there has never have been any complaints about the brand thus far. However, me being the renozilla that I am, weren't convinced, so we called and verified with our electrician on the downlights that we were getting. He gave us the 'green lights' to go ahead, afterwhich I felt a lot more assured . I'll be able to share more on these downlights once they have been installed, if anyone is interested.

Our JB trip consists of our visit to:

1. Tampoi Lightings - slightly pricier and very crowded. No bargain

2. Ego Enterprise 億联电器批发企业 - recommended by our electrician to get electric heater here. We decided to go with City gas heater eventually but decided to check this place out to get downlights. It was pretty far out and we even lost our way there. When we got there, there weren't much choice to select, as they carry only Philips lightings without the 3-colour tone that we were looking. However, we got our white spotlights here, and the price was A LOT cheaper than the stores that Singaporeans flock to. 

3. HT Lighting - this is where we got a majority of our lights and fans here. The staff were so friendly, and don't forget to bargain

 

 

Edited August 6, 2018 by stitchgal

[stitchgal 4]

So much so for the fan and lightings, back to our renovation progress.

We are pleasantly surprised to see our flat in a mess. No really, I'm happy that the progress has been going well so far, with our Kitchen wall and MRB wall hacked and debris were cleared. 

We have decided very last minute (after collecting keys) that we want to remove our service yard door and window as there have been reported cases of rusty door hinges at our estate. Additionally, I like that my whole is bright and airy without so many "blockages"! 

What surprised me was that I found a lot of cigarette buds, definitely more than 20, on the floor! I wonder if the workers are planning to bury these cigarette under my flooring  Anyone experienced this too during renovation?? Try spotting the cigarette buds on the image below (even though it's not very obvious in the picture la )

Electrical works have started (YAY!), but to our dismay, our electrician flagged out an issue on cove lighting when we were in Malaysia buying our lights/fans. We are planning to do slits of cove lightings on the false ceiling (my finace's grand ceiling idea lol), but electrician said that the cove lightings must be done on wooden plank to hide the wiring, which will bring the false ceiling a lot lower than expected (this idea was disputed by the false ceiling sub-con saying that he cannot add that wooden plank due to reasons i cannot decipher haha!). After much going back and forth between the electrician and false ceiling guy (with my fiance being the poor middleman and the "ceiling designer"), we decided to switch up our ceiling design and go back to the basic "common" ceiling design with false ceiling only on the edges of the living room so our ceiling fan will not become a head chopper!  

As you can see on the picture below, electrical works have to redo with our last minute change in ceiling design.... hence, we have to pay extra money on rectification 

Last but not least, we had the Gain City aircon guys to come in to do trunking installation (system 4). I have requested for more senior installers as AC trunkings have always been my BIGGEST reno fear. If the AC trunking was messed up during installation, its going to affect the entire design! Hence, I'm very anal about ensuring that AC trunking is run properly so they can be concealed. I'm so fortunate to have my fiance around to dictate the Gain City installers on how to run the trunking as the installers weren't very helpful in their suggestions on how to run it so not to affect my door frames. I'm planning to redo my door frames as that was an important part of the entire interior design to make the flat an 'American classic contemporary' design lol. While we initially thought we wanted to run the AC piping at the corridor, my carpenter who is doing my door frame advised against it as it will affect my door frames. Hence, the final verdict it to run the piping inside the bedrooms.  

During AC trunking inspection, I noticed that the AC piping IS STILL INSTALLED SO CLOSE TO THE EXISTING DOOR FRAMES, only that it's inside the room. That leaves me no space to build classic door frames above the existing one, i was so disappointed Nonetheless, my fiance  and the AC installers did explain to me that this was already the best they could do... sigh...

I'm so thankful to my wonderful subcons team  (my carpenter, electrician and false ceiling guys) who happen to be down when the AC installers were here, and they have offered so many good advices on how to best run the ugly AC trunking!!

Edited August 6, 2018 by stitchgal

[stitchgal 4]

Hi all, on this post, I'll like to go through how we have worked with our contractor on our home design. 

Based on my experience thus far, it is really crucial to provide contractors some form of visual representation of the design you had in mind, instead of relying on verbal communication as they are very busy people and tend to miss out on certain details. 

During the first couple of meet-ups with my contractor, we ran him through our moodboard and the floor plan so as to brief him on the design requirement using visual aids. 

Our Moodboard that we presented to our contractor:

 

Next, we took him through the masonry requirements such as which wall to hack by illustrating it on the powerpoint slide below. This is important because they have to know to apply for HDB permit.

 

Next we provide him our ceiling and flooring requirement like the below. 

 

Then we drill down to every category of the apartment on the design requirement (Standard BTO apartment category includes: Kitchen, dining, main entrance, living, corridor, toilets, each bedroom, service yard). Below is an illustration on how we briefed out requirement for common bathroom.

 

After all these were done, my contractor will get a ID to provide a 3D design of the house based on the requirements that I have briefed him. He is a chinese uncle who speaks limited English. Hence, I was initially worried that he may not get what I've wanted. However, when I received my first draft of my 3D design through him (he has helped to engage an ID to do a 3D for me), the design was exactly what I had in mind. He got it! I was ecstatic. Of course, I've made a few changes here and there, but the overall look and feel remains. 

Here are the 3D designs provided by my contractor:

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2018 by stitchgal

[aldoteng 1]

16 hours ago, stitchgal said:

Yay! Thank you for reading and following my blog  When will you be starting your reno?

Maybe April 2019.

I noticed you attaching your mood board / inspiration pics, but do you have any 3D design or render?

I'm very curious how you convey your ideas/desires/instructions to the contractor, since as you mentioned the contractor is not a designer. 

Edited August 7, 2018 by aldoteng

[stitchgal 4]

On 8/7/2018 at 12:53 PM, aldoteng said:

Maybe April 2019.

I noticed you attaching your mood board / inspiration pics, but do you have any 3D design or render?

I'm very curious how you convey your ideas/desires/instructions to the contractor, since as you mentioned the contractor is not a designer. 

HIhi, yes I've included that on the post above yours, hope that it's helpful. When you convey your ideas to your contractor, it's very important to provide them a lot of visual aids as well as be firm with your ideas  

[stitchgal 4]

Update on my reno progress: 

 

Cement screed completed a week ago:

Cement screed was finally done up last week! Can't wait to see my actual flooring done up because I'm getting sick of coming back to a grey concrete home hehehe. 

 

Vinyl Flooring tiles (selected):

I went down to my vinyl supplier's supplier warehouse located in Changi last friday to select my vinyl flooring. The vinyl selection at my supplier's place weren't to my liking largely because I wanted a lighter brown tone (close to oak colour) whereas his samples consist of darker tone. Hence he said he will go down to his supplier's warehouse to check if they carry the vinyl tiles that I wanted. He then came back with 3 choices, but I still wasn't convinced that it was the tone I wanted. Therefore, he finally suggested for me to go down to his supplier's warehouse myself instead so I can take a look at the selection .  I'm glad I did, because I finally found the perfect vinyl tiles that I was looking for. It left me wondering why my supplier did not suggest this to me earlier despite knowing that it's the tone that I wanted haha. Anyways, I was told that this Korean vinyl tile that I've selected cost $440 more than what he originally quoted me. I wouldn't mind paying a little more for the perfect vinyl tile 

 

The false ceiling works:

False ceiling works started last Saturday and it's currently underway. 

 

Tiling works in both bathrooms:

Tiling works for the two bathrooms have started roughly two weeks ago and it is still in progress. I thought it's going a bit slow but since this uncle is so experienced and serious about his job, I shall not complain and shall trust him do his job.  

As you can see, we are sticking to only one wall tile design as opposed to my 3D sketch, whereby I initially wanted to accentuate the marble wall tiles with peranakan tiles in the shower area. I still love the idea of having peranakan tiles in the shower area, however, I thought that since I do not have an ID to manage my reno, I don't want to confuse the tiler with so many different tile designs since my fiance and I don't have time to be there to monitor the renovation. So we took the easiest way out by selecting only 1 wall tile design for both toilets. And... its probably cheaper this way too I think . 

*UPDATE*

My fiance went down this morning and realised that the tiles were laid so awkwardly in the shampoo shelves. Not sure why uncle tiler cannot place one full slab of tile in that small bracket instead . Fortunately the uncle tiler was there so my fiance got him to redo it. We'll see how it goes... <aren't we so anal? >

 

Carpentry updates:

Carpentry is my most favourite part of the entire renovation process (as opposed to masonary, electrical works, ceiling or plumbing). Good carpentry design does make a difference to your home I guess. But that being said, a designer once told me that a good design should not consist of too much carpentry, instead, use off-the-shelf furniture and fixtures to accentuate your design.

My carpenter has provided a sketch of how my TV wall/bookshelf will look like in the living room. As you can see from the sketch, we are also building a 'fireplace' in the living room, and that we are placing our 55" TV above it. Since it's an American classic contemporary theme, a 'fireplace' is a must haha! However, my contractor raised an important concern to my carpenter yesterday, saying that the TV placement is too high (above eye level) and if we do that, we'll constantly be straining our heads (fireplace is 1m). That's a legit concern la, it makes me wonder how most American households able to accept watching TV by straining their heads up? 

Anyways, I believed that there should be a way out, hence I scrambled to find out from Google if there is a TV bracket that can lower the TV if needed, and fortunately, there is! I found this on Amazon last night! 

 

Another thing to share is on my kitchen cabinets, whereby when two corners of the cabinets are adjoined, you can consider getting this pull-out tray from IKEA so that you will access to the storage space deeper inside the cabinets. I got this idea thanks to Pinterest, and thanks to my carpenter, he suggested that I can easily purchase this built in tray for him to install from IKEA. 

The bottom pull out tray is from IKEA. I have to say it's not exactly 100% sturdy when I visited IKEA showroom and try it out. But, it's probably cheaper than elsewhere. I doubt you can really put heavy stuffs like pots and pans as illustrated on pinterest, since the minimum weight that this IKEA tray can hold is 15KG. Hence, I'll need to rethink on what to place on this tray. 

https://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/70271272/ (in case if you're interested)

Edited August 15, 2018 by stitchgal

[blueygirls 0]

On 8/15/2018 at 3:39 PM, stitchgal said:

ll slab of tile in that small bracket instead . Fortunately the uncle tiler was there so my fiance got him to redo it. We'll see how it goes... <aren't we so anal? >

 

 

 

 

Hi, I was wondering how do they make the recess in the shower like that? Do they have to hack away part of the wall to make the rectangle platform for you?  whats the cost like? 

[aldoteng 1]

On 8/7/2018 at 7:49 AM, stitchgal said:

Hi all, on this post, I'll like to go through how we have worked with our contractor on our home design. 

Based on my experience thus far, it is really crucial to provide contractors some form of visual representation of the design you had in mind, instead of relying on verbal communication as they are very busy people and tend to miss out on certain details. 

During the first couple of meet-ups with my contractor, we ran him through our moodboard and the floor plan so as to brief him on the design requirement using visual aids. 

Our Moodboard that we presented to our contractor:

 

Next, we took him through the masonry requirements such as which wall to hack by illustrating it on the powerpoint slide below. This is important because they have to know to apply for HDB permit.

 

Next we provide him our ceiling and flooring requirement like the below. 

 

Then we drill down to every category of the apartment on the design requirement (Standard BTO apartment category includes: Kitchen, dining, main entrance, living, corridor, toilets, each bedroom, service yard). Below is an illustration on how we briefed out requirement for common bathroom.

 

After all these were done, my contractor will get a ID to provide a 3D design of the house based on the requirements that I have briefed him. He is a chinese uncle who speaks limited English. Hence, I was initially worried that he may not get what I've wanted. However, when I received my first draft of my 3D design through him (he has helped to engage an ID to do a 3D for me), the design was exactly what I had in mind. He got it! I was ecstatic. Of course, I've made a few changes here and there, but the overall look and feel remains. 

Here are the 3D designs provided by my contractor:

 

Wah!! so pretty! It's like a snow white palace. Must be a byotch to clean stains though?

Thanks for tips on how to communicate with contractor; it doesn't seem as difficult as I thought.

 

[stitchgal 4]

8 hours ago, blueygirls said:

Hi, I was wondering how do they make the recess in the shower like that? Do they have to hack away part of the wall to make the rectangle platform for you?  whats the cost like? 

Hi Blueygirls, no hacking is required to build this shampoo area. I think they build it with concrete bricks or something like that. I was quoted $450 for this wall, excluding the tiles. Hope that helps!

 

[stitchgal 4]

On 8/20/2018 at 9:07 PM, aldoteng said:

Wah!! so pretty! It's like a snow white palace. Must be a byotch to clean stains though?

Thanks for tips on how to communicate with contractor; it doesn't seem as difficult as I thought.

 

Haha! Yeah my contractor did feedback that I should avoid spray painted kitchen cabinets cos spray paint cabinets will become yellow after a while. Hence, I've opted for white laminate kitchen cabinets instead which I hope it helps. I'm not too worry about staining the backsplash or cabinets, but more worried about the marble countertops, unfortunately, we really 'gian' the marble countertops  

As for cleaning, I think I have to come up with a habit of cleaning every day after cooking if I ever do heavy cooking haha...

[stitchgal 4]

Hi everyone, thank you so much for reading and following my renovation journey. Thank you!

Here's an update on my renovation process (23rd August):

Although majority part of the renovation goes smoothly so far, I did face a fair share of issues during the reno as well which I'll take everyone through.

Tiling works in both bathrooms:

The tiling works in both bathrooms are completed. I really LOVE the marble ceramic tiles that my fiance has selected from Hafary. Even though the bathroom look good, on closer inspection, certain tiles pops up a little when I ran my hand across the tiles. I'm unsure whether this is unacceptable or should I just leave it be. 

Recently, I've noticed a puddle of stagnant water in my common bathroom just outside the shower area . As I wasn't planning to build a shower screen in the common bathroom because I dislike the shower screen's metal rod being so close to the concealed pipes, stagnant water became a MAJOR concern to me  as it is literally stagnant and the drainage area is so far from it. I don't want mosquitoes to breed in here.... 

At first, we were brainstorming on how else to prevent the water from spraying out of the shower area, by perhaps extending the length of the glass on both sides of the shower. However, that poses an issue as it will limit the opening of the shower. When I brought my father down to my flat today, my father suggested that this issue might be resolved by having the tiler to REDO the flooring, such that he could do some leveling work to allow the water to flow towards the drainage. 

I've contacted my contractor and they said they will check it out tomorrow and see what they can do.... *cross-fingers*

 

My electrician 'RUINED' my AC trunking:

To our horror, we noticed that our AC trunking was severely damaged.

As you can see from the pictures, it was damaged and there are a lot of unpatched holes. I was really furious and demanded GC to fix the AC trunking, only to find out that there was ceiling speaker's wiring in the AC trunking. We verified with our electrician and found out that he was the one behind it.  

I wasn't sure if he has the intention to patch up the 'damages' [well, its not really damages because these can be patched up] because it has been there for a good 1.5weeks! I called him today and he said he has "forgotten" to patch it up.  

Anyways, I've gotten GC installers to rectify for me already. I've blindly accused GC guys, I'm so sorry...

 

Ceiling works completed:

I thought the false ceiling and box up were done nicely, I highly recommend the false ceiling sub contractor! He's a very professional, honest, reliable and nice fellow!

 

Kitchen Backsplash completed:

Edited August 23, 2018 by stitchgal