What colour is nice?

It was always my dream to own this.....and Brownie is making it come true!

What colour should I choose? Not going for stainless steel as it is more expensive by $500!That's too crazy a price to pay.

Brownie says GREEN will stand out in the kitchen.
Red & Yellow is out of stocks at the Mayer outlet in Great World City.
Should I take Black? White? or Pink?

*frowns*

3D drawings are out fresh from the oven!

Our 3D drawings are out.....fresh from the oven!

My favourite part of our home.....Kitchen!

Am so happy that I got lots of space to bake in future...something that Emerald will never be able to fulfill even if we choose to wait for 3 years. Am so excited about the new oven. Haha...am procrastinating between Ariston or Bosch, both are at the same price. Hmmmm...too bad my Sharp water oven is too small for me when I wanna bake 3 trays at one go, else its design would blend better into the tall cabinet without spending extra money..

Beverly fogotten the black glass backing in the middle, separating the top & bottom cabinet. We still need to add another 4 feets (top & bottom....2 feets each) Some pull outs & drawers to amend. Microwave has been hidden in the silver "roller shutter"!

We found a treasure today at Great World City Vhive. Black tempered glass dining table at only $215/-! =)

This is the other side of the kitchen, with our man-made store, washer, fridge and dining table.

Kitchen summary:
- 34 feets (Top & Bottom)
- Slow close drawers and pull outs
- Full height tall cabinet, design as you wish. (I admit I did make Beverly's life difficult with all nonsense requests to fit in all my needs!) =P
- 17 feet solid top surface
- Colour glass backing
- Storeroom 5 feets
- Kitchen flooring (No wall tiles are done)
- All other misc to get the kitchen going..
Total: $7,850

Next is our feature wall at our living hall..

We have not really firm on this design as yet....not sure if we want to "box" up the whole area....or leave it as designed. It seems to be saying 2 and 5! =)

Feature wall: $1,650

Next, Sugar's room!

Colour theme is not green....we have yet to decide. Beverly was smart to put the paws in. They are simple and nice! Computer table facing may be changed...to be confirmed by end Jan. Flooring in laminate.

Sugar's room:
- Wardrobe (design as you wish inside)
- Study table (5 feets with no legs)
Total: $1,880

Lastly, the master bedroom!

The headboard looks errmm....hehe. Wallpaper used is wrong. See the toilet window? =P

From another angle:

This is what you see when you lie on the bed. Mirror wardrobe, design as you wish too. Think its 7 feets. The door lock is so ugly in this 3D! Very little space left...

The master bathroom....that is clear glass right from the room.

We do not like the highlight of the wall tiles but we are happy with the MDF board, vanity top and mirror. Guess it will look better with the "roman alike" blind at the glass panel.

Master bedroom summary:
- Suspended shelves near window (Not in 3D drawing) 4ft
- Wardrobe with mirror (7.5 ft)
- Cushions & Wallpaper behind bedhead
- TV feature wall (Wallpaper + suspended shelves + openings for photos, etc)
  Wonder how are they going to hide the wires???
- Vanity top with solid surface
- Vanity mirror + hidden storage
- MDF board with clear glass
- Shower screen
TOTAL: $4,894

Of course, there are other amounts not added to the above listing, which are the necessities mainly:
- Demolition works
- Masonry works
- Plumbing
- Lightnings (Cove lights, false ceilings in living & MBR)
- Aluminium works
- Glass doors works
- Misc works: Painting, chemical washing, etc

And the most headache part we guess it extra expenses popping out of nowhere, from time to time. Keep our fingers crossed!

2 years, 24 months, 730 days

We need 2 years aka 24 months aka 730 days to fulfill all our obligations to our new home.
JIA YOU JIA YOU JIA YOU till March 2013!

Brownie's work

Beverly designed this for us....Living feature wall:

Brownie changed it to this:

The whole portion will be white, in 3D "pop-up".
There has to be a 3D box below that can be opened to switch off all supplies.
We are still deciding what to do with the left side. Clock?

Beverly designed the master wardrobe:

Brownie changed to this:

The right portion of the wardrobe had been divided into top (hang shirt) and bottom (hang skirts). And we added 300mm space for two wardrobe slot for our fold T-shirts and shorts.

Minor changes were made to Sugar's wardrobe and we had not really come out an alternative idea/s for the vanity top design. Let Brownie sleep and digest on it.. hehe..
And we too will have to meet up with Beverly to see if she can further improve the above! Must be value for money spent....else we may as well get it off the shelves from furnishing stores.

The updates will soon be reviewed to all.. Stay tuned!

Window shopping

Window shopping for sanitary wares has never been so tiring....coupled with prices being so confusing! Same product with a price difference of $200! We are so glad we have to go thru this only once, or at the most twice a lifetime.

Visited Lucky Khoon and Tapz Gallery as Beverly will be giving us a $1,000 voucher. One would think $1,000 can do much....but at these two places, it may land you with only a WC and a kitchen sink! That's how expensive it is!

Velin WC - one piece set (Makes cleaning easier and lesser choking)
Two ticks water efficiency, comes with a squarish flush button. Nice for MBR!
Model: B3390
Price: $588 at LK, $490 at Tapz

Lucia WC - one piece set
Two ticks water efficiency, simple flush button, a bit too small for Common bathroom
Price: $388 at LK, NA for Tapz

Common WC for common - saw at Tapz
Two ticks water efficiency, simple flush button, very comfy for Common bathroom, squarish design. Nice!
Price: NA for LK, $390 for Tapz

Found a 3 towel rack for MBR, won't post the picture up here. Just nice for 3 hanging towels, with bars above to store clean towels.
Price: $140 at LK, $110 at Tapz

Basin for MBR - White base on vanity top, black on the inside
Price: $280 for basin, $178 for mixer at LK

Guess we may settle for something like this. But it's very expensive too! Shall see how..
Price: $318 for mixer, $268 for basin at Tapz

Sugar says this tap is not a good choice though it is fun. In time to come, it will grow algae in parts difficult to maintain....and we would all be washing with "dirty" water. Good contribution.....sugar! =)

We will settle for the traditional type mixers.

Common bathroom basin - small and compact, due to limited space.
Price: $140 for basin, $55 mixer at LK

The one in the center =)

Rain shower.....wooosh! Pricey!
The one in the center....with square shower. (tallest)
Comes with mixer, and 3 way water out.
Price: $550 at LK

Shower set for common bathroom
Price: $55 at LK, still expensive!

We still have to add in bath mixer $85, mixer brackets $60 for 2. Crazy crazy crazy!

Kitchen sink.....I guess this is perhaps the only loot of the day!

Double sink at LK, basin at $580, mixer at $225.50.
Basin is undermount...take a close look =)
There will not be messy or nasty silicon at the side, which will peel over the years.
Mixer is very cool, it can move 180 degree.

This is from Tapz! Much more nicer. Single basin at $500, mixer at $200+.
We love this! Can be under-mounted too. Initially, it looks like restaurant/industrial/coffee shop....but after taking a second, third look at it, it will look nice....in a modern kitchen. What's more...it is pratical too. Can be pulled till anywhere in the basin. Of course, if the basin is not that big, then it is not much called for.

It is a very tiring day....and conclusion of this research is to buy from Royal Franco or Poh Seng. All those posted today are designer styles. Am negotiating with Beverly if I can use the voucher at RF or PS instead. It is much more cost saving.

Banker and Detailed drawing

There is definitely something I hate about the banker that has got my reno contract.
He is so very inefficient!

Messed up my documents, overlooked my coupon expiry, impolite, incompetent.

I feedback this to my ID, and I guess he was being ticked off by them...because he gave me a call today and it was a 360* change of attitude. Glad he awoke from his dream because if he don't, I will submit my application again to another banker.

We received our detailed drawings last night....and there were some discrepencies in all the drawings...some missed out, some designed wrongly. Hope Beverly can re-draw everything again.

3D, where's our 3D!

I need some concrete visualization! Haha =D

The initial drawing for KITCHEN.
Done wrongly, the fridge is not going to be at the right side....that was supposed to be the baking area.

Living room feature wall - urghhhh...the sight of this is ugly. Too expensive, too ugly! Change....change.....change! =)

Masterbedroom's wardrobe. We love the small compartments meant for putting socks, undergarments....but I need more space for folded clothes and all my dresses. To amend.

Masterbedroom vanity table with MDF board and clear glass at the side:

Sugar's room wardrobe. I need to extend it....too short! And add a pull-out cabin!

That's all the update as of now!
38 more days before the keys can be handed over!

Layout of Citygas

Citygas needs to be properly ventilated.

The gas piping has to be near the kitchen....thus Brownie drew this out.

It will be hidden near the storeroom which will be built. Facing the kitchen window, on the side of the storeroom. Tic tac door of the storeroom will be opened, with back facing the cooker area.

Has to show Beverly this and see if Brownie is right.

Some of these fits Pavillion

Read this on reno talk....on signs of a good contractor

Good hawkers are easy to recognise. They have long queues all day, people come to their stall from all corners of Singapore (and even JB!), they have 4 chopsticks from Makansutra, they get featured in Makan Places Lost & Found, etc. Some of them even close by 3 pm because business is so good!

Good contractors are harder to spot. You can't see open queues, you don't know where their customers come from, there's no independent reviewers you can trust.

But here are eight tips for you to recognise a good contractor.

1. Good contractors don't do gimmicks.

No free TV when you sign up with them, no free aircon for contracts above $30K, etc.
Simply put, good contractors don't need such gimmicks to drive their business.
Generally, it's only contractors who don't have enough business that resort to such gimmicks.

2. Good contractors cost more.

Yes, bargaining is part of S'pore culture, even good contractors will give you some discounts when you ask for it, and it's dumb to accept the first price you are quoted. But don't expect 30-40% discounts or special deals. Good contractors have enough business they don't resort to such tactics.
Good contractors will be more expensive than average contractors. This is basic economics-- demand and supply-- and marketing-- quality, reliability, etc. vs price.

3. You have to wait for a good contractor.

Good contractors, like good hawkers, have long queues too. You have to wait your turn.

4. Good contractors do not rush their work.

A corollary of the above.

Once your queue number is called, you still have to allow enough time for quality work to be delivered. A good contractor will finish the work as fast as reasonably practical, but he will resist the pressure to rush because it usually results in shoddy work.

5. Good contractors don't advertise much.

Because they have enough work at hand. And because this is an industry that relies on word-of-mouth.

6. Good contractors don't pass themselves off as ID's

Actually, I don't think there are any real ID's in Singapore, and that's already covered in another Reflection.

Good contractors are good at project management and coordination of contract works and management of subcontractors. They know their limits, and they do not generally go around advertising themselves as ID's because they are often guys who have worked their way up from the ground up, they know they are not fine arts graduates with design expertise.

That said, a good contractor can also probably implement any design you want them to do, because they've probably executed it before, and they can hook you up with other ID's they've worked with if you're looking for an ID.

7. Good contractors stand behind their work

If a defect crops up after handover, they will rectify it promptly. Because they know this industry is about customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth.

8. Good contractors have all the necessary licences

They don't "borrow" other firms' HDB licences, for example. Why should they?

And certainly, they don't lend their licences to others. Why would they risk their licences?

9. Good contractors will sign a contract with you.

They won't force their contract on you, and will accept industry standards, such as Radac contracts.

Of the above, Pavillion scores half the above. Hopefully, they lives up to their name! =)

Beloved kitchen and lightings

Our ideal kitchen is WHITE.

As white as this...

Minus the umbrellas =P ....and since we are not doing the wall tiles for the kitchen, we will be using a black colour glass backing on the walls in between the top and bottom cabinet. Hmmm...just wonder what the end will look like, since it is not a full length right to the entrance of the kitchen. Guess I gotta wait patiently for my 3D drawing, which will be out hopefully soon. Has been waiting since end Dec!

Picked a square sink with no linings, some taps and basins for the common and master bathrooms from Poh Seng. It is located at Jalan Besar. Prices are quite cheap, one kitchen sink at about $250, toilet bowl at $120, master vanity sink at $200 and common sink at $80. Royal Franco is located quite near it, they have a package for Baron toilet bowl & sink going at $288. What a headache. So many choices!

Rain shower. Seems like rain shower has lots of features too. Brownie was saying it comes in different MM and the significance of the MM plays a part in the pressure of the water. I prefer square whereas Brownie prefers round. Sugar takes both, as long as it's like rain! Brownie's job to study more on the specifications!

Brownie wants it to mounted on a false ceiling so it looks like this.

That is much too expensive to afford. I am okay with just this...

Master basin, we spotted a cool one in black! Simple, square, black. It's a bit costly, but we're keeping that in the back of mind, have to wait for the 3D drawing first, to see if the colour matches. So far, we have not given any colour themes for the master bedroom and rooms. Only kitchen was firm. Guess, its WHITE again. Haha!

Surprisely, sanitary is cheaper than what we have budgeted. We have to buy some from the sanitary shop that Beverly recommends, since she is giving us a $1,000 sanitary voucher.

But guess we will buy stuffs that are expensive and non-bargainable at most places, including Poh Seng, such as toilet paper holder, toilet towels holders, etc. Then we shall use cash for sanitary that we can nego outside. That would then put the voucher into full use. Wonder if they will still give discounts on top of vouchers? Hmmm...

We went to Chan Huat lightings at Balestier. They have a row of shops there, 3 to be exact. Prices are okay but designs are ugly. T5 and PLC lights can be bought from there, if necessary. We have yet to find an electrician! *scratches head*

We spotted this lights for our toilets, concealed, neat and free of dead flies for sure. $35 with GST

Kitchen lights at $46 with GST, they come in 3 sizes. Picture doesn't looks good, but the actual set is very nice. White cabinets with black floor tiles and black lightings! Too bad the dining table is brown..

Two common rooms lights at $35 each with GST

The rest will be using T5 and PLC down lights. A rough idea of what they do carry....there is one shop at the far end of Balestier, near the Thomson hospital, which carries reasonable fixed price called Lightings. This shop offers good designs!

Brownie wants this as a dining light but is having second thoughts now. *giggles*

Chan Huat is good for buying tubes and other misc stuffs. They sell toilet ventilation fans medium size at $25! Must buy for smokers at toilets!

Selecting electrical products

While waiting for our 3D drawing to be out, for Master Liang to visit the place, for the keys to be handover on end Feb, we started sourcing products we want for our home!

Sugar was especially not co-operative during such searches, wait till he sees the 3D drawing! His jaws will drop!

We intend to use some of our appliances back, thus just buying the neccessary:

Living TV: We have more or less firm on this Sharp LED 46LE820 series.

It is an RGB + Y technology. Personally prefer it more than any leading brands in the market.

Fridge and washer - Value for money and it's WHITE!

Fridge is at 506 litres and washer at 9KG, enough to throw my big load in once a week!

Cooker Hob and Hood:

Simple, cheap and stylish for a small family.

My most beloved and treasured item for the kitchen. After much reading, surfing and consideration, I have decided on this oven for my passion - baking!

The renowned BOSCH oven! Reviews has it that it is better than much other brands like Ariston, Electrolux and others.

Besides the oven for baking, we will need one simple, cheap and dial microwave for very simple re-heating and defrosting purposes.

We have decided on this petite $99 model from Panasonic:

Last but not least, and this was with blessing in disguise that we came to know about this product. All thanks to Brownie. We wanted a rain shower in the MBR, however, instant water heater will not support this feature as the water pressure is not strong, thus we can only consider storage heater. I was skeptical about storage heater as it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to warm up a galloon of 30 litres water. I am typically always waking up late, that 15 mins of waiting could have killed me. This apart, storage heater does not save electricity nor water. But if I wanted a rain shower, instant heater will not serve my need.

Brownie found this from Citygas! This is instant and saves on electricity and water. It heats up 8L of water per min and you have constant HOT water on the go as and when you needs it. Plus, I have my rain shower! Isn't it such a baby?

Last electrical appliance to buy -  aircon....must have 4 ticks, save on energy as it is going to be used for a long long time. We have decided on Sharp plasmacluster based on past experiences.

Next entry coming up will be the lightings and sanitary we have chosen!