.::. Renovation Day 22 - 23 .::.

Day 22



L-box and partition at the living's recess wall done.



Finished product.



False ceiling also done at MBR.

Day 23



Finally, hacking was done for the wall between the kitchen and service yard!  The permit took more than 2 weeks as the HDB officer was on reservice!  They took almost 2 weeks to tell us that a PE is needed.  After submission with PE approval, it took 4 days to get the permit.



View from the entrance.



View of the entrance.



Where I'm going to fit my fridge, sink and hob.



Curbs also done on the same day.

Very happy that the kitchen and living room is indeed bright and spacious now.  It does look bigger than we first visited the place.  Guess it's all worth it!

.::. Beautiful Homes .::.

It has been a really productive day today.

I taught kids in the morning, rushed down to the home to see the progress and took pictures before heading to Punggol to visit a 2 beautiful homes.  It was then Spiderman with the husband and teochew porridge for a late dinner.  I'm really tired!

I realized that it's the first time I'm at Punggol.  The furthest I went was Seng Kang as his cousin stays there.  Other than that, I haven't ventured out that far.

I'm really glad to visit 2 very beautiful homes today, in real life.  I've been following their blogs on Renotalk for quite some time and have witnessed the transformation of their homes.  I've also made friends with these people with similar taste and it's indeed true that your home is an extension of your own personality.  I suppose that if you have similar tastes, you should be able to click.  I love both of them so much that we got the same contractor to do up our place.  It's amazing how HDB flats could look so beautiful these days.

Here are their blogs with pictures to share:

Paloma
Pinkwhale

I really love Paloma's as it's very similar to what I want for my place.  I like it white and bright!

Really thankful to have met such nice people who have shared freely with us.  It's amazing to meet up with them and chat about all the little details about renovation and ideas.  =)

Sadly, the pictures I took of our place turned out really blurry!  I realized that I accidentally turned off the auto-focus function =( I guess I'll have to go down again tomorrow if I want 'Week 4' photos for memory.

I'm really loving how the place look now and can't wait for the protection paper to be removed and cleaning to be done!  Tomorrow is sanitary wares shopping day.

.::. Time Out .::.

These weeks have been so hectic.  There's so much to think about, so much to decide on, so much to choose and research about.

I'm really a hands-on person, and I don't really trust anyone with my home.  It's not like my contractor does not help to coordinate everything.  In fact, he wadsapp me pictures of the progress every single day and checks-in with me (us) everyday.  But I'm just the kind who would ask him 'so, what's next?' when he tells me something is done.

Moreover, I would like to have a say in everything.  Every single thing.  I've no clue how people could pay IDs to do everything and trust them to do it exactly the way they want it.  Between me and the husband, we have different views about what we think is the 'best' or 'norm' and everything is designed for the ease of use.  Even things like position of the clothes rack in the toilet resulted in a good discussion.

This week is especially horrible, as we've been rushing to the house to see the hacked wall, to Balestier to choose lights for a good 2 hours and Jalan Besar to choose sanitary wares only to realize that it was closed!

I suppose that we are enjoying this process and both of us have been putting effort into every single detail together.  =)  I'm really grateful for this every single day.  I've heard horror stories about how couples argue over renovations and wedding preparations, but so far, there hasn't been much disputes between us.  The only obstacles we face isn't between ourselves, but the external pressures from people who think they know what's the best for us - this is really draining and I really don't get why-oh-why can't we be left alone to decide on things by ourselves, as adults.  I'm hoping everything continues to go smoothly.  *cross fingers*

There were some rare chances when we took a breather from renovations.



At PS Cafe last week, after trying on Vera Wang's gown at The Link.

I've got to say that the service sucks big time.  It was already bad on the phone, but the appointment turned out bad too.  No service to speak of and they didn't even serve us drinks!  Even lights shop at Balestier served us water!  I'll save that rant into another post.



Here's the happy husband.  We were with Chye and JH, but didn't take pictures of them though.  I love lazy afternoons like this.  They dropped by our place to see the renovation progress after.



Dinner after buying lights at Balestier.  Founder Bak Kut Teh.  Both of us were so tired and hungry as we chose lights till almost 9pm.



And I rushed down to Jalan Besah after work today, hoping to check out sanitary wares.  The direct bus from office stops at Serangoon Road and I had to walk.  As a matter of fact, Little India smells.  I do like dropping by for some good Indian food and visiting Mustafa, but it really was especially bad today, perhaps due to the scorching weather these days.



Walked past this bar/restaurant place that I would like to try someday.

At first I wanted to go to 159 Jalan Bersah Road, but realized that the outlet was no longer there.  Had to walk all the way to 389, to realize that it was closed at 6pm!!!  It was so hot, and I feel like it takes so much effort to reach Balestier and Jalan Bersah



Luckily, I spotted this crowded dim sum restaurant along the way and we walked back for dinner.  Queues on a Wednesday night!



Yummy.  The dim sum was generally nice.



The happy husband.

I'm looking forward to Jason Marz's concert on Friday!  I'm yours.....dum dum dum dum..

.::. Shopping for the home .::.

We dropped by Furniture Mall, hoping to find THE bed there.  I'm disturbed that we have not been able to find any single bed that we liked.

I fell in love with these at the first shop we walked into.  Super cute! I'm so going to get one of these for my tissues.



Second thing I fell in love was this.  It was love at first sight.  Everything was right, from the dimension, the colors, the legs (especially!), the comfort and the style.  It totally goes with my theme!  Moreover, it was only $990!  Bought.



The third thing I fell in love with was this bench!  I've been searching high and low for a bench with legs like that to match my dining table.  I almost took the plunge to custom-make one from Lorgans, but this is less than half the price! *happy*



With this, we've bought the majority of the furniture for the living/dining. *yay!  I'm really happy about it because I spent lesser than I expected to achieve the look and I love every single piece very much.  I think my style can't go wrong now that I've got these furniture, together with my brick walls and wooden flooring.

And just a recap, this is the dining table and sideboard I bought.

Source: herworldplus.com via Jan on Pinterest

*jumps around happily*

Source: samsung.com via Jan on Pinterest

We also bought a Samsung LED-Smart-3D 6600 television at Courts today.  It was $500 off the model we've been eyeing and the husband spent 45 minutes talking to the salesman about TV while I checked out every single thing in Courts.  =_="

Source: lg.com via Jan on Pinterest

The fridge.  I was convinced, because it uses as much energy as the other smaller Mitsubishi model I shortlisted.

Source: samsung.com via Jan on Pinterest

The washer-dryer. I don't like to hang clothes out to dry, loves dryers.

We also got a Mitsubishi Inverter System 4 air-con, and a hotel-collection Sealy bed (because I fell in love with Four Seasons hotels' beds).

That's about all we bought and almost all we need.

We've shortlisted the 'Smile' coffee table, bedside tables and a sideboard as TV console from Lorgans.  I also like one of the lounge chairs, but I'm not sure how it can fit space-wise.  We haven't bought any study-table nor anything for the guest room yet but that can wait.  I may get an Ikea work table - cheap and looks great.  I'm also all ready to start shopping for those little home and decor items which makes a home, a home.

They say that your home is an extension of your personality.  I can't agree more, for I've made friends with strangers who has the same taste as I do.  These people would have some similar personality traits and it's easy to 'click'.  And those people who have homes which I do not like (or thinks I've horrible taste) probably wouldn't click well with me. =/

.::. Week 3 concluded .::.

It has been another productive week and it seems like we're moving toward the end of the renovation pretty soon.  I'm excited to see how it turns out, yet part of me can't bear to end this journey.



The entrance.  Slopped to enable easy access for wheelchair (and future pram).



The guest room.



The master bedroom.



The living room with workers hard at work on a Saturday afternoon.



The corridor with skirting in progress.

We've finally got the permit to hack the kitchen/service yard wall, and it'll come down next week! =)

After the wall is down, flooring can be completed at the service yard and that would conclude about 80% of the renovation.  We've false ceiling/L-boxes, curb/shower screen and carpentry left.  After the flooring and curb, I suppose that the place could be cleaned up and painted.

.::. Renovation Day 18 - 20 .::.

In these few days, my flooring is completed and almost all skirting is up.  K has been wadsapp-ing pictures everyday, probably because there was one day that he did not wadsapp me pictures and I casually asked him if he didn't go down because it was his birthday (I knew that it was his birthday and was teasing him).  HAHA.  He replied saying that he actually did go down but 'there was nothing to take'.  So since then, I get pictures everyday, even though progress wasn't that fast, just flooring.

Day 18



Flooring continued into the MBR.

Day 19



Day 20

The air-con guys came over to do piping.



The pipes went through the room, wasn't too bad.



But there was no avoiding ugly piping leading to the air-con ledge at MBR.

.::. Weddings .::.

Been attending a few weddings recently.  And I've got to say, weddings make me cry.  It's so touching to see people tying the knot after many many years of courtship and share their happiness.

It makes me think of what I would like for my own wedding.  Apart from booking the place, we have done zero planning so far.  All our time is put into renovation and the wedding is like in the distant future.

I think we should start thinking about it soon, but first, we'll need to design our carpentry!  I'm so particular that I'm going to make the husband measure his shoes' height, my shoes height(s) and my mascara/eye liner height for the customized hidden make-up area in the wardrobe.

By the way, Shangri-la's food was pretty bad while Goodwood Park's was actually pretty good!

.::. Renovation Day 17 .::.

K sent a picture.  Flooring continues.  =)

.::. Renovation Day 15 - 16 .::.

Day 15

Flooring started! K sent me a picture.

Day 16

Flooring for the living room is almost completed.

View from the entrance.

Close-up view.

They still need to mend the gaps/grouting.

From the other end of the living room.

Still very dirty.

View from the corridor.

Brick wall.

This is where they cut the tiles.

Home.  =)

Does it have a Scandinavian feel?

I think I like it, not 'WOAH' kind of impressed, but satisfied with how it had turned out.  Obviously it wouldn't be as pretty as using real wood, but it's pretty impressive for homogeneous tiles.  I'm alright with the color too.  The husband thinks the planks looked short, but I guess we've made the best choice as longer tiles have warping issues.

Choosing wood-like flooring for our home:

We wanted wooden flooring for the whole house, including kitchen - that one we were sure.  But what we weren't sure was what material to use.  We've looked around and shortlisted quite a few:

Laminates: Big no-no for me, because I dislike the way it feels when you step on it.  It feels 'fake' and hollow, and it's not known to be durable too.  Definitely not recommended for kitchen.  I suppose the only reasons people choose it is due to its affordability and patterns available.  Cost $2.50psf and up.

Parquet wood: Not recommended for kitchen due to dampness/leaks, although overseas use it for kitchen and it's the top 5 materials to be used. Gave it up since everyone advised against it and we were concerned about the maintenance.  Moreover, it's usually darker colored which would make our place look smaller. Cost $6psf and up.

Bamboo: Supposed to be more durable and more resilient to water, but was also advised against using it for kitchen as hot oil would change its color. Expensive to lay it for whole house.  Think it cost about $7psf and up.

Vinyl: Also known as waterproof resilient flooring.  It feels solid, looks like wood and is waterproof.  I was amazed and totally sold - till I went to research on it.  It's made of vinyl, basically plastic and installed using a 'floating' system as pieces are 'clicked' together.  Warranty on the material, but salesman warned that it does not cover mould if water manage to go UNDER it.  This is possible as the pieces are not sealed and if your mop is too wet/air con leak/forget to close windows, water can and will seep in between and potential cause mould or smell.  Moreover, some studies stated that vinyl is 'poisonous' and emits poisonous fumes which is especially bad for children.  Reviews overseas were pretty bad too. Smelly flooring doesn't sound appealing to me, so we gave it up. Cost $5.60psf and up.

Homogeneous tiles: We knew about wood-like homogeneous tiles but I was concerned about the grouting or whether it could have the feel that I like.  We went to quite a few places - White Horse, Hafary and Soon Bee Huat.  We eventually chose our tiles from Soon Bee Huat for $2.60psf excluding  laying.  Hafary had a few nice ones to but prices start from $3.20.  White horse had less options and generally didn't look as nice due to the grains.  Soon Bee Huat had a huge selection, and the showroom has big areas which were laid with such tiles for easy visualization too.  Really worth a visit for anyone choosing tiles!

.::. Week 2 concluded .::.

We visited our place on Saturday evening, and was pleased with the progress.  =)



This is the view that greeted us once we stepped into the house.  The kitchen curbs are up and cement screed has dried up.



Our living room, with the partition for recess wall prepared.



From the end of the living room.



Master Bed Room's false ceiling is also prepared.



The tiny MBR toilet.



View from MBR - weather was great and people were jogging in the park.



View from corridor showing the master bed room and study.  The hole will be filled with our wardrobe which will also act as a 'wall' between the 2 rooms.



My brick wall!



All the materials and protection for flooring.


View from entrance and end of tour for the week.

Week 3 will be flooring week, after which the carpentry guy can come and measure and confirm our designs soon.  I supposed all major works should be completed by Week 3, awaiting carpentry to come in and other minor works such as shower screens, curbs and doors.  Hopefully we can get the walls hacked in Week 3 too!  Air-con guy will come and do piping on Saturday.

I'm loving how the home is turning out.  I guess the feel will be complete once the flooring is done.