Newly Bought

Here's a little update on our recent purchases.

- Bedside Table -
Our slow search has definitely paid off as we finally found the perfect bedside table at Lifestorey. Not only is it compact enough to fit into the tight space we have in our master bedroom, it meets our functional needs and best of all aesthetic desires.

Componibili by Kartell
3 modular elements round tower in white to match our 22" high king size bed.

- Coffee Table -
Our main criteria for the coffee table was that it should give the living room an open airy feel. And we figured the best way to achieve that was to get a clear coffee table that is streamline & functional. And we found just the right piece at Comfort Design.

Clear Coffee Table
(Inspired by Umbra's Magino Coffee Table)
A strikingly simple and functional piece with integrated magazine rack made of clear acrylic.

- Red Sculpture -
We chanced upon this art gallery while we were shopping for sanitary hardware along Jalan Besar. A red sculpture that was placed at the entrance of the gallery caught our eye and we walked in and the rest was history. I thought the sculpture looked like a coral, our ID thought it looked like a leaf, and my Mum thought it looked like a cactus. What do you make out of it? :)

Red Sculpture
To add a hint of colour in our otherwise neutral living hall.

- Hood . Hob . Oven -
Our requirements for hood and hob were:
a) both hood and hob should be streamline
b) stainless steel hob for safety reasons cos the oven will be placed below
c) ease to clean
d) cast iron supports
We had initially wanted to get domino hobs from Electrolux. But eventually changed our minds cos Electrolux domino hobs don't come with cast iron supports.

Tecno Slim Line Hood (Square).TH968T


Tecno Built-in Hob.TA863TR

Bosch Built-in Oven.HBN331E2J

A Simple Plan

Spatial planning for our crib turned out to be more difficult than we expected. It was the first hurdle of beginning renovation.

It is an art that requires careful balancing of functionality, aesthetics, budget and practicality. Working within the limited space of 721 square feet and structural constraints of beams and pipes, we sought to revamp the layout of our apartment into living spaces that are functional and modern.

For instance, our idea of a modern functional master-bathroom should at least house a bidet, wash basin and a shower cubicle to provide convenience and privacy. Our main headache here was the space constraint. It took some imagination, gut feeling and heavy duty spatial planning to achieve what we want.

The extent of spatial planning was also something that we had to grapple with. In the early stages, several interior designers we spoke to proposed major spatial rearrangement which entailed, hacking down entire rooms and recreating them in other parts of the apartment. The proposed ideas were fresh and unique but feels not quite adequately practical nor budget friendly. Sometimes we got the feeling that the IDs were trying to get their designs into the next issue of "Home and Decor" at our expenses.

Finally, we arrived to a conclusion based on what we need. We need to retain the structure of the original layout as much as possible. There is a possibility of renting out the place after the 5 years Minimum Occupation Period as stipulated by the HDB. A two bedroom apartment is easier to rent out that a one bedroom.

So instead of totally revamping the layout, we applied minimum creativity touches, specifically in the kitchen, master-bedroom and master-bathroom, to bring in a balance of aesthetics and practicality. Focus was more on renovating the basic fundamentals of electrical wiring, pipes, tiles and windows for a modern and practical feel. For instance, unsightly pipes were made invisible by covering them up.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was our simple plan. =)

Living and Dining: No major revamp. Dining area was enlarged by pushing back the kitchen divider.


Kitchen: Kitchen can be sealed by sliding door. Food preparation counter is beside fridge. Cooking hob is opposite counter, washing area is beside the stove for convenience as it is usually the last step of the process. A tall cabinet is to be erected beside the washing area to cater for storage needs.


Office: Currently blank. A built-in cabinet will be erected beside the entrance for storage needs.


Master-bedroom: Storeroom is collapsed to make way for walk-in wardrobe. Wardrobe will extend into the bedroom. Master-bathroom will also extend into the bedroom to provide more space for what we need. We reckon that bedroom is for rest so only minimum space is required. Any additional space has been utilized for more useful purposes.

Work In Progress!

As renovation progresses, our apartment is fast metamorphosing from a dingy old flat to a brand new apartment with modern finishes. The new windows did a great job with natural lighting and ventilation control. Plastering the walls helped to alleviate wall and ceiling imperfections. New tiles made the floor looks up to date.

At present, the apartment still looks drab and grey but it's nothing that a fresh coat of paint and electrical lighting cannot fix.

Work in progress: the tiler and contractor's work stuff are still strewn all over the place. Walls and ceiling had been made smooth via plastering of ultra hard compound. 

The dividing wall between the living room and the kitchen had been pushed back to make both places more optimally functional. The stiffener (protruding beam across the living room ceiling) marks where the divider wall used to be and it will be covered up by the false ceiling. 

The new windows serves to throw more light into the kitchen and make the space appear bigger and they also better ventilate the apartment.

The apartment really looks "industrial" with grey tiles and grey walls. Me like ;)

No more dingy kitchen toilet!

The future office. Nothing much done except wall/ceiling plastering and installation of new windows.

The master-bedroom work in progress, the master bathroom had been extended out.

The future walk-in-wardrobe

We had lots of showflat inspiration and a contractor who's a "toilet specialist", the toilet better turn out good! =P

The Fable of The Table & Some Chairs

Steady & surely, we find the furniture we want.

Last Friday, we finally found our dining table & chairs at Lush.

Our search for 'THE' dining table wasn't one that came easy. Being the indecisive Libran I was, we kept going back & forth with our decision between having a rectangular or round shaped, teak or marble top, dark or light coloured dining table.

On one hand, we felt that a rectangle dining table is a good shape for seating more than four people which works well when we have guests over. But on the other hand, we liked how a perfect round table creates a cosy dining space and gives the diners a sense of unity.

Finally, after much deliberation, we decided on a 1 meter diameter large dining table which seats 4 person comfortably. We figured what we want is a warm & snug dining area for the both of us to enjoy our meals together.

Our choice: White Marble Top + White Tulip Base ( Inspired by Eero Saarinen's Tulip Table)




As for dining chairs, we opted for a mismatch with 2 white + 2 sky blue Eames inspired "Eiffel Tower" chairs.




Production lead time given to us by Lush was 10 weeks. Hopefully by then, our renovation has smoothly completed and we're ready to move in and dine at Our Crib for the first time for my birthday. (*^_^*)

What The Hack? - A Little Hiccup

The Sci-fi geek in me would like to think that the Ultramarines had 'warhammered'

an Ork horde here and left behind a trail of destruction...=P

It's D+8 since our hackers started hacking at our apartment. Most of the hacking had been completed except the master-bathroom, living/ kitchen divider wall and a part of the storeroom wall pending HDB permit.

After eight days, our ID updated us that the application to HDB has not been approved, in particular, the makeover plans for master-bathroom has infringed demarcated wet area rules.

We need a revision of the renovation plan in accordance to regulation. After a bit of brainstorming with the ID, we decided to submit a countermeasure and hopefully this time, we get a nod from the authority and hacking can continue.

Sofa So Good 2

Got an email from Sanctuary Dian's Jerome asking for our confirmation with the sofa's design before proceeding with production. Woot! Let's get the party started!

Hacking Day & The Demolition Team

10 August was the first of three hacking days for our crib.

From the 10th until the 12th, the demolition team will come to the crib and hack away everything old - tiles, doors, fixtures and fittings, in order to make way for the new.

Led by a contractor named Ah Tu (who insisted that he cannot sing)*, the demolition team of 4 Indian/ Bangras? were captured on camera having a great time demolishing our apartment:

*Ah Tu is the name of a famous Chinese Singaporean singer.

Sofa So Good

The quest for our sofa has ended.

Over the past several months, we had been casually shopping for a three seater sofa. We have tested out sofas at furniture stores like Rozel, eVov, OM, Lush, Mondi, Star, SY Living, Scanteak and many more. We found none to aptly convey the character suitable for our home theme. The sofa, we were looking for, should preferably meet the following criteria:

• Modern/contemporary look with a 'timeless' quality
• European 'designer' feel with clean lines
• Low backrest but provides ample support
• High arm rest
• Either blend or otherwise contrast starkly with other furnitures.

Then, we saw 'The Sofa' at a Grange Road show flat (See this post). We couldn't find what we were looking for and gave up on the search. But the search has taken us on a different route - Customization. We will have a sofa custom made to fit our criteria.

Through online research and recommendation from my friend, Lynn, we found Sanctuary Dian, a specialist in custom made furniture. During our visit to Sanctuary Dian, we were quite impressed by what we saw. The owner, Jerome, not only make but also designs furniture. The furnitures showcased at Sanctuary Dian demonstrated his creativity, attention to detail and superb workmanship. Xinyi was particularly smittened by a Moroso inspired sofa with corner piping that we saw there. It looks like this:

Sanctuary Dian initially rejected our order because they have no production capacity. But Jerome was kind enough to promise to let us know should the production capacity ease up in August. And he did. So we went back with our ID, Jeremy. After some deliberation, with useful inputs from Jeremy and Jerome, we decided to custom order the Moroso Field inspired design in three seater (2 meters) form, probably looking like this:

We like this design exactly as what this online review says:

the Field sofa by Moroso, designed by Patricia Urquiola, is simple and elegant. Field is composed of solid geometric shapes, backrests, seats and armrests. The corner piping is an attractive detail that gives this sofa a special value.

If you're interested in the details, we have selected a "gurney sack" like fabric that we thought was best in conveying a durable but luxurious quality. In color coordination, we chose light grey for the sofa, turquiose for the corner pipings and a darker shade of grey for the throw cushions.

Can't wait to see how our selection turns out!

Gifts of White

 

What a stroke of luck! We received a gift of white goods consisting of a fridge and washer/ dryer set. We really appreciate it as it saved us a couple of hundreds from our renovation budget. We have no place of storing it but at our new place. The issue is that it will inconvenience the renovation process when it starts. I guess we will deal with it when it comes to that.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos of us messing around in our apartment. Actually, we haven't really open our SP Utilities account yet but as you can see from the photos, we are still getting electricity and also water. If you are the ex-owner and you are reading this, we are truly sorry and please claim the usage from us through your agent. It's just that we have done the SP Utilities account opening a million times, the convenience of getting it done online made us procrastinate a bit.

Test the ceiling height...

Beaming about a new crib...

The kitchen wall has got to go...

This wall has got to go too...

Buying The Crib

In reality, we didn't see a lot of houses before deciding on this one. We saw 2 units prior to this one and made offers. But the sellers were not motivated enough to sell.

We bought the third unit (our crib) after our first viewing, making our offer late evening on the same day. The seller accepted our offer somewhere before midnight. So we bought our crib in a span of less than one day.

It's kind of funny because we are property agents and have helped our clients buy their house after countless viewings. We also have lots of experience in setting up negotiations between sellers and buyers and some negotiations can go on for days. But when it came to buying our home, we seemed to be making a hasty decision. Viewing, price negotiation, making the offer and getting our offer accepted all happened within hours on the same day.

I believe from experience and also shown to us by our several "successful investors", is that you know the right property for you when "the feeling is right".

The apartment we viewed was not appealing. The seller was no longer staying there. A room was being sublet to a PRC mother and son, who only took care of their lease. The rest of the apartment was dingy and unkempt. There has not been any upgrading within and without the apartment - No lift level and no utility room.

The apartment, however, was in good condition. After going on it's 30 years of lease, the place is just in need of restoration. The location is a big big plus! It's just a opposite Ang Mo Kio central. Future resale and rental potential are enormous.

It all boils down to price. Price is always a delicate issue. The seller was, of course, looking to make a profit from the sale. The buyers, us, definitely wanted to buy it at the lowest "market" price possible. I hated the possibility of ruining the negotiation process by squeezing the owner on price and possibly losing out the unit. Hence, it was obvious to us to go for a win-win offer. The seller is happy to sell and we buy happy.

Floor Tiles Selection Shortlist

Today, we shortlisted some floor tiles for the kitchen and 2 bathrooms with our designer, Jeremy, at Balestier Road.

For the uninitiated, Balestier Road is a must visit for those who want to buy floor tiles, lighting and sanitary ware. Parking is a chore but the plethora of home renovation supply stores is enough to let you browse until your heart's content. Eateries are aplenty along the street so after you tire from browsing from store to store, you can just sit down for some local delicacies.

That being said, we spent only over an hour at Lian Seng Hin and shortlisted all that we need. The kitchen floor is a warm light grey color to blend with the white glossy kitchen cabinets and also to provide a contrast with the Havana Oak in the living and dining.

The bathroom tiles color scheme also didn't stray a lot from grey and white, we decided on this color scheme because we want to achieve a certain timeless style that doesn't go out of style. Hence we steered away from attractive and shiny mosaic tiles which might go out of style in several years time. Not good for resale value. =P

We reckon that developers of those spiffy new condos might have gotten something right by not playing with too much colors and fanciful tiles but chose to maintain a healthy balance of cost effectiveness and style.

Our next step is to place the samples of our shortlisted tiles under natural lighting conditions in our apartment to see if the color coordination works. If not, then it's back to the selection process again.

Help Wanted: What Color Is My Floor?

We can't decide on the color for our floor.

After going through all the different samples of the Kronostep Super Natural range that we brought home (see previous post ), we finally shortlisted three colors. Our walls being white, which color should we choose?

(A) Colonial Oak
Pros: Cozy. Smart looking by playing on contrast between white walls and dark floors.
Cons: May make the place small and tight. Hard to buy suitable furniture.

(B) Light Brushed Oak
Pros: Warm and inviting tone. Makes the place larger and modern. Easy to place furniture.
Cons: Gets dirty easier. Common.

(C) Havana Oak
Pros: Raw and natural look. Has character.
Cons: May be hard to buy suitable furniture. Looks cold.

Post Poll Update:
Thanks everyone for their votes and useful advice! We appreciate it very much!
Here's a rundown of the poll:

(A) received the least number of votes. It's the choice made by all the guys (myself included initially). As suggested by some, it will make our smallish apartment look even smaller. It's dark beautiful color unfortunately also is unable to hide scratches.

(B) & (C) got equal votes and are the choices for the gals. I was leaning towards (B) because it looks more contemporary.
 
Verdict: (C) - Havana Oak! We were undecided between (B) & (C) but our designer, Jeremy, made a good call, (C) blends better with the white brick wall that we want to achieve the "New York" apartment feel.

Kronostep Super Natural Laminate Flooring

The first thing we ever paid for our crib is the flooring.

At first, I did not believe in laminates. Working in several high-end condo showflats, I grew to appreciate timber flooring. Wood laminate flooring, in my opinion, is a poor imitation of real wood flooring. It just doesn't have the right texture, feel, color or quality.

That is until, we walked into a Oriqin Floors sales booth during one of the ubiquitous home furnishing exhibition at Changi Expo. The Kronostep Super Natural range of floor laminates caught our eyes. Each laminate plank has grooves that follows the run of the grain, thereby giving it a genuine texture and feel.  We were impressed.

Steven, the Oriqin sales rep, then demonstrated the durability and rugged quality of the product by subjecting a piece of the laminate plank to torture. When the plank survived unscathed after being hit repeatedly by a high heel, after being set fire upon and after being cut by a pen knife, we were sold.

Today, we went to the Oriqin sales office to get samples for ID planning. After seeing the different available colors of the Super Natural range, we are now indecisive as to what our floor coloring should be. Kudos to Steven for allowing us to bring the samples home (including entire laminated planks!) for our slow consideration. So please help us decide on the next post.

Looking For This Sofa

Saw this sofa in a showflat at Grange road and we both like it very much. It's a three seater sofa spanning 2 metres. The heavy linen fabric provides a luxurious and yet heavy duty look. The cream fabric also compliments nicely with the dark wood flooring and white walls of the living room. The contrasting trimming with the upholstery accentuates the clean line design of the sofa. I especially like the single cushion spread which is so very "designer".

We're looking high and low for it at a furniture store in Singapore. We're also exploring the idea of getting it custom made. Anyone can help?

Challenge Accepted!

Renovation of the crib is due to commence anytime soon. We're in talks with an interior designer/ contractor, who was referred to us by a fellow investor, and if he comes onboard, we'll soon be fixing a date to start work.

The apartment is now 721 sqf of vacant space in original condition and very dirty. The paintwork is patchy and the pipes are rusty but the apartment is still in pretty good shape. A makeover is long overdue after going for 30 over years.

Now, is it possible that we do a makeover for the apartment and turn it into mint showflat condition using the lowest possible budget? As Barney Stinson would say, "Challenge Accepted!"

Living/ dining room with greenery view =P

Kitchen is excessively big and could use a little trimming. The cabinets have got to go.

The Master Bedroom. The biggest challenge is to come up with a design for the MBR toilet that has proper functional amenities of shower, bidet and basin in tight space.

15 July 开门大吉

Ong Lai, Huat Ah!....

We engaged the services of Chen, a Feng Shui master, for an analysis of our new home. So despite getting the keys on Monday last week, we held off visiting our new apartment until Friday, which according to Master Chen, was an auspicious date to enter our new home for the very first time.

We deliberated about getting a Feng Shui analysis for a while. One of the major concerns was that some geomancers can suggest big time layout changes and ridiculous structural changes to a house. For example, we heard rumours about a geomancer recommending his client to shift his toilet from his masterbedroom to the living room to improve his feng shui! It's probably impossible structurally and even if it were possible, the cost and effort to do it is too great. The prospect of having to undertake major and illegal structural renovation was enough to discourage us from Feng Shui. Not to mention also the high asking fees of some geomancers. Nevertheless, we remained interested but wary about Feng Shui.

Somewhere along, Master Chen, who hailed from Taiwan, came highly recommended by several sources. Our sources told us that 1) he doesn't recommend ridiculous renovation or rework; 2) he doesn't sell expensive Feng Shui boosting products; 3) his service fee is reasonable. We thought about it and gave him a call about his advice on our apartment's Feng Shui.

We met Master Chen for the first time at our new apartment last Friday. On his advice, we rolled a pineapple through the main door into the apartment. The pineapple in the Chinese Hokkien dialect is "Ong Lai". "Ong" by itself means "prosperity" and "Lai" means "to come". So getting a pineapple in symbollizes the prosperity that is to come for the new apartment and its occupants.

As Master Chen proceed with his analysis of our new place, we felt that the decision and timing to engage his services was right. He reported that the apartment has good feng shui. Small wonder we felt so good about the house and bought it very quickily upon first viewing. He then made various proposals in terms of layout and color changes to enhance our career, wealth and relationship. None were radical nor impedes the logical flow in the apartment layout and design. The only major change was in the kitchen and since we haven't begin our renovation, it was something that we can work on when we get our contractor onboard.

At the end of the session, we were instructed to "cleanse" the house with a mixture of rice, tea leaves and salt. We don't know the origin of this tradition but we read about other new home owners doing the same on RenoTalk forum. And we "believe" that salt is a powerful ward against evil from watching the American TV series, Supernatural. Anyway, it was fun throwing the rice-tea leaves-salt mixture all over the apartment.

Completion Date

Today, 11-7-2011 (July 11, 2011) marks the completion date for us. That means the property transfer to us in name is completed, making us the de facto owner of the property. Quite simply, we got the keys to our new home!

Woot! Our first property!

A thing about dates. The completion date, 11-07-2011, was a random occurence not of our choosing. After realizing it, we felt that it had a particular nice ring to it.

The day when we decided to make an offer for the apartment, 12-04-2011, was also coincidentally our block number, 124. Is this uncanny or what?!

We feel that we are off to a good start...!

But first we have to sort out a big bunch of keys passed to us by the seller.

Welcome To Our Crib

This blog documents our experience in the buying and renovation of our home.

Our future new home, a two bedroom apartment, is located in the north central part of Singapore.