Carpentry VII - Platform Bed

Our platform bed is up! Love the choice of laminates here. When we first saw it, it looked like unfinished wood for our bedhead. We were almost wondering why did they put the barn frame up without finishing the laminate first. Then we realized that the effect is just like that, and gosh is it unfinishingly beautiful.

Probably the biggest reason for a platform bed is the additional storage space found within in. All around the bed could be opened up to store things which are not commonly used. Our ID had kindly included the hydraulics for us so that the pieces could stay open without us having to hold onto it. However, that caused it to feel like 100x heavier to lift up, and we may resort to disengaging the hydraulics to make it easier to open. Shall see how it goes next time.

Love the green so much! This platform was the largest contributor to us wanting to get the grilles. It was quite dangerous without the grilles as more than half of our body would be above the window. Well, things are much safer now.

And we have finally settled on the trimming for the platform in the living room. We did not want to risk another mismatch so we have went with the safe matte black, which look fitting with the black tv console and black frame of the shoe cabinet. This problem is solved! Much happier with this end result now.

Odd-looking Kitchen Quartz Top

This is how our current kitchen quartz top looked like. Our ID feedback that it looked odd because of the white wall at the right side and there was not a proper transition to it. Hearing that, we took a look ourselves and agreed that it was odd. On top of that, the quartz top for the half wall was actually not levelled, and had coordinated for the contractor to have it changed.

To ensure ourselves that it would not look odd doing the changes, we did some photo editing to see how it would look like. We felt that this would probably look better than the above one. Now lets hope that the right message is conveyed to the contractor and that the end results is like this photo. Now be honest, you thought the photo was a real one and not edited on the first look right?

Carpentries VI - Shoe Cabinet and Walk In Wardrobe

The end product of our shoe cabinet. Some feedback here is that we felt it was a little too deep for our shoes, perhaps because our shoe sizes are not very big to start with. Shall bring some shoe boxes here next time to see if they fit perfectly, else we would take note of the ideal length instead. Love the huge brown mirror there. It is the cover for our storeroom door, but also for us to check ourselves once more before we step out of the house.

Our walk in wardrobe in the making. Honestly, now that all the pieces are placed together, it does not feel as big and spacious as we imagined it to be. The amount of clothes space also does not really justify the price we had paid too. There will really be a lot of learning pointers on this space, and it had been quite a disappointment, but we shall talk about it after the whole thing is completed.

Much had happened between us and the ID, and we are really just wanting this whole renovation to end quickly. Haven't been the most pleasant experience I must comment, but we shall wait till the renovation is complete, and then we will share more details.

Carpentries V - Shoe cabinet and Study table

An updated view of the shoe cabinet. Awaiting the glass door before the other doors are installed. Meanwhile, here is a glimpse of my carpenter fixing my study table in the MBR. Hard at work despite it being past 7pm. Good job!

Carpentries IV - Massive Work Today

Please rise for the arrival of all my carpentry! It was a rainy weather, and I really hope that none of them were damaged by the rain. Too much horror stories of mold and mushrooms growing in wood pieces had gotten me paranoid over such matters. Hopefully they dries up nicely and last us for the longest time.

But wait... there's more! The amount of carpentry we got for our house is massive. It kinda cost us a hand and a leg but that's the price we are willing to pay to ensure that our first house is exactly how we wanted it to be. We did not want to get things off the shelves because it may not give the sense of together-ness with the other furniture. Hence, everything was designed, customized, and built into our house. If we move house next time, it will be so easy because we could not bring any of them along haha!

Headed up while the carpenter carried every piece up himself. Really have to give it to him, single-handedly doing the entire house carpentry. His works are remarkable and very detailed. From my ID, he is one of the best carpenter, but tend to be slower than the others. Well, I have the luxury of time, and quality over speed, so I am really happy to have him fixing up all my carpentry.

The kitchen quartz top has been installed. Love the starry black quartz although it is not really visible in this picture. However, the higher quartz was not done properly. It was slanted and it looked weird with the middle piece. Some rectification will be taking place here.

We did not really put much effort and thoughts into the planning of the kitchen, but we were really glad it turned out this great. With a kitchen this beautiful, we would definitely spend more time here whipping up a feast or baking some delicious cakes.

Stove is up! I believe it is Fujioh's. We bought these based on the recommendation of our ID and the shopkeeper. Let's hope it lasts! We always feel uncomfortable buying things without reading the reviews, but there are almost no reviews on things like stoves and ovens.

Our black sexy sink! We had opt for the undermount because we felt it is easier to swipe the things on the quartz into the sink this way. There were many comments online recommending overmount instead, including my ID, but we insisted in this. One of the major potential problem is that the water may seep into the wood between the sink and the quartz, and prolong seeping may cost it to rot, destroying the entire kitchen cabinet. However, we weigh the pros and cons and decided it is a risk we are willing to take for the convenience. A better alternative would be to have a cement base for the sink area. That way, you are able to have an undermount sink without fear because there is no contact between the wood and the sink. But it comes at a price.

And eventually everything's moved up from the void deck. And get this! Every carpentry you see in this room, are meant for this room. Without proper arrangement, one probably wonders where do we even put the bed at. So crazy, but so crazily excited how it will turn out.

Oh wait... there's more! Here are all the doors and drawers for the bedroom, in all different height and sizes.

A glimpse on our shoe cabinet and our walk in wardrobe. Stay tune!

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse

We had the platform in the living room and everything was great except the trimming around it. Perhaps it was due to our unique choice of color for the vinyl flooring which is not as simple as light wood or brown wood. However, that is not an excuse we accepted because apparently this was introduced to us as one of the most popular choices among the homeowners. Perhaps all the homeowners were happy with the grey trimming, but definitely not us. To recap, when we first saw it, it looked like a metal construction piece which we mistook as a tool to hold the vinyl flooring in position, like to let the glue stick, but not as a final piece of product.

We told our ID about it, and he got the contractor to deliver some samples down so that we can repick another trimming. On this note, we are really happy how our ID is so accommodating on our changes. Afterall, we want the best look for the house, and if we are dissatisfied with something, it ought to go. The samples came and we picked the bottom middle one because the wood grain were close to our platform and it seemed to match pretty well. So it was decided, and we thought all was well. Nope.

The outcome of our choice was horrible. It was not close to how the sample looked like at all. We almost just called our ID to tell him to just bring back the grey metal construction looking trimming because this was so much worse.

A closer look at the current trimming. We called our ID to express our displeasure with how the actual product was so different from the sample, but he continuously assured us that the trimming was exactly the one we picked. Regardless, we were upset with it, and demanded to change it again. This time round we headed down to their factory to take a look at the big pieces so that hopefully we could pick one that we like and matches. However, there were no ready stock for us to pick from, and we were unwilling to take another chance where we picked the sample and the profile of the trimming came drastically different again. In the end, we decided on a matte black trimming, which would not have any profile issues, and hopefully it matches our tv console and shoe cabinet. Let's cross our finger and hope it goes well this time.

Carpentries III - Vanity Top and the largest addition

Good morning folks! Little hazy this morning but the view is still a kill to have.

Our oven is in place now. Can't wait to experience the freshly out of oven smell from our cakes and baked delicacies.

Our vanity top in the MBR is done. Have a little curvey style there because of the location of our door. Our toilet is now packed, but nevertheless cosy.

And our largest addition... the SOFA. It was supposed to be here last month, but we slided it back due to the delay in our renovation and carpentries. Much pain if this is dirtied from all the wood-dusts and dirts from the renovation. Had ordered this from JB after we fell in love on first sight. It was much longer in the showroom but we customised for a smaller one in view of our living room space. The picture may not show clearly but this is one deep-ass sofa so that we can always lie in it instead of having to sit up like any ordinary sofas. So much loves.

However we may be having a little issues with this sofa. Noticed the barn design drawers at the right? Hopefully the sofa could fit in the space behind all the way and does not hinder the drawers. Otherwise, we would have two useless drawers. No, the sofa is not going to go. There is too much love for it. The drawers space would have to go instead.

Carpentries II - Settee and Console

The settee is up. Hopefully this provides more space for guests to have a seat on when the parties is going on.

Connected to the settee is our mini tv console which we would have our soundbar and perhaps a small tv on days where a projector will not be feasible.

Carpentries I - Kitchen

ID suddenly texted us saying that the carpentry has started today instead of tomorrow. To be frank, i was quite annoyed because it was an agreement to start tomorrow and i had plan to take half day off to oversee the whole operation so that nothing goes permanently wrong. It would be great if the glue had not been set in and the wood have not been sawed if it was not the right piece. Fortunately, the works were of standards and we were quite satisfied with it. I guess again we are reassured on the standards of works our ID will be providing. Thumbs up! And that is a sneak preview of our fridge in position.

Everything is looking just the way we wanted it to be. The choice of theme we had decided for our house was to be largely Scandinavian, but swapping the whites out for the black for a good contrasting impactful color. If you look closely, there is a special feature to this part of the kitchen, but we shall reveal it here next time when we have a better photo showing it.

Our settee have also been delivered in their individual pieces. Would probably be set up tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing our house piecing together.

Concept drawing. Sort of.

Initially we should be able to upload our concept drawings earlier, but there were much disappointment in this segment of the renovation as there were quite a number of ideas which we wanted that was not included inside since day 1. Although there were some partial faults with us because we were quite indecisive at times and had multiple changes, but there were several which we had brought up since the first draft and till now it is still not in the pictures. Nevertheless, this is just a drawing and as long as the final product is exactly how we want it, things should be good.

One of the reason why we opted for an interior designer instead of a contractor was because of the concept drawing, which are able to help us visualise the outcome of our choices. However, the inaccuracy and 'fake-ness' of the drawings is a disappointment. Spaces such like the walking area of the walk in wardrobe and toilet is quite unrealistic because in reality, it does not look that big. The carpentry should be starting at the end of this month, and soon, our renovation journey would be completed.

Dyson, Just Too Cool To Resist (pun intended)

We went down to Expo again for the Courts Expo Fair, hoping to chance upon a good price for any home appliances that we may require. Well, in particular the Dyson fan. It was only after we gotten our house that we realised that there are so many fairs in Expo, and one could always get a better price there during such fairs, as compared with the sales in the big stores at the shopping malls. There may be times where we could get a better price online too, but some products just require us to have a hands-on on the physical item because we invest in the buy, and the fairs are definitely the best place to be. It does not have to be just home appliances too. Even stationeries, pet foods, soaps etc could be found at a steal price there, if you could wait for it that is. It would defeat the purpose if you ran out of soap and choose to wait 2 months for the Body Shop Expo Fair wouldnt it?

Back to the fan. Had wanted to get it ever since we saw the advertisement in the cinemas, and we fell in love with the sleek and sci-fi design of the fan. However, we had then not invested in this because well, the price is too premium-ish. So it had always been in our to-have-list but never in the to-buy-list.

It was only when our house was in the making then we realised we needed a tower fan in the living room because a ceiling fan would not be effective because of the positioning of our sofa, and the hubby thinks that the wall fan is just fugly. So we had to get a standing fan, and although it was often debated to be a bad idea because it takes up estate space, and could be troublesome during house cleaning because it would be in the way, we had to get one because it was the only option. But most standing fans ain't exactly aesthetically pleasing, except our dream fan. And so, it was purchased.

Grilles, Glass, Platform up

The grilles are up! Initially we did not want to have any grilles because we much preferred an unobstructed view out of the window. However we understand the danger that it potentially may cause, especially next time when they are kids in the house. Hence we came up with a creative way of putting the grilles up.

We had the frame for 3 grilles but we only had 2 grilles installed. This way, when there are no kids in the house, we could push the grilles all away and have back our lovely unobstructed view. We had customized a latch to hold the two grilles in position too so that it does not move around despite the lack of one grilles. However for our 4 window grilles, we just had the full set because we would ultimately have two blocked windows regardless we have 3 or 4 grilles. Happy with our end product!

Our MBR toilet glass work is up too. And yes, there is a door to the toilet if you look closely. It is a clear glass door but we will be getting the frosted laminates to paste over the door for privacy. It is just that my ID recommended such method as a frosted glass door would have higher maintenance issues, otherwise there will be much stains and discolored marks. This way, if the laminates are giving us the problems, we could just change the laminates at a cheaper cost than changing the entire door. And also revealing our rain shower. The pressure and functions and designs are all highly commendable. Cant wait to bathe there!

Our platform is up too. Love the choice of vinyl flooring but was quite disappointed with the grey trimming which did not match well with the vinyl flooring. Hopefully our ID can find something that is of a closer match, otherwise we would request for it to be black instead. The platform does not feel entirely solid either and there were some areas which we could hear a thud when walking over it. Are most platforms like this?

Let the cold wind blow

Installation of our air-con units. Found this highly raved about contractor on Renotalk whom apparently has one of the cheapest price in the market yet maintain the best quality and standards of workmanship. Everything seem good so far so I will definitely recommend this contractor too.

We got the Mitsubishi Starmex Sys 3 for our house. 24k blasting in our huge living room, 12k blowing in our huge MBR, and 9k cooling our bedroom 3 for any guests next time. The reason why we require such a big ass aircon in the living room is because we did not carve a study room out of the huge living room space, plus we had the open concept kitchen. Hopefully it will cool us down sufficiently.

Putting the compressor unit at our ledge, the small space which is technically not part of the house, yet we have to pay for it.

They even covered up our aircon so that it will be protected from all the dusts that will be flying around during the renovation. It helps to deter contractor from switching on the aircon and enjoying it while doing our renovation too haha!