The beginning of everything..

Did not manage to get a snapshot of the place before the demolish works started.

We were there early in the morning with out Bestest for prayers, going thru all the necessary and requirements.

And here it is....everything smashed into pieces.

Neat work by Beverly and team.

Tiles will be up these two days....seems like everything is in order, process should end by 3rd week of March. Looks like we can stay in by end March. *jumps around and giggles* However, after e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g is done, my shoulders are so very heavy. Will try my best to clear 50% of everything by end of this year, finish the rest by end of next year.

Have changed my cooker to something sleeker =) Some say it's good, some not. Anyway, am tired of looking, will go with my gut feel =) Costs us $400 with GST/-

Changed another bigger fridge, with lower electricity consumption. Cost us ermmm...due to some contracts signed, can't reveal here =P

Found a good electrician, window specialist and laminate flooring - all within our budget.

Electrician for $2,400:
- 15 light points
- 15 double 13AMP points
- 5 single 13AMP points (with one waterproof)
- 4 TV and TEL points
- DB board (18 way)
- Install 6 ceiling lights + all other lights
- Install 2 sets of cove lightings
- Install 1 water heater point for oven
- Earth bonding wires to pipes
- Submission to HDB + apply for SP testing approval
- Re-wiring for whole house
- All switches provided (Big button)

Window specialist for $3,000:
(All green windows with white powder coated frame)
- Living sliding windows with non see-thru film
- Front room sliding windows with non see-thru film
- Front room top hung windows
- Master, back room and kitchen - casement windows X 4 panels
- Wrought iron grilles for living and front room

Laminate Flooring for lesser than $ * * * *
- Power Dekor new colour for 3 bedrooms!

Going for inspection now! =)

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!