Archive for the ‘Renovation’ tag
Curtains Up!
Curtains and blinds are up! Actually was up about two weeks ago, but I didn’t have time to take photos, edit and upload. I finally found some time to do so. I didn’t take the blinds though, it’s pretty generic roller binds, though they are of much higher quality than Ikeas’. Photos can’t tell the difference in quality – you’ll have to see for yourself.
The curtains are tailor made by Rosse Curtain and I would like to compliment them for their excellent service. The guy who installed our curtains and blinds was very detailed in his work and did his duty to keep the dust from drilling to a minimum. If you’re looking to get curtains for your new home, I’d highly recommend them.
Living Room Curtains
Dining Room Curtains
Master Bedroom Curtains
P.S. Choose your fabric wisely. They make a huge difference in price.
Three Week Summary
Renovation has officially completed; we made our final payment last Thursday and the final touches were done yesterday. All the furniture are in as well. Mode Studio didn’t screw up and delivered the remaining furniture as scheduled.
I pay a lot of attention to detail and there were some minor issues with the renovation (as usual). Carpentry, plumbing and electrical works needed personal supervision but overall we rate our interior designer highly for their design creativity and project management. We are especially pleased with their flooring, painting and solid surface works.
I’ve been very busy but I will post some photos of the completed work soon.
Work as usual, hamsters are still alive and kicking. I’m trying to find some time to pick up my R/C hobby again as the sloping season’s back but my time has been all tied up by the house renovation. Cleaning a new house has proved to be quite a chore as the dust settles each day.
I have also attempted cooking. BTW, it’s not exactly cheap for two persons to cook at home. Breakfast is easy but I haven’t been very successful with my first dinner dish. However, the wife makes nice Chinese soup dishes!
It’s just one more month before the year comes to an end. Time to close yet another chapter and kick start 2010. It will be a very exciting new year!
House Cleaning, Part Two
A quick check on the to-do list:
- Pass ah fen a hamster – done.
- Grab the side table we ordered from Defu – done.
- Pay the balance for the sofa and dining table and arrange for them to be delivered next week – half done. More screwups with the delivery.
- Grab the trolley, TV and sub woofers from parent’s office. I left my new TV there for storage – done.
- Bak Kut Teh at Jurong East for lunch at 1300 hrs – failed.
- Clean the living room, and maybe three bedrooms if they get dusty again – done.
- Figure out where to mount the bathroom accessories, and what else we need to buy – half done. We know what we want to mount, but haven’t figured what we need to buy.
- Assemble the Ikea lamps – done.
- Set up the home router. It’s going to a Linux box with Vyatta, then I can establish an IPsec Site-to-site VPN! Whoopee! – Not done!
- Hopefully a karanguni drops by so I can get rid of the old ceiling fans – didn’t happen.
Leaving Sakae Sushi at TradeHub.
When Ferren arrived at Jurong East, she found that the entire hawker center was under renovation, so we ate Sakae instead of Bak Kut Teh.
Duckie smiling on the way to the new house.
Even Duckie’s excited about the new house.
Study room cleaned and ready.
This is the study room with Ikea chairs and tables, all set up and ready for use.
Watching TV in the living room after a tiring day.
We watched G-Force and some crappy YouTube videos in the evening after two days of cleaning.
House Cleaning, Part One
Sincere thanks to Hui Zhen, Ferren, Yan Po, Wen Xi, Chrispin and Sheng Xuan for helping clean the house. Every little bit counts!
Unfortunately, I left my DSLR in the new house. I will get some photos and post them up tomorrow.
Meanwhile, here’s what we accomplished today (Saturday).
- Cleaned up the store room and moved the mess in the kitchen over.
- Cleaned up all three bedrooms, kitchen, windows and grilles. Thanks ladies! Fantastic job.
- Built the Ikea furnitures – a study table, two office chairs and a side table with drawers. Some instructions are wrong, especially the cheaper furnitures.
- Installed the almighty lock that only requires one key for all! Whoopee. How I wish my car key could be used instead.
- Set up the bed in the master bedroom.
- Carpenter dropped by to inspect the work done on Friday.
Here’s the agenda for tomorrow (Sunday).
- Pass ah fen a hamster.
- Grab the side table we ordered from Defu.
- Pay the balance for the sofa and dining table and arrange for them to be delivered next week.
- Grab the trolley, TV and sub woofers from parent’s office. I left my new TV there for storage.
- Bak Kut Teh at Jurong East for lunch at 1300 hrs.
- Clean the living room, and maybe three bedrooms if they get dusty again.
- Figure out where to mount the bathroom accessories, and what else we need to buy.
- Assemble the Ikea lamps.
- Set up the home router. It’s going to a Linux box with Vyatta, then I can establish an IPsec Site-to-site VPN! Whoopee!
- Hopefully a karanguni drops by so I can get rid of the old ceiling fans.
I’m still thinking if I should start moving some old books and computer equipment. Maybe my R/C stuffs can go over too.
The audio system will go over next week before the weekend, that’s for sure!
More shopping list for next week.
- A stool, just to facilitate cleaning some stuff that’s higher than us.
- A (cheap) bicycle? Just to get to and fro the in-law’s place and Bukit Panjang Plaza.
- A mini TV console for the master bedroom?
- Another Ikea side table for the master bedroom?
- Subscribe to StarHub TV and Internet! (Sorry SingNet, your marketing and helpdesk just fails me.)
Week Eight, Almost Done
Looks like it’s taking a little longer than expected with some slight hiccups. Anyway, it’s almost near the end. The carpentry’s finally up and we’re waiting for the final touches, a final coat of paint, some electrical works, installation of toilet fittings and an acid wash. Everything should be ready to move in this coming weekend, I hope!
Living Room with TV Console and Ceiling Fan
The TV console gives the living room a fresh new look. It should blend nicely with our selection of sofa and coffee table.
Week Five, Lights, Fans, Laminate Flooring and Paint
I guess it’s nearing the end! The protective covering on the floor has finally come off and we can now have a feel of how the house looks with the new floor.
Living and dining room, lights and A/C installed.
Week Four, Partitions, Air-con and Furniture
Nothing much this week except partitioning work, installation of the air-con and some shopping for furnitures.
The partitions are up, but don’t look fantastic as they’re still “raw”. We’ve decided to keep it a secret until the entire partition is finished, so no photos for now!
However, here’s the furnitures we’ve bought.
Selected Sofa Design
Week Three, Just The Floor Tiles
The floor tiles went on this week. The living room is almost complete, with some small portions and skirting to be completed on Monday.
Living room tiles nearly complete, half covered in protective paper.
Week Two, Tiles and Ceiling
Nothing much for the second week except some tiling work on the toilet walls. There’s two types of tiles being used here – the ones in the master bathroom are larger and have a rough textured surface. These were more expensive that the ones in the common bathroom that were smaller and smooth surfaced.
Master bathroom walls.
Common bathroom walls.
Week One, Dust and Debris
Here’s a follow-up of an earlier post on the house renovation.
Hacking works started on 27th July 2009. When we visited the house that evening, more than half the area was completed.
What a mess.