yesterday as i ran through our ID contract... i realized we really did a lot to Homie the past 1 year.
and we're not even done. we're just gonna tweak the living room a little more, and then it's time to scrub Homie clean, wash the bedsheets and prepare to move in.
HUGE STEP IN LIFE. O_O
as quite a number of our friends are going through their home reno/design now, i thought it'd be good to go through what we've done over the past 1.5 years (we met our designers in Nov 2009), especially what went wrong.
also, been planning a blog post for Homie, since i promised Jade one and it hasn't happened yet hahaha. :p
so here goes.
Renovations: $46,500 for now, will end up around $48,000 after the variation order. Furniture: $10,000 Electronics: $2,500 (missing: vacuum cleaner) Home Theatre: $8,300
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KITCHEN:
the bulk of works done was in the kitchen, where we rearranged the stove and installed a hood, tore out a wall, added a bar counter, shifted a giant cabinet, re-tiled the floor with ceramic planks and made good everything we yanked out of the walls (extension of cabinets and what not).
before:
after:
here's the light fixture we got our inspiration from:
and the ones we did at our bar counter:
we also removed the toilet and converted it into a clothes wash area - a kerb was built to raise our washing machine above water level in the washing area.
what we did wrong: the barstools from the now-condemned I Wanna Go Home as the seat tore the first time we sat on them. they also gave us the wrong set of screws and it took me 4 months and a lot of screaming to get them to come down to fix it.
we also assumed that our designers will have the measurements done correctly - but mistakes can still be made. we had to shift our giant larder a few cm to the right to accommodate our fridge, and build an extra false wall to hang our glass door from. there was also something wrong with the bar counter at the start, but i have thankfully forgotten what it was that made me mad.
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DINING ROOM:
hardly any works done, except for a long settee-cum-shoe drawer which extended to a display shelf which aided the impression of dividing our giant main room into the living and dining areas, which then led to the TV console. I really love this piece of design.
also, a giant framed mirror was built to look like the dining table extended out from its base. the main draw in this area were the dining set and pendant lamp.
Here're the original pictures taken from their websites/shops:
i was drawn to the table because of its legs. not to mention the original price was 5k which dropped to 3k, and the glass is thick and solid. also, it's extendable to a 10 seater. awesome!
the chairs that originally came with the Italian Luigi table were $800 each. er. no thx.
so we went for the Louis ghost chairs from Kartell instead. buy the originals! the replicas suck. sit on them and you'll feel the difference.
oh, and what luck - we found a pendant lamp similar to the one in the Luigi ad! :D
here's how it turned out:
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LIVING ROOM:
TV console was the only thing we designed for. we also chose curtains, and the type of lighting. opted for a ceiling fan (get the kdk one, it's small and powerful). then we went mad with the buying of furniture hehe.
here're the originals from OM (sofa & sidetable):
and here's how it turned out - here's the settee leading to the console.
and the living room.
what we did wrong: the tv console was SO HARD TO DESIGN. we needed measurements for the amp and space needs to be allocated for shifting the amp into the console, neatening the wires and opening enough slots for wires. it was a nightmare. we redid our console twice.
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BALCONY:
this is my favorite part of Homie. the balcony was huge, spanning across the master bedroom to the living room, which meant it had 2 entrances. so our fantastic designer read my mind and built us a picket fence to divide the area! we also designed the planter area to have flowering plants (i actually wanted something gearing towards english fields, but got tropical flowers instead. sigh.), and added a water feature.
what we did wrong: the balcony turned out to be the most complicated to get right. the water feature breaks down constantly, and we also have a fungal, ant, snail, spider and mosquito population now. the plants also require watering every 2 days - poor alvin.
it also took us a very tiring 2 months to find outdoor furniture that was right. although we managed to get everything down in the end, i never want to do this again.
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MASTER BEDROOM:
most of the carpentry was done here - we made a writing desk, more cabinets, a king sized bed, a false wall and false ceiling niche, bookshelves and a new wardrobe for alvin. we also have wallpaper! :)
the MBR side of the balcony:
what we did wrong: mainly there was miscommunication between the designers left behind in SG and my main designer who had to fly off to Oman. so everything was done wrong, spacial concepts were all weird and the bed was off centre away from the TV niche. we put our foot down and got them to re-do everything. took some pushing, but it got done in the end. ========================
ACCESSORIES:
all our accessories were found in Ikea ($1,600 wth) like the coffee table, giant canvas of the Flatiron Building, vases, cushions, tea-light lamps, wraps and table runner (which was re-used in the MBR, hehe). we also bought our cushions from Muji, and those green apples and flowers just for the shoot.
time for housewarming soon (although almost all of you have already been here to Rock Band/Dance Central/have cell meetings.) heehee.
let's welcome my newest (last minute) vendor... CRUMMB!!!!!!!
she is utterly amazing. great pricing and enthusiasm.
*bliss*
last year i contacted her through her blog (largely thanks to alvin's sister :D) when i saw her fondant cake; OMG IT WAS SO GORGEOUS. i was still planning on having a real 2 tiered cake but after calculations and weighing the pros and cons, we decided against it.
BUT I COULD NEVER FORGET HER AND HER CAKES.
so now, since the dessert table is coming along really well, thanks to aunty aileen and her MARVELOUS cupcakes, i have the opportunity to get a 9" decorative cake! i quickly contacted Crummb this morning and by lunch time we've gotten the details down.
i'm just waiting for downpayment details.
it's a lemon cake with cream cheese buttercream. i am so hungry right now. :(
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in other decor news... i have totally found my ang bao box and it is INSANE. gosh i love the ideas i find online so much. amazon is my new best friend.
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photobooth: i... think we are ready. hmm. i don't know - it's a little messy. but we have chalkboards! whee!!!
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i have also found my day shoes AND my night shoes.
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alvin has put in his order for a tailored suit. done by none other than OXFORD TAILORS. (we love them)
also, he's got frickin' awesome cufflinks! O_O
oh hey... DO YOU NEED SHOES DEAR? OMG AND A TIE. sigh, details... details...
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we've chosen 40 photos from Bryan & Jean's pre-wedding set!! the photos are not glamorous nor elegant nor anything that's not us.
IT IS CUTE. WE LOOK CUTE. AND I LOVE IT.
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i now have one bridal gown with peach details, one poofy evening gown, and i have set my eyes on a monique lhuillier gown. never thought i'd own an ML (in my opinion she's only one tier away from Vera Wang) SO THIS IS INCREDIBLY EXCITING INDEED! AND IT'S NAVYYYY
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my flower teens' dresses are almost confirmed. yay to the highly concentrated number of blogshops in singapore, and that every dress design has a colour in navy/peach! hehehe.
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i also have other plans instead of getting a usual ring pillow (bleh). but Paloma's Nest has failed us! IT WILL COST MORE THAN USD100 TO GET THE DISH IN BY 14 MAY. so here i am looking at other options... and i've got 3. hooRAY! time to present options to alvin.
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OUR CHURCH FAVORS ARE ON THE WAY TO US AND WE NEED TO PACKAGE THEM SOON.
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also, nothing to purchase here, but our cards are in! the printing wasn't great, so if you would just close one eye ;|
