useful household items & decoration

*back dated entry*

after shifting into our new place, i started to buy other household items... so want to share some of the useful purchases which i have gotten =)

self assembly rack

washer rack

this rack may look simple but is really useful especially when you have a small service yard & you dont have space to drill any shelves above the washer.... you can put extra plastic bags, washing powder, etc on the racks... gotten it from this seller @ $51.9 (include shipping)... is abit pricey but i think is really useful....

slim trolley

fit into small space

this slim trolley is another handy item.... gotten this from Qoo10 with width of 13cm, you can also get similar trolley from NTUC with width of 19cm..... this is especially useful when you want to make full use every single inch of space you have .... gotten from this seller @ $21.6 (include postage)

next up is laundry rack.... since trivelis doesnt come with any drying rack in the service yard & there is absolutely no space to install any in that  tiny space, your best friend will be mobile drying rack.... i gotten 2 different types of racks....

laundry rack #1

i think most people are familiar with this kind of rack, they are useful but i felt it takes longer to dry clothes since there will be limited ventilation... but it's definitely a good option for drying towels.... gotten from this seller @ $47.7 (include postage)

laundry rack #2

i also gotten this 2 poles style drying rack.... gotten from this seller @ #33.8 (include postage).... with the poles i can hang my clothes to dry using hangers.... this is also good for drying bedsheets....

next up, i wanted to give the house abit more lively feel so i bought some stickers from taobao to decorate my place..... of cause you can buy them in SG but will cost more & lesser options for you to choose from....

kitchen

toilet #1

toilet #2

since all the walls are of uniform coloured tiles, i created the "mosaic" effect by pasting a roll of stickers.... you can see the difference..... similarly, by pasting some stickers on the shower glass, it will brighten up the place...

kitchen door

since the bloody window grill guy told me that he doesnt do any design for the PD door, i just paste cute stickers on them so that it doesnt look so dull.....

i think pasting such deco stickers is a an easy way to brighten up your home... you dont have to go through the trouble of doing major renovation & if you get bored of the stickers, you can simply replace them with new ones =)

racks in bomb shelter

*back dated entry*

i think the term bolt less metal racks shouldnt be stranger to most people... i think it is a better choice compared to the usual metal + wooden plank rack as the racks can withstand heavier weight & wont rust though more expensive.... mama recommended me this store for metal rack since she was quite happy with their services...

Bcreative
Tel: 6844 1321

this is the pamphlet, no company name or address... if it isnt because i issue cheque payment, i wouldnt have known the company name..... the price & size stated are fixed = they dont do custom made racks.... mama recommend the 84" high rack since you will make full use of the space which is also what i have gotten...

metal racks

 i gotten 5 levels for 36" rack & 4 levels for 48" rack cause i want to put my luggage below it... total price = $380 & the whole assembly took about 30min.... i would say is a reasonable price, so can consider this company =)

citimap movers

*back dated entry*

today we FINALLY move into our new home!!! there are still lots of things to be done but since mama said today is the most auspicious date in Dec, we HAVE to move today.... *roll eyes* but whatever..... initially we thought of renting a van over the weekend then we can slowly move our things over but when we start to count the total number of things we need to move, it is better to engage the professional..... we engaged citimap movers.... there are quite a number of movers company in SG... i actually like geometra since they were super efficient in moving our lab stuff but i believed their prices are quite steep so we just forgo it...... another reason why we engage citimap because mama used their services for 3times over the passed 2years & she was quite happy with them so we just give it a go.....

the usual procedure is that you will call the company and ask the staff to come down for a quotation, if you ok with the price then you fix the moving date.... after which another staff will passed you the required number of paper box for you to put your things.... then on the actual day you will pay the movers in full.... FYI: if possible try to avoid moving in dec period cause the staff told us that they will increase the price by 30% during this period..... but since mama wanted us to move on that specific date, we just have to tahan the price.....

the total number of things we need to move = 1 single bed frame, 1 single bed mattress, 20boxes of stuff, 1 tv, 1 small shelf, 1 28'luggage & several plastic boxes.... the staff quoted us $280 including the extra 30%... he said normally for this amount of stuff, he will charge $220-250.... oh well, what to do... another bonus about citimap movers is that they are pretty punctual, if your appointment is at 9am, they will reach by 9.05am or sometimes even before the arranged timing.... if you have some auspicious timing, you can tell the staff too & he will take note....

another FYI is that the quotation guy wont write down exactly what are the items you need to move, he will only write down the number of boxes & the total price... so you can always play cheat by adding more items from the agreed list... but of cause you need to be smart & not suddenly add BIG items like extra bed or wardrobe..... so if you need to engage movers, i think citimap is a pretty good choice since they are punctual, efficient & reasonably priced =)

review: wedding lunch at goodwood park hotel

*back dated entry*

Location: although goodwood park hotel is situated in orchard, it isnt very accessible...... if you are walking over from orchard mrt, it's a good 15-20min walk since the hotel is behind far east plaza... & there isnt any sheltered connection between the hotel to nearby buildings so it is super INACCESSIBLE in case of rain.....

Ambience: the hotel definitely looks nice from outside since i like those vintage looking building...... i cant remember the ballroom name but it's not the one near main entrance.....

ballroom

if i didnt remember wrongly, my friend had about 20 tables so it shouldnt be the big ballroom but overall the hall looks very grand... i like the idea of having extra spaces at the side for the staff to prepare food and drinks.... i also love the white x champagne theme which my friend choose, it gave me a simple yet grand feel.... 

Food & services: i think the services at goodwood was ok.... i believed there were alot of temp staff, so sometimes you might need to wait for awhile to get your drinks served....

menu

food wise, i would say is quite good... i like the choice of food & seasoning for the dishes....

Price: $1388++/table, this hotel is definitely on the pricey side....

Conclusion: personally i wanted to hold my wedding at goodwood park hotel but the ballrooms were not available during our time.... i think on the whole, it's nice to have your wedding at goodwood if you can afford it..... however, you need to pray hard for good weather since there is no way to get to the hotel without getting wet other than driving =(

furniture

*back dated entry*

very busy week since we are expecting our furniture.... we ordered most of them from IKEA, not that we are a fan of IKEA but it does sell simple furniture at affordable prices & you have the luxury of strolling through the store without being pester by salespersons.... since all our furniture are not wall mount, we opt for the self assembly = save $...

IKEA delivery

haha so many boxes of things arrived & they were all so damn heavy!!! if you asked the staff to do assembly, it would be super fast since they do that everyday but it took us quite a few days to slowly assemble everything.... let me share the final products =)

TV console in progress

TV console

chair for study room

mini dining table

chairs + racks in wardrobe

dining area

wall mount flip table

among all the stuff we bought from IKEA, i strongly recommend the flip table... as i mentioned our service yard is pathetically small, we can afford to have more fixtures... so this flip table is really useful when you need extra space when preparing for meals... but it would be better if you get a handyman to drill the holes for you.... since hubby & I were not pro at such things, it took us quite afew tries to get the table mounted on the wall....

another big furniture we gotten is a new bed.... we ordered ours from cozy bedding at westgate.... we prefer Slumberland since my family have been using that brand for a long time.... but the store doesnt have suitable design so we gotten vono mattress which is a sub-brand under Slumberland....

bed frame

mattress

the mattress + bed frame cost $1399... reasonable price i would say... the mattress is 10"thick... nowadays the mattresses are all so damn thick due to some pillow top thing... i agree it maybe more comfortable but it is very difficult to find bed sheet for such thick mattress!!!! so i recommend 10' mattress, its good enough to provide good support =)

electrical appliances

*back dated entry*

today want to share some of the electrical appliances which i bought for our new home..... after surveying all the departmental stores i felt that Best denki has the widest variety of products in terms of electrical items & at reasonable prices... hence, we gotten our washing machine & fridge from there... if you have seen the floor plan for trivelis units, you will know how pathetic the kitchen is... so god damn small compared to the normal 4 room flat!!!! since we have gotten the unit so cant complain & just make full use of the space....

floor plan

from the picture, the place still look relatively big but is definitely not the case... for fridge we can only fit something with max 70cm width & 180cm high as we need to give a few cm space for ventilation & to open fridge door.... after looking around for quite some time, we decided to get HITACHI fridge since it fits the area perfectly...

Hitachi fridge

if i am not wrong, the dimension for the fridge is 68cm wide x 178cm high, model is RV480P3MS.... so it sort of just fit into the space =) personally i love the stainless steel finishing so i really love the fridge =) we gotten it at $829... i would say is a pretty good price....

as for washing machine we were contemplating for even longer time.... one limitation is the size... service yard width is 80cm by 130cm (length), so if you gotten a huge ass washer, you can hardly move around..... most of our neighbours suggest us to get front load washer but i dont like the idea of having to bend down everytime to take in & out the laundry.... so after much consideration, we decided on LG washer.... we gotten 10kg washer since this is the minimum size to wash our full length curtain.... strictly speaking, there isnt much difference in size between a 8kg to 10kg washer so i do recommend bigger washer unless you are staying alone....

LG washer

the model is WFT1061DD.... dimension is 60cm x 60cm x 110cm if i am not wrong, gotten it at $749 =)

the last item i want to share is rice cooker.... i think this is also a necessity in Asian home.... there are lots of models in the market but my mama recommended us to get buffalo brand since the interior pot is made of stainless steel..... you can get the rice cooker from OG & song-cho.... they only have 3 models for rice cooker, mama gotten us the most expensive one = $358 since it's fully made by buffalo brand & she said the pot used better quality stainless steel....

smart cooker

exterior

interior

 so this rice cooker has different functions which include baking cake which i have yet to try that function.... i agreed the cooker is pretty expensive but is a good investment in the long run since you can use it for quite a long time =)

useful cleaning agent

*back dated entry*

after we have completed the renovation, we need to clean up the place before moving in... you can always engage the professional which i do recommend since it will save you time & effort but of cause you have to fork out the $.... so cheapo us decided to do the cleaning ourselves especially when the place is relatively clean.....

cif, picture taken from here....

i believed most of you would know that CIF is a good cleaning agent.... it's quite effective in removing most of the stains BUT it's not so useful for tough stains especially due in toilets or outdoor area.... i was using cif to scrub the stains in balcony floor.... i believed those were water mark accumulated over the months.... so i was like literally pouring almost the whole bottle of cif on the floor, let it soak for like 15min before scrubbing.... it did lighten the colouration but you can still see the mark..... so i thought of what my mama used to clean the toilet....

mosaic & toilet stains remover

TADA!!! your savior to tough stains..... gotten this mosaic & toilet stain remover from NTUC... think it cost about $1.5/bottle & it works wonder!!! once i squirt the solution onto the balcony floor, almost immediately there was effervescence,  within minute, the bubbles turned yellow  & you can see clumps of black precipitate.... so i just gently scrub the floor & wash with water & OMG!!! almost sparkling clean tiles!!!! i should have taken the before & after photo of the floor.... so much difference!!!! this solvent is really effective in removing stains BUT be very careful since it contain acid.... so do wash off the area with lots of water & wear gloves when cleaning the dirty area =)

renovation part 5: cabinets

*back dated entry*

finally we are at the fixing cabinets stage!!! normally this is the final step of your renovation.... initially i didnt intend to get any custom made cabinets but after being psycho by mama for so many times, i decided to just go ahead..... honestly, build in cabinets are more useful & economical in the long run since you get to make full use of the space.... but if you are on a tight budget, getting those ready made cabinets from the stores will be just as good.... for our unit in trivelis, the kitchen, toilet & bedrooms cabinets were all done for you... but of cause, those are not sufficient = you will need to create more storage space.... i engaged a carpenter recommended by mama whom was referred to by her neighbour....

Wood productions
8 Kaki bukit Ave 4
#08-44
Premier @ Kaki Bukit
S(415875)
Tel: 6341 6198
contact person: carpenter =  9661 0135(hp)

the guy didnt give us his name but just ask us to call him carpenter cause he said we wont remember anyway..... I agreed with mama that this carpenter is one of the few honest renovation guy.... he will think what's best for you & give you useful suggestions... his price might be slightly more expensive than other agents but it is worth it to pay a little bit more for his services.... another good point about this carpenter is that he & his staff are really punctual!!! another bonus point. ....let me share his work....

cabinets parts

"barrier" cabinet at entrance

study

bedside cabinet

master bedroom cabinet

small shelf in guest room

i wont say his works are excellent but at least of above average standard..... after the carpenter came down to take measurements & you confirmed what cabinets you want to make... it will take about 2 weeks for him to prepare the material & depending on how many cabinets you are doing, he may take more than 1 day to fix them up.... mine took about 1.5 days to finish everything.... he charged a total of $4100 for all the carpentry work.... i would say that's a reasonable price..... one interesting thing is that his policy is that he doesnt take deposit, he only collect payment when everything is done.... i was quite surprised when i heard that since all the companies required a deposit before they start work.... hence, i STRONGLY recommend this carpenter!!! do engage him if you are interested in getting some carpentry work done =)

renovation part 4 : window grills

*back dated entry*

after installing the lights, next up is to put up window grills.... i know some people dont see the need for window grills but for me, is definitely a MUST especially when we stay so high up.... there are actually quite a number of companies which do window grills but most of them reside in the north... since there are already so many BTO in the north, not many of them will want to come over to the west side for just one business...... so i just gotten the contact from my mother-in-law who just did her window grill recently.....

Heng Door & Renovation
No. 21, Tuas West Avenue
Singare 638435
Tel: 6452 5212
Contact person: Andy Ting (9339 8889/ 9002 5476)

Asked Andy to come down for a quotation last week and he quoted $1600 for the window grills (3 bedroom & service yard) as well as bi-fold door for kitchen..... wanted to do glass door for my kitchen but due to space restriction, we have to go for bi-fold door or else we wont have space to put dinning table..... I would say the price he quoted wasnt cheap, slightly on the pricey side but since we dont know other contacts, we have to make do with it.....

window grill panels

frame for window grills

bi-fold door

set up frame

the staff brought over all the raw material & will set up before putting up onto the windows.... they were quite efficient, finished setting up in about 1hr+

support for window grill

i thought they will just drill in the window grills but apparently they have this extra piece of metal which act as support for the grills....

window grill

i chose the aluminum grill & sprayed paint to the original window frame colour... according to Andy, this was the improved quality whereby the grills looked slimmer but actually made of thicker material... I seriously cant tell the difference after they put up the grills but lets just hope it's really of better quality....

kitchen door

haha... now the kitchen door really look like a toilet door..... i mean after all, that's the common material used for toilets..... some of our neighbours didnt put kitchen door but i think it's necessary especially when you on the air-con or cooking alot of stuff.....

on the whole, i think this company is still ok.... the only thing i dont like is that Andy like to sweet talk & he LIED!!!! when mama asked him whether he will get the professional to install the windows, Andy said all his staff were pro since he only hired chinese.... i was like ok..... i dont care about his workers' races as long as they can do a good job... BUT on the actual day, all the staff who came were foreign workers!!! think they were from Myanmar or something.... dont get me wrong, i am not being racist here.... but dont LIE TO ME!!!! at least they did quite a decent job or else i will scold that bloody Andy like mad!!!!  hence, i wont strongly recommend this shop unless you cant find any other choices =)

part 3 of renovation : electrical work

*back dated entry*

today is one of the more crucial part of the renovation = electrical work!!!! i felt this is important because after that there will be lights in the house = i can stay till night time = more time to prepare/do things in the house.....

actually i have been searching for electrician contacts for quite awhile & apparently is much harder than i thought.... if you engaged a contractor then of cause you dont have to worry about electrical work but i have to source for my own contacts.... getting contacts is already a major hurdle, choosing a suitable electrician is an even bigger problem!!!  I seriously have no idea why so many electricians dont keep track of their appointments!?!??!?! i kena stood up by at least 3 electricians or at least the contact person!!! all of them didnt show up at the promised timing & when i message them where are they, their replies were i forgot.... like WTF!!!! dont u write down what appointments you have for that day!!?!?!? there is no way i will engage those people, what if they stood me up again on the actual day!!!! thankfully i managed to find a more reliable guy, my friend introduced me since that guy did the electrical work for her house & she seem quite happy with it.....

Fu Chuan Electrical & Plumbing Services
Blk 440 Yishun Ave 11 #07-470 Singapore 760440
Tel: 6729 7470               
Fax: 6852 1329
Email: fuchuanservices@gmail.com    

Website: www.facebook.com/fuchuanservices

my contact person was Steven (9452 6055), middle aged man but he was very punctual!!! this is very very VERY important!!!! he first came down to give me a quotation, if you ok with the price then can arrange a date for his workers to come down.... actually i dont need to do major electrical work, mainly is to install lights & shifting some of the lighting/power points.... since mine was simple work, it can be done in a day's time with 2 electricians..... lets move onto pictures...

living room lights

corridor lights

corridor light

for most of the lights were just fix on = didnt shift lighting point so was really simple tasks for them... the difficult/messy part was to shift points cause they need to drill through the concrete wall.... at first i thought they will need to hack down like a big chunk of the ceiling just to shift the wires but apparently is much simpler than i imagined....

drilled ceiling to shift light points

they only need to drill something like a 2cm wide track to pull wires over..... no wonder they can complete the drilling + installing lights on the same day since it only required small patch up....

shifted light point + patch up

the electricians will patch up the track with some cement & let it dry before putting up the lights

light at the shifted point

the cement will take about a day to completely dry... when i took the photo was afew hours later so you can still see the patch work..... after the cement has dried up, just touch up with white paint & will be as good as new =)


they will do the same thing for wall mount fan.... but if the fan is mounted on a partition wall then they wont need to drill the whole track but just 2 holes to pull the wires...

hole on partition wall

new power point for the fan

i think wall mount fans are quite useful especially for small rooms cause you dont have to crack your brain about where to put the bloody fan..... it is also good if you have small kids/babies since their little fingers wont be able to reach the fans....

door bell installation

we also asked the electrician to install door bell for us.... shua ku us thought the box is the door bell but apparently, it was just to cover up the hole for the door bell -_-||||| ok.... after showing the pictures, let me share the breakdown for the individal work....

install lights = $15/ light (cost more if you have some super fancy lights)
supply & install door bell = $50
shifting of lighting point = $50 (if shift less than 1m)
supply & shift power point for wall fan = $80
install ceiling fan = $50
install wall fan (without shifting power point) = $30
shifting of power point = $80 (if i am not wrong)

my total electrical work cost $585 which i think was a reasonable price....most of the electricians charge $10/light installation but they charge ALOT for shifting light points!!! like $100+/shift..... extra powerpoint also cost $120..... so OMG expensive....

i would recommend Steven if you just need to do electrical work as he is punctual & give reasonable prices.... his workers were very efficient too..... they came abit later than the arranged time & managed to finish all the work in about 4hours.... they also clean up the place after they are done which i think is a good habit..... for payment wise, you dont need to pay deposit... he accept bank transfer so just transfer him the $ after the work is done =)