ID vs Contractor

All along we knew we wanted to engage an ID for the following reasons:-

• Both myself and hubby are working full time and we simply do not have the time to oversee a renovation project. We prefer to engage an ID to coordinate and be the main contact point for our renovation.

• We also prefer what I would say a ‘one-stop service center’ whereby we could select our all materials, painting, bathroom and kitchen accessories from one source.

• Last but most importantly for me….is the 3D drawing! I absolutely have to see how my apartment will turn out in 3D drawing before proceeding with the actual renovation. I know for some others this may not be important but as this is my first home renovation, I would like to have the re-assurance that everything will be exactly like what I wanted and that the designer completely understood my vision.

I can’t help being a perfectionist….hubby commented since the planning of our wedding in 2011 that I have an obsessive, compulsive disorder…lol!! I was a bridezilla (as he said)…obsessing over every little details…doing all the planning and sourcing myself as I do not trust anyone doing a better job than me ;) Of course in the end I was extremely overwhelmed...fussing about stuff right up to the moment of my actual day wedding banquet. Lesson learnt...I should have engaged a wedding planner....does it makes sense now why I chose an ID?

ID also comes with a higher price tag as you know they will obviously take a cut out of everything. If you select doors for your rooms through your ID the price will be more expensive than you buying direct from the source...for example though Yontat doors (apparently this supplier is widely talked about on forums). But the pro is that all coordination will be done by your ID....if they deliver the wrong door (in our case we got the wrong door a couple of times!) your ID will handle to make sure they change it. If you order direct then you will have to liaise with them to get it changed. I read of a case on forum whereby the door maker keep sending doors which doesn't fit and they had to keep changing up to 3 times!! As the owner ordered direct...he had to be there each time they changed it! It depends on your luck...

I am not trying to promote ID services but it's merely personal preference...as it is after all my first renovation project. For my next home I will most definitely consider to engage a contractor as I am more aware now on the process of renovation and later on in my blog I will elaborate further on the difficulties I encountered with my ID and some important tips for future home owners.

Condominium apartment pictures- Before renovation

It has been a long time since I started this blog with the initial intention of documenting the whole renovation process. With all the distractions of the renovation, I did not manage to complete the blog.

For information, we selected Plush Living as our ID.

Below are the pictures of the 2 bedroom apartment we purchased before renovation.

Living room / Dining room / Kitchen

Living room

Dining room

Kitchen 

Kitchen - Sink area next to yard

Guest bedroom cum study room

Common bathroom

Master bedroom / Bathroom

I will briefly run through the process of how I make decisions before making an offer to purchase.

• I have a few basic criteria which is to have a master bathroom with separate bathtub and shower, a balcony or terrace, an open concept kitchen and last but most importantly is walking distance to MRT.

• Each time i visit a unit I am interested in, I will make a rough sketch of the floor plan (as you know most units does not have an open kitchen and some have a very small master bathroom). When I get home I will try to find a picture of the floor plan via Google images if the agent could not provide. I will then work on the floor plan to figure out if walls can hacked to make an open concept kitchen and to expand a small bathroom to accommodate a separate bath and shower. 

• Basically I will already have a vision of what I am able to do with the apartment after the first visit.

• Above is our floor plan. In yellow are all the walls that we plan to hack. Of course we cannot touch the structural walls.

• When you enter the apartment there is a very small entrance way and the kitchen is just next to it, separated by a wall. I plan to hack this wall to make an open concept kitchen incorporating a small island. This will also make the entrance way more brighter and create a better impression as you walk though the door.

• We will also remove all window grills as we do not have any young children.

• From the picture of the living room, you can see a narrow planter just outside the window. We plan to level the planter up and convert this space into a small balcony.

• In the common bedroom we plan to hack the wall to install a wood framed double glass door. This room we will convert to a study cum guest bedroom and install a custom made full height bookshelf incorporating a small wardrobe.

We plan to revamp the whole unit keeping only the existing marble flooring in the living room and parquet flooring in the bedrooms to save cost.