Friday 16 May 2014

Furniture shopping at Air, Commune & more!

We Love Air....or should I say I Love Air! 

Air has a beautiful collection of modern contemporary and wood furniture. I fell in love with their glass coffee table but as I have inherited a solid wood coffee table (it has been with my family for more than 30 years).... this coffee table shall just remain in my wish list :(
Look how gorgeous this coffee table is!
Totally adore this TV console and we spent weeks thinking if we should but it or not. Even though it is on sale, it is still expensive.
TV console from Air

 Eventually we settled for this console (see below) from Commune as it cost half the price of the console from Air.
TV console from Commune
We saw this 8-seater dining table from Air and it was love at first sight for both of us. We enjoy inviting friends and family over for dinner and the size and length of the table is perfect for us! As the price was out of our budget even after 40% discount, we decided that we will try to look for a similar table elsewhere. 
Ark dining table from Air.
Another view of the amazing Ark table.
We saw a similar table from Picket & Rail (it looks quite similar but of course it cannot be compared to the Ark table) at a very attractive price. The package price comes with a set of 6 dining chairs.


Picket & Rail dining table
We almost settled for the Picket & Rail dining set but I just could not bring myself to proceed with the purchased (I must have visitied the store 5 or 6 times). After months of pondering, both myself and hubby decided we will go with out first love...the Amazing Ark table :-))

If it took us this long just to decide on a dining table, in our hearts we should know that we do not want any other table but the Ark.....

Mirror from Air which we also purchased.
Picture does not do justice to how beautiful this mirror is.
Next is the serch for the perfect sofa. Our requirement...it must be in leather with extendable leg rest in the middle seat (so we could both stretch out and cuddle up while watching a movie...haha)! Finally after a long search, we found our sofa at City Square Mall!


Thursday 15 May 2014

Renovation progress - Part 3

Finally the carpentry work is more or less completed....




However we noticed that the dishwasher was not installed correctly. This is how it ended up...the bottom part of the dishwasher dangling! It turned out our carpenter do not know how to install a dishwasher and neither do our ID! We asked our ID and carpenter to visit the Harvey Norman store where we bought our dishwasher so they could see how it was installed and the sales person who sold it to us informed us that he will be able to explain to our ID in detail. Both our ID and carpenter were extremely reluctant to go and we ended up going to Harvey Norman showroom ourselves and took photos and instruction for our ID as we were not willing to delay the project any longer. So much for counting on our ID to go the extra mile!!! This small issue caused us so much stress. But in the end we managed to get it fixed.

More pictures! :)



We bought a new hydroculture plant (maintenance free) for the balcony.


Wednesday 7 May 2014

Renovation progress - Part 2 (Carpentry)

Due to the tight schedule my ID assigned 2 different carpenter to work on my home. One carpenter will be doing the kitchen and bathrooms (light colour laminate). The other carpenter will work on the two bedrooms (dark colour laminate).

Kitchen

Kitchen/Fridge area

Common bathroom



Study cum guest room


Custom desk

Master bedroom wardrobe





Renovation progress - Part 1

The cove lights are done, aircon and dining room mirrors installed...looking good so far! When we bought our apartment there were 2 units of air-conditioner located in the living and dining room. We removed the both air-conditioners and installed one brand new 18,000 btu unit.
Another view of full length mirror, strategically placed on this part of the wall so light could reflect off the mirror and make the dining area looks more spacious. Marble flooring of the living room has been polished till it gleams.

Study cum guest bedroom parquet flooring sand and varnished. We kept the natural colour of the parquet and decide against tinting it a darker shade, which we wanted to originally.

Master bathroom shower screen, bathtub and glass window installed. Loving the bathroom.
This is where rain shower will be installed!



Friday 2 May 2014

Veneer Doors

Choosing the right type of door for your home is very important. You may wish to save some cost in selecting a hollow door but be prepared...a hollow door has the least sound proofing. If you are watching TV in the living room and your partner is trying to get some sleep in the room, even with the door closed...he will be disturbed. Of course a solid door is not 100% soundproof, but it will definitely help to minimize noise.


We selected veneer solid doors for our bathroom and bedroom. We choose veneer as we think it will give our apartment a more modern look plus there are many options to choose from...you will be spoilt for choice (different colours and woodgrains).

Tip: Make sure your ID indicate in writing the type of door you will be getting (solid, hollow etc) in the contract.

When our doors were installed we were given hollow doors. We discovered this as we found the door suspiciously light...so light that it is impossible to slam the door shut on it's own. Another way to check is to knock on the door, you will know if sounds hollow. Our ID insisted solid doors were installed but eventually admitted that they made a mistake and agreed to change the doors.

We highly recommend you to find time to visit the door supplier of your ID...at least you could speak directly to the sales staff and request them to show you the different types of door, hollow, semi-hollow and solid. This way when your doors are installed you will know exactly what type of door it is.

Tip: When choosing coloured veneer, that what you see on the sample sheet will not turn out exactly the same on actual door. After varnishing, the colour will turn at least a few shades darker.

We selected this colour for our doors. Notice how much darker the actual door turns out?
Below are the pictures of the doors we have installed for our home :)

Master bedroom door

Study cum guest bedroom double door

Top 10 Furniture / Lifestyle stores

1. Air Division

Photo credit: We love air
Our personal favourite (we bought a few items from here). We love every almost everything we see at Air….now if only budget is not a concern :)

http://www.weloveair.com/siteAir/

Address: 28 Wilkie Road, #01-01 Sophia Flats, Singapore 228051
Tel: 6336 0662

2. Commune
One of our personal favourite store as well. Features affordable, modern, wooden furniture.

http://www.thecommunelife.com

Address: Millenia Walk, 9 Raffles Boulevard, #02-52, Singapore 039596
Tel: 6338 3823

3. Lorgan’s
Best known for its retro furniture and vintage accessories. We saw a few furniture that we liked from here and a plus point is they provide customization.  

https://www.facebook.com/lorgans
http://www.lorgansdesignsource.com

Address: Century Warehouse, 100  East Pasir Panjang Road #01-03, Singapore 118521
Tel: 6272 4988

4. XTRA
Beautiful modern furniture (especially their range of outdoor furniture) with a huge price tag to match. Look out for their annual sale which sees some of their furniture at 50% off (don’t be surprised if you still see a four figure price tag even after discount).

http://www.xtra.com.sg

XMAS SALE from 14 November to 31 December 2014 


Address: Killiney Road, #01-01/02, Winsland House 1, Singapore 239519
Tel: 6836 0288

Wardrobe division by XTRA
New wardrobe division located at Winsland House 2, #01-01
Tel: 6737 7288

BOFFI Studio by EXTRA
Showcase BOFFI kitchen, storage and bathroom collection. The showroom features a very modern, clean look in mostly black and white concept. Visit just for inspiration – very high price as well.


Address: 123 Penang Road #01-13 Regency House Singapore 238465
Tel: 6836 5088

5. Grafunkt 
Lovely collection of wooden furniture with a modern look.  

http://grafunkt.com 

Grafunkt is having their 2014 year-end sale now!

  • Swish table collection 25% off
  • 30% off Bel bed and Aise table
  • GUBI - 30% in-stock items


Address: 85 Playfair Road, #02-01 Tong Yuan Industrial Building, Singapore 368000

Tel: 6281 8465

6. Picket & Rail
www.picketandrail.com

Address: City Square Mall Showroom, 180 Kitchener Road, #03-42, Singapore 208539
Tel: 6509 8390

7. Bo Concept
Contemporary, modern furniture.

www.boconcept.com/

Address: 290 Orchard road, Paragon, #04-01, Singapore 238859
Tel: 6736 0777

8. Barang Barang
http://natural-living.com.sg

Address: 9 Raffles Boulevard, #03-343, Marina Square, Singapore 039594
Tel: 6338 7040

9. Life Story
http://www.lifestorey.com

Address: Great World City, #02-15, 1 Kim Seng Promenade, Singapore 237994
Tel: 6732 7362

10. Hock Siong & Co
Pre-loved furniture from five-star hotels, show flats and we were informed that the good stuff are snapped up very quickly. Do check their Facebook for regular update.

http://www.facebook.com/hocksiongco

Address: 153 Kampong Ampat, Junjie Industrial Building, #01-03, Singapore 386326
Tel: 6281 8338

Favourite Home Accessories Store

1. I Wanna Go Home


Picture credit: I wanna go home
Address: Great World City, 1 Kim Seng Road Promenade, #01-35/36, Singapore 237994
Website: www.iwannagohome.com.sg

2. CB2 

Photo credit: I-S
Address: 178A, Peranakan Place, Orchard Road, Singapore 238845
Tel: 6732 5333
Website: http://www.cb2.com/