toilet & kitchen related fixtures:
pls note that i'm only comparing jambans because in my mind, taps & shower stuff are pretty similar. a good practice i think is to always take a note pad along with you to keep track of the models that you like, as well as the prices each place sells them for.
1) royal fanco (135 Jln Besar. Tel:62990453)
good to go to get initial first quotes as the prices tt are quoted from the uncle (henry) there are pretty reasonable- so you at least know what the 'going rates' are. the uncle there is also pretty knowledgable.
2) Poh Joo (159 Jln Besar, but they have many branches!)
prices for the water closets there were pretty competitive, & the director there (benjamin) is pretty experienced & helpful. definitely good to check out.
3) Hoe Kee (8 Genting Road)
it's also recommended due to variety i think. again, i have not personally checked it out, but have heard it's good.
4)Chuan Heng Hardware (144 Jalan Besar)
prices quoted from his were reasonable too. the dude we spoke to seemed pretty knowledgable. good to check out. :)
5) Sim Siang Choon (551 Balestier Rd)
i had visited this place briefly, but had not compared prices. it does come recommended though.
6) about the jamban
from what i've heard, these are the usual 'brands' to look out for: toto, rigel, genova, american standard, baron, velin, crizto.
also- look through the papers for warehouse sales, as you can get pretty good deals then.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
let there be light (part 1)
after extensive light hunting over the past few weekends, we finally decided on our lights!
the bf's friend recommended lights arcade (321 balestier rd), saying that they had very reasonably priced lights, and that if we had any lights in mind that were not on display, we could get them to check if they could get it for us & do a 'package' deal with them.
the lady we met there (jen-e loh) was really friendly & went around recommending lights that to us when we told her the type of look & feel that we wanted. her opinions were really helpful. definitely will visit their shop again if i ever need to change lights next time. and yes. i'd recommend them too. but of course with the disclaimer tt it's always wise to 'shop around' first so you know what the prices are like la.
the total quote that she came up with was reasonable- we actually meant to just go there to get a quote, but the fact that she chased me down to return my handphone which i accidentally left at their store was probably the clincher. lol. we ended up paying the deposit (only $50) to them & the rest was history. hehe.
bedroom entrance downlight (halogen light, movable. $20)
study room light (rectangular with wooden border & glass top $90 for double tube)
we got recommended this as the jen said that the tubes would be significantly brighter for the study. other than the shape & tubes used, it looks the same as the rest of the rooms!
bedroom lights (square with wooden border. $65 each)
we actually wanted a simpler looking one with just a plain brown border tt was going for $90 in other shops... but was told that the one we wanted would be a hassle as the bulb changing is difficult due to the structure. oh well. this was just as good. save $$ s'more. :)
toilet lights- mini 'hamburgers' (fibre glass acrylic $30 each)
we wanted to get the cheaper normal versions, but were told that these would not turn yellow for loooooong loooong time. so ok la. hope it means i will be better able to squeeze those tiny tiny zits easily coz i can see them so well in the white light for a loooong loooong time!
the bf's friend recommended lights arcade (321 balestier rd), saying that they had very reasonably priced lights, and that if we had any lights in mind that were not on display, we could get them to check if they could get it for us & do a 'package' deal with them.
the lady we met there (jen-e loh) was really friendly & went around recommending lights that to us when we told her the type of look & feel that we wanted. her opinions were really helpful. definitely will visit their shop again if i ever need to change lights next time. and yes. i'd recommend them too. but of course with the disclaimer tt it's always wise to 'shop around' first so you know what the prices are like la.
the total quote that she came up with was reasonable- we actually meant to just go there to get a quote, but the fact that she chased me down to return my handphone which i accidentally left at their store was probably the clincher. lol. we ended up paying the deposit (only $50) to them & the rest was history. hehe.
bedroom entrance downlight (halogen light, movable. $20)
study room light (rectangular with wooden border & glass top $90 for double tube)
we got recommended this as the jen said that the tubes would be significantly brighter for the study. other than the shape & tubes used, it looks the same as the rest of the rooms!
bedroom lights (square with wooden border. $65 each)
we actually wanted a simpler looking one with just a plain brown border tt was going for $90 in other shops... but was told that the one we wanted would be a hassle as the bulb changing is difficult due to the structure. oh well. this was just as good. save $$ s'more. :)
toilet lights- mini 'hamburgers' (fibre glass acrylic $30 each)
we wanted to get the cheaper normal versions, but were told that these would not turn yellow for loooooong loooong time. so ok la. hope it means i will be better able to squeeze those tiny tiny zits easily coz i can see them so well in the white light for a loooong loooong time!
let there be light (part 2)
downlights for hall (13 by 13 cm. $25 each)
corner living room light (the birdsnest. $70)
yes i know it's gonna be difficult to clean... but i likey. hehe
dining room light (dark brown string lamp trio $165)
originally wanted a more 'woody' type light, but was told by the owner that they no longer brought it in coz they had problems with the workmanship. so we settled with this one.
kitchen lights (big 'hamburger- fiberglass acrylic $48)
also decided to 'upgrade' this due to the 'stay white' reason. well. hopefully i'll be able to spot & baygon all would-be pests easily for looong looong time with this.
post discount, we ended up with a grand total of $865 spent, as well as a written & signed disclaimer from the boss of lights arcade that read like so on our invoice:
'any lights not suitable can be exchanged or rejected (before mounting) without any penalty or surcharge'
he also assured us that if for any reason we need to replace the light parts in the future, his company will die die try to find a replacement for us. lights that he provide will also come with a 6 month warranty, after which if there is a problem with the lights, he will still change for us if anything wrong within 1-2 yrs. sounds good la.
corner living room light (the birdsnest. $70)
yes i know it's gonna be difficult to clean... but i likey. hehe
dining room light (dark brown string lamp trio $165)
originally wanted a more 'woody' type light, but was told by the owner that they no longer brought it in coz they had problems with the workmanship. so we settled with this one.
kitchen lights (big 'hamburger- fiberglass acrylic $48)
also decided to 'upgrade' this due to the 'stay white' reason. well. hopefully i'll be able to spot & baygon all would-be pests easily for looong looong time with this.
post discount, we ended up with a grand total of $865 spent, as well as a written & signed disclaimer from the boss of lights arcade that read like so on our invoice:
'any lights not suitable can be exchanged or rejected (before mounting) without any penalty or surcharge'
he also assured us that if for any reason we need to replace the light parts in the future, his company will die die try to find a replacement for us. lights that he provide will also come with a 6 month warranty, after which if there is a problem with the lights, he will still change for us if anything wrong within 1-2 yrs. sounds good la.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
home choices- mbr toilet
showerhead set ('upgraded' for $125):
shower mixer ('upgraded' for $90 i think):
toilet basin mixer:
mbr toilet basin:
mbr wc:
still to be confirmed. :p i didn't really like the rest of the choices of wc at lucky khoon.. so am thinking of buying this seperately on my own..
shower mixer ('upgraded' for $90 i think):
toilet basin mixer:
mbr toilet basin:
mbr wc:
still to be confirmed. :p i didn't really like the rest of the choices of wc at lucky khoon.. so am thinking of buying this seperately on my own..
home choices: kitchen
now for the kitchen stuff:
kitchen hood:
kitchen hob:
kitchen mixer (we 'upgraded this one'.. dunno what the damage is yet):
kitchen sink:
kitchen hood:
kitchen hob:
kitchen mixer (we 'upgraded this one'.. dunno what the damage is yet):
kitchen sink:
home choices- kitchen toilet
went to lucky khoon (31 Joo Chiat Place) to pick our home 'accessories' that came with the northwest package. btw- don't ask me what brand cuz i didn't really take note. think cuz it's provided by the ID firm, should not be too 'good' brand also la.
kitchen toilet showerhead:
kitchen toilet shower mixer:
kitchen toilet basin mixer:
kitchen toilet basin:
kitchen toilet wc:
kitchen toilet showerhead:
kitchen toilet shower mixer:
kitchen toilet basin mixer:
kitchen toilet basin:
kitchen toilet wc:
furniture we bought!
hehe just an update on the furniture we have so far:
bedframe:
shoe cabinet:
sofa:
1-seater:
bedframe:
shoe cabinet:
sofa:
1-seater:
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Very packed weekend!
We went to meet Mike (our UD) to show him our home & let him take measurements as well as choose the tiles for our home on the weekend. Oh. We also decided on a few changes to our room layout
1) Change of Layout:
Our initial layout was to knock down a portion of wall between the MBR & the bedroom like so:
However, we realised once we went to 'view' our flat on our own, that we get very good wind flow from the living room area windows... so we decided to maximise the ventilation, by changing our layout to this:
Mike has said that he will get back to us on what the additional costs might be... so we're keeping our fingers firmly crosed. We have both hacking & sealing of areas to deal with on our original & recent design, so hopefully the damage will not be substantial *crosses toes too*
2) Mike views flat
First thing when we went to our home: Mike pointed out a long crack along the side of the wall. Suggested that we give HDB a call to make sure that there was nothing structurally wrong with the room. Felt very concerned when I heard that. He also did some measurements on the vanity area we wanted outside our MBR, as well as confirmed the length of the cabinetry we wanted done. exciting!
3) Viewing of tiles at Hafary
Me and the bf were a little ks. Mike told us that the tile shop that Northwest has a business relationship mainly with Hafary, so we'd probably be picking our tiles from there. So we happily made our way down early last week to 'see see look look' took a few samples of what we thought we wanted. I had a friend also doing renovations presently who went to 2 other tile shops, so I bummed the samples which he didn't want off him & we picked the samples from there too. keke. So once we went to Hafary, we simply took out our tile sample choices & showed them to Mike. It was then pretty much a 'look for matching tile' game there at Hafary. We did however change our 'simple white walls' idea for our kitchen toilet & went for tiles which looked slightly 'woody'. I wish wish wish that I took pictures of the samples, but I didn't... will update once I do get the samples from Mike next time we meet him! (He very kindly offered to pick up samples of our tile choices!)
1) Change of Layout:
Our initial layout was to knock down a portion of wall between the MBR & the bedroom like so:
However, we realised once we went to 'view' our flat on our own, that we get very good wind flow from the living room area windows... so we decided to maximise the ventilation, by changing our layout to this:
Mike has said that he will get back to us on what the additional costs might be... so we're keeping our fingers firmly crosed. We have both hacking & sealing of areas to deal with on our original & recent design, so hopefully the damage will not be substantial *crosses toes too*
2) Mike views flat
First thing when we went to our home: Mike pointed out a long crack along the side of the wall. Suggested that we give HDB a call to make sure that there was nothing structurally wrong with the room. Felt very concerned when I heard that. He also did some measurements on the vanity area we wanted outside our MBR, as well as confirmed the length of the cabinetry we wanted done. exciting!
3) Viewing of tiles at Hafary
Me and the bf were a little ks. Mike told us that the tile shop that Northwest has a business relationship mainly with Hafary, so we'd probably be picking our tiles from there. So we happily made our way down early last week to 'see see look look' took a few samples of what we thought we wanted. I had a friend also doing renovations presently who went to 2 other tile shops, so I bummed the samples which he didn't want off him & we picked the samples from there too. keke. So once we went to Hafary, we simply took out our tile sample choices & showed them to Mike. It was then pretty much a 'look for matching tile' game there at Hafary. We did however change our 'simple white walls' idea for our kitchen toilet & went for tiles which looked slightly 'woody'. I wish wish wish that I took pictures of the samples, but I didn't... will update once I do get the samples from Mike next time we meet him! (He very kindly offered to pick up samples of our tile choices!)
Monday, August 4, 2008
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