You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February, 2007.
IN THE LIEWS’ LEES’ LIVING ROOM, the black-glass feature wall behind the TV console reflects the orange lights on the ceiling, making the room look much bigger than it really is. The couple also chose a black sofa and added red cushions and curtains to fit the contemporary theme. — LIM WUI LIANG
’MY HUSBAND Andy and I want our home to have a modern yet cosy feel. Together with our designer Kelvin Ng, we decided to use different types of lighting to create this look.
When you step into the living room, you will notice the many halogen lamps on the ceiling. These lamps produce warm orange lighting and they can be dimmed to create a cosy feel. But the lamps are not very bright and it is difficult to see clearly if we want do some reading in the living room.
To address this problem, we decided to add white lights which can be switched on if we need the room to be brighter. These white lights are concealed – you can see them only when they are switched on.
We like this idea of having two different kinds of lighting in the living room as it is more flexible. It is also a creative idea which makes our home different from others.
We have also used lights to try something different on the wall behind the sofa. Usually, many people choose to hang paintings or photos on a plain wall to occupy the space. However, we simply projected orange lighting onto the wall itself to create a visual effect which I think is very unique.
We have stuck to a basic colour scheme of black and red in staying with the contemporary theme of our home.
We have a feature wall behind the TV console that is made of black glass and it reflects the orange lights on the ceiling. This makes the living room look much bigger than it really is.
We also chose a black sofa to complement the feature wall. To prevent our home from looking too dull, we added red cushions and curtains to brighten it up.
We wanted our home to be modern and cosy and it is very satisfying to know that we are able to achieve this design concept simply through the creative use of lights.’
jocelee@sph.com.sg
The actual newspaper article.
Never in our wildest dream did we expect a journalist from SPH to interview us barely 5 days after our place is only 90% completed.
The story begins when Hb insisted that I send some photos of our new place to STOMP on the 1st day of CNY. I was skeptical but gave in and send the photos anyway.
And surprise surprise! I received the email from Jocelyn this morning who eagerly arranged for us to meet up tonight at 8:30pm for a short interview.
She and WC, the photographer was punctual and both of them were quick to get into business. Jocelyn started off the interview with lotsa of “Why this kind of lighting?”, “Why this color scheme?”, “Why modern look?”, “Why this kind of sofa?”…blah blah blah.
Frankly I didn’t expect to answer so many questions at one go. However she couldn’t understand the difference between cool and warm colors, what’s the difference between a laminate and glass….so I guess that she is still pretty new in this area.
Anyway, this is another memorable milestone for our reno process. And we heard from WC that the photos (with both of us smiling idiotically at the camera) WILL be featured on the Sunday Times this week…
As to how big the photo will be, and what will be written on it is another story. However, I am already very satisfied that at least someone out there appreciates our flat design to the extent of coming down at night for an interview. 
Thank you Jocelyn! 
We finally had our little gathering (both our families and some frens) over the Lunar New Year. We couldn’t pull these all off if these 3 significant people haven’t contributed to the success of our little gathering at our new place.
1. My Mother; she took time off to spring clean with me the kitchen cabinets, the fridge etc etc (althou she has to be busy with her own spring cleaning) and also gave us so many of her precious collections of cookware, forks, spoons, kettle ete etc. The list goes on and on and still keeps on growing. On the actual day of my little gal frens gathering, she woke up early and cooked her famous delicious chicken curry to contribute to my little potluck lunch.
2. My MIL; she gave us so many of her precious collections of knives, cookware, forks, butter knifes etc etc too! On the actual day of our family gathering, she even spared the time and effort to buy us food, seasoning, ketchup, chilli, kitchen towels etc etc etc! I am so touched by her gesture and she even went to the extend of buying paper plates and stuff so that we wouldn’t need to wash up after our little family affair.
3. My HB; he is a true blue soldier at work and also one die hard fighter at home. He stayed up with me throughout the few grueling nights to sweep, vacuum, mop and clean up all the hard to reach places even though he has less then 4 hours of sleep before. He moved the sofas, mounted LCD TV, put up the curtains, set the bed sheets and many many more. Even then, he prepared breakfast the next morning and cleaned up the kitchen right after without me asking him to do it. Like a tireless warrior, he entertained my frens, washed the dishes and cleaned up the place with me – side by side; shoulder to shoulder.
Our Reno 90% completed…some pictures to enjoy!
Happy Lunar New Year everyone!
- Touchup of Paintwork
- Installation of additional dimmers & shifting of points
- Installation of speakers
- Kitchen cabinet door defects rectified
It is a very long and slow week. The black glass for feature wall and dining area is still not up yet. Kelvin is not going to set the black glass for the washing machine at this junction too (dunno why) and the skirting is also not up yet. The toilette set is not in and the laundry hanger is yet to be dismantled. The last two item is certainly an eye sore . L
From the looks of it…it seems that it is going to be yet another mad rush for us. Cleaning and making sure that our dining and living area is decent enough for our guests. The rest of our place can wait and closed to the public eye. As you know, the study room and the rest of the items will have to be completed after CNY. We do not have any issues with these arrangements but hope that Kelvin will rectify the bad workmanship of the black glass wardrobe and the scratched kitchen glass wall fast!
Someone in the Renotalk forum asked for the speaker wall bracket mount and so, here is the picture! 
Outstanding Tasks
The following items are still outstanding:
Installation of solid top, backslash and tap for kitchen cabinet- Installation of black glass for feature wall & dining table
Installation of mosaic platform- Installation of study ledge and display cabinet
Installation of mirror in masterbed room toiletInstallation of glass for the wardrobe drawers panelsInstallation of the “black laminate poles” to create a walkway in living room- Installation of planks inside the utility cabinet to create shelves for shoes
- Installation of bed side ledges for master bed room
- Installation of toilette set
Installation of lights inside the wardrobe & mirror boxupInstallation of lights and dining lights at the dining area- Installation of lights for the kitchen cabinets work surface
Installation of additional dimmers & shifting of pointsInstallation of speakersInstallation of roller blinds- Reinstallation of skirting,
kitchen Cabinet door, dismantling of laundry hanger - Rectification of DEFECTS
- Dining Lights installed
- Phillips LCD TV installed and mounted
- Toshiba Washer installed
- Gas opened
Comments:
WHITE COLLECTION SUCKS LIKE HELLThey lagi stupid – arranged our storage bench delivery from 12pm-2pm and our dining chairs at 5pm-7pm!
The BEST part is that the last minute (as usual), they called and said that they cannot deliver the storage bench and will arrange another delivery. My hb wasted the whole afternoon waiting for a non existent storage bench!
However, our dining chairs did arrive but we refused to pay a single cent! We say we will only pay in full only when the storage bench arrive. Therefore, we decided to let them f*ckup our deliver of storage for as long as they want and so we can enjoy the free dining chairs. *hahahha*
CARPETS
We went to the recommended Pacific Trading Pte Ltd @ Bukit Timah Plaza and regretted getting the carpets from them! The boss is not honest, telling me that they are selling the supermini carpet @ $20 and half an hour later, claimed that its going for $28 when I decided to get it! And the super shaggy rag that they are selling is going for 50% discount – which is still $400 plus. It is still slight more expensive than the super shaggy rags sold by Carpets & Furnishing @ Tagore Drive UA building.
We decided to get the shaggy rug sold by Carpets & Furnishing for only $255. Cheap within our budget and honest.
Outstanding Tasks
The following items are still outstanding:
Installation of solid top, backslash and tap for kitchen cabinet- Installation of black glass for feature wall
Installation of mosaic platform- Installation of study ledge and display cabinet
Installation of mirror in masterbed room toilet- Installation of glass for the wardrobe drawers panels
Installation of the “black laminate poles” to create a walkway in living room- Installation of planks inside the utility cabinet to create shelves for shoes
- Installation of bed side ledges for master bed room
- Installation of toilette set
Installation of lights inside the wardrobe & mirror boxupInstallation of lights and dining lights at the dining area- Installation of lights for the kitchen cabinets work surface
Installation of additional dimmers& shifting of points- Installation of speakers
Installation of roller blinds- Reinstallation of skirting, kitchen Cabinet door (removal of laundry hanger)
- Rectification of defects
Photos still stuck within the n73. Dunno why it refused to connect my labby. Will retake the photos and post them up soon. This is one of the photo taken last week. Enjoy!
Only one week to go! Hopefully everything can be done by next week.
- Backslash installed
- Mirror for vanity top installed
- OM dining table is in!
- HN delivered our 37” Phillips LCD TV
Comments for OM:
Thumbs-up:
OM is really professional They arrived within the agreed timeslot. Our dining table looks great! Thumbs-down
The flower design for the Fiamma Dining Table is not as fine as the one we saw at the showroom. There is a very tiny dent at one of the steel legs. WHITE COLLECTION SUCKS
They unbelievably called up this morning and say there is no stock for our dining chairs! Imagine our shock and horror since they have called up yesterday to confirm delivery from 5-7pm.And the best part is that they DO NOT KNOW when the shipment is in and they CANNOT GURANTEE that we can get our dining chairs before CNY.
Heck! I called in numerous times and demand for an explanation! For the last few occasions they kept mixing up the delivery date! And now this!I wish there is no other better way to express our frustration except: &^%@^%^!@#^&!@#&*^!&%!!
Our Day:
Me and mum cleaned up the Kitchen Cabinets and fridge. Hb arrived at around 3pm for a late lunch. He also put up the curtains to see the effect and was very pleased with the cosy effect. I like the “scarlet hotel” color combination and ambience.
However, one of the curtains have some “stretch” marks but Kevin promptly arrived to collect it back and promised to make us another one! Kudos to Kevin for his timely service! :)We proceed to IKEA and got ourselves some bowls, plates, chairs etc for our new place.As promised: here are the photos!
Kelvin’s brainchild – mosaic platform!
Kitchen with blackslash! Photos courtesy of Kelvin.
Outstanding Tasks
The following items are still outstanding:
Installation of solid top, backslash and tap for kitchen cabinet- Installation of black glass for feature wall
Installation of mosaic platform- Installation of study ledge and display cabinet
Installation of mirror in masterbed room toilet- Installation of glass for the wardrobe drawers panels
- Installation of the “black laminate poles” to create a walkway in living room
- Installation of planks inside the utility cabinet to create shelves for shoes
- Installation of bed side ledges for masterbed room
- Installation of toilette set
Installation of lights inside the wardrobe & mirror boxup- Installation of lights and dining lights at the dining area
- Installation of lights for the kitchen cabinets
- Installation of additional dimmers & shifting of points
- Installation of speakers
Installation of roller blinds- Rectification of defects
Summary:
- Mosaic Platform is up
- Fridge is in place
- Lights installed for our feature wall, vanity top and wardrobe
- Chemical wash is done
- Cellini Furniture is in!
- Roller binds and curtains are installed
Comments for Cellini:
Thumbs-up:
Cellini is really professional and punctual. They are supposed to deliver from 1pm-3pm but arrived before 1pm and waited. Our sofa looks great!
Thumbs-down
We have a tiny little dent for the $50 coffee-table and the “skin” of the sides of the bed frame board (beneath the mattress) came off. Hb decided to leave them be since they are not very noticeable and minor.
Our Day:
Although the place is chemical washed; we still cleaned up the place ourselves. Hb was really great; he did the all sweeping, mopping etc etc and was efficient and fast! Finally after 3-4hrs of hardwork, the tiles are pristine clean liao!
Instead of leaving the sofa, bed frame & coffee table in their boxes, we decided to open and inspect them and also to get the feel of the place. The day curtain looks great with the free grey Cellini cushions and the 3-module sofa fits in really nicely and they are smacked just right infront of our 6ft feature wall! However, my camera ran out of battery and my n73 refused to be connected to my lappy. L So, I will try to post the pictures which I took with the n73 soon.
Outstanding Tasks
The following items are still outstanding:
Installation of solid top, backslash andtap for kitchen cabinet- Installation of black glass for feature wall
Installation of mosaic platform- Installation of study ledge and display cabinet
- Installation of mirror in masterbed room toilet
- Installation of glass for the wardrobe drawers panels
- Installation of the “black laminate poles” to create a walkway in living room
- Installation of planks inside the utility cabinet to create shelves for shoes
- Installation of bed side ledges for masterbed room
- Installation of toilette set
Installation of lights inside the wardrobe & mirror boxup- Installation of lights and dining lights at the dining area
- Installation of lights for the kitchen cabinets
- Installation of additional dimmers & shifting of points
- Installation of speakers
Installation of roller blinds- Rectification of defects
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