Kovan Maisonette - Master room

The couple has a 7 month old baby and wishes to have the cot as close to them as possible when they sleep at night.
Husband likes to watch soccer too at night while the wife sleeps.

The conventional planning in a HDB maisonette was the single room facing the balcony below was the master with an attached toilet.

What we propose was to change the master to the 2 adjoining rooms, with one being the master room and the other was a baby cum recreational area. The 2 rooms are separated by a sliding door which allows the baby to be near the sleeping parents.

The next 5 years will be a transitional time for the baby to move to the other room whilst the room attached to the master can be converted to a recreational tv area for the hubs to watch soccer in the wee morning hours and the wife can sleep just next door.

Meantime, hubs will have to watch soccer downstairs while the baby is asleep.

Kovan Maisonette - Study Room

We came up with the S, M, L option for the study area for the couple who needed an area to work from home and as an extra room for the parent to stay over.

L - Dedicated wardrobe area with study table and pull out sofa
M - Study table, tv console and pull out sofa
S - Pull out sofa and a study table

Hougang Maisonette - Designing as we go along (Bathroom Vanity Cabinet)

The toilet layout for both toilets are very small. In area wise, it's quite comfortable, but we just couldn't fathom why did HDB put the WC so far away from the pipes that the leftover space for the sink becomes so tight when we add a glass partition for the shower area.

I mean, who doesn't want a shower glass partition? Keeps all the water in the actual wet area and keeps the sink and WC dry when you shower. Although a shower curtain might do the job but it's not the same.

But what i really want to say is, at the end of the day, Iron Lady Chef could only get a small sink for both master and common bath. And there's hardly any counter space left to put toothbrush and mug on the counter.  So we had to improvise the design a little - actually I like doing these sort of things! Designing and finding a solution is what we are here for!

She can always hide the toothbrush and mug within the mirror cabinet above but we think it's quite a chore to do this every morning and night. Plus, dampness in the cabinet from the toothbrush...hmm, not very hygienic. So we decided to do a vertical open shelving at the side where she can put all this bathroom utilities.

Now is just waiting for her approval.
If not there's also those mount-to-the-wall toothbrush holders too. But we are really not so keen on those.

Hougang Maisonette - Bathroom updates!

The ventilation blocks are up already! Here's how it looks from the yard area. This is where the powder room's fresh air will be coming in from. Previous layout had a door opening here, assuming that's how it was being ventilated, but hmm, when you are using the toilet, you would have to close the door right? And what if you are doing a big one, wouldn't you be basking in your own perfume?
Door close and no windows to outside...oh dear.

 a look from the inside of the powder room. The walls are done here, we are not doing any tiling works, it's just cement screed finish. Pure raw look.

 Master toilet - Alcove up with accent wall tiles.

leaving shelves now to be inserted into the alcove area.

a look at the different tiles we are using here!

Grey --> White --> Coloured

Hougang Maisonette - Some Panoramic shots of the house

most of the rounded edges have been hacked off and plastered straight.

The tiler is laying the cement base on before the kitchen tiles goes on top.

Reno@Kovan - Rethinking spaces

to plan for a future of possibilities.

constraints
1) bedhead must always be against a solid wall
2) no double decker concept
3) no green in the rooms
4) think pink, peach and purple

Reno@Hougang Maisonette - Updates

 

The ventilation blocks are here!  

Which means we can start to measure it on the wall to get the hacked area done.

Here's a look at the "going to be hacked" area from the yard.

The walls are starting to look much spiffier now with all the plastering work done.

here's how it looks on the inside of the powder room

the ventilation blocks

i think these are much better than the glass blocks because it provides both ventilation and light!

And very old school.

windows replaced in both toilets

floor tiles all complete in both toilets too!

Stirling HDB Terrace - Study Corner

here are some day photos of my study corner.
I've just changed a new poster which i bought IKEA.
Love the mustache guy holding the black umbrella in the rain.
Whimsical!

Reno@Hougang Maisonette - Reno Updates

 waterproofing laid for the kitchen area

 the men. hatching a plan.

common bath - wall tiles completed

Now is the waiting game

1) we wait for the HDB officer to approve our hacking works for the bedroom upstairs. (coming to 3 weeks now, first time was not approved, so we submit in more drawings)

2) we wait for Iron Lady Chef's decision on whether to change or keep the windows. This will affect the overall progress because the windows need to be changed first before the tiler can continue with his works at the balcony and bedroom areas.

Here are some yummy photos of black sliding doors /windows since we are on this topic of windows to share!

I've always admire the black and white colonial house look, where the frames are black against the stark white walls complete with french windows. The combination always looks classic and elegant as time goes by. Plus it's very eco friendly as louvre windows provide natural ventilation and allows a certain penetration of daylight into the living areas.

Kovan Maisonette - Pre Reno Photos (upper storey)

Bedroom 3

Master Room

Master bath

Common bath

Kovan Maisonette - Pre Reno Photos (lower storey)

Dining & Living

Living

Kitchen 1

Kitchen 2

Kitchen and common bath

Yard/ Balcony

Utility room

DIY Lamp paint job

Hi there!
I've been under the weather lately, been wanting to post this DIY since last weekend! Hubs was heavily involved in this project of mine as I was not feeling very well. So he did most of the work - spraying the paint but i did all the washing and hard scrubbing part.

Little bit of history goes...
We adopted a pair of lamps from Iron Lady's Chef place because she didn't want it but I thought they were quite quaint and charming. So I offered to revamp this pair of lamps for her, and I thought if at the end of the day she still think it's not suitable, it's ok at least we have tried, if she likes it, then we helped her to save some money!!!

this was how it looked when we brought it home - rusty and dusty

rust on all the metal parts

hubs dismantled the lamp one piece at a time

this little fella had so many screws!!! See how dusty and dirty it was.

All the parts dismantled

into a tub of water they go!

I squat at my yard, scrubbing the metal bits and rubbing the glass pieces with my hands.

And they came out clean and squeaky. :)

Spray paint!

Then we ran out of spray paint so hubs went out to buy some more.

here how it looks!

Looking smart now

Next we put the glass pieces back in

In goes the screws

Last but not least the bottom part of the lamp to be added

Front view of restored lamp

Side View of restored lamp

xoxo

velle