Life Design - Made To Order

Source : The Straits Times, Oct 27, 2007

Want a home that's one of a kind? Go for custom-made furniture

THE FIGURES
Size: 1,367 sq ft
Renovation budget:
Under $40,000

LUXE LIFE: A chandelier adds an ornate touch to the dining area, which is furnished with a custom-made dining table and fabric-panelled walls. -- PHOTO: EDGELINE PLANNERS

MARRIED couple Audie and Angeline Dimailig knew what they wanted when it came to furnishing their second home, a three-bedroom apartment in Pasir Panjang.


'We wanted a modern look, one that would be different from the usual Zen, Balinese or tropical look,' says Mr Dimailig, a senior finance manager.

The couple, who are in their 30s and were married in 2001, got the keys to their $700,000 home in February last year and moved in last June. They hired lead consultant Keith Kang of Edgeline Planners to do the renovations, which cost about $40,000.

As it was a new apartment, there was less work to be done, compared to an older unit.

With instructions from the home owners to turn a bedroom adjoining the living room into a study, Mr Kang - who noted that the living and dining areas were tiny - replaced the walls of the study with floor-to-ceiling glass panels. 'This opens up the study and gives the illusion of a bigger living room,' he says.














GLASS ACT: The glass-enclosed study (above) has red floral decals and a black string curtain (below) that shield it from the living and dining areas while adding interest.













Part of the renovation budget was also spent on making a TV console which has one side serving as an extension of the step-up platform to the study.

Money was also spent on custom-made furniture such as the dining table, a table console and side table for the master bedroom. 'Custom-made furniture is more costly than buying from the stores but the pieces are unique,' says Mr Kang.














REST OF THE HOME: A rich purple hue gives the master bedroom (above), Mrs Dimailig's favourite room, a cosy feel. Guests staying overnight will also get to enjoy the same sense of luxury in the guest room (below). -- PHOTO: EDGELINE PLANNERS














Mrs Dimailig, a treasury consultant, says the furniture is a snug fit with the home's modern and baroque theme. 'Sometimes, it can be difficult finding the piece you want,' she says.

The couple spent another $70,000 on soft furnishings. Nearly $10,000 was spent on curtains from J&S Design. Organza and polyester curtains line the living room and bedroom windows.














CUSTOM ORDER: Even the cushions and ottoman in the Dimailigs' living room (above) are custom-made so that they match the organza and polyester curtains. -- ST PHOTOS: SHAHRIYA YAHAYA

'These materials are more lasting than cotton ones,' says Mr Kang.

The couple also spent about $30,000 on furniture from upmarket stores such as Space, Mod Living and Lifestorey. To add character to the walls, they spent another $12,000 on abstract artworks from gallery Ode To Art.

'Since we're going to be spending a lot of time here, we believe our apartment should make us feel comfortable,' says Mr Dimailig.


Tips from the home owners

1 Reuse items

The couple used a mirror from their previous home in their current bedroom. 'We love it and it was still in good condition. It saves us from buying another,' says Mrs Dimailig.

2 Take pictures when shopping

Whenever the couple saw an item but were not sure if it would fit in the home, they'd take a picture to show Mr Kang. 'It saves you from buying the wrong item,' adds Mr Dimailig.

3 Decide on the look

Rather than buying randomly, the couple decided on the look they wanted even before hiring Mr Kang. This helps to narrow down on what to spend or splurge on later.

4 Shop around for an interior designer

Mr Kang suggests that home owners check out three to four interior decor firms before deciding on one. 'Some make promises but can't deliver and you may end up paying more than what you budgeted for,' he says.

Ask to see the designer's past work and be sure that he is open to your ideas rather than forcing his on you.

Life Design - Get The Hang Of It

Source : The Straits Times, Oct 27, 2007

A cantilevered centrepiece that is both a TV console and a stove? You bet

THE FIGURES
Size: 1,080 sq ft
Renovation budget: Under $60,000













TWO IN ONE: An island counter with an attached dining table (above) shares the spotlight with a stove built into the hanging centrepiece in the dining area. -- ST PHOTOS: ASHLEIGH SIM

HOME owner Vivi Law's three-bedroom apartment near Bukit Timah is done up exactly how she wanted it. After all, the design manager from interior firm Spacious Planners is also the apartment's interior designer.

She bought the six-year-old, 1,080 sq ft apartment for $530,000 and spent about $58,000 on renovations and $20,000 on furnishings. The 33-year-old, who lives alone, moved in last month.

The main addition to the apartment is the installation of a cantilevered structure that separates the living room and the kitchen. Costing about $8,000, it is made from a metal frame that is cladded with wooden panels.

It serves two purposes: On the side that faces the living room, it is a hanging TV console with storage space. On the side of the kitchen, it is where the stove is placed.

Ms Law, who designed the structure, says there is enough allowance to ensure that neither the TV nor the stove will affect each other. A gas pipe and electrical wires are all hidden in it. Her clients have yet to adopt this idea but 'this will serve as a real-life example for them'.

The bachelorette also wanted to create a 'fireplace' in her home.

By having the structure cantilevered, this allows her to create a floor feature using pebbles. Lighting installed under the structure lights up the pebbles, giving them a glow and creating an illusion of a fireplace.














FIRE UP ON STYLE: In the living room (above), the cantilevered showpiece-cum-TV console has lights underneath that create a glow to simulate a 'fireplace' effect.

Installing the showpiece, however, would have been impossible without removing some walls to reconfigure the living space, such as switching the original dining area with the living room and vice versa.

The new space allocation also allowed her to put in an island kitchen with an extended L-shaped black granite-top six-seat dining table as well as a Blum drawer system that costs about $1,000.

The old kitchen is now a pantry and a shoe cabinet with a row of new built-in cabinets.

Money was also spent replacing the original granite flooring in the living and dining areas with homogenous tiles. Ms Law says she wanted to keep the original flooring but changed her mind later as she did not like the feel of it.

DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS: The tear-drop hanging lamp (left) from Lumiere is Ms Law's favourite and lights up a corner of her bedroom. In the foreground is a Murano glass figurine that she bought in Italy.

But she kept the parquet flooring in the bedrooms. But it was stained a lighter shade to 'give it a more modern and airy feel'.

Other changes include replacing her wardrobe's original wooden casement-type doors with mirrored sliding ones to give the bedroom a larger feel, as well as fitting a TV on a rotating panel so that she can watch it from either her bed or her bathtub.













WATCH FROM ALL ANGLES: The TV in the master bedroom rests on a swivel panel (above) Ms Law can watch TV either in bed or from the bathtub (below). A rainshower and homogenous tiles in the bathroom add to the luxurious feel.






















Her advice for home owners? Be prepared to spend to get their ideal home.

'It makes more economical sense to do the whole home at once rather than do small renovations,' she says.


Tips from the home owner

1 Stick to professional help

As a design manager, Ms Law has seen many home owners who buy items for the home only to realise they don't fit with the theme.

'Keeping in mind your budget, we will recommend items that will fit in with the look of your home,' she says.

2 Don't leave shopping to the last minute

While the renovation is being done, go shopping with your interior designer for furniture. This comes in handy especially for appliances that have to be built in, such as ovens and dishwashers. There is still enough time to make measurement changes at this stage.

3 Invest in core pieces

Your budget may be tight but it pays to spend on certain items. 'The sofa and bed are most important. I believe in getting better quality ones as you will be spending more time on them,' says Ms Law.

4 Change the details

Instead of changing the doors in her home, Ms Law changed just the knobs and handles. 'The doors are still in good condition so they can be kept. But I changed the handles so they fit in with the overall look,' she says.

Life Design - Back To Basics

Source : The Straits Times, Oct 27, 2007

Now that you've paid for your new home, it is time to put in the wow factor. In this annual design special, TAY SUAN CHIANG gets home owners and interior designers to reveal their secrets to turning living spaces into beautiful homes with varying budgets

Cement flooring, white walls and black accents - that's a pure and simple yet winning concept

THE FIGURES
Size: 828 sq ft
Renovation budget:
Under $20,000












DIY MAGIC: Mr Chan, left with his wife Winnie Ong and their Corgi, Doughnut, dressed up the glass divider by sticking on it a poem written by their interior designer. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN

THEY were floored by the look.

Mr Jonathan Chan and his wife Winnie Ong were at a friend's home and were taken in by the cement flooring.

'We initially wanted laminate flooring to get a retro look for our home,' says Mr Chan, 28, a sales executive.

He and Ms Ong, a 24-year-old manager, had thought about using cement for their first home - a three-room HDB resale flat in Toa Payoh for which they paid $170,000 - but were afraid that they might not like it.

'Almost immediately, we decided it would be cement after all as we liked the feel of it,' he says of their last-minute change of mind.

But that was not the only change. The couple, who were married in May last year and had moved into the bright and breezy flat five months ago, also opted to replace the retro theme with a modern one.























POSTER PERFECT: A Rolling Stones poster, which Mr Chan bought from www.allposter.com because it has a splash of red, adorns the wall in this space which is furnished with a custom-made bench-cum-shoe cabinet.

They worked with freelance interior designer and friend John Ma to makeover the 828 sq ft flat, spending $17,000 on a month-long renovation that included changing the apartment's original terrazzo flooring, redoing the kitchen to fit in cabinets and a stove, and custom-making furnishings like a built-in TV console and bench-cum-shoe cabinet.

The original divider between the kitchen and dining room was replaced with a glass panel and door that helped to brighten the flat by letting more light in.

To jazz up the panel, Mr Chan printed the words of a love poem on removable black adhesive film and pasted it on. He already has plans to stick on a red 'xi' (Chinese for happiness) for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

For the flat's colour theme, the couple decided to keep it simple - black, white and grey.

'Too many colours would make the home look too chaotic,' explains Mr Chan, adding that the white walls make the flat look brighter and complement the grey concrete flooring.

'Black also goes well with these two colours,' he says. But a gift the couple received made them receptive to the idea of introducing colour into the flat, albeit in small doses.

Mr Ma gave them a red vintage telephone, so the couple are now on a quest to add splashes of red around the home which they share with Mr Chan's brother and their Corgi, Doughnut.

















CRIMSON CRAZE: From this red, still-functional vintage telephone (above), the owners added other red items to their home, including a standing ashtray (below) bought from a Yahoo! auction. -- ST PHOTOS: LIM WUI LIANG

These include cushions, an ashtray from an online auction and an Aids campaign poster with red lettering.

'We now go hunting for red items. Thankfully, they're fairly easy to find,' says Mr Chan.


Tips from the home owners

1 From junk to funk

We're not telling you to steal from the office but, sometimes, unwanted things there can be used at home.

The Aids campaign poster featuring actress Charlize Theron was for a shoe store that Ms Ong manages, but when it was no longer used, she took it home and used it to jazz up her dining area, hence saving money on artworks.

2 Online finds

Check out deals online, such as on eBay or Yahoo! auctions.

The couple bought shopping vouchers that others were selling cheap. 'Once, we bought a $100 Takashimaya voucher for $80,' says Mr Chan. 'Any amount of savings will add up.'

3 Do it yourself, really

Dabble in some DIY decoration. Mr Chan got crafty and stuck words on the glass panel in the dining room to jazz it up.

Printing the words on adhesive film at printing shops costs about $120. 'It's easy to use and you save money by doing it yourself,' he says.

Alternatively, if you love photography, pick your favourite pictures and have them framed to put on the wall.

4 Scout around for lookalikes


Shop for 'designer' furniture.

The couple found their dining chairs from furniture store Gnee Hong in Bencoolen Street for $68 each. The seats are designed in a style similar to Israel-born architect-designer Ron Arad's Tom Vac chairs.

Govt Calls For Proposals To Build Permanent Race Track In Changi

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 26 October 2007

The government is calling for proposals to build a permanent race track in Changi.

This is to help make Singapore into a regional motor sports hub by riding on the F1 fever that has hit the country.

Due to its size, the proposed Grade 2 track is not designed for F1, but other smaller races.

Races like the A1 are just some of the exciting events that could come to Singapore should this proposed track design materialise.

A 20-hectare land off Changi Coast Road will be the site for the permanent facility.

Its seafront location will make it one of the most scenic circuits in Asia.

More importantly, the track will allow year-round usage and have benefits beyond sport.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports said: "It is also an industry that we want to promote. A lot of people think the production and building of cars is not something that Singapore has a role in. But contrary to that, if you look at modern cars, there is a lot of research development, high-tech planning and design which goes into it and as Singapore moves up the value chain. Singapore's high precision engineering and our past experience will give us a competitive edge."

Testing of cars aside, driver training courses can also be conducted.

The track will cost some $84 million and the ministry said there are interested parties.

It will be the most compact and efficient in Asia - measuring about 2.8km.

"With limited space, there will be a compromise because the longer the track, the more corners there will be. This also means the track is likely to be slower compared to a shorter track. But having said that, you also depend very much on the design of the track," said Fan Chien Jen, Deputy Director, Motor Sports Development Division, Singapore Sports Council.

The track will also allow the sport to grow here and develop future champions at a racing academy.

"A chance for a driving school perhaps... some kind of academy that'll give the driver a chance to get on the pathway. It will allow the masses to enjoy this, not only as a spectator but also to drive," said Oon Jin Teik, CEO of Singapore Sports Council.

The ministry will not fund the project. It will call for proposals both here and overseas in May 2008.

The track is expected to be up and running by 2011. - CNA /ls

Many Home Buyers Welcome Move To Scrap Deferred Payment Scheme

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 27 October 2007

Many home buyers have not been put off by the government's decision to withdraw the deferred payment scheme for property purchases.

Some showflats still bustle with activity, especially those approved to offer deferred payments.


Related Video Link - http://tinyurl.com/2n5tpa
Many home buyers welcome move to scrap deferred payment scheme

The latest change, which took effect on Friday, will only affect uncompleted private homes, commercial and industrial properties.

Alan Tan has just bought a penthouse at Park Natura at Jalan Jurong Kechil in the Bukit Timah area for over S$2 million.

The project can continue to offer deferred payment, but many home hunters say this is not a major factor that will sway their buying decision.

He says: "The deferred payment of course is a plus factor, but at the end of the day we look at the property itself, the location as well as the view. It's also a freehold properties - these are the factors that we considered."

The scrapping of the deferred payment scheme is seen as a move to cool the hot property market.

Buyers will now have to make progressive payments every few months at various stages of the construction process, instead of postponing payment till the property is completed two to three years later.

Some home buyers welcomed the move as it would deter speculators and stabilise the market.

Lim Guan Huat, Home Buyer, says: "For those who are more on the speculation, they have to think twice, because they cannot predict the market in two years' time. So it's the risk they have to consider."

Cheam Heng Peng, Home Buyer, says: "Less speculators, maybe the price will be down. It's uncertain right now."

Property agents say buyers will now have to be more prudent in their selection and they must also be prepared to incur interest from bank loans taken to service the payments.

But there is a flip side to it.

David Poh, Director, Strategic Planning and Development, PropNex, says: "When they opt for deferred payment scheme, they would normally pay a higher purchase price because developers would probably build in a small percentage for them, an interest element. Now if they just go for the normal progressive payment scheme, their purchase price would be lower, so with that saving they can use to pay the interest, it's still a zero sum game."

Industry watchers do not expect the change to have major impact on the market.

But they say developers will have to tweak their marketing activities to focus on other selling points like design and eco-friendly environment, rather that offering an attractive deferred payment scheme. - CNA/ch