The Renovation Story: When "The Designer" Met "The Engineer"

Starring: "The Designer" and "The Engineer"

In "The Designer"'s world, the house should be designed to look like a showflat. That is, sleek designs, cozy lighting, proper placement of furniture, etc, so as to create a romantic and resort-like ambiance. Unfortunately, the expression of "The Designer"'s creative mind is severely restricted by (a) budget and (b) the existing grey granite floor.

Here are some of "The Designer"'s Inspirations (photos are linked directly from the web):
















In "The Engineer"'s world, the most important things to change are the toilet WCs and the kitchen. "The Engineer" is also strongly against standing standing fans and only endorses ceiling fans. Renovations to the rest of the house is secondary, and will take place only if budget permits.

Unfortunately, Woodlands Ring Road world belonged to both of them. There was a lot of compromising to be done, and a lot of expectations to be lowered.

Here's a summarised version of the renovation list that they came up with. The detailed version has around 90 items, and there is no need to bore the reader with irrelevant and uninteresting items like "Install kitchen sink with tap" and "Polishing of existing granite floor".

Living, Dining -- mainly the brainchild of the "The Designer"
1) Demolish existing hall feature, pillar, pipe cabinet, ceiling & cornices
2) Ceiling/Lighting/Ambiance feature
3) Sand & Re-varnish stairs railing
4) Timber venetian blinds
5) Elaborate oriental-styled TV console and shelving
6) Ceiling Fan -- veto-ed by "The Engineer" because she doesn't like standing fans

Toilets -- trump card played by "The Engineer"
1) Layover floor tiles
2) Replace WC & wash basin
3) Shower screen
4) Replace the bi-fold door

Kitchen -- Mutual decision
1) Entire makeover (including demolishing of existing floor & wall tiles)
2) Kitchen cabinet + Solid Surface + Stainless steel plate
3) Tempered glass sliding door

Master Bedroom -- Mutual decision
1) L-box/Cove Lighting -- Requested by "The Designer"
2) Full-height wardrobe
3) Timber venetian blinds
4) Ceiling fan

Whole House -- Mainly "The Designer"
1) Painting
2) Replace sliding windows to casement windows (white colour) -- "The Designer" claims that casement windows provide more ventilation
3) White colour window grilles -- "The Designer": For the minimalist look
4) Designer doors -- "The Designer" (duh)

Being a good civil servant ("The Engineer"), they asked for 3 quotations so that they can make an informed decision about who they wish to hire:
1) Random Interior Designer at IMM
2) "The Engineer"'s previous contractor
3) "The Designer"'s contractor contact

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Author's Note: Make sure that the contractor pays a visit to your house so that he can give a more accurate quotation. The site visit will also help him pick out potential problem areas and suggest alternative solutions.

The contractors take about 2 weeks to come back a preliminary quotation. After which, you should do a cost comparison based on each item in the quote. This action is highly-recommended because we discovered that despite giving all 3 contractors the same requirements, they all came back with quotations containing either too many or too little items.

Nonetheless, the general cost for our 90+ items to renovate is $10K more than our expected budget of $30K. We took a leap of faith, and "commissioned"* contractor 2 (details to be revealed in the next chapter). Thereafter we worked with him to push the renovation cost lower.

* Definition of "commissioned":
Pls note the word 'commissioned' used by the designer merely mean that the contractor 2 was approached to work out budget first.
No actual contract was signed at that point of time.

The non-committal turns committal (Bridal Gown Selection - Again)

After 2 visits to Bliss Bridal without any useful outcomes, Ms Non-Committal resolved to make her 3rd visit her final visit for gown selection.

Author's Note:

If you have read our previous entry on bridal gown selection, you may be deceived into thinking that all is well in the bridal gown department, and that Ms Non-Committal has selected her wedding gown during the 1st visit This statement held true...until she decided to try on the new arrival wedding gowns. This marked the start of the battle between the wedding gowns. 

Wedding gown A (selected in visit 1): unique, oriental-like and "looks like something I would wear". 

Vs.

Wedding gown B (new selection in visit 2): cliche, princessy/classy and "certainly doesn't look like what I would wear".

In addition, all evening gown potentials (from visit 1) were veto-ed by the parents for being not grand and outstanding enough.

During the appointment, the first thing the consultant did was whip out a piece of paper and numbered them as such:

1)*
2)
3)*
4)
5)
6)
Items 1 and 3 are asterix-ed because they are the actual day gowns.

Right off the start of the appointment, Ms Non-Committal "took the plunge" and confirmed gowns 1, 2 & 5. i.e.

1)* Wedding Gown B -- This gown looks better "live" than gown A. In addition, Mandarin Collar Guy had repeatedly assured Ms Non-Committal that it is ok to be cliched on her wedding day.
2) Wedding Gown A -- Used for photoshoot, hence Ms Non-Committal would get the best of both worlds.
3)* -- Undecided --
4) -- Undecided --
5) Cheena-like Evening Gown -- This evening gown was selected way back in Visit 1 but was veto-ed in Visit 2. Both Ms Non-Committal & Mandarin Collar Guy agreed that the top part of the gown looks really good and meets Ms Non-Committal's dream of a cheena-themed wedding banquet. However, the bottom part of the gown is a bit muted. They are convinced that Se-tee-ven the photographer would able to make the dress look amazing in photos.
6) -- Undecided --

Now that the white wedding gowns are settled, the focus is now on the actual day evening gowns. Ms Non-Committal requested to try "all red gowns in the bridal shop". The big problem is....a lot of the red gowns come with black lace/trimming and Ms Non-Committal is really traditional and does not want black on her gown. Red Gown #14 seems to be the only promising red gown in the bridal shop. Incidentally, that is the last red gown in the shop. The red gown has a princess-y cut and Mandarin Collar Guy likes it a lot. Ms Non-Committal however, is concerned of its close resemblance to gown (1) and decided to put Red Gown #14 as KIV.

1)* Wedding Gown B
2) Wedding Gown A
3)* Red Gown #14 (KIV)
4) -- Undecided --
5) Cheena-like Evening Gown
6) -- Undecided --

Since the shop ran out of red gowns, Ms Non-Committal moved on to Hot Pink gowns. She was on to her 3rd hot pink gown when she chanced upon a mermaid hot pink gown (MHPG) that she liked a lot. An immediate executive decision was made:

1)* Wedding Gown B

2) Wedding Gown A

3)* MHPG

4) -- Undecided --

5) Cheena-like Evening Gown

6) -- Undecided --

Out of List: Red Gown #14

The executive decision made Mandarin Collar Guy a little sad because he preferred Red Gown #14 to MHPG. His "ke lian" face worked and Ms Non-Committal agreed to re-insert Red Gown #14 as item 4. 

1)* Wedding Gown B

2) Wedding Gown A

3)* MHPG

4) Red Gown #14

5) Cheena-like Evening Gown

6) -- Undecided --

Since the appointment was going on so smoothly Ms Non-Committal decided to try her luck and politely asked the bridal consultant if item 4 could be asterix-ed as well. Ms Non-Committal thought it'll be nice to wear Red Gown #14 back in Malaysia as it is grander than MHPG and she wouldn't need to worry about it being in the same design as Wedding Gown B. The consultant agreed to this adhoc request so Ms Non-Committal got a good deal and will now 3 different actual day gowns!

1)* Wedding Gown B

2) Wedding Gown A

3)* MHPG

4)* Red Gown #14

5) Cheena-like Evening Gown

6) -- Undecided --

Author's Note: Our original bridal package only allows us to loan the actual day evening gown (i.e. item 3) for another week so that Ms Non-Committal can wear it for the Malaysia wedding with no extra charge.

Ms Non-Committal took 3 white long gowns + 2 white shorter gowns & 1 really bad fall in the bridal shop before deciding on her outdoor photoshoot gown. She managed to convince Mandarin Collar Guy that she looks better in a long gown because of her "fat legs", much to his disappointment. Ms Non-Committal eventually chose an A-Line long white gown. And so, the list is complete!

1)* Wedding Gown B

2) Wedding Gown A

3)* MHPG

4)* Red Gown #14

5) Cheena-like Evening Gown

6) A-Line Long White Gown

Sorry! No pictures because don't want to give away the wow factor before 5th November! Anyway, we're not supposed to take photos of the gown in the bridal shop. GRINZ.

Honeymoon-planning: We bought the air tickets!

Starring: "The Jetstar StarClass Enthusiast (JSCE)" and "The Man"

We have come a long way to decide on where to go for our honeymoon.
The following list shows just how much we changed our minds on selecting a honeymoon destination over this last year.
(As usual, all images are linked directly to their respective original sites. So if they are missing, means the owner has removed it from the source)

1. New Zealand - decided early last year but changed our mind as it was too expensive
   
2. Angkor Wat - found a quaint little boutique villa (http://www.sojournsiemreap.com) and thought that we could take part in the Angkor Wat half-marathon as well. Unfortunately, we were advised against it our parents. Not wanting to upset them, we decided to shelve this option.
   
3. Mauritius- Found a full board package for less than 3k (inclusive of air-fare) but it is in Africa...well, that said it.
   
4. Royal Caribbean Cruise - The JSCE afraid that she will get sea sick.
   
5. Las Vegas & New York - Good because Sing Dollars is appreciating against USD and our trip coincide with the Black Friday Sales! The man was strongly for it but The JSCE was strongly for option 6.
   
6. New Zealand - Christchurch earthquake has caused NSD to drop. "And Jetstar now flies to Auckland", according to Joanne Peh. This significantly lowered the cost of a NZ honeymoon.
   
   

We were stuck in this deadlock between US & NZ for almost 2 months. Our date night this week addressed this topic, and The man was benevolent and agreed to visit NZ for our honeymoon. The JSCE assured The man that we will certainly be visiting US in the near future, especially when The JSCE becomes Singaporean. (visa no longer required)

A day after this decision was made, we were blessed with a "Jetstar StarClass" promo to Auckland. The return StarClass tickets cost $1,150, where were comparable to Emirates (flights include 8 hour transit in Brisbane) and Qantas ($300 more expensive, transit some where in Australia). The last I checked (1 day after we booked), the return ticket from Auckland now costs $950, i.e. no more promo fare. We got a good deal!

 Now that we've got our air tickets booked & paid, the next step is planning for the things to do on the trip. We've engaged a NZ tour agency (http://www.firstlighttravel.com/) to help us with our custom itinerary. Will keep you updated!

HDB 2nd Appointment

Starring: 'The Operation Manager' and 'His Woman'
 
The 2nd HDB appointment was held on 1st of April (PM).

During the appointment, we signed a few forms, received the house keys, and voila, the appointment was over! The whole process probably took less than 15 minutes. After which, we proceeded to the 2nd floor to get the utilities transferred to our names (also around 15 minutes).

In normal circumstance, you would pass your agent his/her cheque, but we decided not to. Mainly because of the following reasons:

1. When we inspected the flat 2 nights ago, the flat was not totally cleared out. There were still a lot of junk lying around. We wanted to ensure that these items were gone, else our agent should take responsibility by getting town council or disposal company.
2. The owner still owes us the letter box key.

Advice by operation manager:
Please note transaction is incomplete should any item remains outstanding. Thus, the buyer should ensure all items are in order prior to issuance of cheque to his/her agent.

Fortunately, we withheld the cheque as we did really face some complications.

When the operation manager went to inspect the house the night thereafter, he could not open the main door successfully. The previous owner had secured the main door 4 times, with a padlock, main lock, metal grille lock and a bicycle lock but the operation manager could only open 2 of these 4 locks.

He called the previous owner frantically but was unable to reach him. The previous owner had switched off his handphone while his agent feigned ignorance. It seemed that our agent was the only one who tried to help.

We are not sure if we would have received the same attention if we had paid her earlier. The rest of the night was emotionally for both the operation manager and his woman.

Prayer was answered the following afternoon when the previous owner called and agreed to assist.
Matter was resolved in the evening with a change of new locks.

Take-away:
At the end of the transaction (and before each party returns to his own way), please ensure you have the followings:
- The seller's contact
- Ensure house is empty
- Every single item, stipulated under the ownership clause

Bonus:
- Future Home address of the seller, through eaves-dropping

Things you might want to consider when choosing a wedding banquet package

I was clearing my desktop when I chanced upon the Excel sheet I used to shortlist the venues for our wedding banquet package. Since it's no longer of use to me, I've decided to reproduce them here.

The table shows what an average package should have.

*Please note that the content is for reference only and the data collected is based on 2010/2011 hotel wedding packages.

Food & Beverage
Num Courses (Dinner)	8/9
Food-tasting	For 10pax
Chinese Tea, Soft-drinks	Free-flow
Beer	30 Litres
Wine	1 bottle/table
Hard Liquor Corkage Waiver	Yes
Wine Corkage Waiver	No
Deco (Each venue has a set of themes to choose from)
VIP Table Setup	1/2 tables
Other perks	This may include dry-ice/bubbles for march-in
Wedding Items
Cake (for ceremony)	Yes, limited design
Cake (for eating)	No
Champagne	Yes
Wedding favours	Yes
Invitation cards	70% of total guests (exclude printing)
Guest book	Yes
Ang pow box	~
Logistics
VIP Carpark	1 Lot
Guest Carpark	20% of total guests
LCD	Yes (some chargeable)
Bride/Groom Items
Bridal Suite	1-2 nights
Meals	Pre-dinner/Supper
Perks	Anniversary stay/Room Service credit

Picking the wedding gown

Choosing a Bridal Package
We booked our wedding package with Bliss Bridal (Marina Square) way back in April last year. It costs around $3K and includes 6 gowns/dresses (only 2 MTM), 2 groom suits (MTM pants), dads' suits, makeup (trial, photoshoot & actual day), studio & outdoor photography, album of 28 photos, 3 framed photos (dif sizes), bridal car + deco, bridal bouquet and corsages.

How to determine if a bridal shop is good? No idea.
It's about the "feeling" that you get when you talk to the staff in the shop. The sales rep at Bliss did try to sell us that the gowns are "Made in Singapore" and that they offer MTM pants for the groom. They assured us that they are financially stable by saying that Zhang Yaodong (Mediacorp actor) is their boss.

You might want to scrutinize their definition of "album of 28 photos" because I know of some shops that slap on additional charges if you want to digitalise your photo (e.g. photoshop the sky to pink, make the whole photo brownish/purplish, etc).

Understanding the silhouettes (photos & text referenced from Martha Stewart Weddings)
1) Ball Gown

"Introduced by Queen Victoria, reimagined by Dior in the 1950s, and never long out of fashion, this is the most romantic of all bridal silhouettes. It features a small waist (natural or dropped) and a voluminous skirt with petticoats. Most flattering to women of at least average height with hourglass or full figures, this style's skirt will overwhelm a petite or particularly buxom bride. " My interpretation: When else apart from your wedding day can you wear such a silhouette without people staring at you? If this pom-pom skirt is not really your style, you may want to try it out during your gown selection just for fun :)

2) A-Line

"This enduring style's name comes from the triangle (or "A" shape) between the narrow bodice and outer edges of the wide, ungathered skirt. Suitable for a variety of fabrics, the A-line is versatile: It may or may not have a seam at the waist, which may be higher or lower than the natural waistline; and the close-fitting bodice may be strapless or have any type of neckline." My interpretation: This silhouette is less showy than the ball gown. To avoid looking "too plain", you may want to complement this silhouette with an asymmetric-styled skirt or play with the skirt fabrics.

3) Empire

"After the French Revolution, Napoleon's wife Josephine popularized this neoclassical dress with a very high waist; the sheer materials she chose caused a sensation. The cropped bodice of the Empire style flatters the small-breasted woman but not a more buxom bride; the raised waist creates a long line, ideal for a petite bride. The skirt may be straight, slightly flared, or even as wide as an A-line." My interpretation: This is a very elegant silhouette & goddess-like; certainly not suitable for me. I've seen this silhouette in a beach shot and it looks really really good.

4) Sheath

"If you are comfortable with showing off your curves, consider the slyly constructed sheath, popularized in the 1950s by Marilyn Monroe. This body-hugging profile is artfully sculpted with darts, tucks, and seams. The effect will differ depending on the weight and drape of the fabric. A great choice for a tall, slim-hipped woman, the sheath is equally becoming to a petite, slender bride. Avoid this style if you have wide hips but narrow shoulders." My interpretation: Your body forms the silhouette :)

5) Trumpet/Mermaid

"A trumpet dress hugs the body at the top and through the hips but jets out into a fuller skirt at the bottom." My interpretation: This silhouette is commonly seen in on the red carpet as it is very elegant and is easy to walk in.

Do try out the different silhouettes to see which ones look good on you. You might be surprised!
Tip: Some silhouettes look better in white while others look better in non-white colours.

Finding your "Perfect Gown"
I am an avid fan of "Say Yes to the Dress" (showing every Saturday on Channel 425). The show reveals the inner workings of  Kleinfield Bridal, a bridal salon in New York. It also "educates" you on the different silhouette and fabrics. One thing that always amazes me is that 90% of the brides in the show will always know when the wedding gown is the one. They will try lots and lots of dresses, but when they try on the one their faces glow. 

When I tried on my the one, there was a small part of me that was still in denial because that was the 2nd dress I tried on. Nonetheless, as I tried on the other dresses, the thought of that 2nd dress still lingered in my mind. The lady attending to me was kind enough to let me try on gowns of different silhouettes, style and fabric. I spent more than 3 hours at the bridal shop, trying on almost 15 gowns.

As usual, it's all about "the feeling". Leave all your research & knowledge of wedding gowns in the door when you step in for your first appointment, and let you & and your guy's faces lead the way.

1st HDB Appointment

Items to bring:

• ICs (Original & Photocopy)
• Passport (if non-Singaporean)
• Latest payslips
• Cheque book

If you are applying for the $10K "Stay near parents" grant, bring these as well:

• The parents
• Parents' ICs (Original & Photocopy)
• Parents' marriage cert
• Birth certificate

Our 1st HDB appointment was a breeze. The HDB officer that handled our case surpassed our expectations. We were very impressed that she even remembered our wedding date although our appeal case (link) wasn't handled directly by her.

Here's a summarised version of the detailed explanation that she gave us:

• Since we're applying for the stay near parents grant, the parents cannot move away from Woodlands within this 5 years
• We must physically stay in the flat for 5 years before we're allowed to sell it
• Because the Malaysian is non-Singaporean, HDB will withhold $10K from our total grant. This amt will be subsequently returned if the Malaysian becomes Singaporean or gives birth to a Singaporean kid.
• The max HDB loan we can take is 90% of the valuation price or what is given in your HLE letter
• Amount of cash needed = (10% + COV) - (Grants + CPF Savings) + Stamp Duty + Taxes - Deposit
• You would need to pay a portion of the amount above after the 1st appointment (payable via cash, NETS or cheque)
• The remaining amount needs to be paid during the 2nd appointment by CASH only. Alternatively, you can opt to pay the whole sum during the 1st appointment.
• The 2nd appointment takes place 6 - 8 weeks after the 1st, as CPF first needs to credit the grant into the Singaporean's account and then deduct them again.
• Home Protection Scheme is also a must. (i.e. Insurance in the event that one of us dies before loan is repayed.) However, you can choose the amount to insured.

The whole process took around 40 - 45 minutes. Our next appointment is on 1st April @ 3pm.