Deciding on renovation - the beginning

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Deciding on renovations:

 

Congratulations on the new place, you are now at the beginning of your renovation process.

 

You may have even decided on a theme or a style before this and that's good. Now you need to put all those ideas onto a 'storyboard', which is kind of like a scrapbook of ideas, and you use this to collect all the concepts, ideas as well as store all the info on places to buy furniture, lightings etc.

 

Then think hard of how you want it to turn out:

-       classic

-       modern

-       neo classic – those gold fittings and leather sofas with buttons

-       mid century – very popular right now, but you really must like the Scandinavian concept.

Then you can look through the magazines, but remember, you are going to live in the home, and you have to decide if that's for you instead of just have something 'stylo' but not livable.

 

As for magazines, most HDB dwellers will start off first with Home and Décor, and then read up other magazines to get more ideas. The web is also a rich source of photos, as other owners will share their concepts and photos online.

 

Get some feedback or visit the homes of recently completed units for more ideas.

 

Getting a good renovator can be harder than finding a spouse… but at least you can undo any damage done. See the ones recommended by others on forums and talk to them but avoid simply going for the cheapest.

 

Understand how they will do it, the materials they will use and also see their timeline. Make sure that it is realistic, and they don't promise more than they can deliver especially if your reno starts around some festive period like CNY or X Mas.

 

Then pad all numbers with an extra 20%. That is, for funds allocated, cable lengths, duration of reno etc, give a little extra. Then decide if you are a hands on person or a laid back person who won't mind some differences in the way things are done.

 

I am afraid most contractors need some monitoring, unless you have some designer who is very good and has no other jobs on hand. So plan your visits and go down to see the work, and that way, you avoid expensive and time-consuming redos.

 

Some recent ideas I like:

 

Subway tiles for the bathroom – makes the bathroom bright and looks a little clinical and cheery at the same time.

 

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