Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Lightings: Louis Poulsen anti-glare luminaire [Installed]

Its been too long since our last post.

We had finally complete our renov & finally set up our broadband.
This post will talk about the 2 previously featured lighting we had ordered and been installed.

In our dining area, Louis Poulsen Artichoke is a glare-free luminaire by Poul Henningsen.

Also in the photo, A Vintage 1963 Hille Chair upholstered in Chocolate Brown Canvas.
Sadly, Hille had discontinue this collection & shift their market focus to making auditorium seating & our standard school chairs. 

In master bedroom, a ultra-retro Louis Poulsen Snowball is a glare-free luminaire by Poul Henningsen. Many could have mistaken this as a Verner Panton as its frequently paired with Panton seating & wall decor. Truth is, Verner Panton did design something similar



The coincidental thing is my mum actually got us a cheap bed sheet set that had a picture of the lamp in it. She some how has the ability to foresee how my bedroom will look like.


Email ad_B_H@yahoo.com.sg for purchase of the above lamps.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

IKEA Christmas Advent Daily Offer

Time to grab some hot deals from IKEA!
Definitely, need those dish drainer [20 Dec], 3 tier serving plate [10 Dec]
 

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Yale Digital Lock Year-end promo till 26/12/10

When it comes to gadgets, we are definitely not early adapters. Also being the first to use the products will be the most expensive and some products may have some flaws which will then be fine tune to perfection in later batches.

Yale had launch its Digital lock ard 2-3years back, & the Biometric models are launch recently.
However, this biometric system seems very much different from the first few biometric locks in market where it "photo-copy" type technology. Yale on the other hand, is using swipe technology which is very much like Miss Piggy's Fujitsu laptop. this is neater looking & dealers says its more accurate cos it reads 'Textures' instead of taking photos.

Read more on this other blog feature 


I think benefits of having a Digital lock are:

Self Locking - good for those of us that always forget to lock the door, 
[eg: halfway to work and you wonder if you had actually lock you doors?]

No Key for Security - super relevant to those who loves to loose keys, either misplace at home or drop in somewhere outside, or even worst, left it at the letter box!! After that when you go back, the bunch of keys are GONE!!! then you can't sleep that night cos you wonder if the person who pick up will come and open your door.

No Key for Convenience - say if we go for a swim or visit the gym, we don't have to bring our keys along. Or when your family is visiting, we do not have to give them the spare keys cos we can just sms them the password, which we can change easily.


Currently, Yale is having Buy 1 get 1* Free promo, when you buy a Large model you get a Small model for free. We can either install the large one on our main door and the small one for the master room. If not, we can install in our parents place. Or even better sell it on ebay @ $500 or $600. Do take the opportunity to upgrade your home security.

Click image to enlarge

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Hilarious mopping slipper @ Isetan AIMEDIA Fair

This thing really looks like some feet from Sesame Street and it its absolutely adorable.

Now Isetan is selling this for $15 a pair & definitely gives your Charles & Keith a run for comfort.

Designer definitely have lazy people like us in mind. Sadly this only cleans d place you walk and you will need extra effort to sweep the corners of your house where dust really settle. This definitely is a conversation piece what look hilarious & not to mention energy saving from to less vacuuming.

However, this slipper is only available during special fairs, which I reckon supplier is not a permanent vendor in Isetan.  



Fair details
Ideal Home Goods Fair
26 Nov to 2 Dec
Isetan Tampines Event Hall, L2

More Details of Brand & product:
Loosely translated from AIMEDIA by Yahoo Babel Fish
 
Item name Colorful just you wear the mop
Category the popular item best 10
Product category Living
Commodity details Wearing the interior, just walks, the micro fiber of the chart bottom (the superfine fiber) the mop catching the dust and the soiling of the floor.
Circular washing OK. At kitchen and washroom etc. By high suction force, it wipes off also the waterdrop quickly.

Monday, November 22, 2010

SPACE year end sale

Space is one of the fiercest designer furnishing shop around and they are having a store-wide sale. Hopefully FLOS & Louis Poulsen lightings are on big discount!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Hansgrohe Axor 25% off with free gift & lucky draw till 31/12/10

For those who are into Phillipe Starck & Hansgrohe quality, this is for you. 
Too bad we had already fitted all our taps & mixer, if only we knew, we could have gotten a steal from this promo.

This is a follow up of my previous post about Good quality Taps & Mixers.


Here's the sweet deal!
1. Enjoy 25% off all Axor Starck and Axor Urquiola Collections.

2. Receive an exclusive Axor Gift Set with purchase of $2,000 and above.

3. Stand a chance to win attractive prizes such as Hotel Stay, Axor products, Dining vouchers and more from the Axor draw* at the end of the campaign.

* Axor draw will be on 5th January 2011. Winners will be notified by post.

While stocks last.

Terms & conditions apply.

Visit website for more details.
Website:
http://www.hansgrohe.com.sg

50% Off at Courts - 1 Day Only

Friday, 19th Nov 2010
Enjoy 50% off selected items at Courts, for 1 day only!

Terms and conditions apply.

Visit in-store for more details.

Call their Customer Hotline at 1 800 222 6868 for enquiries.
Courts - Causeway Point Shopping Centre
Courts - Funan DigitaLife Mall
Courts - Jurong Point
Courts - Lot 1 Shoppers' Mall
Courts - Tampines Mall
Courts (228 Orchard Rd)
Courts (Ang Mo Kio)
Courts (Bukit Timah)
Courts (Megastore - Tampines)
Courts (Toa Payoh) 
Website: http://www.courts.com.sg

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Electrolux Green Vacuum: ZUSG3900 Ultra Silencer Green

Generally, people don't really spend much time looking for a vacuum. As long as the price is ok, has good suction & of reputable brand, people will take it. But the truth is, electrical consumption, noise level and aesthetics concerns come after. Later, parts replacements become a problem and most of the time, we discard a fairly workable vacuum due to a torn hose or a broken head.
Like the Slogan, we are looking at it long-er term, we started explore more durable goods. Brands like Electrolux, Miele & Bosch are the clear choice and are made to last for many years. However price for these vacuum comes with a very high price tag [easily $400+]

Last Saturday, before visiting the BMW WORLD [crappy by the way], we visited the Harvey Norman for the 9th Anniversary Sale. It was quite a huge event host by celebrities, but we didn't really bothered with the show and head straight to grab our bargains. 

And we found this fantastic deal for this Electrolux Ultra Silencer Green vacuum. This vacuum truly exceed our demand as it consumes less electricity, lower noise, powerful suction, durable yet easy replaceable parts, sleek exterior and in my favorite green color trims.


Unlike those Cheap vacuum that cost less than $120, they are built with cheap materials that wears quickly, this models is made to easily perform 2-3x of their lifespan.
RRP $399 & promo price $299. which is an irresistible offer.
Download Brochure

Four times quieter. Four times quieter. To make the Ultra Silencer easy on your ears, we've added a quieter 1250 watt max motor and optimised the whole machine for a quiet airflow.Read more

We are thinking of people who dream of a quieter world. We are thinking of people who dream of a quieter world. The quiet vacuum, for those around you who appreciate the sound of silence. Read more

Energy efficient. Energy efficient. The Ultra Silencer has the dust pick up of a standard 2000 watt vacuum but at just 1250 watts, it uses 33% less energy.  Read more

Made from recycled material. Made from recycled material. 55% of the cleaner body is made from recycled material. 56% of the packaging is also made from recycled material and 90% of the cleaner body can be recycled. Read more
I was so excited when I unpack this box. Judging from the packing, its also very much eco. There are minimal printing on the carton, only a white sleeve, cos ink maybe toxic and more difficult process during recyling.  There are no styrofoam inside as well, cos styrofoam produce harmful CFCs when broken. Eletrolux is really going all out to make this as green as possible.  
After we assemble the set, we tried the vacuum on the floor & carpet, we were impress with the fierce suction power. Also, there is almost no sound from the body except the mild howling sound from the suction head when its in contact on the floor. We are super impressed.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Safico avant garde cutlery

We notice Safico in many nice restaurants. The knives are extemely distinctive, very clean and sleek. These curves and details seem very designer [architectural designer] 

We had our mind set for WMF box set in departmental stall for $98, but handle after dinner at LOTS gourmet stop, we then decided to explore Safico. Preparing to fork out a premium, we googled suppliers in SG & we found a couple of company selling them but SIA HUAT seems to have the widest range.

The range we selected is ATLAS and they are easily cheaper than WMF [which is a blessing] 

Also, the if we get the WMF box set, 
we only have:
6 spoons, 6 forks, 6 knives,
6 tea spoon, 6 tea forks, 
1serving spoon & 1 serving fork.
which there are not enough serving spoons, spoons or forks and a bunch of redundant tea forks.

While @ Sia Huat, we got:
10 spoons,10 forks, 6 knives,
6 teaspoons, 2 serving spoons. 

Look & feel of Safico is alot more atas than the WMF $98 range. 
Come dine with us & you will know why

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Annual Grohe Sale from 5-14 November 2010

Wow! Just in time!! we had forgotten about our maid's room toilet & bidet for the WC.
Hope we can get those in this sale. Near my company's warehouse.


That’s right. You can save up to 50%! 
Come in and find your perfect deal at 
the Annual Grohe Sale from 5-14 November 2010 10am to 6pm
Check out the Grohe Sale at 29 Tai Seng Ave,
Level 1 & 2 Natural Cook Lifestyle Hub from 1



Friday, November 5, 2010

Day 2 - Shopping @IKEA, having a friend over, unpacking and dinner

We are suppose to have a hearty breakfast @ LOTS gourmet shop with our friend Alex, but it was not open for Deepavali. So we ended up @ IKEA Tampines for late breaky and started shopping. 

We got a carpet, a laundry drawer storage, store room shelving brackets, paper napkins, bulbs, and some loose barangs. As we are checking out we saw a huge range of Xmas decor items, but its a bit too early & we have not sort out our mess @ home. 

Also @ the AS-IS corner, Mrs found a really good deal for shelve which we can use for a shoe cabinet. I reckon this is probably one of the kitchen shelves which is extremely robust for IKEA standard. RRP $68 to discounted price $48. So we intend to get this to put outside our unit for slippers & guest shoes. To improvise is slight, we are adding legs so that we can raise to facilitate cleaning. 

Our kind Alex help us carry the cabinet and rest of our barangs to our place. So we have to thank him buy serving him with what we can find in our fridge. He is also our very first VIP guest that had view our home [not ready].

For dinner, we had slight improvement from yesterday with the following.


The Menu
- pan fried fish fillet with freshly grounded green peppercorns
- boiled jie-lan with starchy garlic+oyster sauce
- yong tau foo soup
- rice 

Also, from today we have placemats for our plates to prevent scratches on my Solid Ash table top.



Harvey Norman Warehouse Sale - Fri 5th Nov - Sun7th Nov


Harvey Norman Warehouse Sale
From Friday, 5th Nov 2010 - Sunday, 7th Nov 2010
Check out the Harvey Norman Warehouse Sale at 
EMS Building, 60 Benoi Road 
Friday, 5th Nov 2010 - Sunday, 7th Nov 2010 from 10am till 6pm
for good deals in electrical, IT, furniture and bedding products.

We finally moved in on 4th Nov

Finally, we did it. The very very much anticipated was finally done. Thou, it a fresh start & there are still plenty to do.

The night before we were there till 12.30am. My mother-in-law sweep and clean up the kitchen while the 2 of us, install the bed for 3hrs, dining table for 1hr and the coffee table for 30mins. 

The actual day [4th Nov]
0915 - pick up my wife & my mother-in-law & we head over to our new place
0930 - take-away 3packs nasi lemak
0955 - arrive @ new plc
1000 - set up stove with charcoal while we remove the empty cartons 
            & rubbish & sweep the floor for the last time
1030 - we have a small bowl of rice grains, salt, amulet ash, pomegranate leaves 
            + some other leafs & water. we go around splashing them from the kitchen, 
            around the house & out thru the main door.
1035 - carry the stove with red hot charcoal which is on fire, by the way.
1040 - boiling water on the stove with a kettle
1100 - makes hot tea using the water from the kettle
1115 - eat nasi lemak and drink tea
1130 - pouring rice to the rice tub to full, sugar & salt into containers
ceremony complete.

There are plenty of move in ceremony, some rolling a pineapple, some jumping over the fire and even include shout while kicking the door open & knocking all corners of the house using a chopper. Many many extreme style do share with us. 


The rest of the day, we carry on wiping the furnitures [no sweeping allowed]


We also cook a simple humble dinner, teochew porridge style. Please pardon the newpaper cos we havent got the placemats yet.

The Menu
- Porrigde [mixed grain brown & white rice]
- AAA brand chai xim
- boiled veg w oyster sauce
- fermented beancurd paste
- olive veg
- fried eggs w dark soy sauce
- spice pork cubes 
All those that needs cooking is cook my the husband.. wonder whats d wife doing?? hmmm..

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Item of desire : pyggy bank by nendo

This is by far the cutest piggy bank. Super minimal which draws only attention to the pig-snout just make people smile by looking at it.

Designed by Nendo, 
One of those very respectable fame interior designer for Issey miyake concept store.

[Shameless comment] For those travelling to Tokyo, do grab me one for this for my perfect house-warming gift.
 
where to get:
piggy bank collection
isetan department store in shinjuku
5F / 1F show window
on now until november 9th. 2010

more details of design concept & pigs [pictures] view link below

Friday, October 29, 2010

Tecno Warehouse Sale till 31/10/10


Damn it! Right after I order on 25/10 Monday. This sale comes on 29/10. This is just luck.
Tecno Warehouse Sale
From Friday, 29th Oct 2010 - Sunday, 31st Oct 2010
Enjoy up to 80% off at Tecno Warehouse Sale @ Singapore Radio & Industry Pte Ltd, 465 Tagore Industrial Avenue SRI Building Singapore.

Featured items:
- Hob
- Hood
- Freezer
- Fridge
- Built-in Oven
- Dish Washer
- Wine Cellar
- Aircon
- Rice Cooker
- Slow Cooker
- Airpot
- Vacuum Cleaner
- Table Cooker
- Water Heater
and more..

First 50 customers of the day with minimum purchase of $100 and above will be entitled to a free gift. Limited to one per customer. While stocks last.

Terms & conditions apply.

S T Y L E : N O R D I C sale up to 90%

This is a busy busy week with 4 sale events going on. But this is the where you can really get very unique pieces for home decorations. 

I miss their private sale on the 24 Oct, but the items are still around [base on the thank you note]. Lets hope we find some really lovely items for our home especially Iittala & Design House Stockholm



While browsing the web of iittala, i found this really nice concept of how they run their company, which everyone of us should rethink of how to buy and throw-away things.

So if you are planning to check out the sale, the details address are as follows:



STYLE:NORDIC ANN SIANG
39 ANN SIANG ROAD
T +65 6423 9114

HOW TO GET TO ANN SIANG
By Bus:          145, 80
By Train:      Tanjong Pagar Station (Exit G) - 5 mins walk
                        Chinatown Station (Exit A) - 10 mins walk
STYLE:NORDIC EMAIL
info@stylenordic.com

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Molecule 8th Anniversary Sale - till 31/10/10

Just saw this today, this weekend is really busy with plenty of sales going on. Love this shop and their decor. Price is mostly high, lets hope we got some luck big discounts on the things we want.


Molecule 8th Anniversary Sale
From Friday, 1st Oct 2010 - Sunday, 31st Oct 2010

Check out 8th Anniversary Sale for discount 80% off the original selling price and 18% off New Arrivals.
Purchase $180 nett and get a $20 vouchers.
Terms and conditions apply.
Call 6733 2732 (Great World City) or 6509 0227 (Orchard Central) for enquiries.

Visit in-store for more details.
Molecule - Great World City
Molecule - Orchard Central

Lorenzo Annual Stock Take Sale - while stock last

Again, another lobang that come too late. Haiz, these guys are doing high quality sofa sets. Anyway, for those of you guys who still haven't purchase your sofa. Maybe its your lucky day.

Lorenzo Annual Stock Take Sale
While stocks last

Lorenzo is offering more than 100 assorted L-shaped,
3 + 2 Leather and Fabric sofa sets with up to 70% off.

First-come, first served. While stocks last.
Terms & conditions apply.

Visit in-store for more details.
Lorenzo (27 Kaki Bukit Place)
Lorenzo (Changi South Lane)
Lorenzo (Sims Drive)

Website:
http://www.lorenzo-international.com

WMF Promotion at ISETAN Scotts till 7/11/10

WMF is one of my favorite brands. Super sleek designs & very high quality goods. I think I maybe blowing a hole in my pocket, provided there are things to buy.


WMF Promotion
Now until Sunday, 7th Nov 2010


Check out the WMF Promotion at Isetan Scotts, L4.
Offers include:
- Gourmet Plus 5-pc Cookware Set at $599 (usual price: $1,135)
- Diadem Plus 3-pc Cookware Set at $99 (usual price: $337)
- Gala Plus 4-pc Cookware Set at $150 (usual price: $569)
- Diadem Plus 3-pc Cookware Set at $89 (usual price: $267)
and more...
Visit in-store for more details.

Website:
http://www.wmf.com

Aussino Basic & Whites Fair till 31/10/10

Wow this is perfect! Im thinking of doing the rooms like hotel room with Clean white sheets. 
Im going to check this out this weekend. 
 
Aussino Basic & Whites Fair
Now until Sunday, 31st Oct 2010
Check out Aussino Basic & Whites Fair. Enjoy 40% off: - Pillow Pad usual price from $18.90 - 7 Hole Pillow usual price from $20.90 - Comfort Memory Pillow usual price $55.90 - Latex Pillow usual price $79.90 Visit in-store for more details.
Aussino - Causeway Point Shopping Centre
Aussino - Great World City
Aussino - Hougang Mall
Aussino - Junction 8
Aussino - Paragon
Aussino - Parkway Parade
Aussino - Plaza Singapura
Aussino - Suntec City Mall
Aussino - Tampines Mall
Aussino - West Mall

Monday, October 25, 2010

Doors : Part 2 > Greener doors with better sound proofing

This Doors Section have a few parts. Since i do not have all the info & to make it bite size, i'll spilt to a couple of post.

Being Eco-friendly
I have been environment-conscious since my Poly days and all my friends know I'm quite anal when it comes to Green practices. So during my renovation, I have tried my best to explore ideas & solutions to minimize wastage & harm to the environment. In context of Singapore, where labour is so expensive, repairing & repainting a door will cost at least $150 each. Feeling guilty about throwing our old doors due to high cost of refurbishing, we decided we are going for doors that kill less trees. Having that concept in mind, we explored many options.

Doors that uses the least wood is MDF doors. Very much like IKEA furnitures, its flimsy & will bloat when its wet. Its also very old fashion & definitely didn't follow our theme.


Veneer flush doors on the other hand looks more current and have wood grain that match our cabinets. However, the least wood ones are Hollow-core which uses honey-comb criss-cross 3mm cardboards. They offer little glue contact and have shorter lifespan. So not very eco-friendly if we have to throw them away after 2-3yrs. Also sound proofing is the worst! 
 Please pardon my ugly drawing.

Semi-solid is a better alternative, cos the sound proofing is better but uses a more wood to create the matchbox structure. Each structure is using 25mm timber strips laid perpendicularly with internal gap of maximum 200mm apart. This offer better glue contact thus improving the lifespan to approx 5years.
Please pardon my ugly drawing.

However, we tried to push the manufacturer further buy asking if we could further improve sound proofing & reducing wood at the same time. But we spend hours discussing with the manufacturers, talking about inserting sound proofing foam, adding extra plywood & etc..
Finally, we came up with the brillant idea. Since we notice there are plenty of leftover plywood from making these doors, we decide to insert these waste plywood to add another layer of plywood to improve sound proofing. This additional layer also makes the build much stronger where we can put in nails under on the waste layer then concealing it with a new veneer ply above. Improving the build also means we can use less matchbox structure thus having wider gaps. This will result to less glue contact but has been compensated with nails. Expected lifespan can also be longer compared to semi-core doors.
Please pardon my ugly drawing.

However, constructing these door cost us $400 per door [while semi-core is $350].
But we justify the $50 with 
1. extended lifespan, 
2. improved sound proofing, 
3. a cleaner conscious for killing less trees & reusing waste. 
4. bragging rights in creating something the industry never practice.

Doors : Part 1> Door maker & Sliding door

This Doors Section have a few parts. Since i do not have all the info & to make it bite size, i'll spilt to a couple of post.

Engaging Contatdecor
We had read much about Contat from this bliss&dream renoblog and later found the their blog thru renotalk forum. This company have been around for many years [since 1975]

Anyway, long story short, we had done our research & order some 8 doors from them.

6 swing wooden doors, [master, dresser, store, guest, common bath, laundry],
1 wood sliding for master toilet & 1 bi-folding Aluminium for kitchen toilet.

The wooden doors are Flushed with veneers. Unfortunately we are not able to bring the colours of the veneers selected & had forgotten to take a photo of the sample. will update this when the door comes next week. Look out for later post

Kitchen toilet which was also the maid toilet is small and will have direct water splashing on the door if [ever] showering. Look out for later post

Sliding Doors
While Master bath have to be done in sliding as there are not opportunity to do swing due to space constrain. However, i think its cool to share this great gadget with you guys cos i think is solves many peoples problems.

This Japanese sliding system is really practical for those who have Sliding doors in Air-condition areas. Like my example master toilet, my toilet windows will be open for ventilation, so if my sliding door would to roll open during the night, there could be much air-con leakage. This NISIN CLiQ system have a Snap device that Holds the door securely in closed or open position when so that it will never been half open or close.

Taken from Contatdecor.blogspot


Sliding Track : NISIN CLiQ system 

 

When it comes to door gadget, Our crew in Contat are always very excited to test & share systems with everyone. NISIN CLiQ system is a revolutionary system, designed in Japan, that uses a special CLiQ mechanism to keep door securely close or open. This sliding system can solve common problems like air-conditioning leakage caused by gaps in sliding door when doors rolls back.

Audiohouse & DBS WOWme Promotion

We went down to Audiohouse today to confirm the hood & hob, when the friendly sale staff Wilfred inform us about this DBS WOWme Promo.

For all of you renovating, this is a super good promo by DBS credit cards.
Minimum spend of $10,000 within the 1year, you can get instant cash savings!!

Its really achievable when you do your renovation. However, you may need to have to engage contractors or merchants who accepts credit cards.

To entitle, you need to first charge $2,000 @ AudioHouse, then you can apply this WOWme contract. For 1 year of the date of contract, you need to either spend min. of $10,000 with any of your DBS cards. Perfect timing when there you have to spend. Think about charging your renovation, ID cost, furnitures, appliances, bridal, wedding dinner, honeymoon.


DBS is really smart capturing this market.
Details of WOWme
Terms & condition

Must move in on 4 Nov 2010 9-11am! Auspicious!!

Parents & family consulted some religious source, said that we must move in on 4 Nov 2010 9-11am! That had added a DEADLINE for all the slacking contracts & the 2 pigs. Damn it.

Religious source says, the year of the Tiger discourage house moving during the next lunar month, while our birth-dates is not auspicious to move in the month after.

Meaning if we dun do it this by the lunar month we can't move in for the next 2 months. Bravo!

We had done:
  1. all flooring & tiles
  2. all capentery
  3. painting of walls
  4. relocating of air-con compressor
  5. install new window
  6. install basins & kitchen sinks
  7. purchase WC, taps & bathroom accessories
  8. bought pots & pans
  9. bought today, fridge, washing machine with FOC TV, hob, hood, rice cooker, iron
now we are left with the follow must have to move in:
contractors
  1. fit doors
  2. fit lightings
  3. fit taps & wc
  4. fit hob & hood
  5. touch up paint works
Shopping list
  1. buy oven, mircowave, ipod dock cum alarm, vacuum, fan, hot water dispenser
  2. buy hangers, drawer baskets, laundry bags, pegs, bamboo stand,
  3. buy cutlery, dinning plates+bowls, serving plates, knives, kettle,
  4. buy rice tube + charcoal burner for ceremony
  5. buy mattress, bed sheets, pillows, bolsters, 
  6. buy cushion+covers,
  7. buy storeroom shelves
Co-ordinate
  1. door installation
  2. lighting installation
  3. plumbing WC, Taps
  4. shipping of lights
  5. shipping of shower unit
  6. install loose furniture
  7. cleaning of house
  8. delivery of appliance
  9. changing of lock
  10. deliver mattress