Renovation in Progress (part 10)

Week 10

Finally the IKEA cabinet installation appointment came... Mr Sam, from CT Art, who lead a team of 2 people was very professional and did a great job. Thanks Mr Sam for completing my dream kitchen which I designed! Yippee.. 

It was not an easy task although the kitchen was small. Apparently many panels and fillers were needed to make the kitchen cabinets look seamless.. Further, Mr Sam had to work around the appliances. Do take note and calculate all measurements in your kitchen fittings. This will make Mr Sam's work easier! It took 1/2 a day to complete the installation. 

That Saturday, an appointment was fixed for the counter-top measurement. As mentioned earlier, we ordered the acrylic counter top that was on sale.. if it wasn't, I'd be paying for RM290.00 per sqft... 

Most importantly I chose the IKEA acrylic counter-top was because it was fully imported from Korea (and was on SALE!!).

Apparently I was surprised that the counter-top measurement was accurate (just by using thin wooden strips).. wow this was the 1st time I sat through a counter-top measurement.. hahaha.. so impressed.

They mentioned that it took a week to complete the counter-top mold. Since Hubbs had a job outstation, I had to fix the appointment on a Saturday.. and the following Monday was Hari Raya.. (me not cooking yet.. will test my SMEG cooker and my cooking skills after Raya!).

Before Hubbs left outstation next week, he was eager to install our STOCKHOLM glass cabinet. However, there was a manufacturing defect (wood crack) at the base of the cabinet.. hmmm.. it dampened his spirits as there were 4 heavy boxes that came with it..

Since there was extra panel and cabinet fillers, we returned the same together with our glass cabinet..

It was unfortunate for us the STOCKHOLM glass cabinet was out of stock...

practice makes perfect

Renovation in Progress (part 9)

Week 9

Once the wallpaper was done, IKEA delivered our items as per the purchase order ("PO") within 3 days. (Upon payment, don't forget to pay for the delivery (RM75) per trip).

For a small kitchen - there were so many items ... All were delivered to our rented home safe n sound.. Thanks IKEA Malaysia for doing a good job!!

Not forgetting hubbs and my favorite stuff - the STOCKHOLM Collection - for my new and improved living room (tsk..tsk..tsk.. brand new kitchen, old living room?? guess again - Neh...)

In the meantime, our appliances also arrived to our new kitchen (yippeeee!!! jumping up & down)...

We scouted Harvey Norman to check out cookers and hobs. I noticed that they had a small range of Belling, SMEG and Elba standing cookers. I was not happy over the limited range though, so I scouted the web in search of SMEG showroom. Never thought it was nearby D7, Sentul Showroom. Sentul is no stranger to me but I got lost at first but managed to find it. Hubbs and I fell in love with the SMEG range and we scouted for a free standing cooker of not larger than 60cm, which they had!! I was lucky as they were having a promotion at that time. We were given a CAST IRON griddle worth RM650 and they threw in another free gift which was a WOK support worth RM100 for my cooker! 
(P/s: I have not installed the gas yet as we need to get the cabinets completed.

 1) My lovely SMEG free standing cooker (Italy). 

After booking our SMEG cooker, Hubbs & I decided we needed quality appliances that would last us for years. So we picked Electrolux and to view their latest range, we went to Solaris, Duta Mas (Elux Home Appliances). The Sales Manager was very friendly and assisted our queries (we didn't purchase them at first as we needed to go home and measure these items and fit into our budget). But because the Sales Manager left a good impression and was knowledgeable, we went there again and picked out 4 items for our new kitchen. 

2) My adorable Electrolux fridge (Australia)
FYI - it was too huge to go through the front door.. so they had to dismantle the packaging. After much pushing and shoving (slightly cracked my front door frame...), it was placed safely in my kitchen (swoon!). Hubbs installed the plumbing, filter and water piping at the back of the fridge. 

Note: after the fridge has been transported - do wait for at least 2 hours for the gas to find it's bearings.. haha.. to ensure the longevity of the compressor.

3) My latest Electrolux Dishwasher

3) My Electrolux Washer & Dryer combo

Since we no longer have the laundry balcony to hang our clothes, the washer/dryer combo was our best bet.

4) My Electrolux Cooker Hood 
I didn't get SMEG's cooker hood was because the suction power was not really suitable for Asian cooking. So we got this hood which has a power boost up to 1,300m3/h and 4 fan speed

**All installation of the appliances were done by Hubbs... Neat!!

After the pipes and tubes fixing were done, Hubbs was so eager to install the STOCKHOLM TV cabinet...

I haven't found the time to play with my camera yet to photo shoot the new items. 

Will update this blog soon.

Renovation in Progress (part 8)

Week 8

Hubbs continued to finish up painting the panels on the windows and sliding door. He also ensured the wall holes were fully covered before the wallpaper is fitted.

BEFORE

AFTER

The wallpaper team arrived the following Monday. To do this, the team needed ample space to spread glue and trim the wallpaper. 

After spreading glue, they started brushing it up against the walls. 

To complete the task for 400sq ft took about 2.5hrs

Finally - it was all done! 

Renovation in Progress (part 7)

Week 7

Upon completion of our kitchen order and while waiting for the installation date, hubbs cleared up the balcony. 

He patiently painted all our doors and grills white and used RUNNEN floor deck to finish up the balcony and entry. Hubbs even added wooden skirting to tidy up the cut ends of the floor deck.

He also installed the pendant lights. It was his choice to use FOTO and RANARP for our entryway. 

He even suggested for the STÄLL shoe cabinet. 

Good job hubbs!

Renovation in Progress (part 6)

Week 6

Now with the designs and measurement in hand, I took a day off. Hubbs and I went to IKEA to make our dream kitchen come true..

After obtaining the quotation from the lovely and helpful IKEA lady, we headed straight to IKEA's contractor's office and booked the date for the installation of our kitchen - they were fully booked for June 2014! 

They only had an opening in mid-July 2014 so we had no choice but to grab the earliest date possible. 

With all the vital appointments and bookings completed, we both went home happy (and no doubt picked up some furnishing stuff at IKEA).

to be continued

Renovation in Progress (part 5)

Week 5

The wood-laminated installers arrived and began installing our flooring. I wanted the TUNDRA flooring from IKEA but in Malaysia they no longer sell them. So we had to opt out and we chose - Inovar Flooring

The following day when we decided on what color to paint the walls, we knew that our walls would turn chalky after a few months. We had painted our feature wall twice for the past 4 years, and every time, the feature wall became chalky. Alternatively we decided on wallpaper. We scouted around for an affordable cost for our tiny apartment and we wanted a 3D/vinyl wallpaper for our feature wall with linen material. Korea Wallpaper had the design we wanted.

However, they were fully booked till 2nd week of July 2014. We took it because we needed other items to come in first and all the wiring, plug points and wall skimming done before they arrived.

to be continued

Renovation in Progress (part 4)

Week 4

Did I mention that hubbs wanted the store-room window changed? Tsk... tsk.. tsk
He wanted this done to make sure the kitchen windows and the store-room window
are similar.
Hence, we have added another pre-ordered window for the store-room.

In the meantime, the 3-panel balcony glass-door finally arrived. 

Saturday morning, after renovations to the kitchen were completed, our CT Art designer arrived. We showed him our plans and he measured the kitchen. He advised us to bring our lay-out plans together with his measurements to IKEA for them to prepare us the budget (which we approximately knew) - based on our design and cabinet doors/front.

By noon, looking at the additions made to the living room, we noted that our ceiling was plain and bare. 

On Saturday afternoon, we decided to go to Jalan Pahang to view cornices. The installer confirmed that it was a 4-hour operation since our living room was small. So, we agreed to get it installed the same day before the wood-laminated flooring arrived the following Monday:

decide what you need 

- to be continued