Skincare Review : Part 2

This is the reason I wrote this and previous entry.....read further....

Continuation from previous post ....

Kebetulan, I met somebody at work recommended me to use CLARINS products. Memang Allah nak bagi hints kat I kot, sebab masa first time met her, memang kagum dengan her skin, but takde la pulak bertanya dia pakai product apa. Tapi bila second time terjumpa, baru terasa nak bertanya...She told me that she used to have skin condition like mine...and now her skin is so clean and clear... She told me, she used  CLARINS Truly Matte collections (light green colour bottle) to help her problem skin. After her skin condition dah OK she was then advised to use the  CLARINS  Hydraquench Collection to treat hydration problem. So...apa lagi, pantang dengar org give good reviews about a product, terus pergi Isetan cari  CLARINS  counter. These are the things that I bought worth RM124 during Christmas Sale:

1. Truly Matte Hydra-Matte Lotion - 50ml - RM124
2. Truly Matte Pore Minimizing Serum - 15ml trial size (free)
3. Truly Matte Pure Radian Mask - 15ml trial size (free)
4. Cleanser - 5ml sample size (free)
5. Toner - 12ml sample size (free)
6. Lotus Oil - 2ml sample size (free)

Truly Matte Hydra-Matte Lotion @ Moisturiser

Truly Matte Pure Radian Mask

Truly Matte Pore Minimizing Serum

Amazingly, after 2-3 days using all these (and I stopped using Miracle Water, just to know whether  CLARINS alone could fix my problems), I can see that these products have gotten my pores smaller! I know that the serum and the lotion (mosturiser) yg made the pores smaller, but I think the Lotus Oil yg control the oil production and rebalance your skin condition. Eventhough it is an oil  and bila you apply to your face mmg your face becomes oily, but surprisingly, your face will become so radiance in the morning. And what amazed me, I did not get any single pimple during my period! Wow!! This is so amazing, after one and half years, I didn't get any pimples....I only applied it at night before bed.

Lotus Oil

Huh! Sudah sangat happy...then I started baca review from the internet on their cleanser and Hydraquench Collections. Supposedly I don't think I need the Hydraquench products just yet...sebab the Truly Matte Collection works fine (Alhamdulillah....bersyukur sesangat), tapi now is Christmas sale, kalau during normal days, beli satu benda dapat satu benda, but now beli satu benda dapat extra 3-4 benda....so I end-up beli :

1. HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase - 30ml
2. HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase - 2ml (free)
3. HydraQuench Cream-Mask - 15ml
4. HydraQuench Cream-Gel - 15ml
5. Clarins pouch

HydraQuench Cream-Gel



HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase

I do not know what is the actual price for every product, but I got all 5 items for only RM78. I think this RM78 is for the 30ml serum. Murahnye barang2  CLARINS  ni berbanding Dermalogica and SK-II.

HydraQuench Cream-Mask

The BA told me that if I add in another one item, I am entitled to get 2 trial size products for free, so apa lagi, I took the opportunity to buy the cleanser. So I bought the cleanser at RM92, and these are the items I got it for free :

1. Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Cottonseed - 125ml - RM92
2. Toning Lotion with Iris - 15ml kot the size, not sure but I requested this since I tried the sample given earlier, it is so good to close the pores.
3. HydraQuench Cream-Mask - 15ml

Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Cottonseed

They gave me Cleansing Milk With Gentian at first, but I requested to replace with HydraQuench Cream-Mask just to add my Hydraquench stock at home before I buy the full size item. Because to me, Cleansing Milk is just another cleanser @ make-up remover, so I think I can use my existing products.

So let me tell you the feeling after pakai Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Cottonseed. Your face jadi super duper clean! Seriously I'm telling you....the best cleanser that I have ever used. It is a cream foam type, don't overdry my skin. I do not know how to explain, but tak pernah I pakai cleanser yg I rasa mmg puas hati gile! Selama ni all the cleansers are just a cleanser...tapi ini mmg really buat your skin clean and fresh! My hubby pun admitted that...sebab I paksa dia pakai, to confirm my statement....If you want to read further on its good reviews, go and find it here. Since dah 'terkena' dengan Dermalogica, I will ensure to read reviews first before end up beli my skincare.

Sekarang ni I baru pakai 2 minggu, and Alhamdulillah I'm very satisfied ... ye la...been searching for about 1 and half years and ada product dah pakai sampai 3-4 bulan, tak nampak apa2 perubahan...and Dermalogica lagi teruk, siap pergi facials, siap duduk dalam hot chamber @ sauna for 1 year, still tak tunjuk perubahan...menghabiskan duit aku betul!!

So CLARINS ni so far, aku happy. In the morning, I will use the Truly Matte collections, and before bed, I will use the Hydraquench collections together with its Treatment Oil @ Lotus Oil. So, todate, jerawat still tak keluar lansung, and now aku dah nampak muka dah ala-ala glowy gitu... Nanti la kalau dah betul2 confirm product ni penyebabnye...aku akan letak gambar before and after...Sekarang ni mmg dah rasa sangat confident, CLARINS adalah penyelamatnya. Since the pimples dah tak keluar, I kena tunggu for 1-2 months before looking for solutions to treat my scars. Tapi somehow, I notice my pimple scars have faded tremendously. Sbb apa....selama ni, kalau nak keluar rumah, I mesti pakai foundation and compact powder on my face to cover the flaws, but for the past one week, I only applied light layer of compact powder, in case takut muka berminyak .... So, hopefully after one month, I can go out without pakai make-up, just sunblock......

p/s For those yg nak try, click here, fill in your particular, and get the voucher to redeem the 3-pc trial pack inclusive of Treatment Oil (while stock last). They have 3 types of treatment oils (Lotus, Blue Orchid, and Santal) depending on your skin condition, but I took Lotus Oil to treat my oily skin.

p/s BA at CLARINS are very generous, suka bagi sample whenever you ask, so despite barang2 yg already on-pack, I receive byk gile the sample size toner, treatment oil and facial shaping lift cream. My friend yg recommended me this product says that facial shaping lift cream is very good, but I am yet to see the effect, as I only use it for 4 days. Will give the review once I can see the results.

Skincare Review : Part 1

I have been wanting to write a post related to skincare review. However, for the past 1 and half years, I still could not find the best or suitable product to fix my oily and problematic skin condition. I used to have a clear and flawless skin. Pakai any cleansers, guna Olay Total Effect, that's it. Kulit cun melecun...until I stop breastfeed my second child, I started to get pimples especially during my period. My skin became so oily and and pimples will be all around the face.

My clear skin with natural blusher....satu masa dulu :-(



Muka baru bangun tido, main kat taman dengan Hadif tanpa secalit mekap...I miss my skin!!

I have been trying so many products, from the cheapest to expensive ones. These are some products that I could remember using it :

1. Alken cleanser
2. Thursday's plantation cleanser
3. Thursday's plantation tea tree
4.  NV complete set (local product)
5. Tia Amilia complete set (local product)
6. Hada Labo Lotion (macam Miracle Water)
7. Rosa T Cleanser
8. Olay Total Effect Cleanser
9. etc ....

All above did not make my skin worse, but it did not help me at all...so I stop and decided to 'invest' some money for a more branded brand. Maybe due to 'aging' factor kot, I need to spend more to pamper my skin.

I registered for 1 year facial session worth RM1800 ++ at Aster Spring KLCC and product worth RM2400++ with Dermalogica. I just thrown away the receipt yesterday while do housekeeping at my office desk. That's why I still remember how much I have wasted on this!! It was such a waste investment. Went for regular facials, hot chamber sauna, and religiously follow the routine at home, but it just did not work out! One year already ended in July 2011, but my skin condition is not become any better! Membazir gile pakai Dermalogica ni! Seriously....and everytime I pergi facial, they BA always told me that I have hydration problem....but hello...I have paid you so much, so why don't you fix it during the facials. Masa beli barang, punye lah recommend itu ini ... tapi yet, still 'hydration' problem.

After one year using Dermalogica...Yes! walaupun no changes on the skin, I still dengan sabarnya pakai sampai one year, konon2nye manalah tahu, after more than 6 months baru ok ke....hampehhh!! Seriously, bengang je tgk counter Dermalogica bersepah kat KLCC ni!

Then somebody told me that Vichy Normaderm is good ... I tried the whole set...and my younger sister also tried.... again, it did not do harm my skin, but it did not improve my skin either.

After Vichy, dah ala-ala give-up lah to get back to my flawless skin. Rasa macam nak pasrah je, maybe there is no skincare is suitable for me anymore, so kena pakai make-up je lah to cover-up all the flaws ....but....walaupun give-up ... still nak try jugak sekaliiii jee for a more expensive than Dermalogica...biasa lah perempuan...

So I decided to give a last try (seriously LAST TRY!!) to my skin for an expensive brand....went and bought SK-II Facial Treatment Essence a.k.a Miracle Water during its promotion after my kaklong gave me a good review. Bought 75ml Miracle Water at RM199, and received a toner and a mask for free. The BA at SKII Isetan KLCC was very nice, did not force me to buy their product, but advised me to ensure that I use make-up remover before my cleanser. It is a must to use make-up remover before any skincare! She gave me a sample to try their make-up remover.

The verdict : It worked! It does control the oil production and I found that my pimples is much less during my period. I used consistently for 1 month and during my period, only 3 pimples came out (Yes! I did count and three are already very good for me, so just imagine how congested my face before I met the Miracle Water) ... I love it!! But... the problem is, I don't have good mosturiser and cleanser to compliment the Miracle Water. I still use Dermalogica cleansers (double cleansing lagi tu, tapi the result is the same). The cleansers are OK, however the Skin Smoothing Cream (mosturiser) is disaster! Everytime I applied, mesti keluar pimples....sabor je lah... dah la beli yg besar punye...BA dekat Dermalogica forced me to buy the big size for more value for money ....ceh...

So pergi la sekali lagi ke SK-II counter in Isetan, they checked my skin condition with their skin analyzer machine. The result shows that I have 'radiance' problem, and they recommended me to buy the Cellumination Collections @ SK-II Pitera Aura Set. Since it's near Christmas, they offered a set for RM940, with RM1600++ worth of products. Tempting jugak tu...but it's way to expensive and yet I do not know whether it will work for me or not. Yg buat I turn-off tu bila I tanye the BA, can SK-II helps my oily and pimples problems? The BA said no...that is your hormon problems and there's nothing we can do....what a bad BA...

So I continue with my routine together with the Miracle Water...but still tak puas hati lagi sbb I found that despite the oil production is under controlled, but my skin is now lack of radiance, and it's very dull. I probably need a good cleanser, toner and mosturizer for that. The Miracle Water alone is not sufficient.

To be continued....

Proposed Garden Design

I have found a simple design, but yet elegant (perasan pulak) .....however due to my budget constraint....the idea hopefully can be implemented next year.....



A minimal maintenance garden design - guna power point je, mana ada software nak sketch ni



The inspiration

My garden

Side view

Skrg ni rumput liar dah tinggi dah.....

Garden design ideas

I'm currently looking for ideas for my backyard. Initially, I wanted to have a simple garden with phillippine grass, and few plants for easy maintenance, but then suddenly teringin nak ada water features, but definately a NO NO this time sebab kids are still small. It's either jadi tempat kanak-kanak ribena baling batu, or jadi tempat diorang berendam pulak...ini mmg huge safety issue. But just to list my preferances :

i. Simple garden, with phillipine grass, with plants at the corner of the garden

I like the simplicity, but not so much on the plants kat tepi2 pagar tu....

This is more the type of plant yg I like....looks so refreshing....

ii. Garden with water features. Nice and looks luxury, but dangerous with my small kids

Hoping to have this kinda water feature but not now...tunggu kids besar dulu

iii. Modern and tiled/decking backyard - Nice and looks very expansive!

Huh! Sungguh cun dan menawan!!

iv. Zen Garden - so far, looking into more ideas on this. The reason is that to avoid using too many grass, because heard that grass is not easy to maintain.... Currently doing my own sketching/proposal to my husband because he seem not to like the idea...but a usual, I'll come out with my proposal and will make him agree ... hehe...that's me!

To me, this garden is not too nice, but I like the overall idea, i.e. to have some areas with tiles,
batu, plants, and garden lights etc....

Any ideas, appreciate if you could let me know....

p/s All photos are courtesy from Mr. Google...

Plaster Ceiling (Post)

I have been missing for a while, due to :

1. Busy pindah ke rumah baru .... it was unplanned, but Alhamdulillah semua dah settle.

2. Agak malas utk mengambil gambar and upload.

3. Busy travelling here and there .... bukan pergi bercuti, tapi pergi bekerja....

But after several people requested me to update the blog to know about my minor renovation, my curtain, plaster ceiling etc, so here I am....and as a disclaimer, the photos shown here are for experience and knowledge sharing purposes only, jauh sekali utk menunjuk2 harta dunia yg tidak kekal ini ....

So let me show you my plaster ceiling first...tapi sorry la....gambar ada yg too bright...main snap jer...then bila transfer to computer, tgk colour2 nye sangat kuning menyala....so nak amik sekali lagi with the right setting, amat lah malas nyer....

So here you are!! All 3 ceilings are similiar pattern. I'm into modern and simple design, tak suka yg ada bunga2 type, or skirting. And one more thing that I like about this design is that I can hide the curtain railing. Ala, macam kat hotel2 tu. Dari kecik lagi bila masuk hotel, suka sangat tgk the way diorg hide the curtain railing, a.k.a tak payah beli railing yg mahal tu....sbb with this design, your railing is hidden :-) Another way to save you big bucks.

My basement @ Lower Ground Floor
Notice my tv cabinet? It is 2 ft wider :-)
With potted plant next to it, will be nicer dan berseri kot...

Ground Floor



Dining Room at Ground Floor


I'm happy with the workmanship for these 2 contractors, however I don't dare to recommend to you because it will cause great headache.....

Plaster Ceiling (Contractor)

I didn't do any major renovations, only kitchen cabinet, and plaster ceiling. I don't faced any problems with my kitchen cabinet (with tv cabinet, shoe rack). Thanks to Artak Kitchen. But what I want to share here is regarding my plaster ceiling.

Initially, I had engaged one contractor, to do my plaster ceiling at 3 areas, i.e. Living Room, Dining Room and Family Room. They did the Family Room first. Then when they wanted to start doing at the Living Room and Dining Room upstairs, they noticed that the ceiling above the original plaster ceiling (by developer) was not plastered. Therefore, the initial price that they have quoted has increased tremendously! Patut lah this guy quoated very much cheaper from other contractor. But we were not happy with that, because the contractor have agreed with the price, they cannot just simply increase in between project. They have to bare the cost! Therefore, we cancelled the contract and asked them to leave after finished the Living Room!

Then we engaged second contractor, to do upstairs's plaster ceiling. This guy pulak, pergi hire sub-contractor to do the job. The commiunication between us and him were not transfered to the sub-contractor. That's not the only problems, when the sub-con knew how much we are paying to the main-con, which is double from what they received, diaorg boleh went off without finishing the job! Huh...so many dramas... Siap gaduh2 lagi between main-con and sub-con. But at the end, main-con yg very selfish ni, went missing pulak. Luckily the sub-con still baik hati, and finish their job, and luckily we have not fully paid the main-con, so we still have the money to pay the sub-con.

My family room, with TV Cabinet. I'm not very happy with the size of
this TV cabinet, in the end, Artak Kitchen has replaced to a bigger board.
Photo will be shared later.

80% completed. The T5 lighting and the downlights have not been fully installed yer.

Some may not agree with my statement here. But both contractors (in fact all 3 contractors) are Malays!!! Since I am also a Malay, I wanted to give some jobs to help our people, but they are greedy and unprofessional people. Lesson learned : To engage Chinese Contractor .... bukan taknak menolong org melayu, but they have given me hard time, which that is why contractor melayu tak maju. Dengan sesama Islam pun nak menipu.

Show House

This is the actual show house of my house. I like the simplicity of the interior, but yet refreshing. If you notice, people tend to choose safe colour for the curtain, like cream, white, brown, and even black. But not for this house....

Dining Area

Living Room

Living Room. Family room is downstairs.

And since I like it so much, that the reason I looked for Turqoise Curtain Colour, eventhough it is very difficult to find.... Seriously, it was not easy!!

Soto

Divert sikit cerita pasal rumah. Semalam menu buka puasa aku adalah soto. Bibik aku yg masak. Seriously sedap! Soto mmg favourite food aku skrg. Susah nak jumpa soto yg sedap kat kedai, tak faham aku sebab soto lah masakan yg paling senang dibuat.... Dulu zaman aku belajar dulu, rajin gak aku masak soto and ajak kengkawan makan. Kalau ajsk maksn doto kat rumah ni pun, mesti ada org tanye macam mana nak buat. So kat sini aku nak share the recipe, the simplest soto recipe ever.

Bahan-bahan utk 2-3 orang akan :

1. Ayam - ikut suka lah berapa byk nak pakai. Tapi kalau nk buat utk sekali makan, ideally pakai setengah ekor, utk dapat manis kuah nanti. And kalau boleh, biar lah ayam yg dipotong besar, senang nak dicarik nanti.
2. Bawang merah - 3 ulas, dihiris.
3. Bawang putih - 3 ulas, dihiris.
4. Mixture of rempah : bunga lawang, kayu manis & buah pelaga - separuh genggam.
5. Sebijik bawang besar - potong 4.
6. Kiub ayam - secukup rasa.
7. Garam - secukup rasa.

Cara memasak :
1. 2 liter air, dipanaskan dalam periuk.
2. Masukan ayam dan rebus selama 20-30 minit (lagi lama, lagi manis kuah nanti).
3. Masukan bawang besar yg dipotong 4 bersama-sama ayam tadi.
4. Masukan garam secukup rasa.
5. Selepas ayam sudah siap direbus, toskan ayam tadi.
6. Panaskan minyak di kuali, separately.
7. Tumiskan bawang yg telah dihiris, bersama rempah. Bila dah agak kuning, toskan bahan tumis tadi, dan dicampurkan bersama air rebusan ayam.
8. Campurkan sedikit kiub ayam, utk lebih sedap. Tapi if ayam dah byk, air rebusan tak perlu lagi dicampur kiub.
9. Ayam yg telah ditos tadi, lumurkan dengan sedikit garam dan serbuk kunyit, dan digoreng. Selepas sejuk, carikan ayam tadi. Tulang2 ayam dimasukan semula ke dalam air rebusan.
10. Dah siap!!

Sambal kicap :
1. Cili api
2. Sedikit bawang putih.
3. Tumbuk kedua bahan di atas, campurkan dengan sedikit gula. Kalau suka, boleh campur sedikit asam limau atau cuka.

Accesories :
1. Taugeh yg direbus
2. Daun sup dan daun bawang yg dihiris
3. Kacang tanah yg digoreng
4. Bawang goreng
5. Soon goreng
6. Pregedel

Kalau emergency, item 2, 3, 5 dan 6 takde pun takpe. Yg penting kuah dah sedap. Tapi aku mesti ada taugeh, my favourite! Resepi pregedel akan dishare di lain waktu. Ada tugasan yg perlu diselesaikan....

Jgn lupa rebus nasi impit tau! Kalau kuah je, bukanlah soto namanya....

Curtain

Got it! After been looking for so many places. Yeay!! Before that, I already went to several shops, only 2 to 3 kedai je that have TURQUOISE curtain, but the price is ridicolous! Ada yg sampai RM65, RM88, and even RM 98 per meter. Crazy! Takkan la aku nak buat curtain on one floor sampai RM3-4K pulak.

At first, I wanted to go to SSF Curtain, but asyik tak berkesempatan je. But last Thursday night, hubby ajak aku pergi ke Globe in Jalan TAR first, then later baru pergi tengok kat SSF Curtain. Aku dah nekad time tu, if ada je kat SSF, confirm aku akan beli, dah penat round KL including VIVA Home kat Cheras. But luckily, bila sampai je kat Globe, Wow! At first masa kat level 4, semua curtain cokia je kat situ. Frust jugak aku.....tapi bila aku pergi ke Level 5, huh.....sungguh banyak curtain yg cantik2!! Aku yg tak berapa berkenan dengan curtain berbunga-bunga pun, boleh tersuka pulak ngan curtain bunga2 kat situ. Tapi memandangkan aku dah set my concept and nak only plain curtain, so I have to stick to the plan.

Ada curtain yg exactly the same colour as what I posted before, aku OK je, but hubby tak suka the material, nampak murahan katanye. So we ended up with a better material which is RM35 per meter walaupun the colour is slightly different from my initial plan, but I LIKE!! Alhamdulillah, with the negotiation skill yg ada, org Globe tu bagi kitorang RM27 per meter. Ye lah....we are the last customer, tak tahu pulak yg Globe tu tutup pukul 9.00 malam. Kesian cashier tu terpaksa balik pukul 9.20 malam sebab kitorang. Apa2 hal pun aku dah rasa relieve sangat sebab dah settle hal TURQUOISE curtain aku ni.... For my other 2 floors, aku nak beli kat Nilai 3 je. Dah jumpa the right material and colour...tapi belum close the deal je lagi. Tapi seriously, memang murah harga curtain kat Nilai 3 tu. With the same material yg berharga RM35 in KL, kat situ aku boleh dapat RM17. Seriously murah!!! So guys, don't waste your money buying curtain in KL unless kalau you all tak jumpa the right material or colours!!

Courtesy from Google

Concept rumah aku nanti ... I think my curtain is slightly lighter from this colur

My curtain photo will be shown later. Tunggu siap pasang kat rumah dulu ye.....

Wet Kitchen

Sneak preview of my wet kitchen. Not yet completed but almost finished. By Artak Kitchen. I fully recommend for their professionalism yet reasonable price!

My wet kitchen with insufficient lighting

3D Design

Mocha Colour, my actual cabinet colour

BLUM drawers, a MUST have!

900mm Pull-Out Basket

600mm Pullout Basket

270 degree Swivel Basket

150mm Bottle Basket


Please call Jeff at 012-6252528 for your quotation.

Rumput hiasan

I never had any interest to know about the type of grass suitable for my lawn .... because am currently staying in a condo. But since my new house got some areas to be filled up and of course I won't be converting all those area into tiles, therefore I need to learn a little bit about rumput. My hubby did some research and there are 3 common types of rumput. These are the info that he gathered so far....

1. Cow grass - this is the type of grass that can be found at padang sekolah. Senang nak jaga kot, tapi takde lah cantik pun.

 

Cow Grass

2. Pearl grass @ Rumput mutiara - macam cow grass, tapi kilat, cantik dan mahal. Senang dijaga, tahan lasak dan takkan panjang, sebab dia memanjang ke tepi..... Very low maintenance. Sesuai utk org yg busy a.k.a malas like me. Harga RM1.80 utk 2 kaki persegi in Sg. Buloh, without installation.

Pearl Grass @ Rumput Mutiara

3. Rumput carpet @ Japanese grass - I like rumput carpet, but susah nak jaga. Cepat panjang dan perlu penjagaan rapi. Will it suitable for me yg tak pandai hal pokok dan rumput ni? Serangga suka duduk bawah rumput ni because it's cool down there. Harga is RM6 for 2 kaki per segi.

Japanese Grass

This is Philippine Grass, not Japanese Grass. RM1.80 for 2 kaki per segi, same as Pearl Grass.

Below is my backyard. I'm thinking to put Pearl Grass here, and Japanese grass Philippine Grass at my front lawn....

My backyard!

My front

Tanah sekangkang kera...
My dad posing pulak

Wish my yard as green as above!!

Kitchen Cabinet Part 0

Why this post is Part 0? It's because I would like to share the lessons that I learned from my kitchen cabinet job for my condo.

1. My biggest mistake : Only went to 1 kedai/showroom in Seremban (and my condo in KL) and terus close the deal! Biasa lah...masa tu takde experience pasal hal rumah ni....so bila I compare the price with what I'm getting now was far far far most expensive that I got today for a better material! -- Now : I went to 7 places and end up for the most bargain price.

2. The design of the drawers/compartment was left to the designer which in deed did not know our own kitchen requirements. So end up, the drawer for ketchup, spices etc is so big that the requirement! -- Now : I make sure the number of drawers, doors are following my kitchen needs.

3. Heavy load drawer is a must! I did not aware of this, therefore my drawers where I kept my plates, bowls could not properly closed because it did not design for heavy loads.

-- Now : BLUM drawers, designed & guaranteed for heavy loads.

 Kitchen at my condo : Before solid surface was installed

4. No stainless steel baskets and swing basket were installed which made it hard to reach some stuff inside the cabinet! -- Now : I have my stainless steel basket for bottle, swing basket and for my ration storage :-)                                                

 Complete kitchen

5. Standard height cabinet looks nice and modern, but limited storage area especially for a house that only has 1 kitchen. -- Now : I installed ceiling height for my wet kitchen for ample storage area and it does look modern too.

6. Without all those above, I had to pay RM16,300 for the kitchen which I think it could get me my wet and dry kitchen for the new house with a better material and accessories.

 

 

My condo that soon will be missed :-(

Learning through EXPERIENCE is the best lesson!!

Curtain Hunting

My friend had once told me, if you want to buy curtains, go and buy in Nilai 3. His friend wanted to buy curtain last time for his house from a reputable shop in KL area, and for 3 storey house, was 12k. Then he ended up bought his curtain at Nilai 3 for RM3k....

So I went to Nilai 3 last weekend and went into several shops. It is cheap in deed! But the only problem is, I could not find the colour that I was looking for. I was looking for turqoise colour but could not find any! I even went to Nilai 1 but still could not find it. So anyone......please let me know if you had seen any turqoise colour curtain like the photo below (btw, I took the photo from google image)....let me know the place please....

Thank you Mr. Google for the photo :-)

Kitchen Cabinet Part 1

We have been looking for kitchen cabinet contractor since March 2011. Already went to several showrooms, including Signature Kitchen Great Eastern Mall, Signature Kitchen Seremban, Defilio, CLS, Deluxe Design, and lastly is Unity Design. 

I went to all showrooms above because either they are reputable, or the showroom is nearby my house in Ampang. However, for Unity Design, it was so happened I googled for 'recommended kitchen cabinet'. I found several forumers were giving good recommendation to Unity Design because they are cheap, the workmanship and after sales service are superb. Yup, the forumers are right! I contacted them via email and gave my floor plan and requested for a quotation. One week later, I received their quotation and it was the cheapest among all. I even went to their showroom in Kajang (what a coincidence, their showroom is just opposite my new house in Saujana Villa, Kajang). The kitchen cabinet that they displayed were nice and it suits my taste. This was back in April 2011. I did not make any commitment with them yet because I have not received my house keys.

Until one day....in June 2011, I was talking to my colleagues and were talking about house renovation and stuff....one of them was asking me whether I have paid for any deposits to Unity Design. Then I told her that I have not. She told me please call her kitchen cabinet contractor before I make any commitments. She fully recommended this contractor because the price is very cheap, and yet the workmanship is very good. The company's name is Artak Kitchen, and the owner has its factory below his showroom @ office. It's located in Semenyih, also 5km away from my house.

My friend is soooo right. I did get the best quotation, and just to compare the price, let me write the details of my request for your comparison:

1. My wet kitchen size : 14" x 8"

2. Material : 3G

3. Table top : Solid surface

4. 1 set Blum drawers (3 tiers)

5. 1 x 150mm bottle basket

6. 4 x 600 mm pullout basket

7. 180 degree swing basket

8. 2 x 900 mm pullout basket

9. Softclose system for all doors

The most expensive among all the contractor is of course Signature Kitchen, 40% more than the cheapest, i.e. is Unity Design, RM12700++ (before I met Artak Kitchen). When I went to see Jeff (Artak's owner, very nice young guy), he quoted me RM11300. And I even get to install lights, reflective mirror on 2 doors, and the best part is, I could also install the glass wall between base and wall unit. I got all of these is just below RM12k. 

Artak's initial design (silver and black door colour)

with black top

 Colour of my choice, i.e mocha door colour

with cream top

I have now received my house keys, and already paid to Jeff the deposit. I will not only be doing my wet kitchen with him, but all 3 kitchens for my house, tv cabinet, shoe rack and wardrobe. I will share with you the photo once everything is ready.