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.

Interior Design Magazines

I really love reading or flapping through ID magazines. To become an interior designer had once became my ambition, though I know that I don't have the skills for sketching, drawing, etc.

Here I would like to share with you my preferred magazines. I think this is quite a good info to share because you won't end up wasting your money on the 'not so good' or 'not so suit with your taste' magazines.

2006 : I used to like reading Impiana magazines. That time, the designs in that magazines suited me. Only once in a while I bought Anjung Sri, which after that I will regret it so much. There's nothing wrong with that magazine, but just the design in the magazine more towards an 'olskool' or 'traditional' design. It's a big turn- off for me. So in 2006, Impiana did win my heart.

2008 : I bought a condo in Ampang. So apart from Impiana, I also like to buy Dapur Impiana magazine. Tidak mengecewakan. The kitchens shown in the magazines were some from celebrities' kitchen including Noniswara, and the late Dato' Sosilawati. Apartment from Impiana also was not bad.....

2009 : Dah lama baca Impiana, I found a new sweetheart, but not a local magazine. It's SQUAREROOMS, from Singapore. I started to read this magazine when suddenly felt bored with Impiana, and try to look for new fresh ideas and design for my condo. I still remember I first bought this magazine when I was at the KLIA. This magazine was published every 3 months back then, but now luckily it is publish every month. The moderness of the design really really suit my taste, which I didn't find it in Impiana anymore.....

 

Squarerooms Latest Issue

Ideal Homes 2011, from SQUAREROOMS 

My favourite issue!!!

 

2011 : After one year plus a loyal reader to SQUAREROOMS, I suddenly felt the ideas did not suit so much for my new 2 and half storeys semi-d house, which I bought early this year. Since it is a Singapore's mag, the ideas features in the mag are mostly for condo and apartment. I switched my interest to IN DESIGN @ id from iNpublisher. This magazine features many photos, less words, unlike Impiana and Anjung Sri, many words, and too many advertisement..... So I'm a big fan of this magazine now.

 In Design @ ID

Taken from 'id' magazine ... I Likeee...

So guys, different people has different interest, taste, and ideas. I'm just sharing with you my interest and my preference.