Design Proposals

I am very happy with the new software I'm using. Because at just one click ...8 Price Groups will be generated! It just makes it so much easier to help our clients make their budgeting decisions because the materials that we carry are divided into 8 Price Groups - Group 1 being the most economical and the price goes up to Group 8, the highest. Customers just have to choose the price range that suits their budget!

This set costs RM21,659 and uses a combination of Group4 High Gloss Venato Season White+Group6 Crystal Gloss Finoline Imora Red +Group2 Pigment Matt Season White materials, and includes LG HiMacs Arctic White Solid Surface.

If using other price group materials, the price will change as follows..

CHOICE OF MATERIAL

Group1-LAMINATE $14,482
Group2-PIGMENT MATT $16,550
Group3-LAMINATE FINOLINE $19,094
Group4-HIGH GLOSS PIGMENT $20,902
Group5-ASH,OAK,TEAK,WALNUT,MAPLE $22,834
Group6-BEECH,OAK,MAPLE,CRYSTAL GLOSS $23,703
Group7-MAPLE,TEAK,WALNUT $26,633
Group8-ZEBRANO,WENGE $30,176

This set costs RM22,401 using materials from Group 1 Rosa 338 and Group 4 High Gloss Severo Season White and includes solid surface LG HiMacs Arctic White.

If using other materials, the price will change accordingly.

CHOICE OF MATERIAL

Group1-LAMINATE $18,439
Group2-PIGMENT MATT $20,874
Group3-LAMINATE,PINE $24,229
Group4-HIGH GLOSS,PIGMENT MATT $25,919
Group5-ASH,OAK,TEAK,WALNUT,MAPLE $27,691
Group6-BEECH,OAK,MAPLE,CRYSTAL GLOSS $27,348
Group7-MAPLE,TEAK,WALNUT $30,177
Group8-ZEBRANO,WENGE $34,809

This set costs RM 36,802 using Group 4 materials consisting of High Gloss Venato Mocca colour combined with High Gloss Venato Snow White and LG Hi-Macs Arctic White.

The pricing changes according to materials chosen :

CHOICE OF MATERIAL

Group1 - LAMINATE $26,523
Group2 - PIGMENT MATT $30,077
Group3 - FINOLINE LAMINATE $34,456
Group4 - HIGH GLOSS PIGMENT $36,802
Group5 - ASH,OAK,TEAK,WALNUT,MAPLE $39,167
Group6 - BEECH,OAK,MAPLE,CRYSTAL GLOSS $39,116
Group7 - MAPLE,TEAK,WALNUT $42,853
Group8 - ZEBRANO,WENGE $49,112

Design for Kelana Jaya

Today, I'm putting up makeover pictures of a sub-sale unit. There are 2 major areas to renovate for any sub-sale property - the kitchen and the bathroom. However good condition the property is in, the kitchen and bathroom tiles will definitely be out of trend if the property is a few years old - yes, colours have trends and trends change every few years.



Again I must emphasize that to make the home beautiful takes much more than just the amount of money spent on the renovation work. The result of every work delivered depends a lot on the effort that the home owner contributes too. In this case, he has done a superb job in shopping for the MATCHING SOFT FURNISHINGS and keeping the home NEAT. I had written earlier on what makes a good renovation result at http://meridiandesign.blogspot.com/2009/05/you-are-wasting-your-time-and-money-if.html

The Living Room
This unit is quite a large and long one. Frequently this type of layout will be rather dark in the centre where the sun doesn't come in. Furthermore this balcony opening faces North, so there is no direct sunlight. To bring in the natural sun, avoid putting up heavy drapes but use sheer ones instead. The owner has indicated his preference for earthy and cozy colours - colours that relaxes you at the end of a busy workday. I used a mixture of Nippon Terrace Stone and Bramble Beige on smaller walls - greyish organic greens, earthy enough without too much brown and a little green because green is a calming and relaxing colour. The rest of the house is in Daisy White.
Tips :
There are many new shades of white available nowadays, just make sure not to choose lily white, apple white, lilac white, barley white, etc if you what something different. I normally do not use Pearl Glo paints unless the customer specially requests for it because
1) glossy walls are not trendy
2) glossy surfaces brings out all the flaws in the wall - never choose this unless your walls are fully skim-coated.

The Open Kitchen

The original kitchen was a closed up one with a hole opening, as was the trend a few years ago. We updated the look be opening it up and covering all the walls in glass, hence removing the need to change all the tiles. I proposed a combination of glossy black and wood grains. Black is a strong and sombre colour, to add brown wood grains would make it friendlier to live with. Unless the set is very small, it's always better to have a combination of 2 materials and colours.

The Guest Bathroom

The common bathroom was completely made over. The very outdated blue tiles were removed, new cream ones plus some very large mock stone pieces put up.

TIPS :

A point to note here, when buying tiles be careful of not getting lower grade tiles which are cheaper but the sizes will not be equally same. Also, buy tiles from the same batch so that all the colours are even. Always buy around 3-5% extra so that in cases of miscalculation or breakage, the workflow is not interrupted. Do not immediately buy the toilet bowl until the plumber can confirm the outlet piping size, otherwise you'll end up with a toilet bowl that cannot be fitted in.

The plaster ceiling of the master bedroom is in 2 levels, providing some depth. We did a fake wall on the left side of the wardrobe to give it a built-in impression. This method may waste a little space and cost a little higher but the result is always much nicer than using an end panel.

This view from the balcony captivated my colleagues from Sibu, Sarawak when they accompanied me to this unit during the renovation work. They do not have such a high look-out point back home.

The total renovation costs for this home is as follows :

Convert closed-up to open concept kitchen
and kitchen cabinets - RM17,500
Master bedroom wardrobe - RM6,600
MBR bath renovation - RM3,500

Common bath renovation - RM7,600
Skim coat and Painting to ceiling, wall and doors - RM6,800
MS grille - RM1,200
Electrical, plaster board, misc. - RM9,600

Curtains - RM4,900

Total renovation costs RM57,700

Design for Kota Damansara

After working on so many glossy kitchens, this set of contemporary country look kitchen is a welcome change with its beautiful textured door facade.

Open Kitchen

We reclaimed the yard's toilet and converted it to an extension of the kitchen, hence it's become larger. A brick wall was put up and whitewashed for that rustic look. To create a rustic look, I would recommend buying lower grade bricks rather than premium grade bricks as these are "too perfect". Lower grade bricks ( or what our worker calls the longkang bricks! ) come with chippings and crack lines and these are what give them character.

White is a beautiful colour, the favourite colour of the lady owner. The husband's favourite colour is orange, the colour of energy and adventure - which really reveals his personality as someone who loves the outdoors with backpacking and diving as his passion. I spent quite some time admiring the unusual collection items from his off-the-beaten-track travels!

This island unit has slightly higher than normal skirting, with light illumination below to give it a "floating" illusion.

The Baby's Room

The condominium management did not allow any hacking through walls and did not provide any air-cond ducting for all other rooms other than the master bedroom. It's not a very friendly arrangement, so we created fake walls and ceiling to hide all the unsightly air-cond ducting.

The baby's room was totally in pale blue and pure white, giving the environment a cool and light look.

The Living Room

The living area was done in earthy colours for a warm and cozy look. No renovation was done here except for painting.

The Master Bedroom
I came at baby's feeding time, so it wasn't convenient to take pics of the room and the connecting bath. We don't want to disturb the little angel, do we?

The total renovation costs for this home is as follows :


Foyer shoe cabinet with umbrella compartment - RM1,335

Convert yard toilet to extended kitchen

and kitchen cabinets - RM28,790

Kitchen accessories - RM3,310

Master bedroom wardrobe and dresser - RM9,890

MBR bath renovation - RM11,310

Painting to ceiling and wall only - RM2,800

MS grille - RM4,600

Create additional room for study - RM2,370

Electrical, plaster board, misc. - RM9,899

Total renovation cost - RM74,304

* This time, I did not break down my costs into too much detail but just a general description of the work done in this home. This should be helpful enough to help you plan your renovation budget. - Lola