C.C
Address: Kingston Terrace
Project styling: Modern Desert
Kingston Terrace is a freehold condominium built 25 years ago. its structures are old and this renovation project requires more attention to details. It is a condominium with childcare and tuition centres on its ground level. Renovation noise disturbance will be an issue because it affects their business activities. The children have to take their afternoon nap from 1-3pm. Therefore this timing is voided for renovation and I have to make sure my contractors are well informed.
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High we go!
My client hoped for a high ceiling and a large living room. Condominiums have false ceilings as a standard practice whereby our only hope is to have it removed. However, as easy as it sounds, there are many considerations taken.
These are a few things we have to make sure before we decide to initiate the hacking phase.
- No jarring pipes running around
- Aircon ducts ready for dismantling
- No weird beams
I was scratching my head in thoughts of what lies internally. I thought of requesting archival from Kingston’s MCST. However, apparently there is no such thing. Our only hope was to wait for the hackers to do their magic. They popped a few holes at the corners of the false ceiling. I peeked in and fortunately it looks okay. It is bare and it requires screed and plastering works, not too much of a complication.
With a high ceiling, the interior holds the opportunity of looking spacious and allows the furnitures and lighting fixtures to stand out. I needed something different, a little more striking and still within the budget. On the other hand, I was kinda too sick with the neutral color palettes; everyone’s selecting them. So we decided with a deep terracotta color paint that spans from the dining wall to the kitchen. This color will will go in accordance with the furnitures and decor.
Selleys - caulk
Sometimes this happens. Who knew what’s behind the grills after removing it? The gap’s about 10mm in thickness. We have engaged the handyman to settle this issue. He reccommended to use Chaulk for walls that are on the external facade. This filler protects the interior in any case that the rain seeps through.
Patching up Vinyl
To save cost and unneccessary expenditure, we are retaining the existing vinyl and skirting. However, as we are opening up spaces and breaking down some of the walls, there are some areas that requires patching up with vinyl floorings. The tricky part is that we can only patch up with the same design as the existing flooring. We will have to select from the same supplier; as the clicking mechanism has to match.
On the other hand, the skirting profile has to be the same profile. I took existing skirting and brought it over to the supplier so that it matches. Meanwhile, the tiler has cement screed over and levelled the ground evenly to lay the vinyl. To save cost, certain areas are separated with aluminium trimmings.
What style though?
On my first impression, I felt homeowner was going for a very feminine style for her apartment. The only thing she knows is that she wanted a terrazzo looking bathroom. Base on these few pointers, I proposed a pink wall paint and terrazzo wall tiles in the bathroom. For the kitchen cabinets, we settled for something less striking and still contains a tint of purple-ish tone in it.
Modern Desert Theme
We decided on a “modern desert” theme at the end. It steers away from the feminine look. The theme was selected to match the terracotta colors and also to have a “safe /widespread look”, catered for her guest. A more rough or slight brutal look. Hafary has a tile that has an rough concrete look and still has the patches of terrazzos in it. We couldn’t be more proud of our selection, the tile completes beautifully with the terracotta EDL laminate in the common bathroom. With the theme, the open shelf was swapped out to solid wood. The planks were professionally installed by Timber Actually. Our carpenter assisted with the LED cut out slot too.
I did some DIY parts at site. All of the existing window handles were rusty and loose. Being very careful with the dimensions, I purchased new ones on shoppee and replaced on my own.
This is a housewarming gift to homeowner. I had some spare woods to work on with. It is a candle stand in three different heights. They were nailed and glued, then finished with a varnish coat.
Plan, Reno, Shoot!
This is how everything turns out! We spent the morning - afternoon for the photoshoot. Some areas were selected and dimmed on low light, in hopes to achieve the warmth and homely feeling.
