Over the years I’ve used various brands of laminated wood flooring for my residential and office projects. I’ve encountered various problems with the planks , even from well known brands. At times I wanted to give up using laminated wood even though it can make a drastic change(upgrade) a room’s ambiance,aesthetically pleasing, easy maintenance and most importantly it’s a much cheaper solution than solid wood. After some research (investigation, rather) , I’ve discovered that the imported ones esp from C#i@a (usually cheaper),are not suitable for use in our climate (esp ground floor) due to the type of wood that they use(walaupun buatannya guna german teknologi jugak, tapi bukan guna tropical hardwood). Ada yg renggang , timbul, kembang bila kena air sikit, kena makan anai2(termite)…memang sakit hati esp bila client dah spend beribu ringgit . Of course they blame us for suggesting to them.
Sebenarnya ada kilang buat laminated wood planks ni kat Malaysia (I know one in Mentakab ) .The factory produces laminated wood using tropical hardwood and also supplies to a few named brands (I’m not promoting only one brand, ok?)So next time you go to a flooring supplier, please request for a locally produced laminated wood flooring (tak kiralah brand apa pun, as long as they use tropical hardwood). Another tip is that if you have heavy furniture, please go for thicker planks (12mm).Even though they cost double from the 8mm ones, you will not regret later. Finally, please don’t hesitate to remove your existing tile skirting and replace with the laminated wood skirting as it will provide better grip for your flooring planks.Thank you :)
Salam...in light of the current economic situation, am glad to share with u that the prices of construction materials (steel, paint etc) have gone down....so any of you been saving your money for house renovations , now is the best time to spend on your home.
However, please seek for professional advice from architect / designers because they not only guide you technically, they also provide cost estimation which is crucial so that you won't spend more than you can afford to.Just tell them your budget.They will design according to your needs and sometimes what you need is less than what you think.
It kills me to see people splurge unnecessarily on their homes and the result is not satisfactory at all. When you construct yourself, you tend to spend on what you want rather than what you need. Most times you won't stick to the concept that you have in mind especially when you start shopping .Get consultation, people...the fee is much less than you imagine, so you can actually save money and get less headache when you get the right advise. Just don't expect us to give more than what you have in your budget ya....and please open your mind to suggestions that you never expect to hear..they're all for your own good :)
The task of furnishing and decorating an empty room in a new house should be much easier than to makeover an old room with existing furniture. However, with the sizes of the rooms no more than 13’ x 10’ , it’s quite a challenge to design the room layout to fit everything in it. A more convenient solution is to construct built-in cabinets : wardrobe, study table,even the mattress box is custom made to provide more storage spaces. Here are photos of my recently finished project…enjoy..!
Interior renovations or makeovers are really unnecessary if we are happy with the way our crib looks / function for us and our family, and our home trulyreflects our image thatwe portray everyday whenever we step out of the door to face the world. My home is not the purrfect crib for everyone but it works well for me and my small family…but most importantly we are happy in it. We don’t have expensive furniture / décor items …some are DIY , most have good memories … Sometimes the house do get messy , but I know how to tidy up in a jiffy since I’ve assigned specific areas /zones for my things. Most importantly, I do purge my stuffs regularly ….
Should your crib looks like any ofthe before fotos in this blog, YOU NEED HELP…whether you want to admit it or not…YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY living in these rooms….percayalah…
As for me, the opportunity given by my clients to help them transform their living spaces is priceless. It’s not easy to let a stranger into your household / personal spaces everyday for a few months. Thank you. From now on you will be much happier people, insyaAllah..:)
Nowadays if you live in a terrace house, there’s no way you can add another room except for maybe a small room at your kitchen area for the maid or utility room. Lawn space is very limited and usually only 10ft or less from the fence. However, this double storey terrace house built in the early 90’s , provide an open 11’ x 22’ family area that we plan to convert into two rooms – a new bedroom for teenage son and a tv room.
PROCESS Requires some hacking work and building a new wall ….messy but worth it… Existing old leather sofa reupholstered…
AFTER Teenage son gets his own room, tv area smaller , but more compact n efficient, balcony area converted into study area for the older kids…so everyone’s happy with their new space..:)
BEFORE The room size is also 9’ x 13’ , for two teenage girls age 12 and 17. In this case the bed orientation and wardrobe /dresser locations are changed to make the room looks bigger. The girls get their parents “old” brass bed, which is slightly bigger than the normal queen size bed. I also furnished their room with a canvas chair ,side table , table lamp and fern found in their living room. Books are placed on floating shelves on the wall by the bedside. Remember to limit the current reading only so that the shelves aren’t overloaded with books / stuffs. Purge regularly of course .Orange for the wall color to brighten up the room. This room makeover costs the least …..only paint, shelves, carpet and curtains are bought new, the rest are already in the house :-)
The room size is only 9’ x 13’ , for 3 boys age 5, 7 and 8. To fit them all (bed, wardrobe, study, toys) is quite impossible. Sometimes we think a double decker is the best solution for a small room. Actually one queen bed is a much better solution for younger kids sleeping arrangement. A storage cabinet hides all the toy boxes (of course you need to purge the toys quantity).Give them one or two boxes each depends on the space you have, and purge regularly so the boxes don't overflow. Also provide an easy maintenance rug (in this case I got them a colorful n matching the room color scheme bamboo rug) for the boys to sit on /play when friends come over or even do homework (cutting papers, pasting, coloring… u knowlah budak tadika n sekolah rendah punya homework). Soft blue /pastel wall paint more appropriate for active boys bedroom color ..to keep them more relaxed whenever in bedroom (they can be lasak on the playground but not in the bedroom, yes?) I’m happy with the result and the boys are happy too with their “new” room…:)
