Renovation renovation renovation - Quick update

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I did my last update and posting. Life has been very hectic with a couple of family emergencies to deal with. Hopefully things will be better for the 2nd half of 2011.

We've been progressing with our house renovation....slowly. Completion date has been postponed again due to some delays. Right now, we're aiming to move in between 3rd week of July to mid August. The house will nowhere be as completed as we hope to be, but by this time, we're just focusing on taking it to a stage at which we will be able to move in. Work will continue from there onwards.

Some of the major area being renovated are:

Ground floor living area

Yes, the wave ceiling :) A few of our neighbors have been following our progress. Thanks for all your encouragement and support :)

When we were brainstorming about the design of our living room, we decided to not split the room for now as we are still unsure about how we would like to use the space. We then decided to make our ceiling a feature in the ground floor area. We took an inspiration from one of my client's office in Bali (I love Balinese creativity & design). So the idea of the wave ceiling was born.

Since Ian's an ex engineer, he knew from start how he would build the ceiling, but communicating the idea to our interior designer and builders were never easy.

Big lesson learnt: interior designers & builders in Johor tend to have very narrow view and limited experience in designing/building something more than the usual Johor house designs. We've spent a ton of time explaining and taking on jobs by ourselves (esp. my husband) as our design concept is very specific and is definitely very different from local houses' interior designs. If you're after a more international/specific designs, best to design it yourself :)

Unfortunately, based on our experience, I definitely will not recommend our interior designer to any expats.

Framework of wave ceiling:



Boards being installed:



Ian has been busy working on the wave ceiling and we hope that it can be completed by next weekend. Fingers crossed! I cannot wait to see the completed ceiling, it would be super nice and cool.

Master bathroom:

We decided to redo our entire master bathroom and swap the toilet & shower areas.

The renovation is not completed yet, but at least the walls have been tiled. The bathroom should be 80% completed by end of this week. We're still waiting for our Bali furniture to arrive, hopefully that should arrive in about 3 weeks time.



These are the areas with the biggest work required. Once the bathroom is almost completed, we will be able to sand and darken the parquet floor. Once the wave ceiling is completed, TV and kitchen cabinets will be installed. With lights (mostly LEDs) and aircons installed, we will be able to move in...finally Yeay!

Please wish us luck for completing this renovation! If you're renovating your house, I wish you all the best too!

P/S: To my aunt who passed away this week, we love and miss you. I know that you're in a better place and your memories will always be cherished. Rest in peace auntie.