The floorplan and the proposed hacking works! After 20 months of renting, we are finally seeing the real thing! 4 different design companies have reviewed the floor plan and provided some ideas. We decided to go with a duo working team again as we hope the 2 youngsters can replicate the success our previous designers did for us in the Katong place. Yellow indicates the developer's carpentry we are removing and Green is referring to the door. 
The dry pantry area is the space where we had numerous discussions at floorplan stage with numerous designers we explored. We had polarizing opinions to keep or remove. Designers provided several options - keep and put in soft furnishings; remove and remodel to incorporate a larger wine fridge, remove and create a dinning space with storage bench against the wall. I was against removing the dry pantry carpentry before we received the keys. I believed it is a waste of money to remove the entire 2.4m of carpentry, sink and marble backsplash. 
On the day of receiving the keys, I decided that it had to go. The total cost of hacking adds up to 4.2k. To make-good the walls and ceiling, it is an additional 2k. 
The final product of the dry pantry, re-modelled. Estimated cost: 8.5k 
The living space! The floor plan indicates a frontal length of 5.3m wall to wall. We are concerned that it will be a tight space for dinner parties. Hence our plan has always been around making the 8m long south facing balcony to be an additional space for eat, drink and make merry. That did not go as planned. We decided to contain the living and dining space in the same area. 
The private lift lobby. This is the space where we had some healthy debates. Should we keep the wooden door or not? We kept it ultimately. The door is closed only when we go to bed. It feels pretty open when we step out of the lift and psychological safety is guaranteed when needed. Estimated cost: 5.5k 
On the other side of the dry pantry island is the walkway to the kitchen. We removed the original wooden door and moved it to enclose the kitchen area; opening up the door way area with storage cabinets on one side. We decided a door is necessary as we host a lot. Especially when whipping up heavy cooking like meat roasts, dry laksa, etc. In order to keep the space open, We changed to a glass door instead. The door helps mark the space for another area of the house which has worked out perfectly well for us. I love this area because the cabinet storage is amazing and it opens up a photography wall on the other side. Kitchen carpentry and appliances are provided by the developer. 
The walkway leading into the junior master on the left which we re-model into a wine room. 
The balcony is 8m long and due to its long-ish layout, it is challenging to put a proper dining table to accommodate at least 8 pax. The optimal table width is 70-80cm so there is space to have a bench on one side and chairs on the other. This means the table is narrow and will not fit the dinner and glassware we have. Hence we abort the alfresco dining concept. We level up the balcony so the space looks seamless when one enters the house from the private lift lobby. Designing this balcony looks easy but the challenge lies in picking the right tiles! Visiting Hafary and Hup Kiong is refreshing but soon after, every tile of the different colour tone looks similar and we have a hard time visualizing it for the entire balcony. Honestly, no one ever shared how difficult it is to pick tiles. My designers who went tile shopping with us were able to give us some opinions but they still want us to make the final decision. Fortunately, we are happy with the outcome. This is an area for many bonding and activities and we love the space segmentation. There is space for some me-time at a corner; eating ice cream on the lounge chair 
Or having alfresco brunch or dessert here.
12 December 2023
