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_firstoctober
Our Mediterranean home with a touch of Harry Potter⚡
Affordable Alternatives: How to save money on appliances & furnishing
17125
- Modern Organic
- HDB (Resale)
- ~1,200 sqft
- 3 br
- Couple Living
Hello from @_firstoctober! Renovation is not easy, and it can also easily burn a hole in your wallet. Read on to find out on how and what we saved money on! 
Laundry is a never ending chore that needs to be done frequently. To make laundry as bearable as possible, we knew that we absolutely had to get an automated laundry rack. The price range for laundry racks on the market is extremely wide. Since our service yard has a good wind flow and some morning sun, we decided that there was no need to splurge on a high end branded laundry rack. We got our laundry rack from Shopee, and it's working just fine for us so far. In fact, it actually comes with heating and wind functions, but we've barely had to use them. The total cost (including installation) for our laundry rack was less than $400, compared to a branded model which would have cost us $1,200. 
Another area that you can save some costs on is the bathroom. We got our important fixtures like showers and taps locally. However, for the smaller bathroom accessories which were of lower risk, we bought them from Taobao. Some of them were only around half the price compared to local stores! The Taobao accessories matched our gunmetal shower and tap perfectly too. We don't have any complaints about the quality either - it has been 10 months and they are still working well without any scratches or chipped paint. 
Since we spend one-third of our lives sleeping, we were willing to invest in a good bed. We tried out beds across multiple brands, including the high end ones and those with fancy functions. In the end, we ended up choosing a mid-range local brand as that was the one that felt the most comfortable to us. There's no need to go with an expensive brand just for the sake of it, just go with one that feels the best for you. Tip: If you are tall and sleep with your legs outstretched, be sure to test that the bed is long enough for you! 
One way to save costs during the reno process is to shop across the border. We were no different, and decided to shop for our sofa in Malaysia. Sofas are one of the pricier furniture, and unlikely to run into quality/ warranty issues (especially since we were not getting a sofa that needed electricity), so we felt safe getting it from Malaysia. As a comparison, the sofa that caught our eye in Singapore was about SGD2k, but the sofa we got from Malaysia was about half that price (even after including 9% GST and delivery to Singapore). 
Lastly, one area where we managed to save was lighting. Almost all of our lights were sourced from either Malaysia or Taobao. For those we purchased in Malaysia, the store tested them on the spot, which gave us a peace of mind. It's also a good idea to check with your ID before purchasing any fancy lights to ensure there won’t be any issues with installation. Thanks for reading till the end, and follow us on Instagram at (@_firstoctober) for more home content!
25 May
