Appliances Planning & Tips—all under <$12k
56
An overview of our home appliances, tips and how much they cost! We got the bulk of our electrical appliances from AudioHouse, and several off Shopee during the sale months. This list also excludes ceiling fans & lights, and smaller kitchen appliances such as rice cooker, blenders etc as these were gifted to us. 
Our MAYER hood & hob—purchased as a discounted package! Decide between gas or induction, and the hood style as this affects placement and carpentry. We went for a 3-burner gas stove as the price difference between two and three burners aren’t huge. We mostly prioritise the design aspects hood wise, as we mostly do light cooking and aren’t fussy about technical specs. This could be less concern if you don’t do lots of deep drying/ masterchef level cooking or if you’re not planning on fully open concept kitchen. 
Fridge wise, we went with a HITACHI 6 door fridge—simply love the Japanese styled refrigerators with lots of compartments for different uses, flat back design and deeper storage capacity compared to lots of 2 door fridges of the same dimensions. This is also something to plan early for as it should integrate with your kitchen layout + carpentry planning. One downside, there are almost no matte options for this design so there are bound to be finger prints on surfaces! h 
The SAMSUNG Bespoke Convection Microwave Oven—our all in one appliance as the name itself suggests. It replaces all our individual appliances, such as the oven; microwave; steamer; air fryer. 
We own a TOYOMI water dispenser, it has similar functions that most dispensers do—various hot water temperatures and filtered room temp water. We were adamant about going with the usual tankless water dispensers as this was at only a fraction of the price (me refusing to believe in spending $1k to drink water 😅) Works the same (albeit filling water manually), and filters are cheaper! 
LG 9KG front load washer—decide on a top or front load type. Load wise, we simply got a bigger one as we were previously using 6/7KG at our houses. We had little confidence in LG products (personal opinion), but heard that they’re one of the leading brands in washing machines and dryers. 
LG 10KG Dual Inverter Heat Pump Dryer—a separate dryer as we simply hateeeeeee doing laundry. The act of hanging and retrieving them manually over the drying racks is a big no for us, so there we have it! If you aren’t a big hater like me, there are lots of options—automated drying racks, using the original BTO’s pulley racks, or even an integrated 2-in-1 washer dryer if you only intend to use the dryer function occasionally. 
SONY Bravia TV (55”)—Lots of options out there but you can always narrow it down with the help of ChatGPT! Types of TV include OLED, MiniLED, QLED and the list goes on. We kept to an affordable one, and it was also something we were used to back at our old homes. The common misunderstanding is that the bigger the TV, the better; but it really isn’t. As the ideal TV size is directly related to the viewing distance, there really isn’t much point to go bigger than 55inches for a 4 room BTO living space. For the soundbar, we went with SEINNHEISER Ambeo Mini. We didn’t do much research on this, and the only 3 factors are 1) Brand reliability 2) Dimensions 3) Cost 
AURION Portable TV—this doubles as our bedroom TV + work out TV, portable to wheel around 2 different rooms when needed. This is also half the price of the LG StandByMe, but one downside is the screen angle is not adjustable. 
NOVITA Air Purifier & Dehumidifier—this is a 2-in-1 so we don’t need separate devices. We also got this after some extensive brand comparisons, so no regrets on this one! We managed to cop this clearance set, and the price was much lower than their usual. 
The XIAOMI Robot Vacuum—another appliance to decide on early in the planning process as there are considerations to note. We originally wanted to place this in the service yard but didn’t want to add on a slope to the yard entrance, so we eventually placed it at the foyer with a concealed cabinet design. Price point of this is not too bad and works fine, no complaints! 
Decide between a gas, instant or storage heater—it was a very new concept for me when I first came across it. This could be determined by 1) types of shower heads 2) number of people in the household 3) cost to run 4) aesthetic We went with a gas heater, which can be placed in the yard with connecting pipes to the kitchen + toilets. We mostly leave it switched on as well, so we didn’t find a need to look for smart home types. 
TEFAL Garment Steamer—got this purely from past experience. It’s sturdy, does its job, and is quite good with different fabric types (even sheer ones)! I also used this on our linen day curtains without burning them :) 
MIDEA Bladeless Fan—it’s a 2-in-1 standing fan with air purifier which we mostly use in the bedroom. Love it for its slim and compact design and sort of a “supplementary” fan, but this won’t be sufficient if you’re relying on it solely for a huge area or to cool you when during overnight sleep. 
We went with an IGLOO HOME push pull motorise digital lock—it’s quite a steep price point simply for a lock but I’ve really come to appreciate it. Its pricing also seems to be quite competitive among other similar products, so we didn’t go too deep into finding other brands. 
The XIAOMI door bell—relatively affordable compared to others, since the only functions we needed are to act as a doorbell + display camera feed. This was a fuss-free buy and jjst requires installation. 
Cost overview, with the total <$12k.
12 days ago
