Presenting Our Humble Heartland HDB Flat!

Have been on hiatus for a long while because I was buried with work.

Am I done with work yet? - img courtesy of hypnotension.com

These two months have been hectic; I was juggling among work, renovations, wedding preparations, and personal life.

But things now are getting better and so, I AM BACK!

img courtesy of giphy

I haven't been updating the progress of our BTO flat for a while, but in reality, I am actually really excited about the new house! Much progress has been made since we have received the keys to the flat, and fast forward three months, the house is almost done!

We started by going to roadshows and asking for recommendations from family and friends. After we have short-listed some potential Interior Designers and Renovation Contractors, we sieved out some of them by reading up forum reviews and checking out their portfolio on Facebook and their corporate websites.

We are most concerned with two factors: reliability, and cost.

There are just too many articles and reviews about errant renovation companies or companies folding after collecting payment; so many reports that it becomes a cause for concern. We also do not believe in taking up renovation loans just so that we can have a nest that is showflat-worthy. Even though we are pretty cash-strapped because of all the major milestones we are hitting, we want to spend within our means and keep to our budget. Say hello to Mr and Mrs (to-be) Scrooge!

img courtesy of busyconf.com

Most of the packages provided by firms and contractors are rather basic; you have to do up your own list and compare it with the packages to have a gauge of how much you will need to top up to obtain your dream home. For example, packages typically do not include installing or shifting of lighting points, adding new electrical points, carpentry for wardrobes... etc.

Do give much thoughts to what you want to do for the house before you invite the IDs and contractors over for an on-site quotation. This helps in ensuring that you are conscious of the budget and you do not miss out much when discussing with each company.

Because we aren't in a hurry to move in, we worked out our list only after we received the keys and gotten a good idea of what we want to do with the house.

Here are some photos of our house:

The living room (the place looks dim and small) -

The kitchen (yikes irregular shaped!) -

Walkway to rooms -



One of the rooms -

One of the toilets -

I will start updating our progress across the next few posts, so do keep a lookout for them!