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Investment Singapore Property

My HDB BTO renovation experience with an interior design company

my-hdb-bto-renovation-experience-with-an-interior-design-company

When Heartland Boy’s supervisor at work asked him how his renovation experience was, he replied matter-of-factly, “No major issues so far and they handed over within the timeline as well”. Heartland Boy’s supervisor was surprised and commented that Heartland Boy was incredibly lucky. Indeed, luck could have played a part but Heartland Boy thought that due diligence efforts should not be overlooked either. This is his HDB BTO renovation experience with an interior design company and find out why he would recommend the services of his interior designer in this blog review.

Interior designer or renovation contractor from hell

Amongst his peers, there would always be a few horror renovation stories in them. Even in the BTO Facebook group where he is a member of, some neighbours were already warning others about their own bad experiences.

renovation-bad-experience

Diagram 1: Bad renovation experiences are more common than you think

As renovation is a big-ticket item, Heartland Boy felt that it was worth the effort to spend more time to ensure he minimized the possibility of having a bad renovation experience. In addition, as time was a precious commodity, Heartland Boy was clear that he needed an interior designer and not a general contractor as he did not want to play the role of a Project Manager coordinating the jobs and schedules of the various sub-contractors.

With these parameters firmed up, he first asked his peers (A big thank-you to each of them who responded!) for Interior Designers that they would personally recommend before running each referral through a personal checklist.

Heartland Boy’s Checklist To Shortlist Interior Designers

1. Reputable company with long track record

As the barrier to entry to the renovation industry is very low, there is a high likelihood that some fly-by-night operators linger amongst them. These operators may not be familiar with HDB renovation rules and guidelines or worse, could run into cashflow problems and default. To avoid these service providers, Heartland Boy looked out for companies with industry accreditations such as Singapore’s CaseTrust. Here is an example of the credentials of the ID company that he worked with:

weiken-casetrust

Diagram 2: Weiken.com accredited by CaseTrust

Do also ensure that you hire only HDB licensed contractors as well. Note that having such accreditations does not mean that these companies will not perform badly or default, but at least this is one level of precaution that home-owner can take.

2. Excellent Workmanship

To verify the quality of the ID’s work, Heartland Boy requested (politely of course) if he could visit his friends’ homes. Simply seeing photos on online platforms such as Qanvast is insufficient for him. Factors that Heartland Boy looked out for was thoughtful space planning, quality of workmanship such as carpentry, tiling, wet works etc.

3. Online Reviews

Finally, besides positive reviews from his peers, he would also read the reviews of past customers online. Such third party feedback are valuable in forming first impressions.

Interior designers who satisfy these 3 criteria would then make it into his shortlist. From this shortlist, he contacted 3 of them to start initial discussions. Once again, Heartland Boy has his own set of factors to help him decide on the one.

A) ID’s Ability To Provide Design Concepts And Solutions

Part of the reason why an ID would be preferred to a renovation contractor is his/her idea generation. Such renovation ideas might or might not be dependent on the years of experience that the ID possesses. Firstly, interior designers should be quick to “catch” the design brief of the home-owners so that they can provide design concepts and solutions that resonate well. Secondly, it is way more important for ID to anchor their solutions on practicality and functionality over visual appeal (which is often driven by the desire to create Instagram-worthy homes). It would of course be a welcome bonus if an ID’s idea successfully marries all these traits. Here is how Heartland Boy’s ID resolved his issue of space constraints of a small house.

As Heartland Boy and Heartland Girl often work from home, it was important to them to have a very comfortable home office. Due to the space constraints of a 3-bedroom BTO, he has to accommodate this home office in the living room. (Master bedroom is for Heartland couple while the remaining bedroom is for Olympia and the transfer maid). One interior designer came up with the proposal of combining the work desk with the dining table and the TV console in the living room. This one-piece furniture turned out to be an elegant solution. That was one of the eureka moments whereby Heartland Boy felt that the particular ID (Jessie) has truly earned her keep.

study-dining-tv-console-area

Diagram 3: Work station, dining table and tv console in a single furniture piece

B. Communication Process

The second important factor is the communication process. IDs who follow up with emails after the initial meetings can quickly earn brownie points and gain the trust of the client. Jessie was quick to provide her proposed space planning on the floorplan and the initial quotation. Subsequent sessions to clarify line items in the fee quote helped to build up some form of chemistry and trust between them.

This continued into the actual renovation process as well. Jessie would send videos/photos of the works done via whatsapp to keep Heartland Boy informed of the progress on site. As a result, Heartland Boy seldom found it necessary to go down during renovation except to take delivery of his home appliances. Even as his house is still under the defects liability period (2-year warranty), Jessie remains easily contactable.

C. Affordability

On the outset, Heartland Boy wasn’t looking for a cheap and good renovation contractor/interior designer. He just wanted a feasible fee quote that could conceptualise his house design. Strangely, only 1 out of the 3 interior designers brainstormed hard enough to come up with a proposal that fit within Heartland Boy’s renovation budget. It turned out to be Jessie as well. Note that examining an absolute lump-sum is meaningless because it depends on the extent of the works done proposed by the ID. It is more important to compare per unit cost such as per square feet (psf) of carpentry works across the quotations that you have received.

After 2 rounds of discussions, Heartland Boy felt confident enough to sign on the dotted line for a $31K renovation package contract with Jessie from Weiken. It might not be the cheapest available in the market, but Heartland Boy still feel it is value for money considering that he did not purchase any materials under HDB’s optional component scheme.

The proposed space planning, 3D drawings and selection of materials were done before Olympia was born in Oct 2018! Therefore, when he finally received his HDB BTO keys in January 2019, he simply handed it over to his Interior Designer for her company to commence works. The ID applied the HDB renovation permit on his behalf and approval was swiftly obtained. For Heartland Boy, he quickly purchased home contents insurance (very critical, can’t emphasize this enough) to protect the value of the renovation works and his electrical appliances. 8 weeks later, this was the result:

master-bedroom-walk-in-wardrobe

Diagram 4: Master Bedroom with a Pseudo Walk-In Wardrobe

Jessie suggested a U-shaped wardrobe that adjoins the wall outside the master bedroom toilet while the other side of the wardrobe faces their queen-sized bed. This created an illusion of a walk-in wardrobe without the need to hack any wall. She also added a full-length mirror which not only helped to elongate the corridor and made Heartland Boy’s apartment look bigger than its 68sm (common mirror trick deployed in showflats), it also contributed to good fengshui. Her solution for the master bedroom satisfied all the parameters that Heartland Boy instructed her to work with.

Kitchen-wine-chiller-oven-dishwasher

Diagram 5: A kitchen that manages to fit Heartland Boy’s toys

The kitchen was the area where Heartland Boy was most intimately involved in. Instead of a man shed or a gaming room, the kitchen is actually the part of the house where he lets his creative juices run wild.  He was very clear in his vision the equipment (combi oven, wine chiller, dishwasher) that the built-in carpentry needed to accommodate. Once again, he was very pleased with the end result as all the equipment managed to slot themselves in nicely in such a small kitchen. Careful space planning also went in to ensure that there was sufficient countertop left for mi-en-place.

Toilet-renovation

Diagram 6: Toilet retains all HDB fittings to minimize wastage and save money

The theme of trying to minimize wastage and save money continued at the master toilet as Heartland Boy asked Jessie to work with the floor and wall tiles and toilet bowl that were provided by HDB. This were the same wall and floor tiles that were already installed in the kitchen too. Without any overlay of the toilet, Jessie managed to create a simple and functional master toilet.

Considering that HDB did not provide additional materials, Heartland Boy was quite satisfied that the entire renovation cost came up to $31,000. The renovation journey was no doubt one of the more time-consuming milestones in adulting but equally rewarding as well. Working with an interior designer in this case allowed him to focus on purchasing the white goods, loose furniture to decorate his home.

before-after-renovation-bto

Diagram 7: Before and After Renovation of his HDB BTO

His heart is full when he has a cozy home that he looks forward to coming back to after work. For those who would like to set up a meeting with Heartland Boy’s interior designer, Jessie of Weiken.com, you can write in to alison@heartlandboy.com or simply leave a comment below and he can help link you up. His ID has also promised that she will be able to extend a goodwill discount on the contract sum to Heartland Boy’s readers. In addition, if you have further questions on your renovation process, Heartland Boy will be happy to address them to his best ability as well. He can also share tips on what he personally did to facilitate the meetings with the panel of IDs that he shortlisted.

interior-designer-customer

Diagram 8: Interior designer (Jessie) from Weiken and the Heartland Family


33 Comments

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Comments

  1. SGYI says

    July 8, 2019 at 6:23 pm

    Your renovation looks good. I might use your ID. House ready next year so also looking for ID now and just nice saw your post!

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      July 8, 2019 at 8:46 pm

      Hey SGYI,

      Yes, I remember we both are living in 3BR BTO. haha. she may propose similar solutions.

      Reply
  2. Derek says

    July 9, 2019 at 7:15 am

    Hi Heartland Boy,

    Thanks for sharing. My 5-rm BTO is next year. I like the fact that the existing HDB fittings e.g. toilet was retained. My wife is a also a huge fan of a walk-in wardrobe while I want my own work space. I will share your post with her and will definitely look for you for further queries.

    Cheers!

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      July 9, 2019 at 7:58 am

      Hi Derek,

      Congrats on your upcoming flat. It’s truly an exciting journey that can be very rewarding when done well! Sure, let me know if you need more tips as well, happy to share!

      Reply
  3. Praveen Kumar says

    October 31, 2019 at 5:04 pm

    An excellent checklist to fulfill before choosing an interior design company. Thanks for sharing this list.

    Reply
  4. Jx says

    November 12, 2019 at 8:48 am

    Nice how she. Can you connect me to your ID? I’m collecting HDB key tmr and looking for ID 🙂

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      November 12, 2019 at 9:25 pm

      Hi JX,

      Congrats on your key collection! I have PM-ed you Jessie (ID)’s details.

      Reply
  5. Jernej says

    December 30, 2019 at 9:38 am

    Hi there!

    I wish I had found a similar post three years ago when we were renovating our 4-room HDB! Congratulations on a job really well done.

    In our case we weren’t as thorough as you were so we have to redo a few things around our house so I was wondering if you could share the contact of Jessie from Weiken.com that helped you out.

    Cheers!

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      December 30, 2019 at 5:12 pm

      Hi Jernej,

      Thanks for your compliments. Yes, i will PM you her contact details.

      Reply
  6. Brina Tan says

    May 4, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    Lovely renovation and beautiful home! May I have her contact details please? Looking to buy a 4 room resale and will probably need an ID.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      May 4, 2020 at 6:48 pm

      Hi Brina,

      Good luck with your purchase of the resale flat. I have sent you her contact details

      Reply
  7. Joan says

    June 19, 2020 at 9:40 am

    Hi, would you mind to share where did you get all your home appliances (such as TV, refrigerator and etc) from? Did you compare prices before you purchase? Any tips to share?

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      June 19, 2020 at 8:05 pm

      Hi Joan,

      Unfortunately, I did not spend too much effort on this as I was too preoccupied with work and my baby. I got most of my appliances from Harvey Norman via a friend’s contact.

      Reply
  8. Cindy says

    September 26, 2020 at 11:37 pm

    Hi Heartland Boy
    I am glad to have chanced upon your renovation! The concepts/ideas are exactly what I had in mind for my 3 room BTO flat which will be ready next year and am looking for an ID who is able to propose solutions to save space and create more space as well. Would be helpful if you could share Jessie’s contact details with me. Thank you!

    Cindy

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      September 27, 2020 at 8:33 am

      Hi Cindy,
      I have pm-ed you! Good luck

      Reply
  9. Yung Ping says

    October 1, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    Hi Heartland Boy,

    Have been following your posts for quite sometime and i must say they have been nothing short of informative and interesting.
    Will be getting my own place some time early next year and will be great if you’re able to share Jessie’s contact with me.

    Thanks!
    Yung Ping

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      October 1, 2020 at 7:13 pm

      Hi Yung Ping,

      I have pm-ed you and good luck to your renovation journey!

      Reply
  10. Lee says

    October 3, 2020 at 7:07 pm

    Hi, I bought a resale flat recently and chanced upon your article, wondering if you could share Jessie’s contact as we are also looking for an ID. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      October 3, 2020 at 8:54 pm

      Hi Lee,

      I have pm-ed you, good luck with your renovation!

      Reply
  11. TG says

    November 16, 2020 at 12:35 am

    Hello! I’m getting the keys to my apartment in Jan so I’ll need an ID. May I have Jesse’s contact pls? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      November 16, 2020 at 7:38 am

      Hi TG,

      Congratulations on being an imminent house owner. I have PM-ed you!

      Reply
  12. SW says

    December 2, 2020 at 3:41 pm

    Hi! Thanks for your sharing!
    I will be getting the keys to my BTO early next year and would be happy to be connected with Jessie.
    Possible to have her contact?

    Thanks a lot!

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      December 2, 2020 at 3:45 pm

      Hi Siew Wee,

      Congratulations on being a new home-owner soon! I will link both of you via an email, good luck in your renovation journey!

      Reply
  13. Jackie says

    January 4, 2021 at 12:49 pm

    Hi , I am getting the keys to my BTO soon and looking for an ID . May I have Jesse’s contact pls? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      January 5, 2021 at 7:26 am

      Hi Jackie!

      Congratulations on getting the keys to your new home soon! I have linked you up with Jessie in an email already. Let me know if you did not receive it.

      Reply
  14. Andrew says

    April 20, 2021 at 5:24 pm

    Can you share Jessie’s contact with me please, thanks!

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      April 21, 2021 at 8:18 pm

      Hi Andrew,

      I have linked you up, good luck

      Reply
  15. Yee Chwan says

    January 18, 2022 at 9:05 am

    Hi Alison,

    Thank you for being so generous with the renovation advice! Do you mind sharing Jessie’s contact?

    Thank you.

    Regards,
    Yee Chwan

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      January 18, 2022 at 11:17 am

      Sure Yee Chwan,

      I have pm-ed you!

      Reply
  16. PQ says

    October 12, 2022 at 8:03 am

    Hello, I just came across your post. I’m planning to do a walk in wardrobe for my room as well and was worried about the mirror width.

    May I know the width of your full length mirror as well as, your bed is it Queen size?

    Reply
    • Alison_Liew says

      October 12, 2022 at 8:00 pm

      Hi,

      I never measure it. But it is about the size of my door. Yes, my bed is queen size.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Top 10 Highlights of 2019 | TheFinance.sg says:
    December 29, 2019 at 4:56 pm

    […] “very different, to the extent of being indescribable”. On the very first night in his newly renovated HDB BTO flat, Heartland Boy finally understood what his friend meant as he experienced the same […]

    Reply
  2. The owner and essential occupier scheme for a HDB flat | TheFinance.sg says:
    February 12, 2020 at 4:57 pm

    […] Choosing a HDB BTO or Resale flat How to choose your HDB unit Getting a HDB loan or a bank loan Opting in or out of CPF Home Protection Scheme Working with an interior designer you can trust to renovate your unit […]

    Reply

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Welcome to Heartlandboy.com

Hello there, I am Heartland Boy! I am always thinking about how I can improve my financial literacy in order to achieve financial independence. This is the place to be if you are hungry for financial independence (sometimes good hawker food as well) and foolish enough to believe in the musings of Heartland Boy. Read More…

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