Renovation Journey: A Perfect Balance of Style and Function

At a Glance

• Jennifer, 41, executive assistant and Patrick, 48, private driver, their two daughters, a rabbit, two guinea pigs, a hamster and soon, a dog
• Size: 110 sqm / 1184 sqft
• Location: Canberra Street
• Cost of Renovation: $29,000 (excluding flooring)
• Interior Design Firm: DS2000 Interior & Design
• Interior Designer: Vince

With a rough design concept in mind and specific Feng Shui rules to observe, Jennifer and her family put their faith in Vince from DS2000 Interior & Design to come up with a design that would match all their requirements!

Qanvast: Tell us how your search for an interior designer led you to DS2000.

Jennifer (J): DS2000 was one of the eight interior design firms that Qanvast recommended to me and I liked that they contacted me very promptly. Unlike most of the other designers who met us at their homes or their show flats, DS2000 made the effort to arrange for any appointment at my home. Since their quotation was reasonable and we liked the designs which Vince came up with, we decided to enlist his services.

Qanvast: How did Vince guide you during the material selection process?

J: Although I knew the concept I wanted, I don’t really have an eye for selecting materials, but Vince was able to propose materials and colours that would match the modern theme of my home.

Qanvast: How did Vince design your home to suit your requirements?

J: I wanted a home that was easy to clean, so I did not want hidden features like cove lighting that would gather dust. With this in mind, Vince helped me to do lightings with hidden casings that are easier to maintain.

Qanvast: Tell us about one interesting purchase that you made in your home.

J: The fan at the corner of the dining room is from Vento Fino, a shop in Johor Bahru. Initially, wanted to get an additional air-conditioner or a standing fan for our dining area, but we came across this fan while shopping in JB.

After testing it, we realised it produced a lot of wind, compared to fans from other brands. It's really stable and has 180 degree oscillation - we ended up buying this fan for four of our rooms!

Qanvast: Why did you decide to put a glass partition in the middle of your kitchen?

J: This is actually a design that Vince came up with after I told him that I wanted a small wet kitchen. I didn’t want the wet and the dry kitchen combined as that would mean more cleaning.

Qanvast: Tell us about the idea behind the bar counter in the kitchen.

J: My daughter likes to bake and she wanted an area in the kitchen where she could do her baking. Vince proposed having a high table wtih an electrical outlet - I didn't even think of that - at the side for her to connect her mixer to.

Qanvast: What is one clever design which Vince came up with for your home?

J: I wanted a mirror in my room but I didn’t want it to be in plain sight because I don’t want to see it if I happen to wake up at night. So Vince came up with the idea of placing the mirror on the inner door of one of the wardrobe cabinets.

Qanvast: What did you like about working with Vince?

J: My home design needed to adhere to Feng Shui requirements and Vince would make changes to his designs to fit my requirements. Our Feng Shui master also gave us auspicious dates to move into our home and Vince did his best to speed up the renovation progress so that we could move into our home on one of these auspicious dates.

Qanvast: Tell us about one of your Feng Shui requirements and how Vince executed it.

J: I told Vince that I wanted the foyer area to be blocked but that I didn’t want it to be dark, and he designed the storage cabinets such that natural daylight could still shine into the foyer.

Qanvast: Were there any changes to the original design?

J: Yes. Actually, I made a lot of last minute changes and Vince was always very accommodating! For example, there was supposed to be a chalkboard at the back of the cabinet in the foyer but I was worried about maintaining it. After some discussion, Vince proposed replacing the chalkboard with black glass as we could write on it with a marker.

Qanvast: Are you happy with the way your home turned out?

J: Yes. I felt that DS2000 really did a good job with the carpentry. Some of my new neighbours even came into my home to view the designs and commented that unlike my designer, their designers could not achieve the design that they wanted for their home.

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