At A Glance
- Wei Zhe and his wife, Lingxin, early 30s, researcher and civil servant
- Area size: 114 sqm / 1,227 sqft
- Location: Boon Lay Avenue
- Cost of renovation: $40,000
- Cost of Furnishing: $22,000
- Interior design firm: NextDoor ID
- Interior designer: Wei Ming
With no clue as to what they wanted for their home, Wei Zhe and his wife, Lingxin, needed an interior designer with design and renovation expertise to guide them through the renovation and their search led them to Wei Ming from NextDoor ID. Find out how Wei Ming went the extra mile to help them have a smooth renovation.
Qanvast: What made you choose Wei Ming out of all the interior designers you met?
Wei Zhe (WZ): We met about three to four interior designers and price and chemistry were two of the deciding factors as to why we chose Wei Ming. His quotation was reasonable and we felt like we could communicate with him freely.
Lingxin (L): We also liked that Wei Ming possessed a lot of renovation expertise. He came across as more professional as compared to the other designers that we met. We have a preference for more experienced designer who prioritises practicality rather than fanciful designs.
Qanvast: What was your brief to Wei Ming?
L: We didn’t really have any style in mind. We just wanted a place that’s practical and easy to maintain. This was why we wanted a darker colour scheme for our home.
We'd also prefer to stick our budget of $40,000 - our biggest splurge was on the folding door, for $4,000.
Qanvast: How did Wei Ming help you during the ideas conceptualisation process?
L: He spearheaded the research and proposed designs to us based on what we wanted. For instance, we wanted a storage cabinet in our living room and Wei Ming came up with a floor-to-ceiling design for us.
Qanvast: How did Wei Ming ensure that you have a smooth renovation journey?
W: We were very laidback when it came to the renovation as we weren’t in a hurry to move in and Wei Ming was always on the ball.
L: Whenever there were contractors on site, he would be around to monitor their work. He really went the extra mile to ensure that the quality of his carpentry was good. In fact, I only came down once during the eight weeks of the renovation.
Qanvast: Were there any other instances when Wei Ming went the extra mile to help you?
L: Yes. He helped us to source for lightings which would match the theme we wanted and purchased them on or behalf. We think he also got us a better price for the lights as he knows the supplier so we’re quite grateful to him.
Qanvast: Were there any hiccups during the renovation?
W: There was an issue which arose because of some miscommunication between us and Wei Ming. We didn’t know that we needed to arrange for the plumber to set up the heater first before we could get City Gas to activate it so we did not have hot water for the first few days.
Qanvast: What is the most challenging part of the renovation?
W: I would say it’s the initial part when we are looking at the 3D drawing as we couldn’t really visualise whether the colours complement each other. Thankfully, Wei Ming was able to guide us through that process and helped us to select appropriate colours to match our theme.
L: We didn’t really have a clue about what we wanted at first so it was quite hard for us to tell Wei Ming what we wanted and this caused the discussion stage to be a bit longer than it would have been if we had done more research.
Qanvast: What advice would you give to new homeowners?
W: Firstly, homeowners have to do their research on the various interior design firms and find a designer who they can communicate well with.
Also, they should wait for the sales period when they want to buy their electrical appliances as they can really save quite a fair bit.
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