Renovation Journey: Humble Home

At A Glance:

• Catherine and Seow Poh, age 36, Marketing Planner and 34, Business Analyst
• Location: Edgefield Plains (BTO)
• Size: 87 sqm / 936 sqft
• Renovation duration: 6 weeks
• Cost of renovation: $45,000
• Cost of furnishings: $20,000
• Interior design firm: Space Atelier
• Interior designer: Jeff

Like most homeowners, Katherine and Seow Poh wanted a fuss-free, trendy home that could is perfect for a young family in their BTO flat in Punggol. Due to their busy schedule, they took the shortcut in their search for an interior designer, and found an experience designer whom they can rely on.

Qanvast: How did you both design your home together?

Catherine (C): We got our ideas from a few websites and Qanvast. It was easier to save ideas digitally as compared to magazines.

Seow Poh (SP): We also went to our friend’s place but what we did was to note down the design flaws they had and made sure we omit them in our home. One example would be, the shutter window of their service yard couldn’t be closed properly as it was blocked by the kitchen cabinet. It’s a carpentry issue by the contractor they engaged.

We also had arguments but I gave in to her while keeping tabs on the budget; happy wife, happy life (laughs).

Qanvast: What do you look out for in an interior designer?

C: Experience. Our home layout is quite standard and we feel that an experienced designer should be able to pinpoint what are the changes we need to do. Out of the 5 firms we met, only Jeff and my uncle (a contractor) stood out in that aspect.

Qanvast: Why did you decide to go with Jeff?

C: There were a couple of reasons. Before Jeff, we met up with three other firms but we were put off with the designer’s poor attitude, lack of organization skills like forgetting about our appointment or losing our floor plan, and the dishonesty when they quoted us.

So when we first met Jeff, we had a good vibe towards him and it also helps that one of my friends who engaged Space Atelier before had good reviews about the firm.

SP: Jeff came across as an honest and approachable person, and I feel I could trust him with my house because he is an experienced designer. He could pinpoint what changes we could do to our spaces based on the hardcopy of the floorplan, without coming down to see the actual layout! When we tallied his suggestions with my uncle who had came down to see the actual layout, it was pretty much the same. That really impressed us.

Qanvast: Can you describe your working experience with Jeff?

C: Jeff is an organised person and he has good ideas on what we can do to our spaces. He will let us know what is and isn’t feasible. He’s also a calm person and doesn’t lose his temper easily, very service-oriented. I will definitely recommend Jeff.

Qanvast: Any advice for new homeowners?

C: Look at the service and attitude of the designers. You will be working with someone for a few months and he/she has to be someone you are comfortable to be open with, and ask questions on what they are doing to your place.

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