"We wanted a look that transcends time, and so we opted for a simple decor."
At a glance
- Louis, a photographer in early 30s and Jeslyn, an office executive in her late 20s
- Fun fact: Louis loves whipping up good dishes
- Who stays here: Louis and Jeslyn
- Size: 968 sqf / 90 sqm, 4-room
- Location: Pasir Ris (HDB)
- Cost of renovation: $26,000
- Renovation Duration: 6 weeks
- Interior Design Firm: DreamCreations Interior
- Interior Designer: Christina
A home located near the MRT station is a great pull factor to many homeowners. Working hand in hand with his wife, Louis and Jeslyn drew out their dream home on the eastern side of our sunny island, and then worked towards that goal with the help of a trusted interior designer.
Qanvast: What is the idea behind your home design?
Jeslyn (J): Rather than being confined to a certain theme, we wanted a very simple and clean décor so that it won’t look dated as time passes and we can always add on and move things around later if we have a more flexible space.
Qanvast: You actually did your own 3D rendering of the place! Wasn't it difficult to do?
J: Well, we pretty much knew what we want and it would be easier to draw it out to better visualise the space. As you can see, it’s very close to how our house looks like now. Our interior designer, Christina managed to give us what we want.
We kept close to our budget but splurged more in the kitchen as Louis loves to cook.
Qanvast: Wow, that was impressive! Seems like the furniture matched your drawing as well. How about your furniture? Where do you get your furniture from?
J: These are from IKEA and Star Living. Online shopping for furniture may be popular but we had some concerns for online shopping so we'd prefer to head down to the store to view the items.
Qanvast: Before using Qanvast, how did you do your renovation research?
Louis (L): We walked in to quite a few firms in IMM where they offered pretty much the same price to what I had in mind.
They showed us their carpentry but we were not convinced on their workmanship. Also, when we were discussing on materials, they quoted that quartz were cheaper than granite when it is usually the other way round. This further adds on to our doubts and I decided to not let them handle my house.
I also spoke to my sister and she wasn't keen to recommend her interior designer. They had some renovation regrets where they chased after Zen theme at that time, and the house turned out too be too dark, some of the furnishings weren't too suitable as well.
Qanvast: Did Qanvast help in your renovation research?
L: Definitely, Qanvast was very useful. Our curiousity was piqued when we saw one of Qanvast’s blog posts circulating on Facebook. We browsed through the blog and liked what we see, with the prices and images of the entire house. We found the price indicator to be really useful as it acts as a reference point for us.
Qanvast: Why did you decide to drop a quote request instead of contacting the interior designer directly in the app?
L: We kind of knew what we wanted and we were looking for someone to execute our ideas. After browsing the Qanvast app, we decided to request for a quote so that we can have a comparison on the recommended interior designers rather than having to contact one by one.
Qanvast: Why did you decide to work with DreamCreations?
L: Out of the 5 recommendations from Qanvast, I had 3 who followed up and one of them was DreamCreations. I also got quotes from carpenters but I selected DreamCreations in the end as they were more proactive in getting back to me. While I had to pay more with DreamCreations, I thought it was worth it as they offered a better service and they were quite resourceful. More importantly, we were comfortable with them.
Plus, I did a background check on DreamCreations and understand that they have a family carpentry shop under their wing, which adds on to the credibility of their workmanship.
Qanvast: How was it like to work with Christina?
J: Christina was really helpful. For example, we had uneven flooring tiles and she helped to contact the supplier and asked them about that tile and later on rectified it for us. We know that we can work well with Christina, and that was also the main reason on why we are willing to spend another $6,000 on her proposal.
Want to know what other homeowners are facing? Check back our debut column and stay tuned to our next renovation journey highlight next week!
See more of DreamCreation projects and homeowners' review on the Qanvast app.
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