Renders vs Reality, some practical tips from our reno journey 🙊🙉

428

Eclectic
HDB (Resale)
~1,100 sqft
3 br
Couple Living

In a time before the 2 monkeys made this house their home, they went about searching for someone who can make their vision into a reality 🖼️ As first time owners, we were both worried about the process of renovation and decided to head over to Qanvast (twice!!) and speak with a total of 10 IDs to get a sense of things. Fortunately we found an ID who we could vibe with and shared a similar sense of aesthetic and appreciation for raw materials 😌 This is the first render that was shared with us of the living room, which surprised us a little as it was a bit off from what we expected 😅 From the choice of materials, to the furniture, we preferred something which added a bit more contrast and our assumption that our ID knew wasted some time in the designing process. 💡Tip: Always let your ID know what you are looking for and provide all the inspiration/moodboards/screenshots that you can for a better outcome!
Tadah! Here’s how our home looks like currently and through a few discussions with our ID, we locked onto a design principle (Dark wood, stainless steel, concrete + pops of colour from our stuff) which guided the rest of the design and styling. Needless to say, we love this style and are constantly updating our decor! 🙉
For our bedroom, in this first render we were pleasantly surprised when our ID suggested a different type of door to create a focal point in the master bedroom which also allowed us an area to show off our personal collection of items. 🤩
Here’s how our master bedroom looks currently (pardon the messy sheets), with the same type of seamless concrete looking vinyl from our living room as well as the updated barn door with N’s personal collection of vintage Marvel comics! We love how the barn door subtly covers the bathroom, making our guests often ask where our bathroom is! 🙊
Based on our initial discussion with our ID on our kitchen needs, we wanted a simple kitchen with only bottom cabinets for a stronger feeling of space. In this first render, our ID came up with some space saving solutions such as integrating the washing machine with the kitchen counter and also using a wood texture backsplash and counter to create a separation between the wall and kitchen space.
Flashback to today, we ended up getting top cabinets for practical reasons such as having a dish rack above so that we could use the counter space for other appliances like our Sterra water dispenser and N’s love; the Balmuda Toaster (which was the first appliance for the home) 💡Tip: Consider using drawers for your bottom cabinets for an easier time accessing your heavier and bulkier items like your pots and pans!
The final render we have would be the master bathroom which was another pleasant surprise from our ID. Initially we thought the toilet would be covered in the plain tiles that we chosen from Hafary as the toilet was an area which is often in contact with water and moisture. So when our ID proposed that we could have a wooden feature in our bathroom, we were immediately sold and went ahead with it. 🤩
Eventually we went for a darker shade of wood to match the other wooden elements in our home and are still in love with it everyday. 💡Tip: Check with your ID if they are able to use Cerarl Panels, they come in a variety of material types like stone and wood. Hope this helps in you in your reno journey! Do give us a follow on IG @2monkeyshouse for more content! 🏠