My resale HDB 4 room renovation in Modern and Transitional design with cozy ambience

[Alphas]

I have taken over a HDB 4 room resale and decide to do some renovation on kitchen and living room. This is a model S(implified), along the corridor next to corner unit. The previous owner has kept it well maintained, the floor and wall tiles are still in great shape, the toilets had HIP, and the walls has not been knock down.


The theme for my renovation is Modern and Transitional design with cozy ambience. Modern since I will be getting smart devices like amazon alexa for voice control of cove lights, ceiling lights, home theatre and etc. Transitional since there will be some nice stylish teak and oak funiture with a tinch of traditional style. Cozy ambience for the natural white and warm white lightings with light beige paint. The previous layout design was the kitchen sink at refuse chute and washing machine at wash basin and I find this too cramp and not a good layout design. So I create a initial layout with L shaped tabletop and cabinet and shifted the washing machine beside refuse chute.

Initial floorplan
To be different from other threads on renovation, I will describe more in details on how to create/make some decisions and how I approach them. First of all, I was looking for ID firms that are reputable and mostly casetrust accrediated. I approached about 7-8 IDs on my floorplan and 360d view (provided by agent) of the flat. Some of the suggestions were mediocre, while some were good. Even the ID from such firms varies alot, so it does not mean a good firm will have good ID.



After about 2-3 months of searching, eventually, I decided on the ID firm. The designer has good attitude, good suggestions and most important of all, she is diligent (can see she make alot of notes LOL).

 

[Alphas]

First of the items that I wanted was the hinge for the dish rack cabinet. Normally, most dish rack door fold outwards and protrudes from the cabinet. However, I do not like the door panel to fold outwards. Instead, the door panel will move upwards, parallel to the cabinet door.

BLUM Aventos HL hinge has the mechanism which the door panel will move upwards and inline with the cabinet, this also allows my automatic laundry to the mounted parallel to the cabinet, without obstruction when the door is opened. So I specifically stated this and wonder why most kitchen designs do not have this HL mechanism.

Next was the cooking hobs and hood, since the whole district does not have city gas, I decided to do away with gas hob. The hobs will be 30 cm width vitroceramic and induction hob, and the 60 cm hood from Aerogaz. I had used Aerogaz products (tower fan and water heater) before and I find their quality good to vgood. The customer service lady Chai at HQ is friendly and they have ready stock. Most hobs and hood comes in 90 cm but I do not want such a large space allocated for these. The total width for the hood and hobs will only be 60 cm, freeing up kitchen tabletop space for other stuff.
Video of hood

The fridge will be from LG, since I like their internal layout with bottom frezzer and the internal lights come from the two side walls. The washing machine will be from Beko, an European brand that is relatively new here. They provide good warranty and the washer and dryer is the type of combo appliances that help save some space.

It is always a good idea to plan what built-in appliances will be used in the kitchen, as the carpentry will be built around it. So always decide first on what will be appliances and the dimensions so that you have a good idea on what to expect.

Aerogaz 60 cm hood AZ-6005i
Aerogaz 30 cm vitroceramic hob
Aerogaz 30 cm induction hob
LG GBB5191PZ
Beko WDC7523002W

 

[Alphas]

[3D CAD drawings]

[Dual LED warm white and RGB controller schematics]

[Cabinets update 1]

[Sliding barn door update 1]

[Curved shaped false ceiling update 1]

Cabinets update 2

Sliding barn door and curved shaped false ceiling update 2

Xiaomi Wemax UST projector thread

Cabinets update 3

Sliding barn door update 3

Cabinets update 4

Curved shaped false ceiling update 3

 

[Yurikaze]

Parking for updates

 

[Alphas]

More coming up. You will find the info useful and “ why didn’t I thought of this!”

 

[Alphas]

Next on the list are the Smart devices and lightings. Firstly the two common voice assistants are Amazon Alexa and Google home. It really depends on your preference, I went with Amazon Echo and Broadlink RM Pro. This is required for Amazon Alexa to transfer the voice commands to Broadlink RM Pro via WIFI, and RM Pro then transmit by IR or RF. The devices need to be set up, check other threads on this devices. It is better to get them early to "play" with it and get it running.

Since I know the living room has cove lights, I measured the length to be roughly 13m and decided to get 3x 5m LED strips, it is better to get in excess than run short of it. The LED strips will be warm white with 60 LED/m, this is important as not all LED strips are created equal. Each 5 m strip requires measured 2.5A x12 = 30 W for 5 m minimum. Don't get the transformer/driver from them as it really sucks! I will also require RGB LED strip in parallel to warm white. This way the lighting from 2 LED strips will be brighter, so in total 90 W x 2. Factor in excess, the transformer/driver required is 100-120W x 2 to power the 2x 15 m LED strips, If you purchase from ALiexpress, prepare to wait 3 weeks for it to arrive, or get from Qoo10 that take about 3 days.

Then where to get the transformers/drivers? Before you just purchase, don't buy those cheap ass transformers. The quality of the components inside is not only low, it's substandard and overdriven. It will work for less than a year and burned out, unless you like to replace them often.

One of the sources of high quality transformer I get from Junke, they have a store that sells their transformer that is of good quality. Just look for 12V and 30-40W for every 5m LED strip. Next is the LED amplifier, it is needed for each of the 5m LED strip. The amplifier will boost the brightness and connected at every 5m of the strip. If you don't get it, the brightness will decrease for every 5m and burn the LED controller. For 15m I will need at least 3 for RGBWW LED amplifiers. The connections of these LED strips could be difficult, so find the electrician to do it for you. The last item is LED controllers to link Amazon alexa with the LED strips. All these can be purchased from local shops, but there are more selection online, cost 50% lesser and the satisfaction.

Amazon Echo
Broadlink RM Pro
Qoo10 Warm white LED
Qoo10 RGB LED
Aliexpress LED strips
Crappy LED transformer
Junke LED transformers

LED amplifiers
LED controller 1
LED controller 2

 

[Alphas]

Any questions just post here.

 

[Azzizz81]

Are u renting out any rooms~¿

 

[Alphas]

Maybe will rent out one room.

 

[TheBaldMan]

#parkingtolearnmoreandkaypoh

I am gonna run my electrical works soon.The controller for the led strips seems cool and a cheaper solution then whats stated on most threads.Basically i wire this to the strip and its good to go?I will be getting google home.

 

[Alphas]

How long is the LED strip, if it is 5 m or less, then wire directly to the controller. Check the controller max current ratings, but only use 80% of the max.


If you have a long strip, in my case 15 m, then every 5 m requires a LED amplifier to ensure same brightness.

 

[tazy_tazy]

Not very easy to understand. Got diagram chart?

How long is the LED strip, if it is 5 m or less, then wire directly to the controller. Check the controller max current ratings, but only use 80% of the max.


If you have a long strip, in my case 15 m, then every 5 m requires a LED amplifier to ensure same brightness.

 

[chickenessence]

How do u plan your house lighting?
Want to get some opinion and idea.
Do u have any picture for reference?

 

[TheBaldMan]

How long is the LED strip, if it is 5 m or less, then wire directly to the controller. Check the controller max current ratings, but only use 80% of the max.


If you have a long strip, in my case 15 m, then every 5 m requires a LED amplifier to ensure same brightness.

Blurrified.They are all below 5m.

 

[Alphas]

Blurrified.They are all below 5m.

Then led amplifier is not necessary.

 

[Alphas]

Cove light LED schematics

Since I received many requests for the schematics of LED cove lights, the picture that I had drawn for the cove lights is posted. If you like this, pls give a thumbs up

The controller transformer is a small 24W sufficient just to power the controller.
The LED transformers I used are high powered ones, so it has to be well ventilated to dissipate the heat and prevent overheating. The advantage of using two single large transformers is the lower standby current.

Of course, it is possible to have multiple smaller (36-40W) transformers for the amplifiers. But the standby currents will add up and be higher.

 

[Alphas]

Next, the ID and I came up with a few iterations of the cabinets layout and design. I did the rough sketches for the L-shaped kitchen cabinets

After considering other factors, and placement of dining table. We found that the kitchen space is not large for L-shaped layout with a dining table and chairs. So eventually we decided to have a single I shaped cabinets.

 

[tazy_tazy]

Hmm...just curious, shouldn't the amplifer come after the 5m led light strip?

Since I received many requests for the schematics of LED cove lights, the picture that I had drawn for the cove lights is posted. If you like this, pls give a thumbs up

The controller transformer is a small 24W sufficient just to power the controller.
The LED transformers I used are high powered ones, so it has to be well ventilated to dissipate the heat and prevent overheating. The advantage of using two single large transformers is the lower standby current.

Of course, it is possible to have multiple smaller (36-40W) transformers for the amplifiers. But the standby currents will add up and be higher.

 

[Alphas]

Hmm...just curious, shouldn't the amplifer come after the 5m led light strip?

Not recommended. I do not want to place load on the controller. This also helps to trouble shoot should something goes wrong with the controller and/or led amplifiers.

 

[TheBaldMan]

Hmm...just curious, shouldn't the amplifer come after the 5m led light strip?

Sadly,i think its too late for me to do rgb and this setting.Cos electrical works are done.left to jnstall the lights only.I will learn from here as much as possible perhaps for a future reno.Wasted.I always wanted rgb cove lights