Seven Thirty Down the Road: Ode to Old Place

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Ode to Old Place

Finance Minister & I took a walk back to our old place today, for a last look. Next weekend we will hand the flat over to HDB, so today was the final Saturday we could still call it ours :-)

Emptied of everything, the old place looked huge. Our voices echoed through the rooms, and light bounced off the walls and floor. The dustballs previously hidden comfortably behind furniture were rolling about in all their greyish glory too - looking like fine powder in some places, a mossy carpet in others.

The ending of an era.

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Big Move S.O.P. (Sanity-Optimizing Procedures) - A Non-linear Sketch

Step 1: Get references from friends/relatives who've recently done up their homes. Visit their homes, borrow their Home & Decor, extract their tacit knowledge through interviews, lunches/dinners/teas. Document their stories, and keep any & every piece of info you receive - do not be biased about references at this stage. [I got some of my Creatives' contacts from this step, and have used some of the documented stories as litmus tests for the quality of the Creative in question.]

Step 2: Do your own research. Check out the positioning of your house (sunlight? view? noise sources?). Get a floor plan that's to-scale. Record dimensions of furniture that you've moving with you. Go to websites, magazines, reno fairs, shops to get design ideas. If you're up to thinking laterally, look at seemingly unrelated things as well (I actually spent quite a bit of time looking at pictures of scenery - I figured if the colours go well together in nature, they'd go well in a house. God makes no mistakes :))

Step 3: Do some self-reflection. What do you like? Why? What do you not like? Why? What can you not live without? What can you live without? What do you want your home to do/be? [I was clear from the start that the most important thing is to get everyone out of the old and into the new intact - no casualties, no broken hearts. A home, not just a house.]

Step 4: Check out the discussion territory. (i) Emotional: pick your battlefields. (ii) Physical: which parts of the new place will be easier to discuss? which will be harder? which are monopolies?

Step 5: Get the internal discussions going. Keep a computer nearby, for quick reference to pictures and websites. [Scan the hard copy pictures from magazines - I found it easier to send to the Creatives]. Take notes of discussion if necessary. Begin with questions on how the rooms will be used, rather than what they could look like. Then, go to questions about overall look and feel (of the whole place, then of each room). Then, go into possible colours. Key: have strong opinions, but hold them lightly at this stage. If consensus/compromise is impossible, just say "The Creative will mediate in this matter."

Step 6: Fix up meetings with the Creatives. Helpful to leave the scheduling to one person, so the Creatives have one contact point. But make sure all the move-ees have the meetings schedule, so there is shared ownership of the process. Go and meet the Creatives. Key: be honest about what you like and don't like. Tell them your estimated budget. Good to send them your requirements & references ahead of time - they can already show you a draft design when you meet. Speeds things up.

Step 7: Be energised by the iterative process of designing and re-designing the new place and rooms as you meet more Creatives and get more ideas. Learn the fine art of suggesting one Creative's ideas to another; and respecting a Creative's ideas yet asking for a modification.

Tips for Steps 6 & 7

(i) Always discuss proposed layout of the house first. Stuff like exact materials and detailed lighting plan are moot if the proposed layout is still up in the air. Go for big picture view of the house design first.

(ii) If the Creatives do up a draft quotation with their draft designs, let them take you through it. Why? Because it'll give you a sense of possible materials and finishings, and estimated costs. Just as you compare different Creatives' designs, you can also compare their preliminary quotations.

(iii) If you are energetic enough, you can begin window shopping at different places to check out furnishings, appliances etc (collect the brochures and catalogues!). Sometimes, a room layout can be heavily influenced by a piece of furniture that you simply must have :-)

Step 8: Finalise a design. Certainly things may change after you see the place (if it's a new building and you've been working in a vacuum so far), but it's useful to have one design which you then use to seek quotes from all the Creatives. The comparisons may sometimes feel like apples-&-oranges comparisons, but it's good to get an overall feel for what they're charging. You can also see who can give you what kind of additional items, or omit others.

Step 9: Decide who to work with. If you're lucky and have met a number of Creatives who are good, this step can be a toughie. There are as many criteria as there are changes of mind about design, so it depends on what you're particular about. Some criteria include: (i) quality of workmanship (ii) ability to do good space planning (iii) ability to innovate and modify designs along the way (iv) approachability & comfort level (v) familiarity with government rules & regulations (vi) personal style & confidence (vii) estimated costs (viii) punctuality. If you can get to see some real samples of the Creatives' work (i.e. visit some homes they've done up), even better. In this case, seeing is believing.

For us, (i) was key, so much so that we chose based on this, though we initially had some reservations about Owl's approachability. We felt that we would have more peace of mind knowing our new home is in good hands. But it was hard to put aside the other Creatives who were outstanding on other counts.

Step 10: Take your design, walk the ground and see if it'll work. Sort out any modifications, rework the quotation, and sign off to engage your Creative. (Am not sure if this is the practice everywhere. It made sense to us though - we thought we might change the design and therefore the quotation after seeing the space, so signing after would be better).

Step 11: Your Creative comes up with the perspective & detailed drawings (including lighting and powerpoint/data points plans). This period of waiting can be exciting or unnerving for you. Once the Creative is ready, you have at least one meeting where he/she can take you through the drawings so that you'll know how to read them (trust me - it's not that easy!). After which, you'll probably be left on your own for a while to choose the materials and colours for different rooms. Don't underestimate the selection process - it gets very tiring e.g. when you're looking at the 50th piece of wood laminate!

Owl was actually able to have the drawings out 2 weeks after we'd signed to engage him, but I wasn't able to meet that particular weekend, so we ended up meeting on the 3rd week. Which left us only 1 week to choose the materials and colours. That was why we ended up on a 1-day family retreat to thrash things out...

Step 12: Confirm the details. This is a major step! You need to make final decisions on floor material; wall/floor tiles for various parts of the house; different laminates; paint colours (ok, these still can be changed later); windows (grilles? blinds/curtains?); doors; and cabinetry. Go back to your Creative and talk him/her through your decisions - you just might change your mind on some things.

Ooh, cabinetry. We took a long time with this one. Because so much of the house is built-in, we had plenty of carpentry decisions to make. External dimensions and placement of various cupboards, cabinets, shelves and drawers. Internal configurations and positioning of different types of spaces (shelf vs. drawer vs. pull-out tray etc). [I don't think this part is normal, but it happened to us - even after the works had begun, we were still changing bits of the cabinetry plans.]

Step 13: Schedule of works. Your Creative must give you a schedule of works listing out the progression of demolition works; laying of floor; plumbing; electricals; carpentry; ceiling works; trunking; glass works; painting etc. As the works progress, pop in every now and then to see how things are going. Can be rather fun to see the place coming together bit by bit :-) ... Oh, and the actual works will probably happen simultaneously with Step 14.

Step 14: Go shopping. Your Creative should take you to places to select the essentials for the works - e.g. floor and wall tiles, sanitary wares, bathroom & kitchen accessories. For others - e.g. sofa, chairs, coffee table - you can go on your own. Good to check back with your Creative, to know what look & feel to aim for. Weigh several factors when hunting down stuff:

(i) when the item is needed, according to the work schedule (the sooner you need it, the sooner you need to purchase it!)

(ii) stock availability and waiting period (find out from shop staff when the next shipment will arrive and see if you can afford to wait it out)

(iii) likelihood of sale discounts (this can be quite unpredictable, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for warehouse sales, pre/post-festive sales, card/member/insider discounts etc)

(iv) fit with the design of your place

(v) budget!!!

Plenty to shop for - even for a built-in place like ours. Sanitary - shower, mixer, basin, taps, toilet bowls. Lights - dining, rooms, tables. Appliances - hob, hood, oven, fridge. Sound system - Greek to me, but lots of cables, speakers, TVs etc. Not to mention, chairs, coffee table, sofa, smaller items like rugs, cushions, hooks, door stoppers... Get samples from the shops you go to, if possible. For instance, we got a sample of our sofa material so that we could go around looking for a carpet that would match well. We also got samples of the wall and floor tiles.

Step 15: Shop for movers. Start asking around about value-for-money and reliable movers. Some things to enquire about:

(a) Pricing - by a fixed number of boxes and then for each additional box? by number of items? per trip? by weight?!
(b) Track record - listen out for the movers that others have blacklisted, and why!
(c) Manpower - don't be easily taken in by a low price. It could mean that they only provide you the driver and one mover, and expect you to chip in and help move stuff.
(d) Services & materials - protective wrapping? duct tape, newsprint and bubble wrap? packing & unpacking? size of the boxes they provide?
(e) Fine print - any hidden/seasonal costs? admin/lift fees (could be required by condo management)?

Good to estimate the number of boxes you think you might have, plus other 'loose' items that need shifting e.g. mattress, washing machine, microwave. Helps when you call potential movers to ask for a quotation. When you've decided who to engage, make sure you get an invoice before the actual move - so that you don't get caught on the actual day should they suddenly try to jack up the price! :-p

Step 16: Work out a schedule for the actual move. Don't underestimate the magnitude of this exercise. It can be disorienting to be between houses. What we found helpful was to NOT have everything shifted on the same day. We did something like this:

Day -1: House inspection (more about this in a later step :-)); new mattresses
Day 0: Begin moving loose stuff e.g. hanging clothes, small boxes; install bomb shelter shelves
Day 1: Official movers shift the number of boxes and items agreed to in the quotation.
Day 2: New fridge
Day 3: Unpacking to create more space
Day 4: Large, non-essential items moved from old to new place e.g. piano
Day 5: ...

A really great tip from a friend: pack essentials that you'll need for the first 2-3 days in your new place, into a cabin trolley e.g. toiletries, change of clothes, handphone charger, important documents, cash & cards, laptop & accessories... at least if something goes wrong with the boxes, you can still operate normally for a while.

Step 17: Inform necessary parties of changes in your billing address and/or contact numbers. Usual suspects - banks, credit card companies, financial planners, memberships to clubs, associations etc. Relatives and friends too, of course.

Step 18: Begin packing! If you're a sentimental fool like I am, you'll need time to unearth long-forgotten memories, walk down those dusty lanes and make heart-wrenching decisions about throwing away pieces of the past. I started too late honestly, so Reminisce Rhapsody didn't play for too long. But I discovered so many interesting things!

If you can, print labels for your boxes. Indicate the receiving address, room that the box belongs to, and leave a space to write Box No. ___/___. This facilitates unpacking later.

Step 19: All hands on deck. Be prepared to move some stuff on your own e.g. key documents, jewellery, items from the fridge & freezer... Luckily for us, it was just a long walk down the road, so we could do quite a bit of the loose moving on our own. The bulk of stuff went into the 35 boxes for the movers. The rest, we borrowed a heavy duty trolley and made do with the go-to-wet-market trolleys we already had.

Be very careful when you do your own shifting. Our boxes were very heavy and it was no mean feat getting them up a few floors to load onto the trolley before taking the lift to the ground floor! Remember to bend down and pick things up properly, and divide the weight equally so that you don't injure your back, neck, shoulders and wrists. We all ended up with many bruises as a result of bumping around. Throughout the whole of The Big Move Week, I think we probably made an average of 6 trips to and fro the old and new places each day!

Step 20: Test out your new home. This includes making sure all the lights, fixtures and piping work; working the drawers, shelves, doors; kitchen fittings etc. Look out for flaws in paintwork as well. Test out any appliances/equipment you bought. Get errors rectified asap.

Some tips from a friend in the industry - Check that all floor traps and basins are not choked. Check toilet flush by throwing in some tissue paper and see that it clears well. Check that there is no water ponding at wet areas and that they are rightly gradiented.

Step 21: Unpack! Because of the labelling system we had, we were able to clear out our boxes very quickly. I was done with my own boxes in one day! Get cheap and good storage boxes from Ikea (Owl recommended so too). If you can't decide where to place stuff, don't force yourself to be exact. Just get things in roughly the right places. It'll probably take a few weeks before you settle in and find the most convenient places for things.

Step 22: Furnish & DeCoRaTe!!!! :-) One of the best parts of The Big Move. This could go on anywhere between 2 weeks to 1 year, depending on how die-hard you are. I'm prepared to have this step go on forever...

Get all the right cards - John Little, Robinsons, Metro, Tangs, Ikea... we loved going to Daiso and finding little treasures there too, like nifty cable reels and suction dishwashing sponge and bottle holders that could sit in the sink, out of sight :-)

Step 23: Plan the parties. Depending on your preference (read= energy x enthusiasm), a big housewarming-open-house thing might be a good way to go. I personally prefer having multiple, smaller groups come round at different times - it's cosier, and I have more leeway to decide whether to cook/cater. Some things to consider:
- who to invite together (natural groupings)
- suitable date/time (e.g. colleagues may prefer a weekday evening to weekend afternoon)
- dietary preferences (vegetarian, non-spicy, lactose-intolerant, allergies etc)
- babies & toddlers and/or seniors (child-proof the house, special food, utensils & seating)
- housewarming gifts (you may be asked if you've anything in particular to get)
- ?

Step 24: Photoshoot. If you're confident, do it yourself. Else, find someone who loves homes and is willing to help you. Good idea to do a shoot, even if just for keeps, before the home begins to look really lived in, messy and well... like a home :-)

I'm not going to say too much more about this, coz we had a really bad experience with a local magazine regarding this. Owl sent in a set for their consideration and they came to do their own shoot. We ended up being published without having given our formal OK. And we didn't even get a complimentary copy of the issue. Bad. Bad. Bad.

Step 25: akan datang!

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Saturday, February 13, 2010

Ode to Old Place

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Big Move S.O.P. (Sanity-Optimizing Procedures) - A Non-linear Sketch

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Great Design/Decor Pages

Design Magazines

Furnishings & Fittings

Materials & Colours

Decals & Stencils

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Saturday, February 13, 2010

Ode to Old Place

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Big Move S.O.P. (Sanity-Optimizing Procedures) - A Non-linear Sketch