Home on Mondays: Condo Renovation Tips

The best time to customize your condo unit is before you move in. We were first time home owners when we received our unit and we thought what came with the unit was enough for us. Well, we didn't really know what we wanted and just used bandaid solutions through the years. It made living in our unit a bit harder. 

We finally got around to renovating our unit after 10 years! It took so long because we lived in Singapore for awhile and contractors required the unit to be empty. Eventually got around to emptying it and by that time we had a good idea what we wanted to do.

Here are some tips for those intending to renovate or customize your unit:

1. Make a list of all the issues you want to be resolved, i.e. sink is too small, need more storage in the bathroom. Do this by room. We used this list to pick the brains of our architect for solutions to our problems, i.e. resolve heat issue in living room.
2. Have a general idea for a color scheme or theme that your architect can work on. We're not very visual people, so we ended up describing to our architect that we wanted the unit to feel like a vacation home. 
3. Have a budget and stick to it. Keep track of all payments and receipts. 
4. It's good to know a bit about construction materials so you can tell your architect/contractor if you have preferred materials. Add'l tip: don't use flat latex, always go at least for semi-gloss. 
5. Research! There's so much info you can find on practical design ideas on Pinterest which can be useful for you. It also helps to read and watch videos on home makeovers. 
6. Make a detailed list of what you agree to work on. Use this as a check-list and it is best to use the unit after the renovation so you can make sure it's livable. Your condo property management office will also probably send their engineer to check on the unit. We had some items fixed post-renovation, i.e. had to add holes in the oven cabinet and some electrical work had to be fixed. Also had to have some things tweaked and covered post-renovation. 
7. Make sure everything works, sockets, plumbing (no leaks!), any built-in items like your stove and oven. We had to have the aircon frame done again because they locked in the aircon unit and the cleaners had to destroy the frame to get it out. It was replaced with a velcro frame. 
8. Replace appliances/gadgets and furniture only if necessary. 
9. Salvage any materials if still useful.
10. Your contractor will probably do some cleaning, but it would be better to get professional cleaners to do a post-construction cleaning.

I covered in separate blog posts everything we had fixed in our condo unit. Here's a list in case you want to check out how we went about it:

• 
  Living Room
• Kitchen 
• Bedroom 1 & 2
• Common Bathroom
• Master's Bedroom
• Master's Bathroom

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: Condo Common Bathroom Makeover

I almost forgot to feature the makeover we did for the condo common bathroom. It was used as is when we moved in and we just added a few fixtures through the years. The biggest complaint we had for the bathroom were the toilet and sink. The toilet was smaller than standard. It was quite uncomfortable. The sink was also too small. Of course, the bathroom did not come with any cabinets installed so even with the shelf add-on, it looked messy. 

Here's what we changed in the common bathroom:

Removed the old sink, installed a new bigger one

Removed the old toilet, installed a new standard sized one

Added a cabinet under the new sink

Changed the mirror to a cabinet 

Changed the ceiling light

Updated to a new exhaust fan

Kept the tiles and just repainted the walls

The space looks so much better now and got good reviews from it's original user (Miggy). Of course, don't forget to check for any leaks when the contractor turns over the finished unit to you. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: Condo Masters Bedroom Makeover

Last week I shared about the changes we requested for the masters bedroom bathroom in the condo. Our masters bedroom was generally okay, but the biggest pain were the closets. We added built in closets when we moved in, but made the mistake of using cabinet swinging doors instead of sliding doors. We had to move stuff just to open the cabinet. The cabinets also looked dated. The cabinet was the main focus then for the master bedroom. 

Midway through renovations.

Old look of the masters bedroom

The space was just enough for a bed and closets. I tried to fit in a dresser and we eventually got rid of it because it got wet (the a/c dripped). On Sweetie's side of the bed, he was frustrated with his cabinet. Opening the cabinet was difficult because he had to move a stool everytime he had to open it. My cabinet was a pain to open also because I had a fan in front of it. 

Here's what we changed in the masters bedroom:

Cabinet doors changed to sliding doors

Changed color of cabinets

Changed the flooring

Changed the lighting fixture

Installed blinds

Added side tables since there was space for it now

We stayed in the condo for a few weeks and got to experience the changes. We brought only essential items. Our experience was amazing. The unit was also much cooler and we didn't use the a/c most of the time. We didn't bring a lot of stuff, but we managed. It felt good actually not to have so much things. The cleaner who came to work on our balcony said he was so surprised to see the unit empty. He said it looked beautiful. 

Staying in the unit for a few weeks gave us a better idea on some minor issues that need to be addressed. Will share next week on what to prioritize if you're acquiring a condo unit. :)

#BeKind #StaySafe