Introduction

Hello! This blog documents our apartment renovation which is already in progress. 

The renovation was undertaken by a contractor without an interior designer and we tried to design-it-ourselves, with valuable advice from a relative who is an architect and also inputs from our very capable contractor.

In preparing for the renovation, I found many local sources of information such as www.renotalk.com invaluable. Thanks to renotalk, I learnt which lighting shops to go to and obscure places to buy cheap KDK fans.

I hope that the lessons we have learnt in the course of renovating our apartment will prove useful to others as well. 

Why not engage an interior designer?

We were not sure what we would get out of an ID since our requirements were pretty basic and we didn't really need anything fancy. We did send in the form in Squarerooms for a free consultation with an ID and they referred a very nice ID and he gave some suggestions which sort of reinforced our impression that if we think it through carefully enough, we'll be able to come up with similar ideas. Obviously one could say that IDs could come up with something more "stylish" but not more functional. Lacking any formal designing skills, our renovation focuses on "functionality", and that might be a style in itself :)

Communication is Key

Our contractor has an iPhone and is able to read e-mails and MSWord documents. I think on site the site supervisor has also set up a laptop and checks e-mails. This is the new connected generation. After each discussion, I record minutes of our discussion together with any further instructions (some things I tell him I think about it, decide, and put it in my e-mail) and forward it to him. The document is in MSWord, uses table and adds serial numbers to each instruction with sub-headings for various rooms. I also highlight in yellow in the MSWord document items which may be inconsistent with what was discussed to alert him. The instructions are printed out and pasted on the wall. 

I do this because it is necessary but my Myers-Brigg personality type is the opposite, I'm I=Intuitive rather than S=Sensing and very much prefer high levels of abstraction and working according to "principles". However, that's not how renovation works and anyway, I guess my work experience has taught me that attention to detail is somewhat necessary.

Communicating Principles/Objectives

Another aspect of communication with the contractor and his site supervisor is the communication of the key principles and intended objectives of the renovation. While a contractor (or indeed most people) will not be able to recall every single detail discussed (hence the need for a written record), they should be able to keep the key principles and objectives of the renovation in their mind at all times. 

For example, I tried my best to explain the function of my hi-fi/home theatre corner, an emphasis on storage for the equipment and the need to hide wiring, as well as the 'immovables' which was the pull down screen. With all this in mind, the contractors could cross-check their decisions/actions against the overall plan for the room. For example, not putting downlights in silly places, ensuring sufficient power points, proper concealment of cabling.