Kitchen Flooring

The kitchen floor tiles were completed after 2 days. The platform for cabinets, fridge & washing machine were also built. I prefer to have the platform for washing machine & fridge since washing of kitchen is required at times. The platform prevents the water from getting into the base of the fridge & washing machine.






Here are some considerations in selecting the kitchen floor tiles:
1) Color
If your kitchen is small or there is not enough windows to lit up the whole kitchen, it is preferred to go for light colors to brighten the kitchen space. Alhough our kitchen is not considered small, as the section in front of our fridge & tall cabinet is not too bright, we chose whitish-grey floor tiles. White floor tiles are hard to maintain. Besides this, if you are a heavy cooker, going for a darker tone also makes the kitchen less susceptible to oil & dirt. However, the brightness of the kitchen will be offset.

2) Texture
Always go for rough surface kitchen floor tiles. During cooking & washing, the kitchen is bound to be wet. Hence, rough flooring will reduce chances of slipping.

3) Size
The tile company that we went to had 3 sizes on floor tiles - (1) 60 x 60, (2)60 x 30 & (3) 30 x 30. Initially, I wanted the 30 x 30 floor tiles due to the fact that water drainage will be better if the kitchen is to be washed. However, our ID suggested taking the 60 x 60, reason being the tiles will have lesser gaps & overall appearance is more appealing, thou the water drainage might be slower. Of course, we heeded our ID's advice. The outcome is still acceptable.

3rd week...

Into our 3rd week of renovation, the following were done:

1)Kitchen wall tiles were up (except the mosaic)
We had a hard time in choosing the color of mosaic to match the wall tiles as we had to consider on the kitchen cabinet too. The initial idea was to have white kitchen cabinet due to we coming across the modern concept from many reno magazines. However, on the long run, it is still preferred to have a kitchen cabinet that is easy to maintain. Hence, we decided on grey wood concept for the kitchen cabinet. To spice up the all white kitchen wall, we injected 2 rows of silverish-white mosaic tiles. The unfinished parts are to be filled up with mosaic.




2)Kitchen toilet wall tiles (~70% done due to shortage of tiles & waiting for new delivery)
The kitchen toilet wall tiles are also white based with flower prints. Under the reflection of light, sheer flower patterns can be seen creating a fresh feel.

3)Wall to segregate the hob & washing machine (100% built except the tiling)
Thinking of where to place the washing machine is also a big headache for us. We are unable to place the washing machine at the original position as we had replaced with the tall cabinet. To place it besides the kitchen toilet entrance will make the passageway to toilet looked narrow & cramp. Placing beside the dustbin can help to block the dustbin cover, yet the washing machine will be next to the hob. To separate 'fire' from 'water', we done some reading on fengshui & decided to create a wall to separate them. At least, there is space for tall cabinet, the passage way to the kitchen toilet is not blocked & there is no direct clash between 'fire' & 'water'. After the wall is being built up, there is about 3 metre of space left for my solid top. I hope it's enough for my hob, basin & table top.


4)Common toilet wall tiles (~40% done)
My hubby was quick to decide on a "resort feel" for his personalised toilet. The color theme is beige, coupled with mini size mosaic tiles. I do like his color sense for this toilet but still, I decided to create my own toilet theme in our master toilet. Hahaha...


5)Master toilet wall tiles (~40% done)
Modern concept with a mixture of white & black. The black shower area is infused with rectangular shape silver-black-transparent mosaic. Remaining walls will be filled with white shiny wall tiles. For my basin, I decided on translucent black glass bowl to go with white solid top. How about my vanity? Hmm...

6)Living room floor tiles (~20% done)
The floor tiles were done up on one saturday. I can say the progress & workmanship is quite good. The main tiler was a very nice guy who advised us on the layout of living room tiles to match with the kitchen tiles alignment & how they should be laid. I think the living room should be done by next week.




7)Building up of study room wall (100% done)
The previous owner had hacked down one of the room's wall. We had to build up again & make it into our study room.


So looking forward to our dream house being piece up...

Post-Hacking

3 days of hacking had ended with heaps of debris. The clearing was fast & the house seemed naked now. Sand was spread across living room. Tiles for the living room, kitchen & toilets had also arrived.

Layout of homogenous tiles on living room was discussed. As the foyer was a bit small, there is a bit of problem in fitting the 60 cm x 60 cm tile. Should we place 2 tiles to exactly fit the foyer? That means when we are to enter the house, there is this running line cutting the centre of the door. Or should we lay the homo tile to be at the center of the door, with homo tiles cut to fit the left & right remaining floor area? Upon advice from the friendly "lao ban" (the head tiler), we went for the second choice.

Discussion on tiling orientation went on for kitchen, balcony & toilets. As we had different themes for the toilets, we had to spend extra time scratching head on the color combination coupled with a touch of mosaic tiles. Luckily, our ID & "head tiler" provided some valuable feedbacks. Sometimes, simplicity is beautiful too...

Hacking

Selection of ID is a big headache. We finally finalized on the ID after rounds of discussion & some hiccups. Let's keep fingers crossed everything will turn out right for ... our dream house...

The reno started today! Hacking needs to be completed in 3 days... Wonder how it will be...

Selection of Tiles

Choosing the right tile for your new home is not easy, even after deciding on the theme - modern. There are many colors & designs that kept you tossing & turning. After 3 visits to the tile company, we finally decided on the following:

(1) Living Room - Homogenous tiles (white-beige) to match modern concept
(2) Balcony - Grey stoney feel tiles to be more weather proof
(3) Kitchen - Grey wood cabinets with white solid top & back splashed with tempered glass
(4) Kitchen Toilet - Simple modern concept of white tiles & dark grey flooring
(5) Common Toilet - Resort feel with a pinch of sand colored tiles
(6) Master Toilet - Modern concept of white, black with mosaic tiles

Let's keep fingers crossed that the final reno turns out to be good!