Count Down - 2 weeks

It was that time of the week. Ed and I walked to the new flat on a gloomy saturday morning. It was only a short 2-working-day week so I didn't expect much changes. We were only going there to discuss some details with the painter. 

I won't post all the rooms as they looked relatively similar to last week's. Apparently next week they are painting the walls and laying the flooring. Hopefully we get to finish off the kitchen as well. 

Most shops and factories are still closed so we have no idea what the progress of those were.

Back to the flat, the bathrooms have the most significant improvement. Most of the sink mixers have been put in. Once again, I am least satisfied with how the bathrooms have turned out. I blame it slightly on the fact that Ed has never given me the revised drawing and it was the only thing I didn't press him on. 

The layout wasn't quite as efficient and this time I even discover that some rather odd choices of sink mixer!! I really hope it wasn't too late to change them because frankly they looked cheap. 

This for the washing basin is way too big. I wanted something much more delicate and thiner. 

Steve thought the bathtub was too small.

Happy with the balcony. A little worried about the door. Its an accident waiting to happen.

Entrance.

Base coat were being applied while I was there.

Let there be light!

As a kid, I was always impressed with cousins of mine who can say a series of well-meaning phrases in a row to the adults. I on the other hand can barely get Kung Hei Fat Choy out without feeling embarrassed.

Us Cantonese seemed to only care about wealth, and money, and becoming rich which was reflected in these good fortune words you are suppose to say to each other in Chinese New Year.

How about HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR & MERRY YEAR OF SNAKE!

xxxxx

I was out with Ed walking from Wanchai to Causeway Bay for 3 hours looking for lights. He seemed to have forgotten that I was carrying a watermelon in my belly. Nonetheless it was a worthwhile trip.

Even though I always complained about the lack of choices in Hong Kong, there were actually plenty for me to decide on. The new options plus what I already have made it a challenging task to allocate lights.

Below is my lighting plan. Those on the outskirts are lights I like but unable to fit all in.

The only thing I am still slight indecisive on, are the chandelier in the bedroom and the delta light in the entrance. The chandelier might be a tad too big for the bedroom and the delta light might just be too plain for making a first impression.

  

Count Down - 3 Weeks

Had a bit of a drama this morning. I went to the flat with great anticipation, only to find that the workers have installed the front door and locked it. I have to wait till Edmond got up, rough him up a bit, to realize that the door wasn't locked at all, just need to open it with a trick. 

Ed is a nice guy. If you need any major renovation in Hong Kong or China, please contact me. He is the best. 

Some update photos as per below. No dramatic differences. Most things were installed and part of the flat were cleared in preparation for wall painting and flooring. Almost there!!!

Entrance. 

The epic TV cabinet. Still waiting for them to concrete up the platform.

My favorite pillar and half of Ed at the doorway of the kitchen.

Dinning Room cabinet. 

Dressing this 'nook' up will be tricky but I love this imperfect part of the flat. 

Balcony. Still look messy.

The Study room is still my favorite room.

Kitchen has more new stuff, such as these cabinets and the white marbles.

We have a nice view out the kitchen window. Hopefully that will stimulate better cooking ideas and technique from the helpers.

This is where the stove will be put in after CNY.

 Hallway to the bedrooms.

I have to say I am the least satisfied with how the bathroom turned out. The dent was way too deep, should have been a bit longer and the marble is a bit busier than I had imagined. Perhaps it will look better after they put in all the other components.

Lola's bedroom.

Piper's room with the cabinet door tucked in.

Master toilet. I think we tried to fit too much stuff in. Steve was complaining that the shower area seems small.

Master bedroom cabinet in taupe.

You will succeed because most people are lazy

Haven't blogged for a few days but tomorrow will be my favorite Saturday with loads of updates on the new flat. Stay tune!

Until then, here is a favorite quote of mine I wish I could hang on the wall. No luck on finding such a poster though.

The dilemma of a rug

Lately I have been very troubled by the search of rugs. Buying a nice rug isn't hard in Hong Kong. Finding a nice but inexpensive one is close to impossible. Like all things here, there is the high end market and there is Taobao.com.

By the time a reasonably priced product arrive, it is instantly turned into something unreasonable after you add on rent and shipping.

I can go for my cheap and cheerful Ikea black and white rug but Steve already said he didn't like the texture. (How wonderful to have a live-in customer who always dissatisfied.) Everything else that I like are super pricey.

I checked with the Rug Company via Lane Crawford, who made beautiful rugs. But they cost more than HKD50,000, takes months to ship from London and most don't even make it in the size I want.

If you have any solutions I'd like to know.

Ikea

The Rug Company

These ones are from the Fort Street Studio. 

The etsy flood gate

I went on months without spending any money on anything other than the necessities but once the flood gate was open, it just came pouring out.

I might have single handedly boosted etsy.com’s revenue. These are the items I have bought in the last few weeks.

1. Garland for Lola's room. I bought pink and grey to go with the color theme of her room. Got them from Janee Lockersee

2. A 13x19 print from Eva Juliet. The French says "Its never too late to be who you want to be". The butterflies make it a bit on the feminine side. Probably something for Lola's room. 

3. Cloud mobile. This one maybe for Piper. From the Butter Flying. 

4. Origami ceiling pendant from Studio SnowPuppe.

5. Last but not least, our very own Squeaky Clean. It is a washing detergent with no chemical crap, and packaged in plastic-free materials. A mom in Discovery Bay created the formula at first just to wash her children's diaper. My friend Claire, a major environmental activist, broadcasted how much she loved this product on facebook yesterday. The response were so overwhelming that the owner has to source more ingredients before she can restart the production line! I ordered one myself but haven't tried it yet. I will report back for sure. 

Good mood Monday

Surprisingly, I was in a good mood considering that it was Monday. Then I realized that it was because there weren’t any unresolved issues hovering over my head.

Ed said that they found the problem to the water leakage and have worked on fixing it. Our own renovation has been moving along nicely and would have no delay. We have booked the mover for March 1. Notified the landlord of our current temporary flat. My own tenant for another building has paid their rent. I just closed the only outstanding deal we have at work without drama and the client was happy.

Wow. I can’t even think of one thing to worry about. I am certainly very foreign to this feeling.    

Also happy birthday to my husband Steve!

x 

Some inspirational photos for the start of the week. This house is simply so holistically designed it will be ashamed not to post all of its photos. Courtesy of www.rdujour.com, this property is located in Chelsea, UK. For more details please refer back to the site.