DIY Ikea Kitchen Cabinet

I admit. I was so ambitious. Who will ever thought of doing your own kitchen cabinet? I did..

This cabinet was for my apartment which I am renting out the rooms to tenants. So cost optimisation was very important to maximise the positive cashflow.


I requested a quotation from local cabinet maker. They quoted me around RM2k for a base cabinet length of 1.6m. This was for the cheapest finishes available. And the finishes looked like crap. I do not know how to explain the crap "thing", but obviously it looked cheap. And I don't think RM2k is cheap.

So I started to look for other alternative. DIY. Beware, not all DIY projects are cheaper. Some will cost you more.

This was not totally DIY from the scratch. It was a combination of assembling IKEA products and  I gave a study from IKEA catalogue and pricing the cost. Make sure you take correct measurement so you can play around how many cabinets and type of cabinet you want to opt. These induvidual cabinets come with multiple length.

Length of the base cabinet was 2.1m, with single sink and a number of drawer (drawer is expensive, mind you). No wall cabinet or whatsoever. And total cost is RM1.7k + effort + time + existing wood stain + existing tools = satisfaction.

Here is the before photo. Look how small the area is. But for single ladies who are renting there, I personally don't think they will cook everyday, and this space is just nice for them.

 View Facing the Door Leads to External Utility Area

 View Facing the Other Side (see the IKEA boxes there)

There is no on-going work photo. It took couple of days to assemble IKEA cabinets because my husband and I were lazy..haha

Then I went to a timber supplier at Sg Buloh industrial area to check the price for timber plank for the counter top. IKEA is also has multiple choices (price starts at RM195), but each of them with the length of 1.8m, which means I need to buy 2 units and it would be super expensive + waste. So I bought the top from the supplier (2cm thick - IKEA is 3cm thick) with the price of RM135 + remaining timber for next project :).

I asked the factory to cut it for me because it is wider than my cabinet (they charge RM5 for it). However the sink hole was done by my husband. They won't do for you. You need to use vertical saw or something and to be careful at the rounded corner.

He sanded the surface. I lightly stained the timber with this material using old cloth. Then sanded again. I did not want it to be dark, if you prefer darker tone you may stained multiple times but remember to sand every layer.


I lightly stained (2nd layer) the surface, sanded and finished it with polyurethane product to received some protection against water or stain and it was slightly gloss. My husband assembled the counter top, sink and sealed the gap. It looks dark in the below photo, but it is actually not.

  Sink Hole was Properly Cut

  Staining and Finishing Process

Oh by the way, I also prepared the small planks in white paint to cover the base cabinet leg and side between cabinet and wall. Prep with primer, sanded, painted 3 layers with sanded in between. I will show you in the pictures where are these small planks.

 

  White Planks Before Final Coat and Seal

And this is the best part in this entry. The final product!! Everybody loves this part in any DIY entry.

   With Ikea White Blind, the Ugly See-thru Grill

DIY Fabric Blind

Close Up of Ikea Cabinet Door

DIY Shelf

  After Photo

DIY Baby Blanket & Headband

I have been working on a baby blanket since last April. It is a crochet blanket using Afgan hook. It was my first attempt to work on crochet. Fuh..It was so time consuming & requiring a lot of motivation drive to complete the project.


The dimension is about 90x100 cm and I used simple stripe pattern. I planned the pattern in Excel worksheet to choose right color combination.

The blanket is also with initial of 'S', which refers to the baby name, Skye. I am half regret with the decision to put in the initial, because it was so irritating to tie the knot each time I changed the yarn color.

So this is the end product, it took me nearly 5 months to complete.

Then I came out with an idea to make a matching baby head band. This was easy peasy project. Definately much more easier  & faster than the blanket itself. I sew pearl beads to compliment the flower finish.

 Headband with Flower Embelishment

 Adjustable Length (few options of button hole)

Both End of the Headband

Both Blanket and Headband were Properly Wrapped

 

And this is the baby Skye and her mom. Both are equally beautiful.

Prosedur membeli rumah part III

hi all,

please be sure you have read prosedur membeli rumah Part I and  prosedur membeli rumah Part II to understand the very early steps to your dream house.

harus saya ingatkan di sini, please TRACK every meetings, emails, phone calls, payment yang anda buat dengan lawyer anda dan juga bank anda. ini penting sebab jika prosedur ini ambil masa lebih dari tempoh maksimum (rasanya 6 bulan-check dengan lawyer anda), anda akan dikenakan interest daripada pihak vendor. so tracking ini amat penting untuk anda fight dan tentukan pihak mana yang bertanggungjawab melengahkan kerja. sama ada lawyer anda lambat submit ke pejabat tanah etc, atau bank lambat process agreement atau anda sendiri lambat  dapatkan loan/bayar s&p. sama ada subsale unit atau beli direct dr developer, pastikan anda track.

stage ini anda harus sign agreement dengan bank. tebal kemain and every page kena initial. read carefully before sign.

at this stage anda boleh la withdraw EPF punya saving account no 2. Sangat cepat. 2 weeks je duit da masuk dlm account. boleh la pakai untuk reno ke pasang grill ke.

then anda jugak kena prepare stamping fee (tax) tu. lebih kurang 2 bulan lepas anda bayar 10% deposit tu. macam kes saya, saya pakai duit EPF tu utk bayar stamping ke. sebab rumah lebih dr RM350k makanya mmg takde diskaun 50% first home tu. stamping aje RM8k homaiii..

the rest follow up dengan lawyer anda lah status tukar nama (memorandum of transfer bagai). kes saya sangat cepat, tup tup lawyer call kata bank dah release 89% loan kepada vendor. maka kami sediakan cek remaining 1% harga rumah then ambil kunci dr lawyer.

Legally after 3 days full payment (100%), anda dah boleh ambil kunci. Kalau vendor masih tak bg kunci, sila check dgn lawyer anda. mungkin lawyer yg lupa bg kunci kpd anda. dan kalau memang vendor yg tak bagi kunci, anda boleh caj interest rate kat dia pulak-->tanya laweyer brapa kos per day.

sekian..happy house hunting!!

DIY an industrial table

i have moved to my own house last year. since then i stop subscribe fashion magazine and only buy house decoration magazines hahaha. i am so inspired with industrial concept house. so my husband and i agree to use this concept to our 2nd bedroom converted to work room.

i have an ikea dining table fit for four people that we bought for our rented place. we bought it 3 years ago at price RM199 if i am not mistaken. it was a solid pine table, we painted it in black color before decided to paint in white color and used it until recently we bought a bigger and nicer dining table.

we decided to upcycle it to a working table instead of trash it. recycle and upcycle is not popular in Malaysia, but i hope my writing will inspire Malaysian to start upcycle and recycle. you are not only giving a new life to an old piece but you are also creating something unique that are not sold on the shelves.

i forgot to take photos before we upcycle it, so this is how it looks like in ikea website.

 

Ikea dining table

we removed the original leg and only used the piece of timber top. my husband cut it to get our desire table width and we maintained the length. because white is not representing industrial concept so my husband planed the surface.

Timber surface in preparation

the wood surface was then sanded properly and a layer of primer coating is applied. i stained the wood surface with teak color. this is not typical gloss varnish, it is a matte stain and you can select different type of wood color. i stained in in 2-3 layers and each layer was sanded to get a smooth effect. the number of layers is subject to the color preference, the more layers you apply the darker surface will be.

 Staining the surface

i calculated how many pieces of GI pipes required to use as the table leg. i used 1/2 inch diameter pipe, mix of length with connector and T- pipe. i was then prime the pipe before sprayed in matte black. this is how it looks like after painted.

GI pipes after painted in matte black

the last process is installing the timber plank to the leg. i used pipe clipper (not sure the exact name) and screwed to the table. before screwed it, i checked the level to ensure it is ok. now i pair it with a vintage armchair, but i suppose i need to find a chair that suit with industrial mood :)

Europe Trip 2013

it's been quite sometime after this trip now only i have time to write on the itinerary & budget. my intention is not to proud/show off, just wanted to share experience on how to book and all.

in overall RM spent was RM16k+ for 2 persons all-in except for food. food cost varies, if you are a big eater or only consume at restaurant, a lot of money need to be prepared. like myself, we only ate pastries, cooked for dinner and few times having at fancy restaurant but still we shared the food because we both small eater :)

i went there early march for 2 weeks. each place we spent only 2 nights. it is obviously not enough time to visit all places, but we have limited annual leave haha

breakdown of the budget for 2 persons:

flight RM6.4k
bought at matta fair. seems expensive but we landed in milan and return from london. usually the cheap ticket was land and return from same place (about 2.8k) but you must consider the cost to get back the arrival place right? and time required to travel back? it is pretty cheap to buy at matta fair but we bought through agent, we checked at the airlines booths and the cheapest they quoted was 4k+ per person. we traveled by etihad airways.

train ticket RM2471
we prefer to commute by train because you dont have to spend on transportation from/to airport (usually away from cities). the main train station is usually at the city center, it was very convenience and you dont have to wait (tercongok-congok) 2 hours earlier for check-in etc. train was quite punctual so be early at least 10 mins before. oh ye, you could save another 10-20% of the ticket fare if buy in 3-4 months advance. we bought 2 bulan earlier so the price had hiked up, padan muka.

  this is the view of the train terminal

hotel RM5639
we were not too particular on the accommodation. we booked all budget hotel but very clean. be sure to read the hotel review at tripadvisor. we choose  the hotel with maximum rate of €70 per night. mind you the 3*hotel would cost €100 per night. the most expensive hotel we stayed was at swiss, at the mountainous area. luckily it was for only a night and it was cost RM700 ok.redha jelah sebab nak jugak dok atas gunung. you could also save some money if book the hotel in advance.

 photos of some of the hotels

others RM2088
this is the expenses for entrance fee, car rental/fuel/toll, hop on hop off, MRT fare.

mainly the price is pretty fix, you cant save much except to book in advance. so my advice is to try save on food cost. if you eat at pakistan cafe/kiosk you could get a quarter chic @ vege pasta for €5 per plate. if you eat at proper restaurant be prepared €25 per person. kami masukkan jugak dalam budget asal on food. tapi bila kat sana (esp. kat italy), lunch beli pastries €1 each. malam masak. sangat jimat, tapi cash habis jugak in the end, confirm spent kat shopping hahahah. kami bawak luggage half penuh dengan sardin, beras (pack kecik2), cooker kecik, sambal bilis, curry chic in can & packet, megi tidak dilupakan, flask, milo & nescafe 3-in-1. tapi kena tabah lah nak usung beg yang berat tu.

ni la menu lunch setiap hari di italy

basic our itinerary was:
milan-florence-rome-jungfrau (swiss)-paris-london.

 nearby the duomo in milan

the view of florence city from hill

 on the way to san gimignano (outskirt from florence city)

 the famous Colosseum

a large lake at interlaken, Switzerland

the view of jungfraujoch from the expensive hotel haha

in paris

  london bridge is falling down and the name is tower bridge

in the next post i will describe in details. the most tricky part was how to buy train ticket from/to swiss hahah

update terkini

salam aidilfitri semua :)

sangat lama tak update blog. pretty bz dgn diy project utk umah saya.. sgt ambitious nak buat itu ini bajet-byk-masa kan.

cant wait to upload project2 diy saya utk menginspirasikan anda semua~perasan

custom kaftan top

my sister is offering her service to custom made kaftan top for those that interested

so the package is inclusive of

sewing service

nice material of chiffon (flowy and soft approx RM25/m) - choose your own color

lace for embellishment

beads embellishment service

all is only RM129 inclusive pos ekspress!

 let me know if you are interested to order