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

Pre-order bag/wallet from europe (LV, Gucci, Prada, name it)

dear all,

i will be going to europe end feb until mid march (milan and london)
i am taking order if anyone would like to preorder design brands handbags & wallet (any brand)
simple calculation so you can estimate your budget:

1) euro bank conversion 1 EUR = RM4.20
pound bank conversion 1 GBP = RM5.00
2) interest rate for credit card (imposed by bank) to the 50% remaining payment

3) my service charge to hunt for the items and luggage cost:

small wallet/ folded bag (eg long champ) = RM60
medium size bag (eg 30x30x15 cm) = RM140
very large/heavy bag (pls check with me)

eg: long champ le pliage med size EUR 60
quotation Eur 60 x RM4.20= RM252 (deposit RM126, pending remaining payment RM126)
interest cre card RM126 x 1.5%= RM1.90
service by me RM60
grand total = RM313.9

COD at OU/ the Curve/tropicana mall (weekdays) and at citta mall (weekend) after i am back to msia (23 march onwards) or ipoh (perhaps end of march)

t&c

1) 50% of the final quotation need to be paid the latest 15th february 2013 thru maybank acc
2) the 1st quotation is based on current foreign conversion by bank, should the exchange is higher than current quotation, i shall revised the conversion and update to you the latest by 13rd feb 2013
3) remaining CASH payment to be paid during agreed location of COD
4) if the buyer purposely extend time of COD later than 12 April 2013, i shall imposed the credit card interest by bank (especially those expensive items)
5) if item is out of stock i shall refund your money immediately after arrive in malaysia
6) no cancellation after deposit is secured unless you want to change your order and the deposit is not refundable (unless you have a very good justification)
7) do not expect i will bring back the box/paper bag. dust bag (if any) will be inclusive


hurry up. LIMITED no of orders only. suitable for hantaran bag!! :)
you may email me the link at azzudagreat@yahoo.com and whatsup at 017-5591349

thanks

Prosedur Membeli Rumah Part II

sambung ke 2nd chapter.

Lepas anda da byr 2% thru agent, dlm masa 14 hari anda kena dptkan sign S&P/SPA which memerlukan offer letter dari bank yg akan finance rumah anda nanti as well as appointed lawyer. (anda la plak, macam entry e-business plak)

masa ni memang kelam kabut sbb nak cari bank yg akan finance smp 90% kan.

buat comparison 2-3 bank. tu psl awal2 da kena study pasal loan ni so xla buang masa time2 ni la baru nk google ape itu BLR hahaha. kalau anda xbanyak cash make sure discuss betul2 dgn bank anda nak bank legal fee, evaluation fee & insurance included dlm finance itu. kalau xincluded rasa2nya 20k at least kena top-up. insurance plak terpulang la nk 50-50 dgn spouse ke ape. kalau amik insurance 50-50 nanti kalau spouse anda meninggal/hilang upaya anda still kena bayar remaining 50% utang dgn bank. kalau both amik insurance so anda xperlu bayar ape2 da (kalau ada joint acc ye)

pd masa yg sama cari jugak lawyer anda.

ni link cane nak kira legal fee (basically it is fix)

http://www.elawyer.com.my/legal_calculator_info.php

quotation lawyer akan mintak la photocopy la, phone bills la. try to nego yang ini :)

lawyer jugak akan quote duty stamp yg ribu-riban jugak

kalau rumah below rm350k boleh dpt 50% discount dari gov.

ni cara nk kira duty stamp so anda bleh double check

http://www.mylawyer.com.my/article/stampduty.php

anda mungkin ada terbaca kena ada separate lawyer. tamo share dgn vendor.

mcm kes saya memang hanya ada 1 lawyer, tapi bile ada legal issue lawyer tu akan act on my behalf sbb saya yg bayar legal fee dia. while the vendor only pays document processing fee (few hundreds) which means my lawyer hanya tlg dia buat dokumen sahaja. it is unethical kalau lawyer tu amik legal fee from both parties sbb kalau ada conflict then who she will represent kan?

bile dedua ni settle so time for SPA signature lah. masa ni kena bawak remaining deposit rumah. so awal2 da bayar 2% now kena bayar 8% lagi. even if your bank finance katalah 80% kan, so cash from your side patutnya 20%. tp still anda byar 10% dulu and remaining byr masa nak dpt kunci rumah nanti.

tp masa ni anda kena prepare cek utk legal fee jugak, but not including duty stamp lg. so anda boleh la buat kira2 berapa cash anda patut ada at this point kan?

a) 10% house deposit

b) legal fees only

yeay! lepas ni xde kelam kabut da.lawyer anda & bank yg kebykan buat keje.

in my case my lawyer sgtlah bagus. tukar nama rumah settle dlm masa 4 1/2 bulan aje.

sambung nanti k.

Prosedur membeli RUMAH part I

gedik santai plak rasanya nak update blog yg agak lama terbiar..

sejak tukar kerja baru ni, takde peluang nk menulis

topik harini pasal kekdah membeli rumah

saya yakin semua B2B akan melalui fasa ini, jadi marilah bersama kongsi pengetahuan.. sebabnya saya agak terkontang-kanting jugak taktau prosedur-takut kena tipu-etc hahhaa

saya mau share experience beli rumah subsale (2nd hand la), leasehold

ok memula bila rasa mau beli rumah, start la survey 2,3 bank tanya psl home financing.. walaupun anda mungkin end-up amik bank yang ejen rekemen, tp at least dah tau selok belok loan. BLR brape, ape beza islamic loan & conventional loan, lok-in period etc etc.. xyah susah google (lambat & bosan nak baca kan?), walk-in je kat bank. SELESAI

start la cari kawasan, compare price, nk kondo ke landed sume tu.

dpt yg bekenan view umah (biasa thru ejen kan). things u all ke consider masa view umah are nego price, furnish yg dia bg kabinet, renovation, land area, bumi lot/non-bumi lot. tanya juga pada ejen value rumah kawasan tu based on recent sold unit. takut nanti bank tanak finance 90% terduduk ko nak dptkan cash nanti.

dinasihatkan check geran rumah nama vendor ke nama developer..akan nanti jd problem bile nak tukar nama. ataupun vendor expat lagi naya jugak.. then if vendor non-bumi (and u is bumi) process akan lambat jugak. these things akan menyebabkan process drag up to few years..sanggup?? paling mudah klu bumi beli dgn bumi..tapi harus ingat if untuk investment nanti nak jual susah sikit sbb kena cari bumi buyer je kan.. then decide nak beli atau tidak..buatlah istikharah ke kan.next step bile anda confirm mau

bila sudah confirm anda kena sediakan biasanya 2% bank cek atas nama COMPANY ejen itu. ingat tanya pada ejen adakah 2% itu akan direfund jika anda tak dpt home financing dr bank..mana tau kan anda ade byk loan (car loan, personal loan,ASB loan etc etc). and make sure masa byr all those things written black and white. sign dokumen itu and simpan a copy k.

ok cukup takat ni dlu..process seterusnye bersambung next entry yo