Blog In Blue

Fellow Apple-tons, it’s time to face the truth! The iPhone is no longer the dominent phone choice for Singaporeans anymore. Each time you meet your friends, you realize someone has switched to an Android phone. With the new Windows Phone 8 models coming up, we can expect to see even less iPhones and iPhone 5s going around in Singapore.

So why are some of us still buying iPhones? For us, it is mostly about the design of the phone - the anodized finishing on the back and sides of the phone, the beautiful white/black bezels around the screen, the simple 1 button operation.

With such an intricate design, we have always opposed the use of iPhone cases since they typically modify the original look, and advocated the use of iPhone Sleeves. But now, we have finally found another solution that allows 24/7 protection for your precious iPhone 5s.

The guys at Kuhvuh has come up with 2 iPhone cases with Apple’s simplicity as the key motivation - the EpiCase and the SoftFlip. The EpiCase has a frosted translucent back and a clear side to ensure visibility of the original iPhone design, while the SoftFlip is designed to emulate the functions of the Apple Smart Cover for the iPad, which is not available for the iPhone.

While the popularity of iPhones have certainly declined in Singapore, us Purists must remember why we fell in love with the iPhone in the first place, and proudly show them off once more!

Most of us have a favorite color and when the time comes to paint your new house or repaint your old one, you may be inclined to just paint the whole house with it.

But do you know that the color you choose actually affects our minds and how we act in our homes? The guys are DesignRulz came up with a full list of what each color represents and where within your home are they most suited for.

For example, green is a good color for your bedroom as it symbolizes health. And white is actually perfect for the bathroom as it represents purity and spaciousness!

Check out the full article on DesignRulz. Also check out our suite of colorful home decor items!

We have the best customers…… They enjoy our products, they give constructive feedback, and they are always open in sharing with us on how the products they bought made a difference in their lives.

During a recent conversation, a customer told us she wanted to thank her bridesmaids and friends for helping her out during her wedding preparations. As there were about 10 people she wanted to thank, buying a gift for each of them seemed to require too much work and was way over her budget.

She then decided that a thank you card was the best way to show her gratitude. She felt that by thanking each helper for the specific things they have done, it lets them know that they have each played an important role during the wedding.

Of course, she wanted the cards to be special, and classy, which is why she eventually went with letterpress thank you cards.

We wanted to share this story because we realized that many people in Singapore don’t tend to express their feelings, and may find it awkward to out-rightly acknowledge the work that others put in. So if you don’t feel comfortable saying it out, write it in a card, or buy a present… the most important thing is to show your appreciation!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Getting the keys to your new home is one of the most exciting things you will ever experience, but with great joy comes huge responsibilities. After the adrenaline rush subsides, the “Now What?” moment happens. Now, you turn this empty space, into the home of your dreams……

In Singapore, there are pre-dominantly 3 groups of people you can engage to do up your home - interior design firms, renovation firms or independent sub-contractors. The cost of renovation is typical highest when engaging an ID, and lowest when you hire sub-contractors to handle each component of your renovation.

Interior Design Firms
These firms tend to handle all aspects of your renovation works from design consultation, space planning, 3D drawings and project management. Many of them even go shopping with you for furniture and fittings, while making recommendations on which items fit better with your decor.

There are probably hundreds of such firms, and you can easily speak with tens of them within a day when you visit the regular home fairs at the Singapore Expo, or go to districts like Balestier where many of these firms set up shop. Home & Decor Magazines are also filled with advertisements with pictures of projects they have previously worked on.

Our advice when looking for an ID firm, or even contractors for that matter, is to seek for recommendations from peers who have had worked done and are happy with their ID. Take note though that you should get recommendations of the designer/contractor, not the firm they work for. 

Large ID firms employ tens of designers, and it is fair to say that not all of them are the best of class. This is evident from the contrasting reviews you can find from forums such as Renotalk, where the same firm can get opposing feedback from home owners.

If you are solely selecting your vendor based on the brand name of the firm, there is just a chance that you may get the best or worst designer of the firm (most likely the worst, because the best would already be too busy with all the referrals he/she is getting), and all is dependent on fate. 

Contractors
These renovation firms are typically more executioners rather than advisors to your project. They tend to be cheaper than IDs because they don’t spend as much time going through designs and plans with you, but instead do whatever they are told. So unless you have a clear idea of the look you are going for, contractors may not be the best way forward.

The benefit of using a contractor over sub-contractors, is that you have 1 person who is in-charge of all the works, and your co-ordination is much simpler, and if something does go wrong, you will just have 1 ‘neck to strangle’.

Sub-contractors
This is where you engage the individual specialists to work on specific areas of the job, i.e. engaging a plumber to work on the plumbing, the door vendor to fix up the doors, the carpenters to build the shelves and so on.

As some areas may sometime overlap, for example a shelf that may require the water pipes to run through, this may not be as easy as it sounds. You can probably save some serious bucks here, but please only attempt this if you have the time for it, and if your design is fairly simple to execute on.

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Ultimately, which way you decide to go will depend on your budget, whether you have a good idea of how you want your house to look like, and how much time you have to be involved in the project.

The purpose of this series of blog posts is to provide additional information for home seekers who are looking at the possibility of purchasing flats from such exercises. By doing so, we hope to make your road to finding your dream home slightly easier. Also check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.

In the last article, we looked at the first appointment with HDB in greater detail, and we are now going to go through the second/final appointment with HDB where you settle the paperwork and get the keys to your new flat.

Due to the backlog that HDB has been dealing with, the second appointment is typically arranged to be between 3-4 months from the first. However, if you are in urgent need of the flat, you can make an appeal to the customer service manager assigned to your file, to expedite the process to about 1-2 months.

On the date of the appointment, before meeting the HDB officer, you are required to head to the 2nd floor to purchase a mandatory fire insurance policy. At that counter, you will be offered the option to buy policies that provide additional coverage, and these are completely optional.

After purchasing your fire insurance, you can get your queue number to meet with the HDB officer. At the meeting, they will first check your documentations (based on what they asked you to bring).

If you are taking up the HDB mortgage loan, they will verify with you the amount you have left in your CPF account and use that entire amount to pay off a portion of the cost of your new flat. They will then advise you on how much you need to pay monthly to service the loan.

Upon completion of the paperwork, the keys will then be finally be handed over to you. Subsequently, you will be required to pay your conservancy fees at the payment counter on the 3rd floor, and if you would like to activate your water and electricity, you can do so on the second floor where the SP Services office is located.

Voila! You are now the proud owner of a HDB flat. Indeed, the entire process of buying a flat may seem long and tedious, but at the end of it, it will still be extremely worth the wait as they remain the cheapest way to own your home in beautiful Singapore.