Renovating Our Humble Home

Hi everyone,

I’ve finally managed to find the time to sift through the gazillion photos of our recent renovation for the purpose of this blogpost.

The renovation phase was insanely exciting, to say the least. As I had mentioned before, we had a dateline (my SIL’s wedding). That means we only had a two month renovation period - to break down a patio, erect new walls and roof to build a completely new dining hall, expand the maid room, plus an outdoor gazebo constructed from scratch. Insane! Here are the two main reasons why we made the dateline (1) by having a dedicated and transparent renovation contractor, and (2) by being able to make quick nerve-wrecking decisions.

It wasn’t just about decisions on type of tiles… hhmmpphhh that was probably the simplest of the lot. But I’m talking about making tough and hard decisions on the layout, height of ceiling, interior paint, lighting placement, style of wainscoting, plaster ceiling plans... and the list goes on and on.

Thank god we had LDC Wijrah.

LDC Wijrah simplified most of the decisions for us by providing sound advice and proposed layouts for our consideration. Just after a week meeting them, they came back with two proposals for the dining hall including options for roofing, plaster ceiling and its corresponding lighting. With their advise, we made our choice within a day. As for the maid’s room expansion, while they were in the midst of hacking the walls, I requested for a last minute change. Within a few hours, they worked on a revised layout and a cost impact, which we authorized on the spot.

The next hurdle was siting the outdoor gazebo. After a long and hard debate (I love how they were not shy about turning down most of our suggestions. It helps to have an equally opinionated challenger, who is not only experienced, but is able to make you see the pros and cons of each outcome. I rather have constructive discussions than a contractor who is simply a yes-man to all my ideas…), we finally made the tough decision to chop down our pokok kemboja and sacrifice our favourite plot of lush green grass for the gazebo.

They were very accommodating too. Due to time constraints, they arranged for a live WhatsApp chat for purchasing light fixtures – where Hubby and I made real time choices through photos (supported by their recommendations) while they were physically at the shop! So thank you LDC Wijrah, for your dedication and passion in making our house beautiful.

Before I move on to the actual photos, allow me to show you the original house plan versus the layout proposed by LDC Wijrah. LDC Wijrah renovated our house when we first moved in to Cahaya SPK, hence here’s their layout of our house from post initial renovation. (Note that we didn’t proceed with the wood decking as per the picture, as Hubby was awfully fond of his grassy garden.)

Original layout.

And here’s the current layout of our house. The patio is now gone, and replaced by a completely new structure (our new dining hall). Also, LDC Wijrah proposed a double volume ceiling; therefore we had to agree to close up the two windows right on top of the new structure. The outdoor gazebo is now where Hubby’s favourite pokok lalang used to be. We even extended the wood decking from the maid’s room all the way to the gazebo – hence every morning, my maid wakes up to such a beautiful view from her bedroom window!

Post renovation layout.

If you've been following my blog previously, you're probably familiar with how my living hall and dining hall are separated by the patio. With this renovation, the living and dining hall is now connected and the space feels so open and airy. The double volume ceiling makes it feel even more spacious than before.

Right after LDC Wijrah was done with the renovations, Lentera Creative came in with the ID. Why hire an interior decorator? Well, Hubby and I have quite contrasting ideas about interior deco, and we don't trust ourselves in making bold (and expensive) decisions. So, we agreed to disagree on our views, and hire a professional instead. We told them what we liked (modern luxury, mirror furniture) and then they came to view the house. I also told them that they had to match our existing carpet, wainscoting walls (read about my DIY wainscoting adventures here) and the colour tone of the new chesterfield sofa we bought here. Other than that, they had the free reign of choosing everything (within our budget, of course).

Boy was I glad we decided to hire them. We were asked to leave the house for a couple of hours while they 'transformed' the house. Our jaws dropped when we returned later... They exceeded our expectations in so many ways!!! So much love for their work. I'll save my compliments for when we get to the photos below.

Anyway, for those of you still reading, here are the photos post renovation and interior decorations:

The view from the front door. Major love!

Moved our chandelier to the living hall to give it a grandeur feel.

These are our existing arm chairs which Lentera refurbished. I never knew purple would go so well with our Persian carpet! And that mirrored double drawers by Lentera is simply to die for. *drool*

The day bed on the left is also an existing piece of furniture. Lentera only refurbished the pillows to purple to match the arm chairs.

Orchids in my living hall.

The sole reason why we hired Lentera in the first place... the curtains! I love the pleats and the drape of the material. Till now, none of the boys are allowed to unravel the pleats. Unless they want to hear Mummy screaming till Timbuktu! *chuckles*

If it was up to me, I would probably buy some crystal table lamps to match the mirrored furniture. But Amran of Lentera laughed and said no way. He bought these instead, macam lampu kat hotel (so he says). I have to admit, he's absolutely right! The table lamps look so grand, perched on top of matching mirrored side tables. 

The intricate stems of the orchid bouquet.

Lentera made my bargain chesterfield sofa, look like a million dollars! And who knew, that chevron pillows would look so polished in a modern luxurious living room? (See, that's why you hire an interior designer) *chuckles*

The view from behind our chesterfield sofa. Can you see the next highlight of the living hall?

Lentera chose this beautiful console, which compliments (instead of overshadows) our wainscoting. 

I love the matching mirror too. And who knew that leaves in bottles would look this good? *giggles*

The huge bouquet of flowers practically covered all off the mirror. It's slightly eccentric, but we love it!

Blooming flowers.

I was initially quite hesitant about adding a coffee table to our living hall (plus the fear of bursting our budget). But I'm so glad Amran talked us into it, because if not, the living hall would look so empty! And of course, it is functional too. Excellent for serving guests in a formal setting.

Purple armchairs, Persian carpet, chevron pillows, grey curtains, console, mirrored furniture, table lamps and wainscoting. No way in hell Hubby and I would have managed this on our own.

The view from our staircase. See how our living hall and dining hall are now connected to each other?

Wood paneling by LDC Wijrah, made from recycled wood. Demarcates the dining hall from the walkway heading to the back of the house.

LDC Wijrah also made a door leading out to our new outdoor gazebo, patio and garden. I'll save photos of our ourdoor gazebo for a separate post, ok?

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Final photo for this post. *phewwwww*

Sorry for the overdose of photos, but there were so many things that I wanted to share with all of you. As always, thanks for reading, and pray hard that those photos of our outdoor gazebo, gets to see the light of the day. Stay tuned (I hope)! *grin* Meanwhile, take a look at how we revamped our family hall, DIY style - here!