Semi-DIY Interior Renovation Review Part 2_Find a custom furniture workshop!
Once demolition began my mind got busy.
I looked for custom furniture workshops in every way I could, but most workshops were run directly by interior design companies.
And I went and surveyed 6 workshops, and — damn!
The cleanliness was a mess, some places had rain blowing in, and many had unpaved floors.
Most of the workers were smoking, and they were attaching HPL with glue.
A furniture manufacturing company called Matrics near Gandaria City said they attach HPL with machines at the factory, but the HPL selection was limited (they said they use European products) and they quoted an amount that was absurd for my budget, so I gave up on them.
After searching and searching for a place that attaches HPL by machine, I found one near BSD.
They were using the MDF board I wanted, and they said they could work with the HPL brand I wanted too. But the ambush came from somewhere else. The guy who draws the plans was really not up to scratch.
So I drew by hand and my husband drew the plans with a program, and we handed them over.
Around this point I had a big reality check.
What on earth am I doing????? Should I just do everything with IKEA?
IKEA had height issues, and its MDF board type is vulnerable to water, so there was no way I could do island-type kitchen furniture with IKEA.
Demolition had already started and there was no turning back, so I decided to entrust that company with only the sink unit and front cabinets (the kitchen furniture).
The highlight here is that I never imagined they would drill the countertop holes and finish the edges on site, and since the countertop wouldn't fit in the elevator my husband hired workers and carried it up to the 11th floor himself.
The people here kept trying to persuade me to just cut the countertop in two, but no way..... I absolutely could not give up on a single-piece countertop 😂
MDF board - Moisture Resistant MDF green
HPL film - Lamitak + AICA
Hinges, storage - Blum + Telford
SINK + faucet - CGS
Countertop - Quadra (a brand run by the tile flooring group called Roman, a sintered stone company I found because I disliked the roughness of marble)
https://quadrasurface.com/
*Sintered stone is an engineered stone made by compressing natural materials (e.g. quartz, clay, natural minerals) under high temperature and high pressure. During this process chemical bonding takes place, making it extremely durable with outstanding heat resistance, durability and scratch resistance. It can also express a wide variety of patterns and textures just like natural stone.
HPL -> Among the Indonesian local brands TACO and AICA, AICA felt a little more premium, and among Singaporean products the brand LAMITAK has warm, premium colors. (I regret not having done everything in Lamitak)
A sneak peek of the kitchen I put the most effort into!!!
I'll be back with Part 3.
