When my hubby’s friend (a reputable built-in cabinet specialist) gave me a 3D presentation of his proposed plan for my new place, I was disappointed. It was BORING… the same old design that I have seen over the years, updated with a new set of colour codes.
James Bond (not 007), a good friend of mine heard about my predicament. He gave me a call card, and said “Ring this place, and ask for Andre. I am sure they can help you, they did wonders with my KLCC outlet.” WESB Sdn Bhd, the name did ring a bell, but I couldn’t recall where I have seen it. When I found out from their website that Andy Phang is the chief designer there, I was excited. He is one of the few Malaysian interior designers that left an impression on me when I read interior design magazines, my favourite past time when I get the house all to my self during the day. His style exudes a sense of tranquility, where simplicity is at its best with an adequate dose of luxury.
For our past two renovations, we did not hire an interior design company, because we assumed that they would cost a BOMB, possibly an arm and a leg. Instead, we went the traditional route of hiring a contractor and then another company that does the built-in wardrobe and kitchen cabinets. Both times I was frustrated by the lack of professionalism of the both the contractors and the built-in guys, their lack of product knowledge, and their unwillingness to try newer ideas. In addition to all these negatives, I had to do all the “running around” from obtaining approval from the managements office to the selection of tiles myself, as well as shopping for furnitures, lightings and soft furnishings. Not sure whether its just me, but shopping for home furnishing is no fun, as looking for the perfect piece to fit the theme is a long and tiring process. And worse of all, the end result does not always turn out as expected, maybe it’s because I am not a professional, or simply because I am just being too fussy….
I rang WESB, gave them the layout plan of my place, and asked for their estimated costing for my renovation. I did not want to start any form of discussion if their estimated cost is way off my budget. Surprisingly, they gave us a pretty reasonable quote that this within our budget.
Jeannette sat us down to thoroughly understand our lifestyle and our prefered style of furnishing (zen, ultra-modern, etc). I told her that I am a minimalist zen cum ultra-modern person, who hates clutter, and loves black and white, in various shades. For the first time, someone understood what I meant. Most of the contractors that I have met or dealt with in the past would stare at me, with a blank look.
As I was keen to have a open concept kitchen, she performed the necessary structural changes by demolishing existing walls and puting up new ones. She liaised with the managment office to obtain their approval, as the changes were pretty major. When WESB gave us the 3D presentation, we were blown over. It was stunning…….. We signed the dotted line and gave them the job.
From then on, we literary sat and waited. We did not need to lift a finger. It’s true….. On top of the usual hacking, tiling and wet works, plus cabinet making, they sourced and shopped for our loose furnitures as well, based on our likes and dislikes, and sent us pictures via emails for selection. It was such a breeze, a joy actually selecting from items hand picked by designers. This is a service provided complementary by them….. such a thoughtful gesture, which was deeply appreciated by us.
Each week we were sent pictures via email of their work in progress, and on handover day, we saw their earlier 3D presentation came to life. It was much better than expected…. drop dead gorgeous, simply fantabulous!
Oh, I nearly left out this part. The total cost of our renovation, this time around was much cheaper, compared to the earlier ones where we used traditional contractors. Ironical, huh? We paid less, got better quality stuff and close to zero stress. Obviously we were penny wise pound foolish in the past.
Andre, Andy and Jeannette, thank you VERY MUCH for our dream home. We like it a lot.
[Note : In case you are wondering, the pictures are part of the masterpiece that I asked Su-yin make for Andre, Andy and Jeannette, thanking them for a job well done. To have a look at the entire cake, you will need to wait till Su-yin blogs about it]
