10 Awesome Office Design and Renovation

Work environment is very important as it will affect productivity and morale. If you are designing or renovating your office, try looking out for the following offices as you will definitely want to work in one of them.

Sapientnitro Office, Singapore

The basis of design was to create a conducive environment for communication and collaboration. Spacematrix, the designer of this beautiful office decided to do just that by incorporating lush greenery as well as entertainment furnishings to promote greater interaction among co-workers and colleagues. The barrier free, no partition/barrier work stations also allow greater communication and discussion among colleagues.

Sisii Office - Kobe, Japan

"Sisii" is a leatherwear company based in Kobe, Japan. It has an interesting design concept of playing with different height and levels. The designer, Yuko Nagayama & Associates try to use these levels as a catalyst for interaction among three different types of activities: staff at work, clients reviewing clothing and formal/informal meetings.  The careful play of levels allow a nice blend of interaction among visitors as well as office staffs.

Lego Singapore Office, Singapore

Lego has been targeting a major expansion into Asia in recent years With its latest designer office in the heart of downtown Singapore. They are definitely serious about their intentions. 

Large fluent spaces greet you at the reception and followed by wonderful Lego designs using real Lego bricks, a special mention most definitely must go to the Iconic "dragon" Lego sculpture.

Incorporating lush greenery and fantastic furnishings, the new Lego office will definitely make you feel immediately at home and will be rubbing shoulders with all the hyped-up offices of the tech industry.

Google Zurich Office - Zurich, Switzerland

Google offices all around the world have been thoroughly exciting and interesting. So when Google set foot in Zurich, Switzerland, it was definitely something to behold. Just take a look at their themed rooms and interactive spaces, all designed to incorporate playful and interesting elements like the cable car, ergonomic work-tops and even egg-shaped resting sheds nestled in lush greenery.

Westpac Banking Corporation, - Singapore

Westpac's Singapore office is designed to embrace Westpac's Australian heritage. The interiors are packed with beautiful furnishing and materials to reflect Australia's diverse environment. The sprawling furniture and arrangements allow for greater interaction, exploration and welcome guest to engage in a variety of wonderful spatial experience.   

Tripadvisor - Singapore

The interior design for Tripadvisor's Singapore office blends beautiful colours and an eclectic mix of cool and comfortable furnishing. This mix portray dynamism and connectivity synonymous with the company's core activity of connecting travelers all over the world and its status as the largest travel site in the world.

A 3D veneer finish company logo of Tripadvisor's famous owl greets the unsuspecting visitor. It is followed through with a beautifully designed trellis structure that signifies a bird-cage. Bright hues and colours blend in with interesting furniture to inspire creativity and dynamism among staff and colleagues. 

HomeAway Headquarters -  Austin, Texas

Located in Austin, Texas, the HomeAway world headquarter is an office that will really excite visitors. When approaching the office, a welcoming sight of their corporate logo will definitely keep you enthralled. They have many staff-friendly features that will be the envy of all workers. Some features include a nice roof terrace, entertainment hallway and napping areas for that much needed quick rest.

This car definitely looks familiar right? Yes, Its a replica of the Griswald's National Lampoon Vacation station wagon from the 80s hit comedy!

SelgasCanos Office - Madrid, Spain

Spanish architects Jose Selgas and Lucia Cano of Selgascanos have designed an office of their own practice located in the woods just outside Madrid in Spain. This office will definitely turn heads! 

Designed to be sunken into the ground, its cool glass window stretches the entire office giving staff an intimate interaction with the surrounding woods. 

Comvert - Milan, Italy

Comvert, an Italian clothing company was looking for a new space for their headquarters. They chanced upon an old abandoned cinema that seemed to offer the best solution for all their requirements. It was big enough to accommodate a whole lot of features and more! From offices to warehousing and even a showroom.

In fact, the cinema was so large that there was space left to built an indoor skate bowl which sat suspended above the warehouse. This 'skate park" definitely keeps the staff well entertained while they are up and about their work.

Missing Link office - Jozi, South Africa

Missing Link is a highly regarded presentation strategy company in South Africa. This interesting office has a multitude of special designs with entertainment features placed at strategic areas (they even have a tattoo parlour aptly named "Missing Ink"). The design concept of the office is about inspiration and discovery, one that will challenge staff to think differently, not just for presentations, but about themselves, the team and the brand.

One Football Office - Berlin, Germany

One Football office is a Sports themed office with its very own running track and artificial turfing. Sports decoration and motifs are placed aptly all over the office and they even have a small penalty kick area for that footballer in you.

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Having Problems Finding a Carpet? Here's what you need to know.

When finding the perfect flooring for your home, we often overlook carpets as most people would think that it is difficult to install, expensive, and difficult to maintain. Today we are here to explore carpets and also find out some of the advantages it can actually provide.

Carpets comes in various types and forms, some of the more popular ones are

1) carpet roll,
2) carpet tile and
3) rugs

Carpeting and rugs come in a wide range of prices all depending on their quality and design. The quality of  carpets or rugs is mainly linked to its material, its fabric thickness and how its woven. The design is often influenced by its overall colour, patterns, feel and style.

Carpet Advantages 

1) If chosen well, carpets can often be a good bargain as compared to expensive natural stone flooring or high-grade hardwood floors. They can actually help save up thousands of dollars. However, high end stylish designer carpets can also cost a fortune.

2) Whether its marble flooring or carpets, it all boils down to the feel you want for your home. Carpets can give a sense of warmth and adds texture to your house. The comfort felt from stepping on soft carpet is sometimes a plus for many homeowners.

3) Carpets also add another dimension of design to your home. It increases the level of sophistication and brings about a sense of completeness in your home design just like living in a hotel.


Average Carpet Price. 

Carpets prices range from as low as S$1.50/sqft to as high as S$25+/sqft. The average price is around S$3-S$7/sqft . A fairly reasonable priced carpet is around S$4-S$6/sqft.

Rugs can costs as little as S$1/sqft but do not expect much. These low priced carpets often shed fibres very quickly. A good quality rug will cost S$5 or more per square foot, with the best rug using materials such as wools costing more than $8 per square foot. For that famous middle eastern rug, do check the fabric used, its design and its age. These factors often affect the price significantly.

Carpets prices are affected by:
1) brand - the more popular the more expensive. Low cost carpets start from $1.50/sqft onwards. High quality brands like Fabrica and Masland can costs as much as S$8/sqft to more than $20/sqft.

2) Fibres and materials - Cheapest carpet fibre commonly used is olefin. Most carpets are nylon made while the most expensive carpets are made from wools, most cost more than $8/sqft.

3) Carpet style and weave pattern - Some weave techniques include loop, textured, frieze, and patterned. The lower the face weight and thread density, the lower the carpet price and vice versa.

Determining How Much You Need (SqFt/ m2)

This is an important step as you do not want any extra money spent on carpet wastage. You will also like to prevent contractors from overpricing you by over-quoting you on material prices.

1) Measure the room you would like carpet to be installed. You can use your house plan/blueprint for measurement. For greater accuracy, use a maesuring tape and measure directly off your room. Find the area by multiplying length and breath of the room. If your measurements are in meters square, you can convert to square feet by multiplying by 10.7 (this a a rough approximation).

2) We would recommend that you add a 5% to the total area you have calculated from (1) for some extra carpet. The last thing you want is when you do not have enough to cover the entire room.

Installation Pricing and Cost Factors

The costs of installation ranges from S$0.50/sqft to S$2/sqft. Installation of pad may be extra. Do check with your installer first. Some carpets are thick enough and already have cushions to act as pads so do take note.

Costs factor such as floor consistency (a flat surface is easier for installation), obstructions during installations, moving of furniture and so on. Do make sure to check with you carpet installer and clarify all costs factors before starting work.

Can we bring down our installation cost and carpet price?

There are a few tips of the trade we can share here.

1) Always check the thickness, weave pattern and weave density of your carpet selection. Don't get conned to pay higher prices for a poor quality carpet whose design looks exactly like a high quality one but only thinner and poorly woven with less weave density.

2) Chose the time for installing your carpet wisely. Do not install during year end season when everyone is rushing to install for the festive holidays like Christmas and Chinese new year. The sheer demand pushes the price of both carpet and labour costs up.

3) Always buy online or direct from wholesalers as bulk purchases from them can often score discounts of as much as 30% to 40%.

Common Carpet FAQ.

1) Will carpets shed?

Unfortunately, new or old carpets will shed. However, the amount of shedding all depends on the quality of the fabric/fibre and how its woven. New carpets often have loose fibres especially along cuts, these will come loose. Just vacuum them away and you're good. Poor quality carpets will continue to shed as their fibres are poorly woven. They turn loose quickly leaving bare patches or gaps. Hence, it is very important that you chose a fairly thick carpet with higher weave density (>23)  to make sure this does not happen.

2) Does carpet contain formaldehyde?

No. Formaldehyde is no longer used to make them.

3) Do you need padding for all carpets ?

No. Some carpets are thicker with a layer of cushion, hence padding is not necessary, However, thicker carpets come at a higher price.

4) How do we remove coffee stains or other fluid spills?

1) Dry the spot by dabbling with a dry towel. If there is a substantial amount of spillage, make sure you do not spread the stain even more by changing towels as they become saturated with the beverage.

2) Try the mixture of , water, vinegar and a gentle, non-bleach detergent. Dabble, rinse, and repeat.

3) There are certain types of carpets such as Polypropylene that will respond safely to a carpet stain treatment of water and bleach. You can prepare a mixture of 1/4 cup of bleach to 1 cup and a 1/4 of water in a spray bottle. Soak with the mixture, Dabble, rinse with warm water, and repeat until the carpet stain disappears.

4) For blood stains do use cold water instead as blood will coagulate with warm water, cold water prevents the blood stain from permeating into the carpet fibers.

Hope the information on carpets help. Do share to your friends who want to install a new carpet in their home.

5 things you must know when hiring carpentry service in Singapore

Carpentry works chunk up more than 40% of the entire renovation cost most of the time and it is definitely not cheap to customise work to your taste. In Singapore, there is a lack of culture, time, space, tools and skillset to DIY carpentry works. Thus, it is inevitable for you to work with a carpenter at some point in time for your new or existing home.  You may approach a main contractor with beautiful shop front but comes with an expensive price tag or find a good carpenter through various means that you think are reliable. Here are some simple and easy-to-follow tips that will aid you in the process of hiring quality carpentry service in Singapore without difficulty.

1.       Identify Good Carpenters

There are limited review sites on the internet for carpentry services in Singapore. Thus, the best bet you have currently is to ask your relatives, friends or colleagues. If you have good relationship with a main contractor who is willing to reveal who they work with for carpentry work, go for it! If not, ask about the workmanship (look out for the minor details like the alignment, gaps, silicon patching and etc) and after installation support (promptness in doing minor touching up and etc).

2.       Communicating with carpenters

Before committing to the one, talk to a few to understand about their services and past projects. Share with them the kind of carpentry works you are looking for including the design, usage and overall feel. Professional carpenter will be able to guide you on the materials, difficulties of the job and some may even provide a digital design layout of the final product. Ensure that the carpenter is able to understand what you want and the terms to prevent any future disputes. 

3.       Selection of materials

Ensure that your carpenter not only shares with you on the finishing materials that suit your design and budget but also the type of timber products. These will ensure that the materials (timber products, finishing, edge band and hinges) used are able to meet your usage requirement and also a good gauge of the materials cost. The commonly used timber products are Medium Density Fibre (MDF) board and particle board or chipboard that contributes to a more affordable carpentry works. As for the finishing materials, laminate is the more popular choice as it comes in various design and colours. Do spend more time to look through the thick selection of finishing materials and seek advice from your carpenter as it will determine the feel of the end product and also fits your daily usage. For instance, you may want to choose laminate if you have young children as it provides certain level of scratch resistance.  

4.       Project sequencing 

This is critical if you choose not to engage a main contractor for the renovation of your new home. You will have to coordinate with various contractors to ensure that the installation sequence is correct. For instance, do your painting prior to the carpentry installation and request your painter to do the final touching up after. Installation of oven, hood and stove after the installation of kitchen carpentry works. Thus, a good carpenter will be able to advice on the sequences, commit to the delivery and installation timeline and also provide additional services like simple installation of kitchen appliances to ensure a smooth renovation.

 

5.       Building relationship

Ensure that you maintain a good relationship with a good carpenter for future works or minor repairs. For instance, you have decided to change the entire kitchen cabinets in the future. Instead of removing all, a good carpenter will understand your design and also conduct an inspection on the existing cabinets to determine the level of work required. It may end up only changing the laminates, hinges and minimum new carpentry works. This will save you a substantial amount of money. 

5 Renovation Flaws That You Must Avoid At All Costs.

1) Poor False Ceiling Works

Poor Ceiling works are often hidden away behind lighting or fan installations, so it will be overlooked more often than not. They only surface when you decided to change or remove the installation. Poor Ceiling works include poor cut edges, shoddy plastering and untreated internal walls.

All these could be prevented if your preferred contractor uses standard cutting tools and proper work sequences. Do monitor your contractor's work and check what type of tools they are using. Insist that they use proper tools and working sequences. Below is an example of good ceiling works with reasonably clean cut edges and proper wiring covers.

2) Un-primed (Exposed) Electrical Wiring, tucked Away Behind Appliance or Installation

Most of us will have missed this mistake as they are commonly hidden behind installation! Shoddy electrical work is a serious problem and it happens when electrical workers are rushing for time or sometimes just downright lazy.

Untreated electrical wirings not only pose as electrical-trip hazards at home, it may even cause flash fires that can become extremely dangerous.

Hence, before engaging any electrical worker, check their reputation and workmanship through past track records. Make sure they are well reputed and highly recommended by preferred websites like Renotalk, Renoup or Renopedia. Do check their work frequently and spot check on appliance installations thoroughly.

3) Poor Waterproofing

A very commonly overlooked problem is waterproofing as it is done by contractors at their own pace and covered up under tiles! The real mistake happens when applying the waterproofing membrane,  tiling contractors (who shouldn't start work at all until waterproofing is done) step all over the waterproofing layer as shown above. This will result in less than perfect waterproofing works and incomplete protection which will result in serious repercussions later on! Below is an image of water leaking through the membrane.

Water has sipped through the waterproofing membrane and caused considerable damage to the wall, making it flaky, bubbled and beyond repair unless the whole tiled floor is hacked away and waterproofing membrane done all over again.

A normal preventive measure is to ensure that contractors apply 2 coats of waterproofing membrane. Also make sure that the tiling contractor DO NOT come in to work before waterproofing is done. This needs careful coordination, so do keep a tap on it.

4) Placement of Installations

Very often contractors are given free play to do their work. However, when inspection is done, some installations are placed in less than prefect conditions. This boils down to coordination problems and miscommunication between contractor and owner.

Do practise regular discussions and coordination meetups with the contractors so that such unfortunate events DO NOT OCCUR!

5) Messy Work Sites

It is very important that all renovations are done in a clean and orderly fashion. Unkempt work sites are a safety hazard and susceptible to greater project mistakes and materials gone missing !

Insist that your contractors set up proper work areas to place materials, installations and tools. Also keep taps on their work progress and do regular spot checks on them.  

Have you encountered any of the above renovation problems ? Like and share this with your friends who are going through renovations right now.