We put the spotlight on Victoria Currie’s new rental property, and see how her leasing deal has allowed her to keep the style factor high while downsizing.
With her two sons ready to go to boarding school in the UK, Victoria Currie’s plans to move from her four-bedroom house to a two-bedroom apartment have become reality. She viewed just two places, and negotiated hard on the first, this Ridley Park ground floor condo. “The apartment was on for around $3,000; I said I’d give them $2,500 and we settled on $2,600. The renovation cost $15,875, which means the rent is under $3,000 a month over the four-year term.”
Victoria’s advice is to push hard; she even rewrote the tenancy agreement to state that if they were forced to leave early (due to the landlord’s decision), they’d be reimbursed $300 for each month of the contract not completed.
The renovation took three weeks in total, with new plumbing, electrics, decoration, floor tiles (including spray painting) and removal of trees. Here’s a glimpse at what she did:
All the electrics, including the fans, were replaced. The sofa is from IKEA; the lamp shades, also from IKEA, have been recovered with material from Fabric.com, which you can see throughout the home. The large mirrors are $29 each from IKEA, and the rugs are by Highgate Rug Company, from Tatty Marsh.
For ease, most pieces in the garden are plastic and water-resistant. Victoria had two trees removed, replacing them with these from Earl Grey Home in Tanglin Mall. The outdoor bar and stools are from Teak & Mahogany.
The kitchen was completely ripped out, including concrete plinths. Victoria paid $5,240 for a new IKEA kitchen, which included the work of dismantling and installing. The paint throughout the home is by Dulux; “They’ll mix any shade for painting over kitchen and bathroom tiles,” says Victoria.
The bathroom tiles were $250 in total from Hup Kiong; Victoria purchased the long wooden kitchen tiles from here too, for $400.
Victoria says she kept the master bedroom fairly basic, with plenty of mirrors, all from IKEA.
While the boys are at boarding school, Victoria will use their room as her office. She’s kept it versatile, with a bunk and sofa bed from IKEA
Victoria’s Recommendations
Contractor: Dev from Environtec Engineering (“They will arrange, plumbers, tiles, builders, electricians, decorators and are happy to do large or small jobs at a reasonable rate”) 8688 0102
Tiles: Hup Kiong 6382 2626
Before:
BY AMY BROOK-PARTRIDGE
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This article first appeared in the October 2017 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy or subscribe so you never miss an issue!