do branded items offer a wider range of aesthetic selection, their items have gone through more vigorous quality control checks, which would translate into a longer shelf-life. Also, what should you select when it comes to the mechanical and electrical items of the home? From experience, I find that different products work well at different stages of their product development. Do your own research and ask around about what works well and what doesn’t. But having said that, don’t expect everything to work without a hitch, as more often than not, you may encounter a situation where the product fails soon after you purchase it. Always remember that in every product line, there will be a small percentage of defects, and sometimes it is luck of the draw if you receive such defects. It is thus important to research the market to select a brand that has the least number of defect cases. Similarly with lights, should you go for the more
expensive, longer-lasting LED’s, or stick to conventional PLCE and halogens. While there is a substantial cost implication, which may create an impact on your assigned budget, it is important to understand how you will be using your lighting. People tend to think of lighting in the terms of luminance, but it is better to think of lighting in terms of moods.
While LEDs do offer large benefits in cost savings in terms of shelf-life and energy consumption, the light emitted tends to be ‘hard’. For example, the shadows it creates are harder lines and when used to illuminate decorative items, the brilliance of the product is not the same as when using a halogen fixture. Terefore, I find a balance of lighting is essential, but maintaining the PLCE lighting to create a soft ambiance while replacing localized lighting such as wall-washers, tracks and spotlights with LEDs makes sense, as the cost benefits outweigh the benefits of halogen lights.
yourself what is more important to you. Would the time saved be spent on much better things or do we have ample time that we don’t mind taking time to work on the house? Remember, the balance is a give and take, and should be a decision we maintain all the way to completion. Te worse scenario is to undertake a project with the intention of spending time and running around, only to falter during the midway point. Which by that time the project goes into a situation whereby no one wants to pick it up, and then it stalls, resulting in the project being placed in limbo. In Project Management, there are only two factors that affect costs, and these are resources and time. Te more quickly we make decisions, the more quickly works can be executed and the faster you can get your home. When there is indecisiveness, time delays can affect the budget adversely, as whether work is being done or not, salaries are still being paid.
Likewise, a lack of resources affects how quickly works
are executed. Te amount of resources being pumped into a project is determined by the owner’s expectation on time and costs. So consideration of this criterion has major implications to how the project is run. On many occasions, a project is started off on the wrong foot with wrong time- cost assumptions, resulting in delayed or stalled projects; and the main cause is usually misinterpreted expectations. So be realistic when assigning
05 How Do You Maximize
Functionality? During every phase of the renovation, you will
have to go back to the drawing board, whether it is to review the design or to review the costs. What happens next is to dig deep into our bag of techniques on how to achieve our design goals without compromising too much on the aesthetics. So in a renovation project, look at the key items that
04 Which is More Important –
Time or Cost? Te next criterion to keep in mind is the balance
between time and cost. In a perfect world, we would like to have everything done quickly, on time and at a low costs; but in reality, to speed up works would require more resources and hence more costs. So before you begin a project, ask
74 FENGSHUIWORLD | JUNE 2014
would have major cost implications, such as cabinetry works, lighting and soft furnishings. Tese are items that can be changed with little effect on the overall look, but can change how much you have to pay dramatically, depending on what materials are selected. For example, when we design cabinets, there are two elements to it. Te first is the internal portion (or the functionality element of the cabinet) and the second is the external (or aesthetic finish). Internally, we should not compromise on the mechanism and fixtures, as the cabinets are meant to stand up to daily usage and load impact. Similarly the external finish can be value-engineered based on the cost criteria between PU paints, AC paints and laminate finish, to achieve the budget requirements. Te key is to prepare a design where no matter what material is used, it stands out. Te focus is thus not on the material but on the overall visual concept. Other items such as soft furnishings can also have a huge impact on the renovation budget, so keep in mind what is essential and what are frills. Focus on essential items first. If for rental, consider if
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