Choosing an ID is as important as choosing your home

815

Japandi
HDB (BTO)
~700 sqft
2 br
Couple Living

(Picture credits: Stacked Homes) よ！ We're back with Season 6, glad to be back. Today we'll be talking about IDs. Do you need one? And if so, why spending the time selecting the right ID is as important the time you spent deciding to purchase your home. Hitotema.home is a Modern Japanese (not japandi) cozy 3 room BTO, designed to bring traditional elements of Japanese houses into the modern era.
(Picture credits: Stacked Homes) Truth is, we originally wanted to go without an ID. We had already come up with plans on how to design our space. There were some challenges along the way, but eventually we had quite a solid plan of what we intended to do. Nevertheless, there were ID fairs coming up, and we decided to just check them out.
However, most IDs didn't fit the bill. Going to the ID fair with an already rather concrete plan in mind, we were rather shocked at how most IDs were just about putting together cookie-cutter style reno ideas together quickly rather than understanding what we were looking for. For the month or so of planning we had done, a bulk of these IDs were more interested in seeing what our personally-designed plans were rather than coming up with their own. That made us question - what's the point of the ID then? (As a side note, ID or not, in retrospect, it was a fantastic idea to have come up with a plan on homebyme first before visiting these IDs)
It was then that we realised, choosing the right ID was a very important process. By the way, our ID was Hock Hoon. I think they deserve every letter of this shoutout, and here's why.
(Picture credits: Stacked Homes) 1. A good ID finds out what you're after first, and your lifestyles, before getting to a design plan. From the get-go, we had an appointment set up with Hock Hoon. We revealed to them we had a design already done up. Coming from a place where every ID we spoke to was fishing for an answer already, it seemed normal to share that with them first. The designers at Hock Hoon outright refused to look at it. Instead, we spend the good part of 2 hours talking about ourselves, our lives and our habits. From what we do, when we sleep, what we hope for, and even well, how we keep our toothbrush. Design is merely a function of life, it's meant to make your life easier while looking pretty. If an ID can't understand what living in a home means to you, it's pointless to be cheap or pretty merely for the sake of it. This photo is pretty apt. We wanted a living room without a TV to keep social spaces analogue and social. Yet, we didn't want to sacrifice having the luxuries of the modern digital age. A concealed projector and 100" drop-down screen turns the living room into a movie room, yet, it remains hidden when not in use. A clever plan indeed.
2. A good ID is not just creative, but professional, transparent and accountable too. We've heard the horror stories of VO budgets spiraling out of hand. One of the things that made us favour Hock Hoon (apart from their design work, innit fantastic) was the fact that they were confident. First, confident of their skill. Skill in carpentry works, which was exactly what we needed. Second, confident in terms of budgeting and planning. We enjoyed the fact that what we agreed upon was delivered upon in the most plain sense. More importantly though, we really respect the fact that from their initial render and design proposal stage, up to the final handover, whatever was shown to us was exactly what we had in real life. Even the crazy, complicated stuff too. We've had friends whom, through a nightmare of an experience had an ID who initially proposed many things, but had to amend the budget throughout due to the fact that either a design wasn't feasible, or, a cabinet door was too heavy for the hinges in real life vis a vis the design plan. Confidence, and the skill to back it up, that matters guys. These two factors enables the ID to be accountable and transparent about sticking within budget.
3. A good ID solves your problems, not creates them for you. Yes, saving money and not going with an ID saves money at the cost of your time. However, if you go with an ID, a good one should make life a breeze. Of course, communication is a two-way street, and if that communication breaks down, you'll find trouble along the way. Be firm and don't waiver your choices so your ID can manage everything smoothly. Our ID was a breeze to work with. With a solid plan, and ample time, everything was managed extremely well. On the flipside, we've definitely heard advice like "bug your ID, check on the works and make sure everything is going to plan" but honestly, a good ID should be managing everything for you.
Stay tuned for the next post! Meanwhile, if you haven't already, follow us on instagram @hitotema.home, and check out our other posts on Hipvan!