Dream kitchen or dream on???

Today is the last day of June 09. I'm fasting today (pose ganti, 1 down 4 to go).... I've been busy planning for my kitchen in June. Lucky to have a supportive husband... driving me to Puchong to survey kitchen appliances last Saturday. And went to Ikea the next day.... I managed to go to 3 shops: Paramax, Living Depot and Seloka Sukma. I read their adverts in the Star saying they are having promotions.... Whoever has done kitchen remodelling would know the complexity of the task. Too many brands thus too many choices that sometimes you don't know which one to choose! Then, i narrowed down to Fagor and Tuscani. The Japan mades are above my budget.

Initially, i wanted a curved hood with good extraction power >800 m3/hr.I saw a niceTuscani set (with oven and hob) at Living Depot but the price is way above my budget ( i really like it).... Fagor's curved set is only 800 m3/hr extraction power thus cheaper.

Forget about curved hood, so now i choose the common inverted T type. Paramax has Fagor CPT-90XT set at RM3,699 but Ikea has the cheapest (Ikea only has Fagor) from RM3,969 reduced to RM2,999! Same specs only different designs e.g stainless steel hob vs tempered glass and the look of the hood... My priority is the hood which must be more than 800m3/hr extraction power so both Paramax and Ikea are 1000 m3/hr extraction power, the only difference is the design. For hob and oven, basic functions will do.....but that was before i mind about the overall look.

If i want to make savings on my budget, i could have chosen buying from Ikea but the hood is not pleasing to my eyes. Usually the hood is 70mm thick but Ikea's is 30mm (the thickness of that black strip in the above pic). Looks ok in pictures but i remembered saying "Kenapa nampak mcm pelik?"..... OK, since i've made that remarks, looks like i prefer the set from Paramax. But if I buy from Ikea, i will get RM300 rebate. Comparing the figures:

Paramax - RM3,699 + RM200 installation = RM3,899 with my choice of stainless steel hob and free 8 feet aluminium hose and cap

Ikea - RM2,999 + RM380 installation +RM120 aluminium hose -RM300 rebate = RM3,199

So my savings is RM700... quite a lot isn't it.....

Like i said, that was before i mind about the overall look. Because hood will become a feature in the kitchen so am i willing to compromise look over savings? That's the dilemma i'm having today... I was supposed to place a deposit with Paramax today but i didn't....I hate it when i can't make a decision. Splurge or save? (Not really splurge because it still within budget :-)....

If i decide to buy from Paramax, it's due to the following:

*Thicker hood panel (Ikea's look cheap)

*I can choose stainless steel hob (glass hob is too common)

*Puchong is nearer, better for after sale service (don't know whether Ikea will entertain me since i'm quite far)

*Free 8 feet aluminium duct hose (Ikea just give 4 feet plastic hose)

*Lower installation price (Ikea charges RM80 to put hood on the wall, ducting may be around RM300)

If i decide to buy from Ikea, it is because:

*I managed to find appliances at a bargained price

*I get RM300 rebate and I can use it to buy Ikea PS workstation priced at RM229

You see.... I still can't decide!!!!.......

Redang was fun...and breathtaking!!!

Just came back from family trip. Went to Redang Island 5th-8th June 2009. It's in my nature to do a lot of survey before doing anything because i want everything to be near perfect, as planned. Thus i like to plan, doing plans, survey, compare etc and that takes time. You can't afford to be spontaneous for this trip as you would end up not maximising the limited time you have to do what you're supposed to and waste the money you paid for the trip. I volunteered to arrange for the trip like i did for Tioman Island. I did regret at first for volunteering because it was time consuming. However, when seeing those happy faces i took back my regret. This was not like a normal family gathering because they spent a lot for this trip, thus expect a lot from the trip. Alhamdulillah the trip went well although there were hick ups here and there. Terengganu is really worth a visit and better to spend at least 3 days. There so much to see and do, and eat in Terengganu.

Redang itself was breathtaking. All my pics turned out really well, like pictures you seen in mags taken with DSLR camera!.... and the water has different tone of blue from Tioman's.... I'm glad to experience both spectacular islands with my families.

And you really forget about work/problems when you are at these beautiful islands. And still feel the excitement whenever you look back at your pics......

Now, back to work and back to planning. My next plan is my dream kitchen!.... I'm really indecisive about the cabinets, appliances, budgets.....HELP!!!!!