Reno Blog #04 - sofa set, dining table set and TV console

We both grew up in homes that had most of its furniture in the classical chinese/oriental style (living room sofa and dining table), so it was a no-brainer when we discussed the style of furniture for our own place at Duxton. Plus, I think we are more wowed by the idea of buying a set of furniture that, in my view, would last longer than those fashionable and cushy leather sofa settes. Fresh in my mind was my sister's sofa (newly bought in 2007 when she got married, with sunken spots where people tend to sit, and therefore discarded before CNY this year). I guess, economically speaking, I believe good quality wood furniture would depreciate less each year??? 


We had contacts at Gnee Hong, so we had popped over to look at some samples and discuss details. While there were many sets displayed at the showroom at East Coast Road, they were generally fashioned in the popular style, inlaid with Mother of Pearl and other designs to make it look extravagant (IMHO). We preferred a simple style, something easy to clean (to me, intricate carvings = ideal dust collection spots) since I was concerned with the wind factor at P@D. Also, I was concerned that our girl may get her fingers/limbs stuck in some of the smaller crevices. 

We had gotten a preliminary quotation in Dec when we first looked at Gnee Hong's stuff. This time, we finalised the specifications. The sofa and dining table sets were quite standard and easily settled. For the TV console, however, we needed to ascertain the dimensions were suitable for fitting in whatever we needed (players, speakers and audio system, storage for DVD boxes and box sets). 

We decided to use Chicken Wing Wood instead of the usual rosewood, as it was in a darker shade and required no additional colouring. For rosewood, additional colouring could be applied to create a darker red or bright red effect. Chicken wing wood, with its distinct coloured 'veining', required no colour 'touch-up'. Cost was however, higher, of course. 

Sofa set: 5 piece set. Simple carving. Arched back. No mother-of pearl inlay.  
1 x 3 seater
2 x 1 seater
1 x side table
1 x coffee table

Dining table set.
1 x 4 feet round table. 
6 x chairs (scholar's cap chair).
comes with glass top. 

TV console. 3 piece modular set. Height: 22 inches. Depth: 22 inches. 
comes with drawers (tailored to fit DVD boxes) and glass doors for sections encasing our DVD player. chose to have modular set rather than a single piece so that we could re-arrange them in future, if needed.