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Right. So you&rsquo;ve got a new home and it needs some sprucing up. You&rsquo;ve got ideas turned into plans and everyone&rsquo;s ready to go. So, short of discovering you&rsquo;re heir to a mountain of gold, how are you going to pay for it all? Here are some ideas, starting from the least interest-laden to the most.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1655452268011-1655452268011.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> SavingsIf you&rsquo;re young, single and reading this, SAVE NOW! Forget the Guccis, Rolexes, and Ferraris. Cash is the single most accessible form of funding you have. Free of any interest, fees, or charges, you are beholden to no one when using cash. For the older, more responsible ones, you&rsquo;ll call these savings a.k.a. emergency funds. Short of a zombie apocalypse, this is what will bail you out of most financial trouble. Use only what you absolutely need and don&rsquo;t dry it all up. Because, y&rsquo;know, a renovation is technically not an emergency.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1655452268033-1655452268033.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> Taking a LoanSo you&rsquo;re plum out of cash and you can&rsquo;t sucker your family and friends to help you out. Loans are the next best thing, short of robbing a bank (no, just no). Here are your choices, in order or preference.<h1> </h1><h1>1. Home Renovation Loan</h1>This should be your first stop where loans are concerned. Interest rates come in at an affordable 5.3% to 6.2% annually with loan tenures ranging from 1 to 5 years. Banks are happy to hand out these loans even to folks with mediocre credit scores. Why? Because they keep track of everything you&rsquo;re spending it on. EVERYTHING.The downers are that renovation loans are capped at $30,000 or six months of your income, whichever is higher. Despite the fact that it&rsquo;s your loan, the money goes directly to your contractor AND it can&rsquo;t be used for accessories like furniture and curtains &ndash; that money needs to come out of your own pocket. Basically, it&rsquo;s like being a kid again with parents holding the purse-strings.<h1> </h1><h1>2. Personal Loan</h1>Second stop: personal loans. Pretty much when the renovation loans aren&rsquo;t enough. And they usually aren&rsquo;t (see: renovation loan cap). Can&rsquo;t get furniture and other accessories with that. However, with personal loans, you have more freedom with your spending.&nbsp;The downside? Higher interest rates. How high? Up to 10% per annum. If you take personal loans, be sure to have plans to climb the corporate ladder real fast!&nbsp;<h1> </h1><h1>3. Credit Card Loan</h1>Technically not a loan but you are still spending money you don&rsquo;t have with credit cards. That said, it&rsquo;s incredibly accessible money.&nbsp;There is a HUGE difference though. Pay your debt quickly before the next billing cycle or that 26% per annum interest will kick your debt up higher than the Burj Khalifa. It&rsquo;s risky so only use it for stuff you can pay off quickly.<h1> </h1><h1>4. Store Loan</h1>Provided by the store itself, these are pretty easy to get approvals for just so you can pick up that darling sofa you saw.&nbsp;That caveat? Easy approvals come with a price. Massive interest rates, some reaching up to 36%, put credit cards to shame and put you into the poorhouse if you&rsquo;re not careful.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1655452268058-1655452268058.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> Spend SmartCash is king so the saying goes. And there is truth to it. It&rsquo;s the least likely to become a debt you can&rsquo;t afford. However, if you don&#39;t have enough on hand and bribing friends and family to help doesn&rsquo;t work out, loans are your best bet. Just be mindful that loans have interest so aim to get one with the lowest ones first before progressing to other loan options. And no, robbing a bank ISN&rsquo;T an option.

Right. So you’ve got a new home and it needs some sprucing up. You’ve got ideas turned into plans and everyone’s ready to go. So, short of discovering you’re heir to a mountain of gold, how are you going to pay for it all? Here are some ideas, starting from the least interest-laden to the most.

6 Ways to Pay for Your Renovation

When Astley Ng, our chief executive officer, and a group of seven staff and six volunteers made a trip in April 2022 to low-income homes in Singapore&rsquo;s Chinatown area to install grab bars for the elderly as well as low-income families, he said: &ldquo;As an interior designer who has been in the industry for nearly 30 years, he hopes to use his expertise to help people in need, and at the same time to benefit more families through his own capabilities during the epidemic.&rdquo; With funds raised from a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sibayshiok/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sibayshiok/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SibayShiok</a>&nbsp;live stream, the Lean on Me team worked closely with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov.sg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><a href="https://www.pa.gov.sg/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">People&rsquo;s Association</a>, for the one-day exercise. &ldquo;At all times, we ensured that the dignity of, and respect to, the residents were upheld. We were there to give a helping hand, not pity,&rdquo; said Astley. <img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1651804527482-1651804527482.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo: SIXiDES and the volunteers has over 150 grab bars installed till date&nbsp;Underlying the Lean on Me event and SIXiDES&rsquo; approach towards corporate social responsibility is empathy. Astley acknowledges that it is uncommon for designers to take on what they did for the Lean on Me project. But he stresses that &ldquo;empathy is an important attribute in a good designer.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;This initiative aims to shine a light on the predicament of those in need and to urge all designers to not only play a part to help but also to learn that, good design is not a commodity that only the rich or affluent can afford, but a service and duty that we all can render to everyone, regardless of social standing.&rdquo;&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1651804527507-1651804527507.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo: Minister Josephine Teo(far right) with SIXiDES CEO, Astley Ng(far left) at the Lean On Me campaign&nbsp;Till date, the SIXiDES team and their partners have installed 157 handle bars, and, to that end, SIXiDES has plans to embark on more charitable drives, including a continuation of the Lean on Me cause.&nbsp;<img border="0" src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1651804527536-1651804527536.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;">Photo: People&rsquo;s Association, Wecare Pals, Sixides and volunteers at Jalan Kukoh&nbsp;&nbsp;Giving impetus to SIXiDES&rsquo; proclivity for further contribution to the community is Astley&rsquo;s personal experience: &ldquo;Seeing how some residents used raffia string to pull themselves out of bed, while others lacked toilet seat covers and mirrors, proved to be an eye-opening and humbling experience. We will continue making a difference with the generous donations and sponsorships received.&nbsp;<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YnbB-MyfLvk?autoplay=1&mute=1&wmode=opaque&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 100%; height: 40vw;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe>Video: Check out Sixides video on the #leanonme campaign!&nbsp;&ldquo;The journey to empathise and help has only just begun for us. Designers changing lives begins now.&rdquo;

When Astley Ng, our chief executive officer, and a group of seven staff and six volunteers made a trip in April 2022 to low-income homes in Singapore’s Chinatown area to install grab bars for the elderly as well as low-income families, he said: “As an interior designer who has been in the industry for nearly 30 years, he hopes to use his expertise to help people in need..

SIXiDES Shows a Passion For Social Causes

<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1642069608572-1642069608572.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> At first glance, you might write SIXiDES off as a typical aggregator of interior design firms, with its easy-on-the-eye low key interface. But look closer, and you will discover the trove of treasures it offers. SIXiDES is a user-friendly, gimmick-free platform spawned from CEO and industry veteran Astley Ng&#39;s pent-up frustration with the bad rep the interior design industry has earned itself, with rogue firms and vendors providing bad service, elastic deadlines, and defective designs.&nbsp; &nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1642069608599-1642069608598.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> Astley&rsquo;s brainchild was manifested with the aid of his founding team CTO Adrian Yeo, who comes with over two decades of IT experience and has catapulted several start-ups into fruition, architect-by-training Head of Creative Leon Yap, Head of Operations Kezs Tan, heir of interior giant Inprodec Associates, Marketing Executive Joe Cao, and Business Development Executive Jamie Kang. With their credentials and united take on the market, they have come together to deliver one clear message: Because We Know Spaces.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1642069608624-1642069608624.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> The brand has ambitious plans to become a mecca of reliability and credibility, offering consumers a hub where they can find a rolodex of interior design professionals, trusty vendors, and institutions that have gone through rigorous screening and will continue to be relentlessly pruned to sift out the good from the bad and the ugly.&nbsp; Their Spaces category, which holds their inventory of qualified industry players, outdoes directory listing sites like SGCarMart or PropertyGuru by taking their verification process a step further with the Verified icon, borne proudly by professionals, vendors, or institutions who have passed SIXiDES&rsquo; screening process, holding true to their mission of safeguarding homeowners by qualifying, verifying, listing professionals and vendors who meet industry standards. Consumers can easily filter searches by price, theme, awards-won, sustainability, or whether the ID or vendor has been verified.<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1642069608646-1642069608646.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> Dive deeper into SIXiDES&#39; Stories, and you will find a wealth of entertaining content categorized into themed bite-sized videos and articles delivered via educational anecdotes and light-hearted banter on the requisite trending platforms. You may also catch the occasional glimpse of a famous face or spot a celebrity guest too. With a foot in the door on creating highly palatable consumer-centric content, SIXiDES is set to become a formidable marketing force for qualified service providers, pushing trustworthy brands out into the market for consumers, creating a win-win-win situation for all. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1642069608665-1642069608665.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 100%;"> What&rsquo;s more, to ensure the continuous upskilling of all SIXiDES&rsquo; partners and to educate consumers, the firm has teamed up with the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) in pushing out a curated course approved by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), open to both public and trade. As a consumer-driven interior design platform, SIXiDES jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with an institute of higher learning to manifest it&rsquo;s a revolutionary platform that met industry standards. Marrying design to Artificial Intelligence, SIXiDES is making it possible for consumers to take a picture of a piece of furniture they like, upload it to SIXiDES, and browse through a generated list of various design possibilities.&nbsp; SiXiDES and SIT (the fifth autonomous university of Singapore) will establish a four-pillar course related to interior design - &ldquo;ID DESIGN COURSE FOR SINGAPORE RESIDENCES&rdquo; Sectioned into four categories, the course has twelve parts:1. Design for interior (3 parts)2. Construction and material studies (3 parts)3. Contracts and management (3 parts)4. Sustainable and healthy interiors (3 parts)&nbsp;Qualified entrants can use the SkillsFuture Grant to get subsidies for the lessons. SIXiDES is the first renovation platform in Singapore to kickstart such a collaboration with a local university and the first platform to offer interior design courses that run the gamut from design, contract and project administration, and even sustainability!&nbsp;Look out for more essential functions SIXiDES is coming up with for you! Watch our space at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><a href="https://www.sixides.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.sixides.com/</a> and we&rsquo;ll take care of yours

At first glance, you might write SIXiDES off as a typical aggregator of interior design firms, with its easy-on-the-eye low key interface...

SIXiDES – Because We Know Spaces (and You Better Believe It).

SIXiDES – Because We Know Spaces (and You Better Believe It)

 If you haven’t already redone your home, here are 6 most popular design choices you’ll want to consider...

Home Interior Trends of 2021

<h1>SIXiDES: Redefining Homeowners&#39; Experience With The Design and Build Industry</h1> Buying a house is one of life&rsquo;s biggest decisions. It&rsquo;s where we&rsquo;re (presumably) going to live the rest of our lives. It has to be perfect. So why is it also one of life&rsquo;s biggest pain the in assets just to get there?&nbsp; <h3>Turns out that what&rsquo;s just business as usual for the design and build industry is, to the average citizen, an aggregation of aesthetic nomenclature and modus operandi (i.e., a lot of complicated jargon and work). Homeowners, both present and future, need a way to understand and communicate what they want to those in the industry, from interior designers to vendors to suppliers, and vice versa. So how do we do that? For there to be a solution, we first must diagnose the problems.</h3> The Challenges for Homeowners and Industry<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638945424277-stressed-asian-woman-moving-things-into-new-home-several-large-brown-cardboard-boxes-were-placed-room-moving-house-concept+%281%29.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> HomeownersHomeowners&rsquo; challenges are myriad in an unfamiliar area where they are wholly dependent on subject matter experts to help filter out the fluff from the facts. However, there are so many interior designers in Singapore alone, we aren&rsquo;t just spoiled for choice: we&rsquo;re up to our eyeballs in it. It can be hard to tell apart the smooth-talkers from the real deal. From profit-driven, smooth-talking salesmen to passionate but impractical designers, if homeowners aren&rsquo;t careful, they could end up getting very little for their buck (i.e., overcharged for everything), substandard work (i.e. low quality materials), or nothing at all (i.e. getting cheated). Interior DesignersFor the interior designer (or ID), the competition is fierce. In an industry where the demand is high, so too are the number of people and firms that operate in it. Over 2,000 IDs firms populate Singapore alone. If that wasn&rsquo;t enough, to throw more salt into the wound, those don&rsquo;t even include those without formal design credentials. Since there&rsquo;s currently no government agency regulating the ID renovation trade, any Tom, Dick, Harry and their cat can be an ID. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638946636411-picture-stressful-businessman-work+%281%29.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> AcademyLet&rsquo;s be real: most of us never plan on going back to school. Once we get that cert, we move on to &ldquo;greater things&rdquo; and never look back. And that might be fine if the world just stood still for us right after we leave academia. But it doesn&rsquo;t. There will always be something new; new methodology, new developments, new technology. Active participation between academia and the industry ensures that advancements can, respectively, be field tested and spur growth in the profession at large. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638965931959-adult-woman-buyer-looking-book-with-upholstery-fabrics.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Suppliers and VendorsConsidering how much the services and goods of vendors, suppliers, and merchants directly impacts homeowners, it&rsquo;s curious how little their paths cross. It&rsquo;s like getting a personal shopper who won&rsquo;t let you choose or even see what they&rsquo;re getting at the supermarket. It&rsquo;s a real shame for homeowners &ndash; don&rsquo;t get the opportunity to better understand and make informed choices about what services and materials they get and use. Overcoming the Challenges<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638965989978-couple-handshaking-businesswoman-making-deal-cafe-close-up-view.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Fair Price for Fair ServicesDespite having different challenges, everyone wants one thing: a fair price without worry. SIXiDES&rsquo; goal is, and will always be, to provide a safe marketplace for homeowners where they can find the people, services, and products that fit the bill. Part of that promise involves ensuring that IDs, vendors, suppliers, merchants, and even academia, would receive their due support.&nbsp; <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638966033731-asia-family-dad-mom-sit-couch-enjoy-shopping-online-laptop-while-daughter-son-have-fun-shouting-run-around-sofa-living-room-home+%281%29.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> HomeownersThe challenge for homeowners is how to find the right ID for what they want. Where to begin? What criteria to use? Lacking in-depth knowledge about the industry, then it&rsquo;d be like finding a needle in a haystack in the middle of a storm&hellip; at night. To give homeowners a fighting chance, SIXiDES offers to keep them well-informed and equipped before they even engage begin their project. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638966073912-hands-young-female-architect-taking-photo-model-new-house-yard-while-her-mature-male-colleague-making-notes-sketch-paper+%281%29.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> eQuoteOne of SIXiDES offers is a proprietary artificial intelligence that we call eQuote. No more second-guessing yourself. You tell the AI what you&rsquo;re looking for and where the job is, and the system will give you an industry-standard quote on the spot along with five (robot) hand-picked IDs to choose from &mdash; IDs who have been verified for their competency and expertise.&nbsp; <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638966123124-quality-assurance-quality-control+%281%29.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Verified ID SchemeFor SIXiDES, Verified ID is our way of separating the wheat from the chaff. Their purpose? IDs and vendors are assigned badges based on their qualifications and specialties that help to inform you and help us to match them to your needs. For credibility, SIXiDES isn&rsquo;t doing this alone &ndash; these badges are awarded in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology. In so doing, we not only recognise hard work and talent, but also encourage industry practitioners to continually upskill themselves and, in turn, raise industry standards.&nbsp; <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638966166193-hands-holding-puzzle-business-problem-solving-concept+%281%29.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> IDs, Vendors, and SuppliersSIXiDES&nbsp;recognises that standardisation may not be a sexy word, but for IDs, vendors, and suppliers, it ensures a level playing field for everyone. No undercutting. No wheeling and dealing. Fair game for everyone. And increased trust with consumers as they experience consistency, safety, and quality that standardisation brings. With increased trust, more business for everyone all around. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638966196988-students-doing-homework-park+%281%29.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> AcademyIn order to build and support the industry, SIXiDES collaborates with academic institutions to develop and offer up subsidised programmes. Who doesn&rsquo;t like a bargain, right? These would be open to industry professionals to upskill themselves and outsiders who wish to qualify and join the field. The rewards of self-improvement and training for both individuals are twofold; gaining new skills and recognition through SIXiDES&rsquo; Verified ID badges.&nbsp; <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1638966257400-closeup-teenage-hand-throwing-paper-plane.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> SIXiDES and The FutureSIXiDES&nbsp;is all about creating an ecosystem for homeowners that is friendly and easy to use. It will be a place where they can make informed decisions. Even now, we&rsquo;re developing programmes that work towards that goal. While the majority of what we do is for homeowners, SIXiDES recognises that that goal needs to work in conjunction with supporting and encouraging the industry as a whole. At present, SIXiDES&rsquo; focus is mainly trained on design and renovation for homes but worry not &mdash; our plans include extending our services to commercial projects in the near future.

Conceived as a means to safeguard aspiring consumers in realizing their space with ease and peace of mind...

SIXiDES - Redefining The Industry

Sixides Insider