We recently went to Shanghai Tong Lee Hardware Pte Ltd at Textile Centre to buy our cabinet door and drawer handles. This is our review of the old-school hardware shop in Singapore.
What is Shanghai Tong Lee Hardware?
Shanghai Tong Lee Hardware Pte Ltd is a hardware shop that sells Furniture Fittings, Architectural Hardwares, Tools and Abrasives. These include power tools, handles, sliding tracks, hinges, lighting, digital locks, and many, many more. It was established way back in 1936, and is currently located on the first floor of Textile Centre (along the main road).
Entering the shop, my first impression was that it was pretty small despite the shop’s wide facade. This was probably because most of the shop’s space is used for storage. However, I could see plenty of products displayed in a relatively messy manner. Therefore, it is definitely a traditional hardware shop that does not have the bells and whistles of modern shops. Which was good because it probably meant that we could buy items at bargain prices here.
A Wide Selection of Cabinet and Door Handles!
It was easy to get distracted by the wide range of home products here, but our goal was to find suitable handles for our toilet cabinets doors and drawers. And lucky for us, there was about a dozen sliding panels embedded with a myriad of pretty handles.
The choices of handles were simply abundant! From modern to vintage, minimalistic to bling, Romanesque to Oriental, small to big, there were just so many options that we felt a little overwhelmed initially. After spending some time going through all the panels, we finally managed to narrow our choices down to a few knobs.
Common Toilet Cabinet Handles
For our common toilet, the color theme is light grey, and the cabinet is dark-coloured. Therefore, we decided to get silver knobs for our pull-open doors. We saw one on display which we liked but were informed by the staff that it was out of stock. Feeling a little disappointed, we spent some time trying to find another suitable handle. Luckily, we spotted another silver knob. After checking with the staff, we were happy to know that there was still stock. As for the drawers, we saw another elongated silver knob with an embedded crystal which looked quite classy. We decided to get this and luckily there was stock too.
Master Bedroom Toilet Cabinet Handles
Our master bedroom toilet has a dark-colored luxurious theme. Therefore, we decided to get gold handles for our dark-colored cabinets. For the pull-open doors, we got a pair of classy gold knobs. As for the drawers, we got an elongated gold knob with an embedded crystal as well. The gold color gave the knobs a very stately feel.
Great Service!
The Shanghai Tong Lee staff assisting us was quite friendly. She was also very prompt with helping us check the stock availability of the handles.
Conclusion
If you are looking to buy cabinet, wardrobe or door handles, Shanghai Tong Lee Hardware Pte Ltd is definitely the place to go. It would be good if the shop could improve on its products’ presentation; most of the items in the store are displayed in a kind of organized mess. This made our selection slightly more difficult. However, it is one of the very few places in Singapore that sells cabinet and door handles. And from what we read on renovation forums, it offers the best prices, selections and service. In addition, Shanghai Tong Lee sells lots of other home tools and supplies so if you are looking to embark on any DIY home projects, this shop is definitely a good resource.
Shanghai Tong Lee Hardware Pte Ltd
Address: 200 Jalan Sultan #01-01 Textile Centre, Singapore 199018
Website: http://shanghaitonglee.com.sg
Phone Number: +65 6298 7211
Opening Hours: | Mon to Fri: 9am to 5pm | Sat: 9am to 4pm |
Directions: The shop is an eight-minute walk from Lavendar MRT Station.