Good renovation on a budget: how to save money choosing finishes

«Furniture, curtains, decorative items, in short, everything that is not glued or nailed can be easily replaced. But to update the finishing or redo the kitchen and bathrooms, you need a lot of effort and time — explains Elena. – I recommend setting aside a good amount for renovation and gradually buy everything that will fill the interior. And in the beginning, you can even sleep on a mattress. 

However, a great renovation – is not necessarily very expensive—, – adds the architect, and shows examples of implemented interiors from «Made» to demonstrate how to choose affordable and high-quality finishes, and where it's better not to cut corners.

Elena VasilevaEXPERTHead architect of the «Made» service

How not to overpay for rough materials? Look at domestic brands! You can save money on adhesives, primers, waterproofing and other rough materials without compromising quality by preferring Russian analogs to European manufacturers. Pay attention to shelf life and the presence of necessary certificates of conformity.

I don't recommend buying rough materials at markets. You can get defective or fake products anywhere, but in case of problems, replacing low-quality goods is easier in a specialized store.

Ceiling: exploring all «for»

Many people still have a stereotype from the nineties, as if a suspended ceiling is something exclusively glossy or of a poisonous shade. Today you can choose a white matte ceiling, almost indistinguishable from the familiar painted or whitewashed one.

Suspended ceiling is a more technologically advanced solution than painting. It's also cheaper than a gypsum board ceiling. It won't crack during the settling of a new house, will hold water if neighbors flood you from above, and finally, it's always perfectly flat. Depending on the apartment size, a suspended ceiling can be installed in a day at most two.

Choosing the right floor covering

Every day we touch the floor, and it's very important that it feels pleasant to the touch, is wear-resistant and practical in maintenance. All this is quite possible with quality laminate.

This material is well protected from moisture and scratches, doesn't need to be cleaned immediately upon contamination, and if a crack or dent appears on the floor, damaged boards can be replaced, unlike with more expensive parquet or engineered flooring, which will cost less. We use matte Belgian QuickStep laminate – it's indistinguishable in texture from natural wood and very durable. We even put it in the office where dozens of people test it every day.

However, it's also not worth buying the first available model of laminated flooring. Pay attention to the tactile quality of the material: it's important that it's comfortable to walk on barefoot. I recommend choosing matte options that most closely mimic the look and texture of wooden surfaces.

Using wallpaper under paint

Wallpaper under paint usually has a distinct texture, and if you have a brick, monolithic or very old house, this option will save you thousands of rubles that would otherwise go towards wall leveling works.

If the house is panel-type, walls will be more or less flat. It's sufficient to lightly skim them and use paint – it's more practical than wallpaper. There are many expensive, well-recommended brands like Little Greene or Tikkurila, but we use Dulux (Netherlands) – a reasonably priced and no less quality paint.

Tile size matters

The tile size affects the cost of installation work. Laying large-format tiles requires skill and experience, while small-format tiles like 10x10 cm or mosaic is delicate work. The more complex it is, the higher the price per square meter. 30x30 cm tiles are relatively easy to lay, so if you need a budget-friendly option, prefer this format over all others.

However, it's better not to skimp on good workers. If the work is of poor quality, there's a risk of having to redo it entirely, including removing all tiles and buying new ones.

A good highly skilled specialist is always narrowly focused. To work with a private client, he must charge high fees to protect himself in case he doesn't get another job tomorrow. The «Made» service pays such workers less and guarantees that as soon as he finishes the job on a project, he will immediately move to another one. This allows us to reduce the price for quality tile installation.

Use only high-quality grout

A bathroom is a room with increased humidity where water can reach almost every surface. Therefore, you should approach the choice of grout as seriously as possible. First, it must be anti-fungal and second, water-repellent.

Saving on grout can result in joint cracking or uneven whitening of the joints. The «Made» service chose Cearesit Aquastatic grout – an ideal price-quality ratio in our opinion.

Combining materials

A good way to make a bathroom cheaper while maintaining stylish design is to combine expensive and cheaper materials. For example, you can choose more expensive tiles (like marble or with an interesting pattern) and lay them as a panel on the wall you see most often. Fill the rest of the space with inexpensive monochromatic tiles.

Another excellent and affordable idea is to combine tiles with paint. Lay white tiles up to the door height (usually 2.10 m), «paint» the joints with colored grout, and for the remaining wall surface use moisture-resistant paint in the color of the grout. If you lay tiles with a staggered pattern and border them with edging, you'll get a more classical solution.

All photos: «Made» design.