9 Circles of Renovation: What You Need to Go Through to Live Beautifully

Do you hold the long-awaited keys to a new apartment or have you finally decided to update your old interior? We tell you what to mentally prepare for to come out a winner in the quest called 'renovation'.

Looking for a Designer

Review portfolios, choose the best ones, write letters of collaboration, find time for the first meeting - this is not a one-day task. But don't give up on professional help right away: a good design project will save you not only time but also money.

Design: Natalia Shirokorad

Getting Familiar with Regulations and Laws

If you've decided to make the project yourself, get ready to spend a considerable amount of time online, on renovation websites and forums (by the way, did you know there's a forum on INMYROOM?). That's how you'll find out which walls can't be demolished, how to coordinate a redesign, and how to draw up an electrical plan.

Choosing a Construction Team

After you've chosen a designer and started creating your dream apartment project, it's time to find a team that will bring your vision to life. Skilled builders - half the success of your renovation.

Design: Home Emotions

Relocation

For those who start a major renovation in an apartment where they've lived for years, it won't be easy. You'll need to find temporary housing first: a rental apartment, a dacha, welcoming relatives, or your own alternative. Secondly, decide on the fate of your existing furniture and personal belongings and move them out of the apartment. For everything you plan to use in your new interior, storage boxes will do.

Design: Dasha Ukhlinova

Supervising the Renovation Process

Even if you've ordered author's supervision from your designer, you still need to personally visit the apartment. Check progress and work pace, cheer up the construction team, try tiles, and choose wall colors - be ready for trips to the construction site on weekends or after work.

Evening Shopping Trips

As the city sleeps, it's not the mafia that wakes up but office workers who are renovating at home. Be ready for the fact that you may urgently need to buy missing wallpaper, paint, laminate, and won't have time to wait for delivery from an online store.

Design: Daria Lukina

Complaints from Neighbors

No matter how understanding your neighbors are, at some point they may get tired of the constant noise behind the wall. That means phone calls to you personally or to the housing officer - one of the possible developments. To avoid problems, we suggest learning in advance what rules apply to noisy renovation work in your region and reminding the builders of these rules.

Unexpected Expenses

Yes, it happens (and often), that you end up having to increase your renovation budget. Unexpected expenses can be very diverse: for example, material prices may change between the start of project creation and purchasing finishes, something might be taken off production and you have to find a more expensive alternative, or miscalculated material consumption.

Design: Anna Elin

Extending Renovation Timeline

Complaints about delayed renovations due to various reasons are heard much more often than happy stories about meeting deadlines. Sometimes it's workers, sometimes weather (yes, during prolonged rains, for example, mixes will take longer to dry), and sometimes long material or furniture delivery times.

Design: Marina Sarkisyan