Personal Experience: 5 Mistakes in House Construction and Decoration

Recently we told how Marina Vagina built a house with her family and spent only 4 million rubles. But there were some mistakes, so we asked Marina to tell more about them.

Marina Vagina is an architecture and interior design expert, who shares tips on home decoration in her Instagram account marisabel_v

Not enough space from the fence

The fence separating the entrance from the house was only 6 meters away. Now I understand that I should have left at least 8–9 meters. The main entrance would have looked much better.

Incorrect foundation height

The project originally had a lower foundation height, but during construction it was raised due to ground level differences on the plot. The foundation is now gray and unfinished — and clearly too high.

To fix this issue, I plan to paint the foundation in a dark color (matching the roof and corners of the house). Also, I will add steps on three sides of the porch and terrace.

Small porch size

Our porch is only 1300×1300 mm. Now I understand that it should have been larger.

No heated floor

On the first floor, we laid laminate because of time and budget constraints. Installing a heated floor would have taken another month and 300 thousand rubles — a strip foundation is required for heated water floors. Walking barefoot on laminate in winter is cold, so I had to buy rugs.

No window in the bathroom

Make sure to install a window in the bathroom if possible. Since the bathroom is on the second floor, I plan to add a dormer window.