How to Do Affordable Renovation: Tips from Professionals

Tamara Kiseleva decorated a small 22 square meter apartment for rental. The space needed to be youthful, modern and attractive to future tenants. Additionally, it had to allow for quick interior updates. The entire renovation with rough and finish work and furniture cost 1.3 million rubles. The designer shared the techniques that helped her save on the budget.

Tamara Kiseleva - Expert - Interior Designer, Graduate of MArH-I

Simple Layout Solution

The main rule: fewer partitions = fewer doors, less area to paint, fewer rolls of wallpaper, and lower costs. Most importantly, more open space. Where possible, combine the kitchen with the living room, dining room or hallway.

Pro tip: zone such spaces using color, texture, furniture, lighting, and textiles.

Furniture layout plan

Affordable Wall Finishing

It's commonly believed that wallpapering is cheaper than painting, as it doesn't require good surface leveling. However, this isn't always true. During use, you'll inevitably need to update some parts of the wall (for example, your child may unexpectedly show artistic talent and draw on the walls). If you have wallpaper, you'll have to strip it off the whole room, prime, and apply new wallpaper.

Choose washable paint in standard colors, and you won't face issues with frequent wallpaper reapplication. Simply wash a dirty area or repaint one wall without removing any wallpaper. Alternatively, you can paint just the one 'damaged' wall in a contrasting color.

Pro tip: choose paint with good coverage to ensure the color looks great even when applied in just two coats. Use wallpaper as an accent wall.

Budget Flooring

It's better to use one material throughout the apartment (excluding bathroom and toilet). The larger volume of a single type of material you buy, the easier it is to get a discount and favorable delivery conditions.

Pro tip: in budget renovations, you can use 33rd class laminate in hallways and kitchens. Seal the joints during installation with special adhesive-sealant for laminate. In small apartments, you can use ceramic granite mimicking wood as flooring throughout the apartment. To make it more comfortable, add underfloor heating in kitchen and bedroom areas. A nice effect is achieved by laying ceramic granite in a 'tree' pattern, making it look very similar to parquet. Advantages over expensive parquet: lower price, longer service life, easy maintenance.

Only Two Lighting Scenarios

The more lighting scenarios, the more expensive the renovation becomes: more wiring and switches are needed. In budget solutions, it's better to plan just two lighting scenarios: 'working primary lighting' and 'relaxation/romantic dinner time'. For working lighting, you can use recessed spotlights or surface-mounted fixtures evenly distributed throughout the room with strong 'working' light. These are easily found in home improvement stores.

As a second lighting scenario, you can plan one attractive designer pendant light, floor lamp or a pair of wall sconces bought during a sale. Hang the pendant over the kitchen island, place the floor lamp next to the sofa or armchair, and mount sconces on the wall near the bed. These items create the right mood and comfort.

Saving on Tiles

To avoid tiles becoming a penny-pinching issue, use no more than two or at most three types of tiles. First, manufacturers offer discounts on large material purchases. Second, you save on delivery.

Pro tip: in the bathroom and toilet, you can use the same tiles for the floor and an accent wall near the bathtub or toilet. To add variety, make different patterns when laying tiles on the floor and walls. Other walls can simply be painted with washable paint. Leftover tiles can be used for the kitchen backsplash.

Correct Material Calculation

Always check the material consumption estimates provided by builders. If you don’t have a design project with a finishing materials list, calculate the wall areas and baseboard perimeters yourself. Simply measure the room perimeter and multiply by wall height. Then subtract the window and door areas to get the total wall painting area. All paints indicate material consumption in liters per square meter. You can easily calculate how many paint cans or wallpaper rolls you need.

Pro tip: purchase cleaning materials yourself, not leaving it to builders or together with the designer. This way you ensure quality and quantity of purchases, and can negotiate discounts.

Standard Size Furniture

Start planning the purchase of kitchen and cabinet furniture even at the renovation stage. This helps avoid overpaying for non-standard furniture sizes. Remember, ready-made furniture is always cheaper than custom-made. Create a list of the largest and most necessary items to buy. Make sure to check the dimensions of selected furniture on-site with a measuring tape.

Pro tip: many websites have online furniture planners, where you can plan the layout of furniture based on your room dimensions. Designer lighting fixtures can be replaced with replicas.