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 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 on her Instagram account marisabel_v.

Too little space from the fence

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

Incorrect foundation height

Originally, the foundation height in the project was lower, but during construction it was raised due to ground level differences on the plot. Now the foundation is gray and unfinished — and it's very obvious that it’s too high.

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

Incorrect porch size

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

No warm floor

On the first floor, we laid laminate because we were limited in time and budget. Installing a warm floor would have taken another month and 300 thousand rubles — a warm water floor requires a strip foundation. Walking barefoot on laminate in winter is cold, so we had to buy carpets.

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 install a mansard window.