Personal Experience: 5 Mistakes in Home Construction and Decoration

Recently we told how Marina Vagina built a house with her family and spent only 4 million rubles. But there were no mistakes, so we asked Marina to tell about them in more detail.

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

Too little space from the fence

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

Incorrect foundation height

The project originally had a lower foundation height, but during construction it was raised due to the ground level difference on the plot. The foundation is now gray and unfinished, clearly showing that it’s too tall.

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

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

No heated floor

On the first floor, we laid laminate because we were limited in time and budget. Installing a heated floor would have taken another month and 300 thousand rubles — a strip foundation is required for heated water flooring. Walking barefoot on the laminate in winter is cold, so we 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 install a dormer window.