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 no 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

Too little space from the fence

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

Incorrect foundation height

Originally, the foundation height in the project was lower, but during construction, it was decided to raise it due to ground level differences on the plot. Now the foundation is gray and unfinished, which clearly shows that it turned out 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). Also, I will add steps on three sides of the porch and terrace.

Porch size

Our porch is only 1300×1300 mm in size. Now I realize 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 cost an additional month and 300 thousand rubles—this 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 dormer window.