5 Apartments with Budget Renovation That Look Like Covers

Studio in Retro Style from Former Communal Apartment

The apartment owner is an aspiring interior designer, Dasha, who transformed a former communal flat in a Stalin-era building and created an incredibly vibrant interior. "I call the style Stalin fusion — it's a bright mix of everything at once. I tried to combine different colors and furniture from various eras," shares the apartment owner. Among interesting details are an antique mirror with carved legs in the hallway from St. Petersburg, a vintage wooden buffet from Dagestan, and lace from the 60s on the kitchen.

A major re-planning was done in the apartment, the toilet and bathroom were swapped, radiators replaced, and even the ceiling was reinforced. Despite this, Dasha managed to stay within budget — two million rubles. Savings were made on furniture. For example, the headboard of the bed was made from an old entrance door, and a shelf for the bathroom was welded by workers on order.

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Apartment in the Style of the Soviet Era

The owner of this studio is a photography teacher, Alexei Sokolov, who from the start wanted to emphasize the rich history of the apartment. Therefore, he immediately refused re-planning and preserved existing windows, doors, parquet, and cornices. The main interior was designed by Alexei himself, but he received help with the kitchen design from his mother.

There is no single unnecessary item in the apartment — every detail was carefully planned by Alexei. The main treasure of the apartment, aside from the beautiful forged balcony with wooden railings, is vintage furniture and decor items from the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary that were collected over years at flea markets.

When Alexei bought the apartment, he immediately thought about insuring it. "Previously I never dealt with this issue, but now I decided to protect all the most important things. For home protection, I chose a policy from SberInsurance. The policy protects against flooding, fire, emergencies, and other risks.

When you purchase insurance, you yourself determine the insurance amount based on what you worry about most: your new renovation, furniture, or appliances. It's especially convenient that no property inspection is required for application. The policy is easy to purchase in the SberBank Online app," says the apartment owner.

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Apartment in Mustard and Turquoise Tones with IKEA Furniture

Finding the right layout for a wedding photographer, Natalia, and her husband was difficult, so they decided to buy a 'killed' apartment without load-bearing walls to do everything their way. In the end, the couple changed everything — windows, floor, radiators. And most importantly — they merged the living room and kitchen as the apartment owner dreamed.

The couple tried to do everything themselves as much as possible. For example, the renovation was done by the family head together with workers, while Natalia came up with the design inspired by Scandinavian interiors — hence white walls and furniture. With this approach, they managed to stay within just 1 million rubles.

When the couple chose the apartment, they had to contact a realtor because it was hard for them to understand by themselves, and they wanted everything to be correctly documented. It turned out that the service DomKlik from Sber helps with such complex issues.

It initially collects a database of listings from verified owners and agencies. "And DomKlik also checks the apartment and gives its own assessment — whether it's safe to buy and if there are any risks. So you definitely won't fall for fraudsters," says the apartment owner.

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Studio with Arches and Blue Corridor

The owner of this apartment, Anna, created her dream apartment from an empty concrete box with two load-bearing columns in the center. She planned the layout, interior, and brought it all to life. Now the apartment has a spacious bathroom, a roomy wardrobe, bedroom, children's room, and kitchen. But Anna's biggest achievement is the stunning floors and an extravagant blue hallway.

But there were no mistakes. "Originally, we used a different paint in the hallway," Anna recalls, "a paint of an unknown brand that friends gave me. It was terrible! The paint didn't apply well, looked sloppy, and it was impossible to clean the surface." Anna decided to repaint the entire hallway, and this time everything worked out.

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Stylish European Style with Furniture Based on Design Sketches by the Owner

The owners of this apartment, Anna and her husband, transformed a typical panel house into a European-style home. The living space was decorated in mid-century style, and many interior items were created based on sketches designed by the apartment owner herself. "I came up with the table myself and asked craftsmen to make it according to my sketch," Anna tells.

The most interesting part of the apartment is the kitchen. The furniture arrangement is not typical for a standard panel house. The area with the sink and dishwasher was separated from the general workspace. This solution allowed placing the dining table opposite the balcony, rather than in a passage.

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