Wallpaper and Lighting: Where You Can Save During Renovation

Making a cheap and good renovation is every homeowner's dream. However, this is a very difficult task: it is important to understand where you can save money and where it is absolutely not advisable. Otherwise, you will spend more time, effort, and most importantly — money to fix the mistakes. With Sergei Cherkasov, we explore how to wisely save funds and not compromise on quality.

Spotlights

A significant portion of the budget is spent on spotlights, and here you can save. You can buy all components separately: lamp holders, the spotlight itself (recessed into a gypsum ceiling or suspended), and light bulbs. For example, IKEA has good white light bulbs at a reasonable price. Another hack: many companies give away light fixtures and install them free of charge when ordering suspended ceilings.

Victoria Malysheva's Design (Imperfect) Angles

Before renovation, it is important to calculate materials for wall leveling. According to Sergei, in an old building, perfect angles are not necessary — they do not affect anything. The exception is apartments where built-in furniture is planned. If you don’t intend to install it, save money: here you can also save on works.

Suspended Ceilings

For small rooms, it is better to choose suspended ceilings. There are many advantages: suspended ceilings do not require special care, they do not leak water, they are easy to install, and if the apartment is small in size, you will spend less money. And don’t forget about free gift light fixtures!

Flooring

Sergei does not recommend using laminate as flooring. Many people lay laminate under parquet, but for the same cost, you can buy parquet itself. Over time, it can be restored and this will be cheaper than replacing the laminate.

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Wallpaper for Painting

When planning a budget, you need to decide on the finishing wall treatment right away. The most expensive option is painting walls. However, all flat owners have the opportunity to take a shortcut: buy wallpaper for painting and paint it. You save on wall preparation and spackling work, but still get a quality result.

Dividing the Renovation into Two Parts

If you have a limited budget, divide the renovation into two parts — pre-finishing and finishing. Include all complex, dirty, and expensive works in the first part. Prepare the apartment for finishing: let the painting, floor covering installation, or even tile laying remain for later. You can do this later, but in such an apartment, you can already live if needed.

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Combination of Tiles and Painting in the Bathroom

Short on funds but want to do a quality bathroom finish? Then combine tiles with wall painting. You can choose expensive tiles (there won’t be much of them, so the budget won't increase) or basic European ones. The key is that tiles should not have decoration: such a style will be timeless, and if you get tired of wall color, they can easily be repainted.

More Tips in Our Video (17 Minutes)