7 Unobvious Signs of Poor Quality Repair: Insights from Professionals

We asked experts what strikes them most when dealing with low-quality repairs. We also found out how to renovate an apartment so that you won't regret anything later.

Irina Vasileva — an expert and interior designer. She likes to combine elements of different styles in her projects and create individual solutions.

Uneven Walls and Ceilings

On light-painted walls, all imperfections and unevennesses in the rough preparation will be visible. Before starting the final painting, make sure that walls and ceiling are perfectly prepared.

To check walls after painting, look at them under different lighting conditions — for this, you can use special painter's lamps. If it is impossible to perfectly level the surface, choose a textured paint finish — 'velvet' or 'silk'. This way, you can hide minor flaws.

Design: Irina Vasileva

Improperly Cut Tiles

There should be no 'cuts' in visible zones when laying floor coverings. Often, builders want to save time and start tiling with whole tiles, leaving improperly cut pieces on the opposite wall.

Before laying the tiles, you must make a layout drawing and pre-place them on site. If needed — cut from both sides.

Design: Irina Vasileva

Iolanta Fedotova — an interior designer and member of the Union of Russian Designers, lives and works in Italy

Visible Joints in Floor Coverings

The joints should align strictly under the door panel. Otherwise, for example, you will be able to see the hallway floor covering from the bedroom. This can be avoided if you specify door opening directions on the plan in advance.

Improperly Placed Outlets and Switches

If you don't create a clear plan of furniture placement and door opening directions before renovation, outlets and switches may end up in the most inconvenient places.

Olga Pochueva — an expert and founder of GolHouse interior design studio

Incorrect Color Palette Selection

This happens when you don't do test patches beforehand and choose ready-made colors. Colorists recommend choosing the color while the walls are still gray. The reason is that any color looks vivid on a white background, whereas on gray, the intensity and tone of the sample won't stand out as much.

Design: Olga Pochueva

Improperly Joined Molding and Door Frames

This immediately catches the eye and looks unattractive. For a neat joint, the skirting board and door frame must have the same thickness. The optimal option is between 45 to 70 mm.

Curtains Lying on the Sill

Sometimes, the curtain rod is placed too close to the window, so curtains literally lie on the sill or radiator. Therefore, hang the curtain rod and curtains last — once everything is ready.

Design: Olga Pochueva

Design on Cover: Nadежda Tertyshnikova