7 Tips from a Designer to Save on Renovation

Designer Tatyana Kiseleva shares life hacks that helped her save budget during the renovation of a small 22 sq. m apartment. The space needed to be decorated in a modern style for rental with the possibility of quick interior updates. The entire renovation, including rough and finish finishing and furniture, cost 1.3 million rubles.

1. Simple Layout Solution

The main rule when creating a layout solution is to reduce the number of partitions and walls. This approach results in fewer doors, less surface area for painting, and thus requires fewer rolls of wallpaper and other finishing materials. In such an apartment, there is more free space. Tatyana recommends combining the kitchen area with the living room, dining room, or hallway.

Life hack: zone such spaces using color, texture, furniture, lighting, and textiles.

2. Affordable Wall Finishing

It is commonly believed that wallpapering is cheaper than painting walls during renovation. This is because it does not require surface leveling. However, Tatyana considers this option more expensive in the long run. Because sooner or later, some wall sections will need to be updated due to stains or mechanical damage. You'll have to strip the wallpaper from the entire room, prime it, and apply new wallpaper.

Choose washable wall paint in common colors from the manufacturer's palette without additional tinting. When stained, it’s enough to wash the area or repaint one wall at most, without having to recalculate colors or reapply wallpaper. As an alternative, a damaged wall can be made into an accent and painted in a contrasting color.

Life hack: choose paint with good coverage so that the color looks solid when painted in just two coats. Wallpaper, on the other hand, can be used as a decorative accent wall.

3. Affordable Flooring

Tatyana recommends buying one material for flooring throughout the apartment, except for the bathroom and toilet. The larger volume of a single type you purchase, the easier it is to get a better price and favorable delivery terms.

Life hack: in budget renovations, you can use 33rd-grade laminate in hallways and kitchens. It's essential to seal joints during installation with special adhesive-sealant for laminate. For small apartments, you can use ceramic granite mimicking wood as a floor covering throughout the apartment.

To make things more comfortable, add underfloor heating in areas like the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. If ceramic granite is laid in a chevron pattern, it will look very similar to parquet. Moreover, it offers several advantages: low cost, long lifespan, and easy maintenance.

4. Only Two Lighting Scenarios

It's important to note that renovation costs increase with more lighting scenarios. This happens because of the additional work involved in electrical wiring, as well as more cables, outlets, and switches. In budget renovations, Tatyana recommends sticking to two lighting scenarios: 'working primary lighting' and 'relaxation/romantic dinner time.' For working purposes, it’s sufficient to install recessed spotlights and surface-mounted lights with bright illumination. These are easily found in home improvement stores.

As the second lighting scenario, choose one beautiful designer pendant light, floor lamp, or wall sconce bought on sale. The pendant will enhance the area around a kitchen island or dining table, the floor lamp complements the living room with a sofa or armchair, and the wall sconce adds light to the bedside table, creating a cozy ambiance.

Life hack: expensive designer lights can always be replaced with replicas.

5. Saving on Tiles

When choosing ceramic tiles for the bathroom, use no more than three types of material. Manufacturers already offer ready-made collections for walls and floors, and buying a larger quantity in one place will help you save on delivery costs.

Life hack: in the bathroom and toilet, you can use the same tile for both floor and accent wall near the bathtub or toilet. Floor tiles are usually more wear-resistant, which is an added bonus during use. To add variety, lay the tiles in different patterns on these surfaces. For savings, the remaining walls can be simply painted with washable paint or covered with cheaper tiles, which can later be used for the kitchen backsplash.

6. Correct Calculation of Required Materials

Always check the construction crew’s material cost estimates and calculate everything yourself. For example, all paint formulas specify consumption in liters per square meter. Therefore, you just need to measure the perimeter of the room, multiply it by wall height, and subtract the area of windows and doors. This way you’ll know how much wall area needs to be painted, and easily calculate the required number of paint cans. You can also easily determine how many rolls of wallpaper you’ll need.

Life hack: always buy cleaning supplies yourself or with your designer. Don’t trust this choice to the construction team. You will be sure about quality and quantity of purchased materials, and can negotiate discounts.

7. Standard Furniture

During renovation, plan the purchase of kitchen cabinets in advance. This helps account for all details and avoid overpaying for non-standard furniture sizes. Remember, ready-made furniture is always cheaper than custom-made.

Pay attention to showroom samples; sometimes they can be sold at good discounts. Make a list of the largest and most essential items. Always measure furniture with a tape before buying.

Life hack: many websites have online furniture planners where you can plan the arrangement of furniture based on the dimensions of your space.