11 budget renovation ideas we borrowed from our heroine

Seven years ago, designer Alla did the renovation of a run-down apartment herself. She took the Scandinavian style as a basis, which remains relevant to this day. One of the main tasks was not to overextend the budget — so Alla came up with many great solutions that we will share with you. Get inspired and replicate!

Budget renovation in a panel house by yourself

Decorate an accent wall from laminate on the kitchen

The renovation was done long ago, but this trick can still be applied today: you diversify the kitchen design and also choose practicality. For example, Alla decorates the wall during family gatherings or holidays — the decoration can be changed depending on the season, creating a unique atmosphere in the interior.

And most importantly — the wall won't mind tape, all decorations can be easily removed or changed, and it cleans up easily.

Use a chaise longue instead of a sofa

Initially, Alla planned to combine the kitchen and living room to create a spacious room. But the wall was load-bearing. The sofa simply wouldn't fit in the dining area, and a soft and comfortable seat was desired. Our heroine came up with a brilliant solution — she installed a compact chaise longue.

She chose a cheerful yellow color model — it lightens the calm palette of the kitchen. Additional accents are provided by a decorative pillow with a black-and-white geometric print.

Decorate an unusual floor mural

Another winning idea from Alla’s kitchen — a floor mural. For the finish, they chose light ceramic granite measuring 30x30 cm. In the center of the kitchen (this area is the dining zone), the designer planned a special mural — tiles with a pattern, which became a room decoration.

But the mural also has practical use: thanks to such finishing, dirt on the floor becomes almost unnoticeable.

Make shelves from chairs

The sofa in the living room easily turns into a comfortable bed: a nightstand was needed nearby. The apartment owner made it herself. She attached a wood cut to a regular stool — this resulted in a unique and stylish piece of interior furniture.

She implemented a similar idea with a small table on which flowers are placed. The designer made it from a piano stool found at the cottage — it is adjustable in height and rotates. Again, they attached a wood cut — and a beautiful stand was ready.

Organize ventilation by yourself

When our heroine bought an apartment in a panel house, a huge problem arose — complete lack of ventilation. Due to this, windows were sweating and mold appeared on the walls. The apartment was saved by an air purifier — a device that brings fresh air from outside, cleans it and returns it.

Air purifiers are placed in the living room and kitchen: thanks to these devices, the apartment has its own ventilation system.

Creative way to hide holes in walls

Previously, a TV was mounted on a wall bracket in the room: when they realized that this area would be used for a children's room, they removed the equipment. But the holes in the wall remained. Nobody wanted to repaint the whole wall, so Alla came up with an interesting approach.

She made a little house from wood, hung lights on it — it serves as a night light. Inside the house, she glued circular stickers — they cover the hole spots and add accents.

Make a mobile shelf in the child's room

Alla's daughter’s shelf is used for storing toys. But the furniture was modernized to make it much more convenient for her daughter to use. The white shelf was painted gray, a natural wood countertop was added on top, and wheels with a lock option were attached to the bottom.

The idea was that the daughter could move the shelf on her own and use it as a full-fledged play space when guests come over.

Highlight the dirty zone with a cabinet

Our heroine has a spacious hallway, but another drawback of panel houses appeared here — there is no such thing as a dirty zone in apartments. It's very important to highlight it. Alla decided to do this with a cabinet.

To do this, the designer painted the end of the cabinet in tone with the main walls, and additionally highlighted the dirty zone with a mat. The plan worked: guests undress right on this island, not spreading dirt throughout the apartment.

Make a bench from pallets

Storage in the hallway is one of the most important aspects. There should be a place where you can put your bag or other items. For keys and phones, Alla hung a shelf, and for bags, she built the bench herself. The main material was wooden pallets.

The pallets were chosen to fit the hallway and a small drawer — in it, cleaning supplies for shoes are stored.

Turn tiles upside down in the bathroom

Alla’s bathroom looks very fresh. This was achieved thanks to a great life hack: the walls are partially finished with simple tiles from a Russian manufacturer measuring 20x20 cm. But to make the design not look boring, the tiles were rotated by 45 degrees.

They also added a second color and decorated a pattern reminiscent of a chevron — now the tiles look very interesting.

Dry towels much faster

We already mentioned that Alla’s apartment had poor ventilation. The problem affects the bathroom — towels didn’t dry at all. What saved the day was a towel rack and another life hack from our heroine. Towel hooks were placed right above the towel rack.

As a result, long towels slightly cover the towel rack but they dry completely and don’t smell.