How to Do a Renovation Without Going Bankrupt: Important Tips from a Designer

Agree, renovation is a serious test. But if you approach its organization thoughtfully, it can turn into an exciting adventure. Through clouds of dust, the agony of choice, and emotional ups and downs, you inevitably come to your cozy and beloved interior. We offer practical tips from designer Laura Galinurova on how to do a renovation in an apartment economically and of high quality.

Galinurova Laura - Interior Design Studio LauraDesign

Plan the Space

First of all, conduct an overview of the functional zones of the living space. For this, sit down with everyone living in the apartment around a meeting table and start planning who will live where and how. It is advisable to keep a 2D drawing with room dimensions in front of your eyes so that at least roughly sketch what you would like to see in the apartment.

Excellent and convenient solution is to draw the routes of residents moving through the apartment. Routes help identify the most concentrated, and therefore often problematic areas.Design: Bohemian Ardzinba
Maximize the Layout

You can save time and budget by keeping the original wall layout from the developer and designing the space within the initial data. Make the most of the layout provided by the developer. Carefully consider apartment options at the time of purchase, 'trying on' the layout according to your needs. Voilà — you haven't even started the renovation yet, and you've already saved!

Design: Ivan Chernychev
Choose the Construction Team Carefully

At this stage, you can already save time and energy by choosing a responsible construction team of professionals. Extremely low prices and extremely short repair deadlines claimed by contractors should raise alarm bells (and even fear). How many stories there are about masters who offered record-low rates but ended up acting unethically during the implementation of works and exceeded the stated timeframes. Therefore, you end up redoing their work and spending again.

Be more cautious in this respect and analyze at least three different construction teams on the market, those that already have some 'prehistory'.Design: Polina Guleva
Trust the Design to Professionals

A designer has a huge number of tasks regarding your interior: planning ergonomics, life scenarios, comprehensive convenience, and more. Many try to save money on the cost of design services and choose, for example, a minimal package without construction documentation. This, on the contrary, can lead to increased implementation times and expenditure of your emotions.

By choosing comprehensive design service packages, you provide yourself with a certain degree of peace of mind.Design: Alice Strukova
Choose Affordable Finish Materials

For flooring, it's better to go with a standard combination — ceramic granite on wet and dirty zones and laminate/quartz vinyl on living areas. Quartz vinyl can also be used on the kitchen to avoid breaking up the space.

Design: Natalia Vasilyeva
Walls are better painted. First, they need to be leveled, and then choose some interesting, complex shades.

Don't be afraid of color. It's not necessary to choose neutral beige or gray tones to get a beautiful interior. You can be rebellious, and this rebellion will be a treat for the eyes.Design: Anastasia Kholoptseva
Want to save money? Choose a suspended ceiling. This is the leader in rational express ceiling styling. It's relatively inexpensive and can be installed quickly. The price difference between a suspended ceiling and a gypsum board ceiling is significant, which is a good way to save time and budget. If you want to make the look of suspended ceilings more 'luxurious', add a shadow profile.

Design: Anastasia Gromova
Leave Radiators from the Developer

Often replacing radiators brings pain to the heart of an apartment owner and holes in the budget. But not always replacing radiators is a necessity. You can leave the radiators from the developer, repaint them, cover them with screens or, for example, hide them behind curtains.

Designer: Elena Okonishnikova
Plan the Lighting

Tracks or spots? The price difference between them is noticeable. Vote for spot lighting! It's modern, rational, and beautiful! Complement the interior with chandeliers, wall sconces, and pendant lights.

Design: Anastasia Kutyueva
Choose Furniture

This is one of the most voluminous items in creating a cozy atmosphere. Of course, you can save money by buying standard solutions and local additions through furniture workshops. But let's consider the option when it's better to order all built-in furniture without tricks from a specific material that will help you not go bankrupt finally. For example, you can save on facades by choosing LDP instead of MDF. It's better to choose a monochromatic material rather than imitation and prefer more complex and interesting shades.

Support local manufacturers and buy some furniture from them. Now there are many talented people who make quality products at affordable prices.Design: Anna Mizyura
Photo on the Cover: Svetlana Mironova.