1. What should you think about when planning your home renovation budget?
At first, a homeowner should assess the amount of work involved and their own potential contribution to the renovation. Which jobs can you do yourself and which require the help of specialists? Although the prices of services vary from wall to wall, you can still budget for the average market price.
Secondly, it’s worth familiarising yourself with the prices of building and finishing materials. If you really want to use a material that ultimately doesn’t want to fit into the budget, it’s always possible to use it on a smaller surface and combine it with a cheaper option.
Experience shows that a significant expense is often overlooked when a budget is prepared, namely window coverings. While decorative textile curtains can often be sewn at home, more technical and functional solutions should be left to the professionals.
When budgeting for a renovation, you should also take unexpected costs into account. In practice, it very rarely happens that a renovation can be completed for the amount initially planned and more money is usually spent.
2. Which rooms usually require the biggest investment and why?
It’s widely believed that the bathroom and/or shower room are the most expensive room to renovate in a home. This is true to a certain extent. Whilst the prices of finishing materials vary greatly, you have to set aside a rather large amount for even the most basic sanitary equipment. Also, wet rooms often require more specialised work, such as damp-proofing, ventilation, tiling, plumbing or underfloor heating, which require specialist knowledge and skills. This means that the cost of the work will inevitably be added to the cost of the materials.
The kitchen can also be quite expensive, as custom-made furniture is often needed in addition to the appliances. There are cheaper alternatives available when it comes to kitchen furniture, but standard mass-produced products may not fit in every room. Moreover, it may end up wasting space and not last long.
Unfortunately, the costs of renovating the other rooms may sometimes be just as high as for a bathroom or kitchen. For example, even medium-priced flooring can break the budget in larger living rooms, not to mention special solutions such as articulated ceilings or layout solutions with different levels.
3. Why could people use the services of an interior designer when designing their homes?
Mainly because everything is done right from the start, which will help you avoid the costs necessary in hindsight. Planning and designing any building, including a home, is a full-time job. Almost everyone can choose nice colours, beautiful materials and furnishings. Often, people also manage to design their homes into visual wholes. The most important part, where an interior architect or designer could be involved, is definitely the overall layout and logistics of the space. To ensure that the proportions of the rooms are balanced and perfectly suited to the user’s needs and lifestyle. That there is enough storage and custom-made furniture.
Using the help of an interior designer to create a plan for electrical sockets and light switches is at least as important. Without specialised education, it’s often difficult to see several steps ahead in a construction project or when changing the main layout. Often, changing an electrical plan cheaply or without major breakage is next impossible.
4. Which materials should you choose when renovating your home to keep it looking fresh and modern for a long time?
First of all, I would like to emphasise that fresh and modern don’t always go together. The longevity of a fresh look depends largely on the quality of the materials used (but also the workmanship) and the aftercare. For example, a cheap melamine kitchen worktop is relatively sturdy, but mechanical damage and moisture will cause irreversible damage. But when a solid wood work surface loses its freshness over time, the scratched, heat- and moisture-damaged surface can be sanded and refinished (with oil and wax). The surface can then remain fresh for decades. Stone or ceramic surfaces can retain their freshness for a very long time without any maintenance.
On the other hand, a choice made a decade or two ago can seem totally out of date, despite looking fresh. If one type of stone or tile was fashionable in the 1990s, it’s a different story today. You should try and make ‘smart’ choices for the longer term. Surfaces that are more difficult to freshen up should be of good quality and have a classic or neutral look. Smaller details that can be changed with little effort, such as light switches, mixer taps, light fittings, wallpapers and textiles, could follow a more modern line.
5. What are some simple tips for freshening up your home when money is tight?
When options are limited, the principle of contrast can be followed – a rustic and unfinished surface alongside a new and sleek one. This works particularly well in older buildings, where there is a reason to display honest and period-specific materials. For example, in a flat of a panel building where the ceilings are in good condition and only a fresh coat of paint is needed, the walls can be stripped of wallpaper and left as they are. In an old house, where the paint has peeled off the ceilings, the loose paint can be cleaned off and the emphasis placed on the walls. New or updated skirting boards are almost obligatory with both solutions. They establish a neat boundary between surfaces of different finishes and give a finished look. Contrast can also be applied to the choice of finishes: smaller surfaces with more expensive materials, larger surfaces with cheaper materials.
People often rush to remove old floor layers, but you shouldn’t always do this. This is a time-consuming job and adding new insulating and soundproof layers is expensive. You can replace the top layer of an old floor with a new one or simply add a new finish to the old one. For example, the cheapest and most practical option is to repaint old wooden floorboards (light grey or white will look best). A carpet in neutral colours can be applied on painted ‘Finnish cardboard’. And again, the effect of new skirting boards should not be forgotten.
