What should be considered when starting renovations in the apartment? How not miss the important little things that add to significant budget savings and a great new interior? Valuable advice – from the best experts.
Thinking about the repair, we draw up a cost estimate, plan global and minor alterations, decide what materials to buy. But we do not always consider critical few things that can significantly save the costs scheduled for repairs and help achieve an excellent result in transforming the interior.
Everything good has already been invented by someone, collected, and tested in practice. And we have found such a storehouse of information that no designer or decorator can do without.
This guide to remodeling and remodeling spaces draws on in-depth experience, advising on renovating a home in every detail, right down to paint and finishes, color palettes, and accessories. Today we will share with you 11 helpful tips on what you need to consider when renovating your house or apartment.
1. Lion’s feet are out of place in small bathrooms
A classic bathtub with beautiful legs in the form of a lion’s paw is very stylish. But the practicality of such a model is questionable in a small bathroom, especially if you mainly take a shower and not soak in the foamy water.
It is much more expedient to use the space under the bathroom to store the necessary little things. So you can preserve a lot of space and hide from view objects that are not always appropriate in open space. By stowing away many accessories in thin wall-mounted cabinets, you can avoid the clutter that so often forms in this room.
2. When choosing to plumb, do not forget about the details
What lamps and at what price to buy? What does not need to spare money? In the bathroom, you need to place things that you use every day convenience. And for this, you will need beautiful hangers, a toilet paper holder, comfortable and light shelves that will not take up much space, switches, and other important little things. A beautiful switch, a heated towel rail, and a convenient shelf can cheer you up.
3. Choice of tiles, flooring, and materials
What to choose as the room’s decoration so that you do not have to spend a lot of time maintaining cleanliness and shine? Dark-colored wooden floors are beautiful but seem to attract dust and animal hair – every speck is visible against a dark background. The White grout on white bathroom tiles will quickly require active efforts to restore its original color.
Open shelves for dishes in the kitchen are a great choice if organized and can keep a fantastic order; otherwise, deep storage drawers are better. If you want your countertops to look new, do not choose marble as the material – it requires careful maintenance. Don’t use matte paint on those surfaces if you’re concerned about fingerprints on white or light-colored walls.
Our opinion:
– When decorating any room, try not to clutter it up with necessary but ubiquitous things. Place bottles and bottles in the bathroom in cabinets or baskets; in the kitchen, hide household appliances in cabinets if possible. No amount of repair or alteration will get rid of the feeling of clutter if you do not change your approach to the ergonomics of space.
4. Don’t be afraid to “mix” metals
Great idea to use brass in the kitchen! Are you afraid it will conflict with chrome and glossy surfaces and stainless steel parts? In vain.
Brass or copper in furniture fittings, lamps, or accessories will look great in the kitchen. But avoid shiny lacquered bright copper fixtures. They can look cheap and will clash with stainless finishes.
5. Create a lighting plan for your home
Suppose you bought a house or apartment with a poorly lit room, whether a bedroom or a basement, you need to find a great way out of the situation. Lighting a room without windows is a considerable challenge. We recommend providing as many light sources as possible. A dimmer that needs to be installed in this room will help adjust the brightness.
This will solve the problem of lighting a table or nightstand with a reading lamp (depending on whether you plan to use the space as a bedroom or office), or you can only turn on a wall sconce or a light in the corner of the room.
6. Black and navy aren’t always practical
The now fashionable blue color is not always appropriate in small rooms, such as the bathroom. Black is also not the perfect color for this room. Imagine that in the morning, barely waking up, you go into a dark bathroom and cannot quickly wake up and cheer up. Applying makeup in such conditions, even with a large mirror and bright lights, is not easy.
In the evening, tired after a working day, you are unlikely to want to stay in such a gloomy interior for a long time, although it can be called stylish.
7. Look for an alternative to expensive household appliances
Are you sure you want to equip your kitchen with the latest technology? Of course, you need many appliances, but do not trust advertising tricks and do not rush to buy an expensive stove, hob, and washing machine.
Look at several different resources on the Internet, look for analogs of what you liked so much, but at a lower price. The choice is enormous. Are you ready to overpay only for the trademark?
8. Make your furniture and cabinets less boring
It is unnecessary to buy new cabinets for the kitchen if you are bored with the look of the old ones but in excellent condition. Change some detail to them, and if you do it yourself, your furniture will become even more expensive for you.
For example, you can cut strips from an old piece of leather, paint it in the desired color if necessary, and then fix them with bolts and nuts on drawers. It is easier to do this, and the appearance of the cabinets will be more fun and pleasant.
9. Choose the right white paint
If you are a lover of Scandinavian style, you will need white paint to update the interior. But remember that this color has a lot of shade, and if you choose the wrong one, you will only ruin the decor of the room.
When choosing white paint, it is essential to consider many factors: finishing materials, the quantity of natural and unnatural lighting, the direction that windows face, the color of furniture and accessories, and much more.
The same color can be warm or cold, bright or dull. Candles or lamps will help warm the Scandinavian interior’s too-hard atmosphere. Still, it is more helpful to consult with the designer in advance, who will help you avoid making a mistake in choosing and not complicate decorating the room later.
Our opinion:
– When choosing paint, be sure to take the opportunity to paint. And pay attention to how they will look in your interior at different times of the day and in other lighting conditions. It is better to test the options you like several times than repaint all surfaces later due to an unsuccessfully chosen color.
10. Perfect kitchen floor
There are many options for finishing floors in the kitchen. But besides tiles, linoleum, and wood, there is a fantastic material called Marmoleum. It is made from natural renewable materials, including linseed oil, resins, cork. This is an excellent choice for the kitchen – an open and environmentally friendly floor with a wide selection of colors and textures.
Marmoleum is non-toxic, does not cause allergies, and has bactericidal properties. A Marmoleum floor is 15-30% cheaper than a laminate floor. Marmoleum does not require additional insulation and thermal insulation: the material itself has insulating properties. It does not fade, does not swell when wet and does not warp, withstands a huge local load, even spilled paint does not stick to it. Marmoleum is non-flammable and decorative – it can be painted in various colors, textured to look like wood, stone, and so on.
11. Before buying any product, you need to know “by sight.”
And the last tip: when choosing tiles, paint, wallpaper, and furniture over the Internet, be very careful. It is better to touch the finishing materials with your hands and look at them than to be content with a description and a photograph.
It is better to make at least a couple of trips to the showroom or store to look at the surfaces, check the countertops, floors, etc. The more such inspections you make, the better the result will be. Without seeing the product, it is impossible to conclude its quality and relevance in your interior.
