Do-it-yourself budget apartment renovation: before and after photos. Cheap but stylish renovation of a small apartment Do-it-yourself budget renovation in a house

The usual everyday business: the apartment clearly needs repair, but there is not enough money. How to make an inexpensive apartment renovation with your own hands? It seems to be the simplest, obvious way: surface cosmetic repairs. That is, plywood wallpaper, whitewashing the ceiling, painting, fixing the creaky floor; Possibly window replacement.

However, if you calculate the labor costs and consumption of materials, it turns out that by increasing labor costs by half, and spending money by a quarter, you can give the apartment a completely different look, and for a long time. How much you need to invest specifically depends on the prices in the region, but the general methods by which you can make an apartment cozy and elegant inexpensively are the same.

Saving money when repairing an apartment with your own hands is, like the Earth in ancient legends, on three whales and a slowly hurrying turtle under them:

1. We are not afraid of work. Nothing comes from nothing. Either money or labor.
2. Wherever possible, we do not change the capital, but the old one that has lost its appearance, but renew it.
3. We attribute the maximum savings to where it will not affect the quality of work and will not be visible.
4. We spread the costs of labor and money over time: having conceived repairs in the summer or autumn, we spend a year on preparation, and then we pile on and quickly do everything. To lay out 200-300 thousand rubles at once is a problem, but it is quite possible to break them up in parts for a year. In addition, there will be time to measure seven times - cut once.

Where it's hard to save

The only area where you have to invite a specialist is to remake and strengthen the electrical wiring if it is old and weak. Here, the only way to save money is to negotiate with the DEZ electrician. He will do the work in pieces, in his spare time, but the likelihood of hack work will be even less than that of “branded” specialists: after all, he will then serve all this.

It is better not to save on electrics and wiring, however, some points, such as installing sockets, can be done independently.

Tool

A good specialized tool makes the job much easier and cheaper. But it's hard to buy. Therefore, it is better to rent a tool as needed. In terms of costs, it will come out a little if you decide in advance on the design and draw up an approximate work plan for yourself.

Season

Plumbing

A sore point with independent cheap repairs is the replacement of plumbing. If it is still “alive”, only filthy, then it can be cleaned and painted. How to do this will be described below. But if there are chips and cracks, then, if you like it or not, you need to change it.

For such a case, here is some information for you: new settlers, especially in houses above the budget category, often start a major overhaul immediately upon entering, and excellent, completely new faience and cast-iron plumbing equipment ends up in a landfill. Landfill operators (simply - landfill scavengers) have long turned this circumstance into a profitable business.

They do not make direct contact by office phone with strangers, but it is quite possible to get through to them using word of mouth methods. The rate is from a third to a half of the factory price for a household item. And do not think that they will take you to the dump and show you where it lies. In the back room you will be offered a choice of clean, carefully washed products, which you can sit down on at least immediately.

Construction garbage

The next sore point is the removal of construction waste. The operation is not cheap, and requires paperwork. Exit: basement, barn, cottage or closet and a few bags of used plastic sackcloth, bought for a penny. Construction debris does not sour and does not rot, it can then be poured into a container in a garbage dump in a bucket. There is nothing illegal in this.

Laths, boards, timber and plywood

For various ancillary work and sewing up large surfaces, you will need wooden slats and plywood. You can buy slats not planed, but slabs - waste from sawing industrial wood. The slab goes on sale raw, but if it is purchased in advance, in March-April, and kept in a dry room until autumn, it will not yield to edged lumber in terms of wood quality.

As for plywood, waste packaging plywood from dismantled used containers can be turned into waterproof in the following way:

• We buy a 10 l canister or two PVA putties; it looks like very liquid PVA glue and is cheap.
• We cover the floor in the country house, in the barn, in the attic or in some other non-residential premises with plastic film. The air temperature is not lower than +13 degrees.
• We lay a sheet of plywood on the floor, pour a puddle of putty on its center and disperse it with a brush.
• We cover the plywood with plastic, lay the next sheet, putty in the same way, etc.
• We put heavier oppression on the PVA-impregnated foot of plywood; better - dispersed over the area: bricks, pieces of metal, concrete, an old TV, etc.
• After a week, repeat the procedure, turning each sheet over.
• After another two weeks, even waterproof plywood is ready for use. Additional exposure under oppression will improve its quality.

Boards and large pieces of thick timber can also be obtained from used containers - pallets for cargo. Advertisements for their sale are not uncommon.

materials

A very economical repair option - and; for economical owners richer - MDF. When sheathing on a wooden crate made of slabs, in 80% of cases it is not necessary to level the walls and ceiling, which already eliminates the high costs of labor and money.

You can save even more by sheathing the walls to the waist or to the chest, and pasting up to the ceiling with non-woven wallpaper. The work is simplified and cheaper, and the bottom of the walls, which beats and gets dirty the most, will be reliably protected by resistant material.

The most economical option for flooring -. Floor preparation for it is not required in 90% of cases. But marmoleum is not suitable for the bathroom and toilet; here you have to fork out for a tile, especially since it will take a little.

If you want to have a floor in the rooms that looks like a plank, it will not be much more expensive, but you may have to level the floor.

The walls in the bathroom can be covered with laminated hardboard instead of tiles - it is hygroscopic and does not require surface preparation.

Balcony

If it is supposed to glaze and insulate the balcony, then it is better to do it separately from everything else and in advance: from the end of March to the beginning of May. Outside, but inside it can, instead, be sewn up with plywood, pasting it with a self-adhesive film.

Windows and doors

When deciding how to repair an apartment economically, you need to pay special attention to windows and doors: they account for a significant share of the costs. As for windows, here is the most economical option:. It is more expedient to buy them in March-April, when prices for industrial wood fall, and to put them in late spring - early summer, when the tree dries out properly and shrinks. The technology for installing wooden windows in openings is quite accessible to a mediocre home master.

Doors would be better to update. Remember the self-made waterproof plywood? So both fronts of the door are sheathed with it, on mounting glue, laying the door removed from the hinges on a plastic litter and under oppression. At the same time, you can cover the window in the interior door at the same time, if it is not needed.

This will make the door thicker. There are two options here:

1. Reinstalling hinges is not the best way for the "lazy".
2. Remove the old lining from the door; it is most often made of building cardboard or thin fiberboard, and put on a new frame, plywood. In this case, the broken corners immediately “leave”.

In both cases, the new door is pasted over with self-adhesive wood-like or with a different texture and varnished. And you will be surprised (pleasantly, of course) by her new look. And rigid plywood cheeks will provide doors durability. The slopes of the doorway are better from the same plywood: it will come out cheaper and more beautiful than re-plastering.

bathroom

Toilet bowl and washbasin

Dirty plumbing, if it is intact, needs to be cleaned. The rather expensive active detergents recommended for this can be replaced with much cheaper table vinegar - after all, it is also a weak acid - followed by washing the sagging stains with the most common washing powder. Just do not use detergents with abrasives - they will scratch the icing, and objects, especially the toilet, will get dirty very quickly.

For cleaning with vinegar, they make kvass - a knob of a rag on a stick. Vinegar is poured where it will not leak, or sour milk is dipped into it, and the streaks are cleaned with circular movements with pressure. Particularly "stubborn" spots in the recesses are removed with a small kvass and technical hydrochloric acid. All this, of course, is done in latex household gloves, a plastic apron and with open doors and windows. It is also advisable to wear a respirator, at least a cheap "petal".

Tiles on walls and floors

Tiles that are not chipped or cracked can be restored using a method well known to motorists; they thus update the worn plastic spoilers and bumpers:

• The entire lined surface is washed with pemolux; do not use active detergents on acid!. 1 liter is enough for a bathroom in Khrushchev; for a larger one, respectively, more.
• After pemolux, we wipe it with a rag, abundantly moistened with the same table vinegar: pemolux is alkaline, and the vinegar neutralizes its residues.
• We wipe several times with a wet rag "until a clean rag"; now we have got rid of the contaminants that have eaten into the surface.
• We paste over the edges of the tiles with masking tape (“paper tape”), except for the seams.
• We paint the seams from a spray gun with nitro paint in two layers; the second - after the complete drying of the first.
• We remove the tape, splashes and streaks of paint on the tiles are removed with a cotton swab moistened with solvent 646 or 647.
• We buy a can of liquid silicone grease at the car market or in a car shop, and properly spray the tiles with seams.
• If the grease is absorbed immediately, you will have to spray again.
• If after 2-3 days silicone is still “taken” on the tile, wipe the surface with a cloth moistened with vinegar.

The meaning of this treatment is that silicone tightens microcracks and pores in which dirt accumulates. Processing is enough for 3-5 years, and then it can be repeated.

Bath

The cast-iron capital bath can be restored,. Complaints about its fragility arise from a violation of the technology for preparing the coloring composition and its application. With strict observance of the technology, the restored bathtub serves for another 10-15 years.

Towel dryer

It is not at all necessary to change it to an expensive one made of stainless steel or brass and make a bypass (bypass) for it. The heated towel rail is cleaned to metal after cleaning the bath for painting with the same cord brush in the drill chuck. If no fistulas are found, it is painted with the remains of the compound from painting the bath. The look will turn out no worse than modern branded ones, and the durability is like that of a bath.

Video: economical bathroom renovation

fasteners

You can save up to 1000 rubles on fasteners during repairs by using not galvanized or cadmium (shiny), but phosphated (black). The heads of self-tapping screws and dowel-nails will still have to be sealed, and there is no rain and frost in the apartment.

Design

In order to make repairs cheaply, you must first of all know what and how to do, how the apartment should look after repair. Do not be too lazy to consult with the whole family several times, see more pictures of ready-made apartments. Design is not something incomprehensibly sublime; Most people are endowed with artistic taste. The professionalism of a designer in most cases comes down to understanding the taste of the client and guessing what he wants. And you, since you are doing for yourself, you need to understand what you want. Up to 50% of the cost of do-it-yourself repairs arise from the fact that they start at random and then correct and redo them along the way.

Sequence of work

And, finally, carrying out the work in the correct sequence makes its share in the savings on repairs: we start from afar from the front door, and in the course of work we gradually approach it. Living room, bedroom and can be renovated in any order. Then comes the turn of the kitchen. We make the entrance hall the penultimate one, and we complete the repair with a bathroom. Savings are obtained on the amount of construction waste (and half of it is the waste of materials for which you paid) and on the alteration of soiled and beaten with an unreasonable organization of work.

Based on the foregoing, you can make a comprehensive renovation of an apartment with an original design, spending a little more money than cosmetic repairs.

Video: reflections on the quality and cost of repairs

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Discussion:

Xenia said:

In the last year, the repair of a room in a communal apartment cost me a maximum of three and a half thousand. Of these, wallpaper and glue are about three thousand. A friend gave me putty for free three kg, patched up small irregularities, bought a spatula. I bought a can of paint and a brush. In general, with the world on a string, but the view has become completely different. Ask your friends for materials more often, many also have left after the repair, but it’s a pity to throw it away.

Olga said:

We were able to save a lot on wall decoration, but unfortunately, we did not immediately figure out how to do it, so one bedroom cost us as a corridor and an entrance hall or a hall with a kitchen.
The bedroom was wallpapered at a discount (themselves) - 4000 rubles, and the rest was plastered by the husband.
Putty (the most common) was diluted with an acrylic primer and color (on YouTube they found videos with decorative plaster).
He did it for the first time, but it turned out very worthy.

Alexei said:

When you do the repair yourself, this is savings in itself. The hired team will do everything to eventually overcharge and not the fact that the work will be done efficiently. You yourself will always do what you need and with savings. You can definitely save money on the tool, for example, ask a neighbor =). I have all the tools that are needed for repairs, so everyone I know saves on me by taking it for a while. The most important thing is to do everything without haste. It is necessary to start with small rooms or with a toilet, a bathroom and slowly do the calculation of the means and design of the repair.

Vladimir said:

I have never been particularly involved in repairs in apartments, because, due to my military profession, they were all temporary. So on trifles: glue the wallpaper, tint somewhere, tweak and nothing more. It all started with getting permanent housing in 1994. Then I had to work hard and learn a lot. I literally tortured the sellers in the stores and skilled neighbors with questions. Nevertheless, without hiring anyone, slowly but surely, I learned with my own hands how to properly glue wallpaper, lay and adjust linoleum, scrape parquet, move doors, sockets and switches, change plumbing, lay brick walls and plaster them, and much more. Design solutions began to come. For example, to the general indignation of my parents, I destroyed the pantry (“mother-in-law’s room”), resulting in an almost full-fledged 3rd room. Yes, it was a real school, which later came in handy for me many times! Therefore, it is not in vain that they say: "The eyes are afraid, the hands are doing." There is no need to talk about significant cost savings at all.

Old furniture, boring colors, inconvenient zoning, scattered things because there is no place to store them… All this can really interfere with life. At some point, it becomes completely unbearable, and a person makes a strong-willed decision: changes are needed. We will help you! Let us fill you with inspiration, collect a collection of ingenious solutions, impressive interior changes and photos of great apartment renovation ideas.

Photos of the kitchen before and after renovation

Before and after photos clearly show how good, constructive ideas and a couple of interesting tricks can transform any room. Colors, materials, new floors and functional furniture will change the apartment in a way that you won't recognize it. Narrow rooms will appear wider, gloomy ones will become pleasant, and in the same square there will be a place for all things. Magic? Not at all! Only skillful planning of the room and the right furniture.

Design project from All Design

Renovation of a white minimalist kitchen

Would you like a minimalistic finish of the apartment? Great idea! Stylish, functional, nothing more. White, characteristic of minimalism, is a great choice for small rooms in need of optical magnification.

Renovation of the kitchen in a modern style

Having opted for minimalism and white, look for furniture with simple shapes and clean lines. To avoid the feeling that you are in an operating room, place accents with wooden elements - parquet boards or laminate, wooden furniture. Living plants will perfectly fit into the atmosphere and add comfort.

Design project Kasia Orwat

Photo of a white kitchen before and after renovation

Light plays an important role in narrow spaces. White walls and reflective surfaces will not let a single ray of sunlight escape. Our advice: avoid placing dark colors vertically, place dark surfaces only in a horizontal direction.

Design project Dziurdzia Project

The idea of ​​​​renovating the attic floor in the Scandinavian style

The attic floor is often treated with disdain, not being used at all. But attic rooms have their own charm, their own individuality. From a technical point of view, it is necessary to carefully consider waterproofing and window openings, if any.

Design project Superpozycja Architekci

Large black and white modern style kitchen

Every housewife dreams of a large beautiful kitchen with everything you need. Thinking through the design of your new stylish kitchen, proceed from the architectural features of the room and consider the location of drainage and ventilation.

Design project Cliff Design

The idea of ​​​​modern renovation of a small narrow room - photos "before" and "after"

Often the layout of the rooms in our apartments leaves much to be desired. There is only one way out - fantasy and creativity. Light pastel colors gave the room a fresh and relaxed mood. Our advice for narrow spaces: avoid tall furniture like wall units and bookcases, they visually take up too much space.

Design project Pracowniapolka

Scandinavian style bedroom renovation idea

In Scandinavian style, light is at the forefront. In no case should dark furniture be allowed to take away at least a piece of the available lighting. The dominant color is white. A few accents of gray and green plants diversify the interior and make it cozy.

small bedroom renovation idea

Minimalism is the perfect solution for the interior of a small room. The same color of the walls and ceiling, painted in white parquet and gray textiles create a single image. Tip: replace the handles on the cabinets with a push mechanism to open the doors, as in the presented photo. Laconic facades almost merged with the wall, which makes the room seem larger.

Design project Archideck

The idea of ​​​​renovating a small nursery. Photo "before"

Most often in the nursery we need to find a place for a bed, and for a table, and for a closet ... And it often happens that, having placed the bed, we can no longer find a place for everything else. Our advice: do not buy ready-made furniture. Order the manufacture of furniture designed for a particular room.

Furniture made to order for a very small nursery. Photo "after"

In the manufacture of custom-made furniture, you will proceed from the individual characteristics of the room and the needs of the person living in it. You will have the opportunity to optimally use every centimeter of space. In the photo above you see a built-in wardrobe and shelves at the head of the bed, made according to an individual project.

Design project Czysta Form

Modern nursery with orange accents

At some point in life, all children come to the stage when a person has his own view of what his room should be like. The child has permanent and serious hobbies, interesting topics for him. And in adolescence, when the time for wallpaper with bears passes, the child wants to participate in equipping his own room. A good solution for furnishing a teenager's room is functional furniture with a simple but practical design and color accents placed with the help of individual furniture elements and textiles.

Design project Furniture Vox

Repair of a children's room for two children. Photo "before"

In the design of the nursery, it makes sense to abandon thematic wallpapers and furniture, which in a few years will cease to be interesting for the child. Our advice: bean bags and ottomans perfectly serve as multifunctional furniture that will definitely appeal to the little family members.

The idea of ​​​​renovating a children's room. Photo "after"

With the help of accents in the design of the nursery, you can beat the child's hobby. At the same time, it is necessary to consider how these accents can be changed in the event of a change in the interests of the owner of the room.

Design project Tutaj Concept

Toilet renovation idea: before and after photos

Previously, this toilet was a pitiful sight - small, narrow and dirty. The designers extended the room and managed to find a stylish combination of all sorts of techniques: a gray-blue color scheme, the floor is decorated with ornamental tiles, one wall is painted in a calm gray tone, the other two are covered with photo wallpapers that create a feeling of endless perspective.

Design project AleDesign

Small bathroom. Photo "before"

A narrow bathroom with an uncomfortable layout and a protruding water pipe is not the most attractive sight. Randomly scattered things do not add to her beauty. Our advice: combine two well-matched colors.

Bathroom renovation idea. Photo "after"

In this project, the designers combined white and wood, placing them on all surfaces. Gloss options were chosen for white tiles and furniture. Together with a mirror, reflecting light, they make the room brighter and visually enlarge it.

Design project bluecat studio

Small bathroom interior design ideas in pastel colors

A design project designed to renovate a small bathroom on a limited budget. The blue and white interior looks fresh and modern, and the bathroom is cozy and beautiful.

Design project Studio Monocco

Bathroom interior idea - indirect lighting and material combination

The idea of ​​indirect lighting is very popular and works wonders, especially in small spaces. Create luminous "ribbons" on long bathroom elements - on the bathtub itself, on the washbasin or on the cabinet. Glossy surfaces will enhance the aesthetics of the effect by reflecting soft light.

Design project Abo Studio

Bathroom renovation idea - small bathroom in a minimalist style

A win-win option is the interior of the bathroom in black and white. This design project is interesting with an extravagant black floor and an unusual brick wall texture for a bathroom.

Design project Dziurdzia Project

White bathroom interior idea

You have a very small bathroom, but you don't want to give up a bathtub. A small bathtub designed for sitting can be a way out. Our advice: choose narrow furniture and light colors.

Small bathroom interior with storage space

Even the smallest bathroom needs storage space. A stone stand for small items and compact built-in cabinets with glass facades will come in handy and present a narrow room from the best side.

Design project A1 Studio

Optimal use of space in a small bathroom

Of course, if you also need to put a washing machine in a small bathroom, the room will become even smaller. In this case, you need to find a very clever solution. Designers fit the washing machine into a row of built-in wardrobes, bringing the entire lower level under one worktop. A full-wall wall cabinet with mirrored facades was placed at the top. The entire interior is designed in gray and white, which could look rather boring if it were not for the bright green accents placed with the help of textiles and trifles.

Before renting an apartment, owners often neglect even cleaning, not to mention making repairs. This happens especially often when a person inherits an apartment, and he does not intend to spend time and money on bringing it into proper form. But with competent budget repairs, you can quickly improve the condition of housing, and therefore rent it out for a lot of money, recouping the costs.

And today's edition "So simple!" will tell you how to do it so that it is fast, economical, and most importantly, noticeable. After all, adequate tenants are unlikely to move into a dirty apartment, where the toilet bowl is leaking and the floor is cracked.

Budget apartment renovation

Even the most terrible apartment at first glance can be quickly put in order without huge expenses, although, of course, you will have to work. And here's what you should pay attention to.

1. Cleaning
   Trite, but novice landlords sometimes do not even bother to clean the apartment and throw away unnecessary things. Someone generally explains the presence of trash, they say, it can be useful to someone. Indeed, how do new tenants manage without pickle jars, a leaky bucket, a broken iron or a set of candles ...

   ©DepositPhotos

   Settling in a new place, a person tries to arrange the space for himself, and it will be embarrassing for him to throw away someone else's rubbish. Therefore, it is better to leave only serviceable appliances, utensils and furniture. A cluttered and untidy apartment is unlikely to be in demand.

   ©DepositPhotos

   Everyone understands for themselves that you need to scrub the stains and wash the windows. But sometimes it is better to spend money on cleaning by professionals, since cleaning companies are not uncommon today. A quality cleaning will refresh even the most neglected home. By the way, we recently shared.

   ©DepositPhotos

2. quick fix
   If in the coming years you plan to only rent out an apartment, then you should not invest serious money in repairs. However, some elements still need to be put in order. For example, replace broken light bulbs, buy a new oilcloth for the kitchen table, or even purchase a miniature wardrobe to replace a massive and falling apart old one. Agree, it is not so expensive, but gives a completely different look.

   ©DepositPhotos

3. Plumbing
   A bathroom is a place that is in a deplorable state in almost any apartment that has not been renovated for a long time. It is the terrible state of plumbing that causes disgust among potential tenants and makes them look for decent options.

   A dripping faucet, a broken watering can and a leaking toilet are clearly not attributes of a dream apartment, so solve these troubles yourself or call the master. It will be worse for you if the tenants flood the neighbors. By the way, we have already told you if you are going to do repairs alone. It is not as difficult as it seems at first glance.

   ©DepositPhotos

4. Furniture
   No need to litter the apartment with broken furniture, let only what will not crumble in the first months of operation remain. If you replace sofas and armchairs with new ones, you can give them a new life.

   Make a list of furniture and think about what you would leave. Sometimes repaired and repainted tables and chairs serve for more than one year, and the owners are soon perplexed about the fact that they recently wanted to throw away all this beauty. The main thing is to turn on a little imagination or look on the Internet.

   

5. Demolition floor
   The first thing you see when you first enter someone else's apartment is the floor. It is this part of the housing that affects the first impression, so make sure that the coating is in adequate condition. The problem is that it is almost impossible to repair the floor quickly and cheaply, which means that you need to find other options.

   

   A real lifesaver can be buying a bamboo rug or solid color runners to cover unsightly spots. But it is better to repair in good faith, since the building materials market offers a lot of budgetary opportunities for this. And if you turn on the imagination, then you can

   Bohdan Stasyuk

   Dreams of people taking better care of nature. In the future, he plans to engage in the protection of wild animals, environmental protection and other useful things that will improve the condition of the planet. Bogdan believes that such work makes more sense than any other! He wants to one day return to Finland, which struck him with crystal clear lakes and friendly people. I would also like to come to St. Petersburg for a long time in order to get to know the city better. Bogdan is an energetic and cheerful footballer. Our editor's favorite book, after reading which he began to write articles, is Martin Eden by Jack London.

1. A good mine in a bad game.

100% polyester silk. Stone-like tiles, parquet-like linoleum, onyx-like laminate, Trekhgorka under Ralph Lauren. Porcelain stoneware "under the python". “Artificially aged” something there ... It’s embarrassing to even think about it. Alas, the number will not pass. Look through good interior magazines. There, everywhere, a stone is a stone, and a tree is exactly what a tree is. If there is no money for parquet, and a simple laminate is beneath your dignity, look for a good engineering board. As a result, you will get a floor that looks much more expensive than the money spent on it. A good alternative to porcelain tiles for kitchens, bathrooms and hallways is cement tiles. The result will look more expensive a hundred times.

2. Leave the ceiling alone.

Everyone has become obsessed with ceilings! If you think sensibly, riveting attention to the ceiling, you only remind everyone of its existence. And according to his height. Ceilings with a height of two sixty will not turn, even if cracked, into majestic vaults melting somewhere in an unthinkable height. This cannot be, no matter what the "decorator tricks" promise you. Just accept it. Tall doorways can do a lot more for your home than a ridiculous five-layer neon-lit ceiling. Let the interior doors be two, say, twenty high. And lower the door handles a little, five to seven centimeters. Having shown a non-standard approach, you will be pleasantly surprised by the result.

3. Choosing paint for the walls, consider the movement of color around the house.

Neighboring . If you have a bright living room, consider painting the entryway a deep, relatively dark color. In any case, the cost of paint will be the same, and the result may look really expensive.

4. Buy modular laminate cabinets from the store, and order the doors to them in a good carpentry workshop.

This will give you significant savings, which, however, no one will ever notice. The same is true for kitchen equipment.

5. If you still purchase ready-made cabinet furniture, let the veneer of the facades be dark, and the door panels - simple (rectangular).

Remember: light wood always looks cheaper. Avoid yellowish and reddish shades of veneer. And, saving on the furniture itself, splurge on good pens!

6. If there is no money for a good carpet, look for viscose carpet or mixed fibers, imitating a silk or wool pile carpet.

Choose the color and texture that suits you and order a piece of the size you need. For additional small money, its edges are swept with braid.

7. Plant the curtains on a thick lining.

Even inexpensive curtain fabric will seriously benefit from this. Look for fabrics that are three meters wide. This results in significant savings. If you are not ready to spend a lot, give up printed textiles (fabrics with a pattern). When cutting fabrics with a pattern, due to the need to properly join the fabrics, there are a lot of scraps. The more rapport, the more waste. Do not use curtain tape for curtains. Let the seamstress lay the "manual" folds. It's not that expensive, and the folds gathered on the braid look very cheap.

8. Set-headset-set. The same things in the interior are allowed only in one case: if they are paired things that form a symmetrical composition. and leave a sconce from one set to those to whom God did not give imagination. He also - sets of upholstered furniture "sofa-two chairs" and similar tender sadness. For more details, see the next paragraph.

9. Ready-made solutions.

Bad news: there are none. At least for us. The shower room is being built using the construction method because it is a room. Unless you run a student hostel or an underground massage parlor with a striptease, the shower stall (it's a sad structure of yellowish acrylic and skewed doors) will not work for you. Do not spend money on "designer" plumbing. Let the appearance of the sanitary equipment of the bathroom (kitchen, bathroom) be dictated by the function. Buy washbasins and faucets with simple shapes, without inappropriate decor. The toilet bowl should be invisible and cope with its duties. No one will love them, right?

10. Paintings, prints, prints, photographs and posters frame in simple but deep frames with glass and be sure to passe-partout.

Even a picture printed on a home inkjet printer (or a naive children's drawing) looks very significant in such a frame. Play with the size of the passe-partout. A small work in a very wide passe-partout looks very “designer”. And, by the way, cardboard for a passe-partout can be almost any color.

11. Comfort. Another collective fetish.

According to my observations, what is called “comfort” in our Palestinians is, in 99 percent of cases, poetic crampedness. In many ways, this is a bodily memory of a bygone childhood, of a warm and affectionate meager Soviet life with carpets teeming with saprophytes, a kind grandmother, Czechoslovak crystal and Dreiser, unread by anyone, in the polished Polish wall "Hanka". The coziness will not be added by an expensive demon like a round bed with music and a minibar, a bar counter with a built-in aquarium, etc. The same is true for such rich things as a lambrequin, a garland and a swag. Do not worry: in a good, thoughtful interior, coziness inevitably comes naturally. So…

12. ... Farewell, Gypsy Sera!

Duvet covers made of coarse calico in a small Nefertiti, towels in scarlet roses, pillowcases with “stray-eye” shades, nylon blankets with Shanghai leopards. All these are attributes of collective farm chic, forgive me for being direct. They don't add comfort. Motley coloring is often necessary for these things solely to hide their exceptionally lousy quality. Let the bed linen and bath towels be plain white (options: ivory, ecru). But from excellent Egyptian cotton.

13. However, it is also important not to overdo it with ivory.

Peach, beige, sand… The average nuance range is good for chain hotels. Because their stencil interiors are bound to please everyone. Your interior should please you. After all, he is a manifestation of your essence, right? Pick up a fan-palette of any paint manufacturer. Do you feel a pleasant heaviness? These are your opportunities. Don't miss them!

Spring is a period of renewal. The mass exit of all living things from hibernation encourages action. I want to run somewhere, do something!.. Energy over the edge, but with the channel - so far there are problems. Where would you send her? Seasonal discounts in hardware stores suggest the thought: “But why not make repairs?”

Why not? But the thought of colossal time and money costs scares. However, you can update the interior without starting the "construction of the century." How? Read the Cleo review.

What can be done with the walls?

You are lucky if you are the owner of an apartment with perfectly smooth walls that have been processed for painting. There is no need to invent anything here. Choose a new color and repaint - 70% of the repair is completed. The house looks completely different, and the costs are minimal.

In other cases, designers offer the following solutions:

• Wallpaper. Use to decorate one or more walls, zoning the space.

• Vinyl stickers. Add new elements without changing the base.

• Acrylic paints. Make a painting on the existing coating, using templates or your own developments.

• Wooden panels or slats. Change the style by introducing natural materials into the interior.

• Brick. Clear part of the walls down to masonry using a trendy decorating technique.

What about the floors?

Again, it all depends on what is available. There are plenty of repair tips out there. But all of them are designed for situations where the current state of the floors does not suit the owners. What if everything is fine? If good-quality materials were initially chosen and the presentation is preserved, but you want to add some variety or just refresh the coating?

In the latter case, everything is simple when it comes to a tree. Polish or mastic will help restore shine. Before processing, you can also mask chips and cracks using special tools: putties, pencils or wax mixtures.

If you want something new, then there are only two options - to paint the floors in whole or in part.

Despite the abundance of various coloring compositions and examples of their use, experts do not recommend repainting a laminate, parquet or wooden canvas completely. In their opinion, such a coating will not stand the test of time. But a partial change in color is a more acceptable option. Moreover, drawings can be applied according to templates. This means that even a non-specialist will cope with the task.

However, we wrote about this method a few years ago. It is a pity that over the past years, manufacturers have not pleased us with new inventions.

In the process of repainting, you need to consider the following points:

• Use polyurethane or alkyd paints
• Before starting work, check the materials for compatibility (if the remnants of the floor covering are preserved somewhere in the pantry, this is the most suitable surface for pre-launch experiments)
• Clean the surface with sandpaper, and then wash the floors from dust
• Use an oil based primer
• Coloring in the direction of laying, in two layers (the second after the first has dried)
• Finish off with a protective coat such as a water-based lacquer

By the way, in addition to the floors themselves, there are also skirting boards. It seems to be a trifle, but it plays an important role. At the overhaul stage, few dare to spend money on expensive high skirting boards, preferring the usual size. Meanwhile, a non-standard decorative element can become an accent detail in the interior. No wonder it is regularly used by professional designers. So why don't amateurs try this technique in the process of redecorating? Moreover, manufacturers offer a huge selection of models from the latest composite materials.

Well, if it seems to someone that the price bites, there is an alternative. A little trick will achieve the same effect, but at minimal cost. You will need: a paint brush, paint, primer, liquid nails, ordinary baseboards and sealant. The idea is simple - you need to create the appearance of high skirting boards. To do this, just above the existing finishing elements, additional elements are glued to the liquid nails. The seams are treated with sealant, then the entire surface is painted in one color, including the area between the skirting boards. Voila - a fashionable design accent is ready!

How to update furniture?

With upholstered furniture, the easiest thing is to change the upholstery. If you are not sure that you can handle it yourself, then you can turn to specialists. Masters who are ready to help pull a sofa, armchair or chairs, apparently invisible. The prices for their services are quite reasonable. What can not be said about the materials. This is where the difference in cost comes into play. But if the family budget allows, you can go for a walk - the end result is worth it: expensive fabrics look better and last longer.

And what about cabinets, chests of drawers, bedside tables? They are undergoing a makeover! You can’t even imagine what a huge number of ways of alteration are offered by connoisseurs. Russian-language search engines alone show fifty million links to sites dedicated to this topic. Naturally, you cannot describe them in one article. But a short digression is possible.

Let's start with the popular. Which brand of furniture do you think is most often upgraded? Have you thought about the Swedish concern? Right! This is not surprising, given that in almost every apartment you can find items made at the factories of this foreign giant. Comfortable, yes, but boring. So consumers want diversity, so that it is not like everyone else.

Do you think the Scandinavians are offended? Do they somehow struggle with those who post instructions for updating and their typical furniture on the Web? And here it is not. As the saying goes: "If you can't win, lead." They have organized entire clubs dedicated to reworking their products. Search the web - very useful and interesting resources.

There is a description of how to make a designer thing out of a banal coffee table. With a little talent, a permanent marker and polish works wonders.

And if you want something completely strange, then you can take the advice of designer Andrias Bend from Sweden and convert the chairs into ... a floor hanger. How? You just need to go beyond the usual, twisting the structural elements in a different order. What will happen? See photo example.

The rest of the modifications are as follows:

• Coloring. Moreover, there can be a lot of variations: in one color or several, with or without ornament, with aging effects, gradients and many others. With certain skills, any piece of furniture can be turned into a masterpiece.

• Decoupage. A technique well known among furniture restorers that is easily mastered by amateurs. Master classes are abundant on the Internet: videos, step-by-step instructions, secrets, descriptions of the features of materials.

• Mosaic. Decorators often resort to this technique, despite the laboriousness. The pieces are disassembled by color, adjusted to the desired shape and size with wire cutters, then laid out on tile adhesive with gaps, which are subsequently filled with special mixtures - seams. The output is a designer art object.

• Use of mirror inserts. The advantages of such modernization are speed, relative ease of execution of work, guaranteed impressive results.

If all of the above seems too difficult for you to implement, then you can simply replace the fittings. Believe me, sometimes it is enough to screw the original handles to an ordinary wardrobe or chest of drawers to change the whole style. Try it!

What to do with windows?

Rather, not even with the windows themselves, but with their framing. How about changing curtains and curtains? As in the case of wall painting, new fabrics in the interior can work wonders, completely changing the familiar look of a home. Pick up something radically different from the previous version in color and style. Play with new shades, supporting them with new pillowcases for sofa cushions, bedspreads, rugs.

Owners of golden hands and sewing machines can easily save tens of thousands of rubles by sewing curtains on their own. The rest will have to be smart. You can reduce costs by:

• By reducing the length of the cornices. Often, if a workshop is engaged in sewing curtains, the maximum size from wall to wall is taken as the basis. But you can limit yourself to a minimum by calculating the length of the window (plus 20 centimeters on each side). The consumption of fabric will decrease - that's the savings!
• Using decorative curtains. You can protect yourself from light by installing blinds or rollers. In this case, there will be no need for sewing full-size curtains. Make them narrow and drape. Yes, you will have to fork out for the curtain. But that's a completely different expense.
• Carefully choosing a manufacturer. Of course, when it comes to dense materials for curtains, the difference in quality is visible to the naked eye. What about thin veils? Can you distinguish Italian tulle from Turkish tulle by eye? That's it. So why overpay?

By the way, curtains can be used not only for decorating windows. You can add variety to the interior in another way. But it is suitable only for those whose apartments have open shelving. In recent years, designers have increasingly resorted to this technique, using curtains instead of blind doors. Original and quite comfortable.

In addition, in a similar way, you can zone the space, fencing off, for example, the kitchen from the living quarters. In fact, the layout is changing, but instead of expensive work on the construction of additional partitions, only the installation of guides is carried out. Budget? Undoubtedly!

What to do with lighting?

For some reason, when carrying out cosmetic repairs, the issue of lighting is omitted. The maximum that fantasy is enough is to replace all the burnt out light bulbs and change the warm light to cold or vice versa. Meanwhile, the replacement of shades and lampshades alone can significantly change the overall style. And you don't have to buy something new. You can also modify existing structural elements. Lots of examples! For example, using ordinary twine, you can turn a banal table lamp into an eco-style art object.

Inexpensive, but how effective. Or another option that does not require large expenses - decorating a lampshade ... with buttons!

How much easier. And the result looks amazing, attracting the attention of others. Well, why not a budget way to update the interior?

Oh, and don't forget the switches. Usually they are hardly noticeable. But why not fix it? Again, back to the question of low cost and minimal effort. Do you know how you can make a quick upgrade to switches? With regular nail polish! It is only necessary to twist the existing lids and lower them into a bowl of warm water, into which varnishes of different colors were previously poured. You just need to do everything very quickly!

The output will be catchy and unusual lighting elements. And each drawing will be unique. How much do you think such switches could cost if some well-known design company produced them? That's it. And you will spend pennies.

So let's recap. The common belief that there is no repair without big expenses is wrong. People's ingenuity and numerous tips from practitioners allow you to change the situation with a minimal budget. Good luck with your interior renovation!