Financing a renovation can be tricky. Before you get started, read this first to find how you can hack your reno budget without sacrificing style or function.
- Flooring should be, above all, practical
The good news here is that there are many flooring options for many different types of budgets. Tile and hardwood floors are often considered the most desirable, but there are cheaper options like vinyl and laminate flooring available. In addition to aesthetics, practicality should be a major concern when you’re deciding on a material too. For instance, you shouldn’t get a marble flooring if you have pets in your home, for the slippery surface can cause them to fall and get injured. For added visual interest, you can consider installing patterned tiles at select areas of the floor, but make sure it’s a design that you’ll continue to love over the years, as you wouldn’t want to incur additional cost of hacking out these tiles if you tire of it in the future.
Image credit: Eightytwo
- Paint your way to a feature wall
When it comes to deciding on the type of covering to use for your walls, we’d strongly recommend sticking to paint instead of using wallpaper. Apart from the high cost and the additional time needed to put into place, wallpaper doesn’t work well in humid conditions, where the moisture will cause peels and cracks within the design, which is expensive to replace. Instead, stick to paint, and use a combination of colours for added interest. And with the many painting packages available from various paint brands in Singapore, chances are you’ll be able to paint your entire home for much less than what it would cost to wallpaper a single room.
Image credit: Madintent
- Keep it simple in the utility zones
Yes, we know the pictures of kitchens with highly detailed backsplashes look amazing and you might be tempted to get a similar looking one of your own. But just think about it, your kitchen will still function the same without this decorative – and sometimes expensive – element. And since most homes come with finished kitchens, it will not be worth spending on re-tiling works to achieve this minor aesthetic feature. Instead, keep things simple with a tempered glass backsplash that not only gets the job done just as efficiently but are easier to clean as well considering the lack of grout lines will minimise trapped dirt and grime.
- Skip the fancy designs
As laminates evolve and get more and more advanced, it’s easy to be tempted by the heat-, scratch- and fingerprint-resistant properties. But is the price really justifiable for a surface where all you do is open and close the structure it covers? Probably not. And it is much less so if you’re not the type of person who cooks on a regular basis. Instead, just stick to traditional laminates. They get the job done all the same without breaking the bank, and are available in more colours than their high-end counterparts, allowing you to better customise your cupboards to suit the overall style of your home.
Image credit: Eightytwo
- Be clever about choosing materials
Tiles account for a significant portion of your bathroom surfaces, and the cost can quickly add up if you choose an expensive tile for everything. Instead, go with lesser expensive tiles – like ceramic – for the majority of your bathroom and use a more expensive alternative – like porcelain – in select areas as an accent. Another way to save cost is to choose patterns that are available in large tile formats, as your contractor may charge you extra due to the additional time and labour needed to lay small tiles compared to its larger counterparts.
- Think “multipurpose”
Doing away with the base and simply putting your mattress on an elevated platform off the floor may seem like the ideal choice if you’re going for a minimalist MUJI-esque feel. And their ability to offer discreet storage compartments within the platform can seem appealing to homeowners who have many items they need to store away. But they have their downsides too. Unless it is a short-term solution, chances are you’re going to grow old and maybe even get pregnant while still living in the same home. And a platform bed’s flat surface will only be inconvenient as there won’t be as much support provided when trying to get out of bed. As such, opt out of this design feature, and invest in a good quality, long-lasting bed frame instead.
Image credit: Design Chapterz
This was adapted from an article originally published in the June 2018 issue of SquareRooms. Feature image courtesy of Etherall
