Depending on the size of your home and the specifics of the project, the costs of renovation can really add up. Many Singaporeans give up on the dream to live in a modern and exciting home due to the fact that they believe a renovation is unaffordable.
Saving some money on your Singapore home renovation is possible if you’re smart and strategic about the work you do. An experienced interior company in Singapore will guide you through the process and suggest the best executions that will deliver the most while costing the least.
Here are a few practical suggestions that will help you save some money on the renovation without making a quality compromise.
Plan Your Purchases and Stick to Your Budget
One of the easiest ways to go overboard financially during your home renovation is getting caught up in the purchases.
If you don’t have a plan and you’re an impulsive spender, chances are that you’ll get things more expensive than what you could afford and you’ll also get things that you don’t really need.
Talk to your interior designer to specify the accessories, supplies and furniture you will need to get. A well-established interior design company in Singapore also have extensive professional networks that consist of furniture makers, renovation shops and construction material suppliers. Working hand in hand with such a company will make it much easier for you to access the best prices out there by getting you in touch with a business partner of theirs.
Here’s another very simple tip – if the renovation isn’t an urgent one, you may want to wait until discounted prices become available.
The end of the season often marks significant price reductions before new collections are launched. This way, you’ll get access to some of the newest and trendiest home renovation supplies without having to spend a fortune on them.
Sky is the limit in terms of creativity when you’re backed up by the right interior design team.
Making your home look and feel new does not mean you will have to purchase everything from a store. Some beautiful new items can be created from old materials, furniture and accessories that you no longer need. Of course, if you subscribe to the concept of minimalism in Singapore home interior design, the less you have the better – which usually means spending less!
Cabinetry can easily be renovated. Kitchen cabinets are typically created to last a very long time. If you’re tired and bored or your cabinets feature some minor damage, you can have those sanded, varnished or repainted.
Adding new hardware to cabinet doors will also result in a complete transformation.
Old crates can be turned into coffee tables, you can reupholster a sofa to give it a fresh look and even some construction materials from a demolition can be saved and used during the renovation. Be creative and think outside the box. Chances are that you’ll save hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars this way.
Oversee the Execution of the Renovation Project
You should be in charge of the renovation works, especially if you have multiple contractors dealing with different aspects of the project. If you find this overwhelming, you can also outsource the project management to an interior design company that you can trust – usually one with many years of experience managing entire interior design and renovation projects from start to finish – Home Guide is one of them.
Ensuring efficiency is very important, especially when it comes to the optimal usage of supplies. Statistics show that when a home owner, an interior designer or a project manager is in charge of the renovation, the cost of execution can go down by anywhere between 10 and 20 per cent.
You should be in charge of purchasing supplies and getting additional materials if the initial supplies are insufficient. There should also be an action plan you’ll need to discuss with the contractor before the execution starts. Talking about something as simple as the correct placement of the tiles (straight, on bias?) can actually reduce the number of tiles that will be needed to cover the entire floor.
Low-End Materials Could be a Good Choice
High quality materials are an absolute essential for certain aspects of the home renovation. You cannot make a compromise, for example, with flooring or window treatments. When it comes to some other supplies, you can cut corners without affecting the quality of your home’s interior.
For some people, it’s not that important to have expensive furniture. Other save money on cabinets and doors.
Think of the statement pieces that are most impactful and that you’d like to highlight. These are the ones you should put a larger portion of your budget towards. Parts of the interior that aren’t so obvious and centrally displayed can be renovated in a less expensive manner.
Cost-Efficient Waste Management
Finally, you need to manage waste effectively because renovation projects can generate a lot of it.
Construction waste can be quite expensive to dispose of according to Singaporean regulations.
Talk to your contractors in advance and try to get the cost of waste disposal included in the quote you’re receiving. Knowing how much construction waste removal is going to cost you will simplify the process of calculating the overall budget.
You can once again get assistance from your interior design team to choose the right contractors and to make sure that construction waste removal isn’t going to cost you a fortune.
If you need assistance to execute a cost-efficient renovation, get in touch with Home Guide today. We know what it takes to stick to a budget and still completely transform the interior of an apartment – take a look at our home interior design and renovation portfolio!
