Home makeovers are expensive endeavours. A basic renovation and all the additional furniture/fittings will easily set you back at least $50,000, if not more. And that is a not-insignificant sum of money for the vast majority.
It doesn’t help that you are constantly being convinced by your interior designer/contractor that you’ll need to have even more stuff in your home, with the constantly growing list of “must-haves” doing little more than lining their pockets.
Cut out all the superfluous items, be a wise shopper and save big by follow these tips! All the prices quoted here are based on a HDB BTO 4 room flat.
Opting for Normal Paint
Cost Savings – up to $650
Paint manufacturers all make their own formulation of paints that claim to ward off virus and/or bacteria. In reality, the scientific literature is still severely lacking, and is legitimately nothing more than a marketing ploy employed by the newer players in a bid to sway customers to buying into their products instead.
I recommend just using Nippon’s Vinilex and its Dulux equilvalent, as they are usually sufficient for most residential projects. That being said, I suggest you do not skip the sealer coat, as it helps promote adhesion for long-lasting durability.
Doing Without a Built-In TV Console
Cost Savings – up to $2,000
There are many variables at play here. A quality off-the-shelf TV console may cost you around $1,000, but that still beats the price of custom carpentry. Another bonus of doing things this way is that it allows you to bring this piece of furniture along with you to your next property.
But what about wires? Well, most BTOs have partition walls around the TV areas anyways (if not, there’d be a ‘recess area’ under the beam, which you’d fill with partition), so the wires can be neatly tucked away inside the false wall.
Purchasing Excessively Powerful Airconditioning Units
Cost Savings – up to $300
There’s always some degree of upselling when aircon systems are concerned. Logical too, considering we live in a humid climate, and sales people take advantage of your fear of a fan coil unit that doesn’t have the oomph.
As you’d know, HDB BTOs aren’t necessarily the largest spaces, so the volume of air in a BTO living room is small enough that even a 9,000 BTU fan coil is sufficient. Most retailers bundle a 12,000 BTU unit for the living areas, with 1 9,000 BTU units for each of the bedrooms, though some have been known to convince their clients that they’d need a 24,000 BTU unit.
Smart Home Everything
Cost Savings – varies
Affordable smart home technology is still in its infancy. Chasing this fad means you’d be spending thousands of dollars on equipment that may be outdated several years down the line. Standards may change, rendering your investment useless.
Instead, spend the cash on ensuring all of your sockets/light switches are within easy reach regardless of wherever it is you are in the home. The whole purpose of smart home is for convenience, so what better way to do it than to actually thoughtfully lay everything out?
Save Without Sacrifice
Follow these tips and you’d be well on your way to a stylish and highly functional home without spending an arm and a leg on your renovation. Ultimately, it is thoroughly planning that will yield the best overall experience, and not how much cash you decide to spend on your renovation.
Image Credit: Ngieng Spatial Design, re.designinteriorstudios
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