Renovation Costs Money. It’s Better to Be Prepared.

You need to be prepared for renovation financially, not just mentally

There’s one thing that isn’t particularly pleasant to talk about at the beginning of a beautiful project.

Renovation costs money.

And not only because you need to buy a sofa, tiles or lighting. A large part of the budget goes towards things that never appear in beautiful photographs: surface preparation, electrical work, plumbing, delivery, installation, custom manufacturing, consumables and resolving technical issues.

The sooner you accept that, the calmer the entire process becomes.

A good interior starts with a realistic budget

I need to understand the approximate budget from the very beginning of the design process.

Not because every purchase can be calculated down to the last socket in advance. In reality, that’s almost impossible: the market changes, prices increase and some decisions are refined later.

The budget acts as a framework.

Once we understand what is realistic for the project, we can make conscious decisions about where it makes sense to invest, where a good alternative can work just as well, and where saving money today may cost more later.

“We’ll figure it out as we go” is often the most expensive strategy

This approach is what usually leads to unexpected expenses.

One decision is made, then it turns out to require another. Then a third. Something has already been ordered, while something else needs to be redone.

The budget starts growing not because the interior has become more luxurious, but because there was no clear system from the beginning.

A design project doesn’t make renovation cheap.

It makes spending more considered and manageable.

I always recommend leaving a financial buffer

In a real renovation, it is almost impossible to predict absolutely everything.

The price of a material may change. Additional work may be required. A technical issue may only become visible after demolition begins.

That’s why starting a renovation with a budget calculated down to the very last amount leaves almost no room to manoeuvre.

A financial buffer gives you the freedom to make sensible decisions instead of having to choose between stopping the work or urgently going for the cheapest option.

Money here isn’t about status

A great interior can be created with very different budgets.

But any budget needs to be realistic for the scale of the project.

For me, it is far more important to have an honest conversation about what is possible from the beginning than to design a beautiful image that can never actually be built.

An interior shouldn’t exist only as a visualisation.

One day, it has to become your home.

Sep/2026