pixel

Handbook

  1. Home/
  2. Handbook/
  3. 1.1. DIY Apartment and Home Design vs. Professional Work: Key Differences

1.1. DIY Apartment and Home Design vs. Professional Work: Key Differences

Developing and implementing a stylish and comfortable design for apartments and houses may seem simple at first glance. This article reveals the risks involved with non-professionals working on home decoration.

 

What sets apart the preparation and execution of renovation with a designer from managing the process on your own?

 

Design renovation is not just about beautiful sketches on paper and appropriately arranged, harmonious items in every room upon completion of the process.

 

Above all, it is about creating a comfortable and safe living space where coziness and well-being reign. Professional designers know that this is achieved through seemingly minor details:

 

  • Doors that open in a convenient direction without hitting walls or interior objects;
  • The number of outlets in each room, matching the number of electrical appliances, so that there’s no need to stretch additional extension cords across the room;
  • Integrated various lighting scenarios, which can create different moods, with switches placed conveniently;
  • Tiles laid in an original pattern, purchased in the right quality and quantity.

 

Each design project for an apartment or house is not so much a creative process (as the uninitiated might think) but a meticulously technically verified project that is necessary on the path to the cherished dream of an ideal, convenient home.

 

On the other hand, an apartment or house design project ordered from professionals saves the client’s time and nerves.

 

If you still want to take on the decoration of your home yourself, you should be prepared for the following circumstances:

 

  • First of all, all responsibility for the outcome falls on you, as it requires constantly combining small processes into a whole and learning to think about the future result globally. During the renovation, you will need to deal with various specialists, buying a huge variety of materials spot on. And there is no guarantee that even the best store clerk will give sound advice and recommend exactly what you need. They have not seen your home, do not know everything that is being remodeled, and what result is expected. And whether the recommended tiles will match the furniture and decor is not their concern. They aim to meet sales targets and earn a bonus, and your work on creating the perfect home is far from their responsibility. They will not care whether the offered product fits into the overall concept of the space and how it will look in the end. You will have to be the person who sees the complete picture of a perfect interior in every hook or tile purchased;
  • Spending a lot of time acquiring necessary knowledge on legislative and construction norms for renovation, rules of its organization and execution.

 

For those who love and value themselves, their time, nerve cells, the safety and comfort of their family, I invite you to seek my help.

 

For those who are ready to take risks and still create the home of their dreams with their own hands, let this book be a good support. As a gift, here are several recommendations for when the risk becomes unjustified and dangerous.

 

In what cases is it impossible to do without a design project?

 

Some clients ask whether it is possible to do without the services of professional designers. In which cases is this justified, and in which does it carry unjustified risks?

 

When developing the interior of small apartments, without rearrangement and replacement of technical equipment, it is possible to limit oneself to consulting services of a designer and try to cope with the development of the layout, furniture arrangement, material selection, and decor on one’s own.

 

However, if an apartment with free space in a new building or a spacious private house is being prepared for decoration, it is better to seek professional help and order a full or “Turnkey” project. This is necessary because in this case, it is required to work simultaneously on a competent configuration of space, laying engineering systems, choosing a style suitable for this space, determining the harmonious composition of the entire dwelling and each individual room, developing interior coloristics, arranging furniture – all this is very difficult for a non-professional to consider, and the price of a mistake is too high. It is easier and more reliable to turn to a good designer.

 

When organizing a “home for centuries,” which is not planned to be redone in the next few decades, working drawings and plans are simply necessary for all cases of use and unforeseen minor repairs. In this case, ordering a “Turnkey” design project is a mandatory condition. This will help select durable expensive materials that will harmonize with each other, rather than clash. Without a professionally developed preliminary project, huge amounts of time and financial resources can be spent without achieving the desired result, because they are collected without considering the rules of operation or compatibility of individual parts. Moreover, construction mistakes in implementing expensive, but professionally unprepared interiors entail even more costly alterations.

 

For the safety of living in a remodeled living space, the technical part of the design project should only be performed by professionals! The life and health of future residents in the renovated dwelling directly depend on the project, developed taking into account all state norms and permit documents. Full information is only possessed by specialists of design bureaus. When developing “Full” and “Turnkey” projects, they take into account all state requirements for construction and materials intended for interior decoration of residential premises. The list of all used documents is mandatorily attached to the project.

 

Of course, everyone can take on the designer’s job themselves. The main thing to remember is that this is not only an artistic process but also a technically justified choice of this or that element, process, device, which needs to be integrated into the overall picture of a safe and beautiful future interior. And in doing so, don’t forget or miss anything even at the design stage!

Other chapter

While using this site, you acknowledge your consent to use cookies in accordance with the notification in respect of that type of files. Learn more

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close