I can empathize with anybody who’s done his/her home interiors now! We got keys to our new home on 6th January 2006, and have the puja on 25th Feb. Things have been crazy these two months! Three main architects, two who offered suggestions, many service providers and many material suppliers. I have not interacted with so many different kinds of people on any single project in my life!
The budget you keep for your interiors, will always be crossed. Double or more in normal cases. There are n number of small things you have to buy for a house. From floor traps in the bathrooms to the light fixtures for the dining area. If you are doing it for the first time, you have no idea how much you will end up spending before you start living in your new home! So be prepared.
Finalize the plan in as much detail as you can. Having the electrical and ceiling plan ready before you start the civil work will help avoid re-works and tension between civil work team, electrician and the color fellow. It also means you have something documented that everybody can refer to.
Schedule things. But be prepared for schedule slips. Schedules will slip. It is possible to work with tight timeframes (about a month for me), but work will go easy in the initial days and the last few days will always be battle grounds.
Decide between ready-made and custom-made furniture. Kitchen, Dining, Sofa, TV-Units – a lot of things can be purchased off the shelf or with little customizations. You would save about 30% if you do them in-house. There would be difference in the finishing though. So select wisely. I used professional agencies for kitchen, sofa, tv unit and bookshelf. Had in-house carpenters for wardrobe, center table and a whole bunch of other miscellaneous work. Bought bed and dining from furniture show rooms. Postponed two bedrooms for time and budget considerations!
Bathrooms will be expensive! There are thousand things that go in them and you will realize the impact when you see the bills.
Colors and lighting can change the way your home looks.
Utility and ease of use are prime factors in the kitchen. I spent the highest on kitchen. I want to give a great place to my mom (and wife, when I marry) to spend time in.
Contractors and service providers will suggest you what they like to do. You don’t always have to accept their suggestions. Most of the times, they are expensive suggestions. Many a times a contractor will give good suggestions for things that relate to other contractor. E.g. a civil work guy would give a great furniture solution. But may not be willing to accept your budget conscious idea about using marbles instead of granite.
Have somebody who can take care of daily supervision on the site. (yes, you will start calling your home “the site” two weeks into the interior work). I didn’t have this. My sister and brother in law visited once or twice a week from Ahmedabad and one of her friends came twice in the week. There were communication problems because of three architects and their scattered visits. Having a single point of decision and frequent visits can greatly improve the processes.
If you are like me, you would take fast decisions. That’s good. There are simply too many choices in the material and fittings. You can’t get everything right. Everybody will tell you that you make the house once in a life. Tell them you are going to buy another in less than ten years; and do not get swayed. This is the number one trick to make you spend more! Of course you want to take good material for your home. So do that, but take some practical decisions too!
Create some personal space. Your home is your identity. It should reflect your style and preferences. And your feelings!
Alright, it’s high time I rush back to the site! There are a lot of things to catch up. The color guy has said he can’t complete the work tomorrow. And we need something done for the puja the next day!