Designer Alexandra Gartke (ArtGart Studio) and Ekaterina Lyubimkina (Carton group bureau) give advice to our readers who want to make repairs in the bathroom, but do not overpay.

The issue of saving on repairs is always acute. I want a lot, but I don’t always have a budget. We asked practicing designers how you can save money on bathroom decoration today, when decoration, furniture and plumbing are becoming more expensive.

1 Use Russian-made tiles

Both Alexandra Hartke and Ekaterina Lyubimkina agree: Russian tile is an opportunity to make a decent interior and save money. 

“Many available analogues are not inferior to the premium line. In our projects, we often use Russian tiles, which are two or three times more budget-friendly than their European counterparts, but are not inferior in quality and visual image. For example, in a recently implemented apartment project, we used a combination of Kerama Marazzi porcelain stoneware under marble with chrome-plated plumbing. This emphasized the restrained image of the apartment in general and the bathroom in particular, while not visually simplifying the space,” says Ekaterina.

“Buy Russian tiles, advises Alexandra. Kerama Marazzi and Atlas Concorde have stylish collections and even large-format porcelain stoneware.” 

2 Buy now, because tomorrow it will be more expensive

Alexandra Gartke gives advice that applies not only to the bathroom, but also to interior design in general. 

“The philosophy of saving a miser pays twice. To save money, you need to buy today, tomorrow it will be more expensive. Good materials and plumbing cost savings in the near future for alterations,” says Alexandra.

3 Choose chrome mixers

Alexandra Gartke recommends this way of saving, saying that gold, black and white colors cost more.

4 Play on the contrast of plumbing and decoration

The idea of a combination of materials that looks spectacular even with a budget finish is a combination of white plumbing and a black mixer. 

Designer Ekaterina Lyubimkina, Carton group:

Designing a bathroom in the Volga apartment complex, we used black, not classic chrome faucets and black graphic border tiles, which diluted the simple plain base tile. This solution helped to save significantly on more expensive tiles.

5 Combine tiles and create patterns from budget materials

Alexandra Gartke recommends combinations of budget tiles of medium format and more expensive as in her project. 

Ekaterina Lyubimkina considers a successful combination of a neutral background and accent tiles. “In the Trifonovskaya project, the winning image was formed, among other things, thanks to the combination of tiles of different sizes. In an apartment in Botany Lane, we used a trick, a budget tile of 30x30cm was cut on a waterjet CNC machine according to our sketch and we were able to create an author’s pattern. It looks original, and much more accessible than Italian analogues,” says Ekaterina.

Apartment on Trifonovskaya

Apartment in Botanic Lane

6 Use large-format porcelain stoneware 

Large-format porcelain stoneware is an unambiguous trend. And it is in the lines of Russian tile manufacturers. 

Designer Alexandra Gartke:

To make the interior look expensive, choose large-format porcelain stoneware for finishing the entire bathroom, it looks very impressive. And the cost of Russian tiles is three times less than Italian. The example of our project also shows that you can save on natural marble by choosing a large-format porcelain stoneware.

7 Choose acrylic plumbing

The desire to save on plumbing can turn into a failure. Ekaterina Lyubimkina does not recommend doing this. But there are budget materials of decent quality. 

“We do not recommend switching to no-name brands-manufacturers of sanitary ware, their repair or replacement can become more financially costly than installing a deliberately high-quality product. The expression “we are too poor to buy cheap clothes” applies to repairs: it is too expensive to install bad plumbing. Nevertheless, the bath material itself can be more budget-friendly: cast marble or even acrylic is much more economical than marble or cast-iron analogues, but visually they are not inferior to them,” says the designer.

8 Install spot lighting instead of designer fixtures

Spot built-in lights and overhead spots, of course, are moisture-proof proven lighting scenario in the bathroom. Ekaterina Lyubimkina recommends choosing them as a replacement for designer lamps. “So you can not sacrifice the number of light sources, while saving significantly and with increasing opportunities to replace a simple option with a more expensive one without additional electrical repairs. A small trick can also be the use of a diode moisture-proof backlight. At a small price, it visually enriches the interior very much,” says Ekaterina.

9 Buy furniture of standard sizes

It is known that custom-made furniture costs more than standard. 

“You can buy a ready-made model of the cabinet, as well as a ready-made sink for the entire width of the cabinet instead of a stone countertop,” says Alexandra Gartke.

10 Choose furniture in film 

“Bathroom furniture should not be expensive, says Ekaterina Lyubimkina.  Instead of natural stone and enamel, many of our customers began to prefer furniture film, it can be made in a huge range of variations, and in terms of durability it will give odds to many more fastidious materials.”

11 Limit yourself to decorating

Ekaterina Lyubimkina believes that it is possible to follow the path of “least resistance” and limit yourself to decorating if you are satisfied with the decoration and plumbing globally.

“You can plan a stylistic solution and add bright accents to the interior based on it, the designer recommends.  It can be new storage jars, a soap dish, a toothbrush glass, towels and a bath mat, everything that will refresh the image of the room and set a new mood. The main secret in this solution is not the high cost, but the perfect compatibility.” 

12 Prioritize

When the budget is limited, you have to choose.

Designer Alexandra Gartke says: “Save on your summer vacation, make repairs, and the house will be comfortable all year round. Daily comfort will bring more benefits, good mood (hence work success) than a one-time short-term vacation.”

Original content from the site