A new dress for the old address
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Your weary-looking home can be pepped up with a little help from the designer. There are tricks to make it look spacious too
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PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR
TRICKS OF THE TRADE: The house can sport a new look with a minimal budget.
Want a fresh look for your apartment? More so, since the new ones down the road sport all the latest in the market - from flooring to paint to accessories?
You too can get all these `in things' and give a swanky feel to your weather-beaten home, worn out flooring or cramped kitchen or bathroom.
But then where to begin, whom to contact and how much would that cost? These are basic questions that should be addressed first. It is best to contact an interior designer cum architect, particularly in an apartment where one can't really change the structure much, says an interior designer Sridhar.
For the flat and pocket
Rakesh of Visual Space Design Consultants (93924-30291) feels it is important for a client to spell out his/her requirements to the designer along with the budget. Then, the designer can suggest options that will suit a particular flat or house and also the pocket. Since a professional designer is aware of market trends and price range, he or she can make the renovation a hassle free experience.
A place can be given a contemporary look by re-doing the flooring, painting preferably with `Lappam' to give a smooth finish apart from overhauling the appearance of bathroom and kitchen with latest accessories.
For instance, flooring can be changed to marble, vitrified tiles, ceramics and each category comes with many varieties. While marble flooring for a 1,000 sft flat can cost Rs.75,000, it would be around Rs.1 lakh for vitrified tiles.
The latter is preferred these days as it is stain resistant and doesn't absorb water or liquids like marble, making it prone to stains. Ceramic flooring would cost about Rs.50,000, Rakesh says.
Similarly for painting the house, one may go for oil bound distemper, acrylic emulsion, premium emulsion or royal emulsion to get the preferred look or feel. A right choice of colour and shade can ensure that the flat looks more spacious.
The painting cost is in the range of Rs.6,000 to Rs.15,000 and the cost would double with `Lappam' finish. With plastic/royal emulsion, maintenance is easier as stains could be washed away.
Afshan Khan of Design Cell Institute too agrees that wonders can be done to an old house with some imagination and small investment.
If one goes for entire re-doing of a house including latest bathroom and kitchen accessories to provide greater storage space, it could be done within Rs.2 lakhs for a 1,000 sft flat.
Of course, 4 to 10 per cent of the total cost would be the fee of the interior designer.
M.L.MELLY MAITREYI
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