“Half-jokingly, it is said that the most stressful events in life are death, divorce, and renovation. It sounds dramatic, but anyone who has taken on a renovation knows it is no exaggeration,” says interior designer Aljona Kamenik from the show “Naabrist parem.” According to her, renovation is a situation where you must expect the unexpected and deal with overflowing emotions, but to avoid being overwhelmed, a solid plan is essential.

According to the interior designer, a successful renovation depends on thorough preparation, during which the desired outcome, financing, timeline, scope of work, and who will carry out the work are all carefully considered.

The first step in planning a renovation is dreaming, Kamenik notes. “At this stage, you should not hold yourself back. On the contrary, all ideas and wishes should be written down. The most important thing is to think about the feeling your renovated home should convey,” she explains.

To find inspiration, she recommends visiting interior showrooms and construction stores, collecting images and keywords, and bringing them together in one place. Inspiration can also come from a favorite style or color, a special object, a space you once visited, a work of art, childhood memories, or an inspiring designer.

Visualize your renovated home with AI “When all ideas are in front of you at once, making choices becomes much easier. If you have the interest and skills, you can also try modern AI-based tools to create visualizations of your home,” adds the designer, warning that it can be just as addictive as wandering through furniture stores.

Kamenik emphasizes that following trends may seem like an easy solution, but trends change quickly and often encourage thoughtless consumption. “A home should reflect the personality, life story, and habits of its residents. Be a little selfish in your design decisions, no one else is going to live there,” she says.

If you still want to capture the spirit of the times, the keywords for 2026 are privacy, security, closeness to nature, simplicity, and coziness. “This is a natural response to global instability and a heightened sense of insecurity,” the designer notes. This is reflected in warm natural tones, textured surfaces, natural wood and stone, matte finishes, and warm lighting.

A plan is needed even for smaller renovations According to the designer, it is important to create a plan even for smaller projects. “Even if you are doing the work yourself, it is worth preparing detailed drawings and furniture layouts, and marking the locations of lighting and sockets, sanitary solutions, and tiling schemes. This helps keep both the workflow and the budget under control,” explains Kamenik.

After dreaming and planning, the next step is creating a budget. For this, emotions should be set aside to think through how much money is available, whether additional financing is needed, and what the specific cost categories are.

“It is quite common for people to try to cover the entire renovation budget with their savings. But if all savings are spent, how do you handle unexpected costs, which is what savings are usually meant for?” asks Evelin Rahkema, Head of Lending at Inbank.

When creating a budget, it is important to consider not only material costs, but also transport and logistics, as well as furnishing and finishing details that often fall outside the initial estimate. If necessary, also temporary housing costs.

“Renovations almost always end up costing more than initially planned, no matter how well the budget is prepared. During the work, many smaller expenses arise that together form a significant sum. That is why it is worth considering from the start how to spread the costs so that you can continue your normal life after the renovation,” Rahkema adds.

The Inbank expert notes that additional financing is often seen only as a way to cover costs when savings are insufficient. “Instead, it could be viewed as a way to preserve your savings. More and more financially capable clients use consumer loans and payment solutions to spread out their expenses or complete renovations all at once,” she explains. According to a recent Inbank consumer survey, 26% of people have used consumer loans to cover home renovation or furnishing expenses.

Which tasks to do yourself and which to leave to professionals? If the budget allows, it is worth hiring professionals, says the interior designer. “DIY can be exciting, but it almost always comes with greater time investment, potential extra costs from fixing mistakes, quality risks, and significant emotional strain,” Kamenik notes.

At the same time, budget and time constraints, as well as personal skills, may favor doing some work yourself. “Many tasks can be successfully done independently. For example, installing flooring, painting, wallpapering, and even tiling are вполне doable,” she says. However, she recommends proper preparation, consulting experts in hardware stores or experienced builders, and watching tutorial videos online. In addition to construction work, DIY enthusiasts can also restore reused furniture or sew textiles for the space.

Electrical, plumbing, and ventilation work should definitely be left to professionals who can also provide guarantees. This can be important for both financing and insurance purposes. Additionally, work involving utilities or changes to the building’s exterior often requires prior permits and approvals.

During renovations, the designer recommends moving out if possible. If not, work should be done in stages, room by room. “In that case, the renovation area must be properly isolated, as construction dust spreads with impressive persistence,” Kamenik confirms from experience.

What cost categories to consider when budgeting?

  • Construction and finishing materials

  • Labor costs

  • Furnishings, including sanitary ware, lighting, doors, furniture, textiles, etc.

  • For larger projects: design (architect and engineer), demolition, permits and approvals, utilities (electricity, water, ventilation, low-current systems)

  • Reserve for unexpected expenses