A Look At What Your Renovation Budget Can Really Get You
Disclaimer: The budgets here refer to renovation costs for apartments only, and they do not include the cost of furniture. Prices may vary depending on the interior professional, condition of the property, design and materials used.
Budgeting for a renovation can be a difficult and confusing - there are gorgeous abodes done up to the ring of $20,000, and on the flip side, a seemingly simple design can come up to $70,000! So what exactly justifies their price?
Well, it really boils down to just a couple of factors - your home’s size, condition and the type of design and works you plan to do. Here, we break it down to 4 budget ranges to help you figure out which is best for you.
Budget Range: $30,000 and Under
Interior Designer: Weiken.com
Recommended for:
Homes under 100 sqm (with less than 5 rooms)
New apartments that don’t require dismantling or maintenance work
Partial renovations (e.g. doing up one area of the house)
Interior Designer: Charlotte’s Carpentry
What to expect:
In terms of design and materials: Don’t expect to get fancy designs or complex built-ins because fabrication and installation will cost you. Carpentry is simple, without intricate details. The type of materials used here are usually limited to basic, affordable options like laminates or vinyls, solid stone and ceramic tiles.
Interior Designer: The Cott Interior
In terms of amount of works done: Light hacking, basic masonry and minimal carpentry works is what this budget range can get you. It’s also about cutting out what’s unnecessary; many renovations under $30,000 do minimal works to areas like the kitchen/bathroom to save costs, particularly leaving out hacking or flooring works. This is common in new apartments that already come with perfectly functional fittings.
Interior Designer: U + Me Interior
Lastly, size plays a part – you’ll notice that most renovations in this range are for spaces under 100 sqm. The smaller the area to renovate; the lower the price.
Some homes in this price range:
Location: Fernvale Link
Interior Designer: Weiken.com
Renovation Cost: $28,000
Location: The Terrace
Interior Designer: Charlotte’s Carpentry
Renovation Cost: $20,000
Budget Range: $30,000 - $50,000
Interior Designer: EA Interior Design
Recommended for:
3, 4 room layouts. Basic works for 5 rooms or bigger.
New apartments
Resales (if there isn’t much dismantling/maintenance work to do)
Interior Designer: Ethereall
What to expect:
In terms of design and materials: Here, you’ll get to play around more with design elements. Think simple wall paneling, open-concept kitchens, glass partitions and the like. Your design can also incorporate more built-in features, like a basic walk-in wardrobe. This range also opens up a wider selection of materials to choose from. While you won’t be able to afford luxurious marble stone or full parquet, you can still make do with patterned tiles and laminates.
Interior Designer: Colourbox Interior
In terms of amount of works done: You’ll be able to cover the essentials like flooring, electrical works and carpentry, along with some optional items, like hacking, tiling and paint jobs. This budget can also accommodate larger homes (like 5-room flats) or resales that don’t require much dismantling, repairing and maintenance work, though at the expense of other aspects like design and carpentry.
Some homes in this price range:
Location: Toa Payoh Lorong 1
Interior Designer: ARK-hitecture
Renovation Cost: $46,000
Location: Jalan Tentaram
Interior Designer: Butler Interior
Renovation Cost: $40,000
Budget Range: $50,000 - $70,000
Interior Designer: Third Avenue Studio
Recommended for:
3, 4 to 5 rooms, or bigger layouts
Resale apartments that require more recovery work
Larger homes (100 sqm and above)
Interior Designer: DB Studio
What to Expect:
In terms of design & materials: It’s here that we get to see fanciful designs, extensively built up areas and creative, innovative fixtures, like having sliding partitions or a concealed bomb shelter piece (complete with cubby seating). Materials-wise, expect even more variety to choose from. Think floor-to-ceiling cement blocks, a marbled backsplash or perhaps a herringbone parquet floor?
Architect: Provolk Architects
In terms of amount of works done: If your home’s a resale that needs a ton of restoration work, this budget range is a good place to start. Similarly if your space is big, and has literally ‘more room’ to work on, $50,000 - $70,000 is a decent amount for covering a whole gamut of works – flooring, electrical works and all. Otherwise, this bumped up range mostly accounts for more extensive (and complex) carpentry work.
Some homes in this range:
Location: Punggol Drive
Interior Designer: Dan’s Workshop
Renovation Cost: $65,000
Location: Lorong Limau
Interior Designer: Chapter One Interior Design
Renovation Cost: $50,000
Budget Range: $70,000 and above
Interior Designer: Fuse Concept
Recommended for:
People who seriously want an Extreme Makeover-level home overhaul
Crumbling resales that are major fixer-uppers
Huge homes like maisonettes, penthouses, executive apartments and jumbo flats
Interior Designer: Prozfile Design
What to Expect:
In terms of design and materials: Welcome to the mile-high club - the place where old houses are completely turned 180-degrees and new homes take your breath away. No expense is spared, whether it’s in terms of the luxurious materials used, shapeshifting layouts or ingenius built-ins. It’s all there – if you’ve got the cash to spare.
Interior Designer: Schemacraft
In terms of amount of works done: It’s beyond extensive. You can afford to deck most parts of your home with built-in fixtures, and even if your area is huge and above 120 sqm, anything above $70,000 should be able to cover a comprehensive range of works.
Location: Hougang
Interior Designer: Dan’s Workshop
Renovation Cost: $100,000
Location: Vertis Penthouse
Interior Designer: Asolidplan
Renovation Cost: $140,000
Next stop? Get your personalised renovation budget!
Note: This article is simply an average estimate of costs and works. Ultimately, each home is different! For a more detailed breakdown of your ideal renovation budget based on your home’s size, condition and the various works you’d like to do, check out Qanvast’s Budget Calculator here.
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