Renovation with or without an interior designer in Batumi

What a designer brings to a renovation

For a renovation, a designer is useful above all for the drawings. Pictures do little for a crew. The working drawings give the dimensions of the partitions, the heights of the sockets, the tile layout, the exact positions of the plumbing fixtures and a materials list with product codes. The site foreman builds from these drawings, and the estimate can be worked out before the first hole is drilled.

You do not have to order the whole project. You can ask a designer for just the layout, just the electrics and lighting, or help with choosing finishes. 3D renders check the proportions and the light, but the building is done from drawings.

In a humid climate a designer also helps with the choice of materials. They will think ahead about the small things people only remember a year later. For example, a mirror next to the shower needs sealed edges, otherwise damp darkens the silvering along them.

Renovation without a designer: when furniture and electrical plans are enough

In a standard apartment where no walls are moved, there are fewer decisions, and you can make most of them yourself. The minimum you need before rough work starts is a furniture layout and an electrical plan, plus a selection of finishes and lighting for a short-term rental. The electrical plan shows:

• Sockets with their height and purpose: by the bed, above the worktop, for the TV, the washing machine and the water heater
• Switches, and which light each one controls
• Connection points for the air conditioners where they will hang, and a socket for a dehumidifier if the apartment stands empty in winter
• Sockets in the hallway and wardrobe for the vacuum cleaner, the router and a shoe dryer
• Circuit breaker groups in the consumer unit (fuse box), with separate circuits for the kitchen, bathroom and air conditioners

You can draw this plan without a designer, on a measured floor plan, as long as it gives dimensions from the floor and from the corners. We check it against the furniture you have chosen and only then mark out the walls for cable channels. For a studio rented out long term, this plan is usually all you need.

Renovation with a designer: where a mistake costs more than the design

Paying for a designer makes sense where one change affects several jobs at once. A kitchen moved to the window changes the routes of the water supply, the drains and the extractor duct. A bathroom enlarged into the corridor needs the floor slopes and the waterproofing worked out for the new area, and a built-in wardrobe made to the wrong size has to be redone together with the finish around it.

Complex lighting is also better worked out on paper. Concealed lighting, lighting scenes and a pendant over a table that has not been bought yet all need exact dimensions before plastering. Once the cable is buried in the wall, moving a light by half a metre means a new channel, filling and repainting the whole wall.

Renovation without a designer, from a distance

Without drawings, the site foreman has questions every day: which way the door opens, where the splashback ends, which tile to start the layout from, at what height to bring the water out for the sink. If you are nearby, answering takes minutes. If you are in another time zone, the questions pile up and work on that part of the job stops.

That is why, when we run a renovation without a designer while you are away, we work from a list of decisions that you confirm in advance. Before rough work, it covers the furniture layout, the electrics and the plumbing, with the models of toilet and taps. Before finishing, it covers the tiles, doors and wall colours. We record every decision with photos in the project chat, so that a month later it is clear who made it and when.

For a simple apartment this routine is enough. If the list of decisions does not fit on one page, the apartment most likely needs a design project.

Renovation with or without an interior designer: cost and timing

A design project adds its own cost to the budget and several weeks before work starts. In return, an estimate based on the materials schedule is accurate, while in an estimate without a project some items stay approximate until you have chosen the tiles, plumbing and lighting. Either way, we send a preliminary estimate from photos and a floor plan within 24 hours on business days, and the detailed estimate after we measure on site.

Without a designer, the renovation starts sooner and costs less up front. The risk lies elsewhere: decisions made on the go sometimes have to be redone, and you pay for that rework. If you are unsure, start with a furniture layout and an electrical plan. A full project can still be added before rough work begins. The site foreman will tell you at the site measurement whether this minimum is enough for your apartment.