Is the decoration industry in deep trouble?

When decorating, who hasn’t spent some money in vain? ——Things of similar quality were chosen because of the merchant’s exaggeration; they speculated on their own needs and blindly followed the trend of buying; poor communication with the construction team, resulting in multiple reworks resulting in waste... In short, due to lack of experience, during the decoration Sometimes we inevitably invest our limited budget into unlimited waste.

Haohaozhu also launched a topic in the APP "What kind of wasted money have you spent on decoration?". Many residents have detailed the various troubles they encountered during decoration. Below, we have sorted out the 7 most nominated “money traps”, and at the end there are some tips on budget control, hoping to help you save money and avoid pitfalls.

01 ?Cabinet

Pitfalls: Inflated prices of accessories and big-name brands

Look at their real experience:

Sumitomo@west777 :

When customizing integrated cabinets, merchants often package and sell the electrical sinks, faucets, and even water purifiers. Everyone knows the truth, and everyone who specializes in the industry should also understand. It is more appropriate to buy sink faucets and electrical appliances separately. Regardless of price or quality, it will definitely be much better than the certain package launched by the cabinet company!

Sumitomo@baishun:

Cabinet! As a former industry insider, I advise everyone to try to find local brands, as the price/performance ratio is much higher than that of well-known brands! As long as the big brands have the raw materials, they should be available, and the process technology is relatively mature. The price difference is too big. Many Sumitomo are worried that the floor-to-ceiling cabinet doors will deform, so they can choose this profile door (aluminum alloy or the like). The size is large and not easy to deform. The current technology can also make the texture very good. Environmental protection is a major advantage. The price is much cheaper than solid wood doors that are easily deformed. The only disadvantage is that if the cabinet doors and drawers are mini, you cannot create a line shape.

Sumitomo@倰尧still:

I think it’s the pull basket that comes with customizing cabinets. Based on my decoration experience, I went door to door when ordering cabinets. I found that generally the prices of high-end brand baskets and hardware in branded custom furniture stores are very high, so I didn’t make the complete set in a physical store. Instead, I asked the designer who made the cabinets to tell me the dimensions, and then made it as needed. For the size, go to Taobao to buy it. The one I bought is Higgol, and I also chose the solid steel Black Diamond series (which is more expensive than the ordinary 304 steel round ones). A flat basket, a bowl basket and a seasoning basket add up. It’s more than 1,200, so I still recommend that all Sumitomo friends don’t waste money when making cabinets, and choose the hardware you like, which is high quality and low price.

Sumitomo@美yan:

Customized cabinets, I visited more than a dozen cabinet manufacturers in Shilihe Building Materials City, haggling along the way, getting closer and closer to the lowest price, and finally extended it to 1,400 We've got it done, Lushuihe cabinets, EGGER panels, quartz countertops, plus free delivery guarantee. The price quoted by that company at the beginning was probably more than double.

02 ? Ceramic tiles

Pitfalls: labor costs, purchasing methods, color difference

Look at their real experience:

Sumitomo@ Xiao Ke Ke Ke Ke tweeted:

The price of ceramic tiles purchased in the building materials market and shopping malls with the same appearance will be several times different, which does not affect the use of the ceramic tiles for most families. The tiles I bought at the building materials store cost 40/square meter, while the same brand and style cost 200/square meter.

Sumitomo@Minimalism-:

I have been debating whether it is Nobel or Marco Polo before, but these two companies are too biased towards luxury style, and I didn’t find anything I liked in the retro series. The decoration company took us to a small brand in Foshan that we had never heard of. Hangzhou Jiahaojia sells a brand called "Qiang Brand". The price is cheap and the appearance is very good. The quality is really amazing. They came to our home to install mirror cabinets and cabinets. The master went crazy, he could break more than a dozen drill bits in one hole, and complained why we bought such good bricks, but it is said that many small brands in Foshan are very good.

Sumitomo @ Linglong Thatched Cottage:

When choosing ceramic tiles and wallpapers, you must see them under natural light. My house looks particularly beautiful under the light. After paying the money, I took it home and opened it. This is not a color at all, and they won’t change it. This is also the case with the sliding door of my large wardrobe. Under the light, the whole thing is white. After it is fixed and installed, the door edges are all gray.

Sumitomo@Sanboo:

The workers generally recommended by the store will charge higher fees. It is best if you can find the workers yourself. The worker's tiling quotation is only for tiling, and also includes the costs of roughening the wall and applying glue to the vitrified tiles. Then you need to confirm the cutting fee when buying bricks, whether there will be any handling fees when replenishing and returning goods, etc. Sellers generally do not return the bricks after they are cut, so you must do the math yourself. There is also the cost of chamfering for tiling! Generally, the master quotes one side, because the two bricks are each inverted at 45 degrees, so the cost must be multiplied by 2.

03 ?Paint

Pitfalls: dosage estimate, color difference, purchasing method

Look at their real experience:

Sumitomo @pumpkin:

The place where I feel like I’m wasting my money is on paint. The price difference between physical stores and online flagship stores is very large, and the high-end paints claimed by physical stores are not necessarily high-end. When estimating paint, you must estimate it. It's less than what was used, and a touch-up later would cost more than half the price. On the one hand, the brand of paint is mainly due to the various series. I can’t tell the difference and it looks dazzling. It is said that heavy-color paint needs to be adjusted on site, and the color paste does not necessarily come from the original factory. The average consumer cannot tell that all the previous environmental protection indexes have been lost without using the original factory.

Sumitomo@西园儿:

Let the paint dealer calculate the amount according to the construction area. As a result, there were many more barrels, and there was no problem at all when painting a few more rooms.

Sumitomo@ mushroom candy:

Latex paint. The construction team's calculations were very off, and the color was adjusted. A brand new, unopened bucket was lying there wasted.

sumitomo@peacock:

When I was painting the wall, there was a difference between the color card and the actual effect, so I spent money to buy paint and paint it again.... However, it was still the same. Not satisfied, ready to change the wallpaper.

04 ?Bathroom supplies

Pitfalls: reserving space, rework, and launching water

Look at their real experience:

Sumitomo @windyxin:

Wall-mounted faucets must arrange a tripartite meeting between plumbers, masons and designers during the water and electricity stage, and calculate the wall distance in advance, so as to avoid faucets during final installation. The bolts are exposed (once exposed, even the decorative cover cannot be saved). If brands such as Kohler-Hansgrohe do not discuss and communicate in advance before installation, you will definitely want to cry when the water and electricity faucets are installed! If people with obsessive-compulsive disorder cannot accept it, they can only smash the wall and start over again. The price is too high! Spending a little time communicating can save you a lot of wasted money~ (It is best to ask the plumber in advance whether he has installed the brand you purchased. An experienced technician will help you a lot!)

Sumitomo@大米aunt:

Concealed toilets/showers/wall-mounted basins require pre-buried pipes during construction, and the construction cost increases accordingly. At the same time, the concealed shower head will be more expensive than the ordinary one, and I think the price of the toilet is about the same.

Sumitomo @明明的小新:

The water depth of the bathroom is also the easiest place to spend money. Many bathrooms involve hidden projects. Once completed, it will take half a lifetime. What I most want to advise everyone to avoid is bathroom hardware, such as floor drains, water purifiers, and showers. Floor drains are considered hidden projects, and they are easy to install but difficult to remove. Whether drainage and odor prevention are good or not is related to health and comfort. It is one of the fastest-effective items to improve the quality of life.

The choice of floor drain in my home took a lot of effort. Someone recommended to me a popular brand on the market. The reason is that it is cheap and easy to use. But my focus is not on price and reputation, but on whether the working principle is scientific. Only on this basis can I make another decision. Talking about cost-effectiveness, I finally chose a new type of siphon floor drain that is not well-known and has a high price. I was not disappointed. This is the most proud part of my decoration! When the neighbors were complaining about the blockage and the smell, I could only laugh and be glad that I was good at spending money, hahaha.

05 ? Curtains

Pitfalls: Inflated prices, accessories, and color differences in physical stores

Look at their real experience:

Sumitomo@baishun:

The curtain dealers I have worked with have made it clear that they make money by adding accessories. Choose curtains and use good fabrics. Don’t be superstitious about big brands. You can focus on the many e-commerce brands recommended by Sumitomo. Formaldehyde is soluble in water, so if you are concerned, wash it twice more. You get what you pay for. Imported high-end brands do have obvious advantages in fabrics and workmanship, but whether they are really beautiful or not is a matter of opinion.

Sumitomo@eight1983:

Curtains, the exclusive physical stores are too profitable! And many of them are not environmentally friendly! Already planning to get it done by IKEA!

Sumitomo@江米米:

Curtains! It has to be curtains! It is recommended to buy curtains locally. You can see and touch the fabric intuitively. The most important thing is to facilitate after-sales service (tb is not necessarily cheap now...). After I got the curtains home, I still had some problems, and I went back and forth several times. , it is also delivered by express delivery in the same city, but at least, if the seller does not cooperate, I can still go to the store to find him... If it is TB... it may take a little effort.

Sumitomo@M-Muzi:

For example, curtains, the same material is used in Juran Home, Red Star and outside curtain shops, the difference can be more than 100 per meter, I suggest For curtains, you still need to visit more physical stores and compare the color fabrics to make sure you can choose what you like. I don’t dare to buy curtains online.

06 ? Skirting

Pitfalls: material selection and matching

Look at their real experience:

Sumitomo@LANLAN Lan Lanxizhi:

Wooden floor skirtings and buckles usually sell for 40 to 50 yuan. The same quality products on Taobao cost around 20 yuan. If you add 100 yuan to the installation engineer’s labor fee, he will usually be willing to give it to you. For installation, I found it locally on Taobao, and it included installation. In total, I saved several thousand on this item.

Sumitomo@connieyao:

Don’t buy baseboards from flooring stores, they are really expensive. Fir wood is 28 per meter. There are many on Taobao or in stores that sell doors and boards. Just pay a few yuan per meter for labor and let the door installer or floor installer install it. 4. Wood veneer is pitiful and expensive. I didn’t think it looked good, but the seller was very good. I had to pay the logistics fee separately and they didn’t send it upstairs. When I received it, it looked like plywood, which was highly recommended by the designer.

Sumitomo@Gunzi Group Leader:

Skicking. The plumber and electricity master chiseled out the skirting and charged a labor fee. I thought it was for the plumbing pipes, but later I found out that it was for the tile skirting. The tile master came in to smooth the base line and charged a labor fee based on the price of laying the base line. The wood floor master came in to lay the wooden skirting and charged an installation fee. One thing cost three bucks.

Sumitomo@ddcat:

The baseboards! Don't buy them at a place that sells flooring, especially those in modern minimalist/Nordic/desktop styles. First, it's hard to find a large flat-panel model that's short enough, and second, it's expensive.

The solid wood 5.6 cm white baseboards on tb are relatively reliable in personal testing, and the additional installation fee is less than 20/m

07? Soft furnishings

Pitfalls: Dimensional measurement, imagined needs

Look at their real experience:

Sumitomo@Boss Feng:

When choosing furniture when decorating, always It's easy to "guess" what you need, or to ignore the size issue. Even if you buy a few extra pieces of small furniture, it may become a cumbersome space after you move in. However, when you buy it, you don't feel that you don't need it or that you can't fit it. Sometimes these furniture only exist in your shopping cart... ? It is strongly recommended to only buy the furniture you really need during the renovation, such as sofas, beds, bookcases, etc. Think clearly if you are not sure whether you really need it or not. If you are too sure about the size, you can not buy anything you can afford, and you can slowly add it after the decoration is completed and you move in. After I moved in, I bought a lot of small pieces of furniture. I measured them at home with a tape measure and bought them online, which was very convenient. Don’t overestimate your furniture needs and your ability to estimate physical dimensions.

Sumitomo@loyphia:

Never buy furniture before moving into your home! ! When I bought my house, I went to a furniture show and ordered a single-seater sofa, which cost more than 8,000. Later, when my home was renovated, I found that I could buy many nice-looking single-seater sofas for more than 8,000, but Goose bought it. I don’t like this anymore, and I can’t bear to sell it cheaply! It feels a bit eye-catching no matter where you put it. Aesthetics will change and preferences will change, so really, buy slowly ~ after all, money is not stolen! !

Sumitomo@zetingz:

Many of the sharings about living well are very nice, but considering that you have lived at home for a long time and moved several times, it is actually not suitable to display too many things. of accessories. In the early days, I also bought a lot of beautiful paintings, cups, bottles, candles, and fragrances because I lived well, but in fact, even with a part-time job, cleaning up the house was really exhausting.

08 ?There are also some tips to save money...

Pitfalls: freight, installation, deposit

Look at their real experience:

Sumitomo@I'm Not 918:

As a Virgo, it should be unexpected to feel that you have been wronged:

1. Shipping costs. No free shipping. Free shipping requires self-pickup. Only delivered downstairs.

2. Installation fee. All kinds of electrical appliances, yes, are included in the installation package, but the materials cost money. For example, the water inlet pipe of the faucet is not long enough, so you need to pay more! For example, installing a dishwasher and installing a faucet for the washing machine will cost extra! For example, installing a TV mount requires extra money! The point is that you haven't prepared these things when it's about to be installed, so you have to let the installation master rip you off and charge you a high price for very inferior materials. Some people said it would be better to come next time. Sorry, there will be a charge for the second visit!

3. Deposit. If you are not really prepared to buy it, and it will take a long time before construction begins, try not to pay a deposit. God knows whether you will fancy something better, change your mind, or find other discount channels before installation. Many merchants do not refund deposits, so it is better to wait until it is 100% confirmed and not long before installation before paying the deposit.

Sumitomo@小面妞元:

I think there are pitfalls everywhere... You must understand all the decoration processes, compare with several, shop more and stay better, less than Determined not to pay at the last minute! Even if it is a deposit, it must be guaranteed to be refundable later. Otherwise, once the money is paid, you will immediately lose your right to speak.