Trần Hưng Thịnh PhátFurniture & Design

First apartment fit-out: 7 tips to avoid cost overruns

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First apartment fit-out: 7 tips to avoid cost overruns

Cost overruns are the biggest worry for first-time fit-out customers. After hundreds of apartments, here are the 7 tips we always share.

One: finalize the design before your apartment handover, so construction can start the day you get the keys — saving rent while you wait. Two: request itemized quotes with per-meter/m² unit prices — avoid 'one-line package' quotes. Three: identify the 20% of items worth spending most on (usually the kitchen and bed) and economize on the rest.

Four: scrutinize materials in the contract — board brand, thickness, surface coating, hardware brands. This is where the biggest price gaps hide. Five: minimize design changes after production starts; every change at that stage costs many times more than revising drawings.

Six: reserve 5–10% of the budget for loose furniture and décor (curtains, lamps, rugs, plants) — without it, a finished apartment still feels incomplete. Seven: choose a company with its own workshop and visit it before signing — a fit-out company's real capability is in its workshop, not its 3D renders.

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