4 Renovation Horror Stories and How They Could’ve Been Avoided

There’s something you can learn from each one.

Behind every dream home, there’s a renovation journey. Unfortunately, for some, this journey doesn’t go smoothly, with unexpected hiccups, mistakes, and lessons learned the hard way.

We got several homeowners to share their tales of renovation woe – and more importantly, we’ll also be highlighting tips to avoid these situations, so you can steer clear of anything similar.

1. “My ID scammed us AND his employers.”

“I engaged this particular interior design firm because I liked their designs, and was assigned to a designer called Ryan (not real name). It was smooth at the start but when work commenced, he asked us to PayNow a certain percentage of the renovation cost directly to his personal account.”

“It seemed suspicious, so I tried asking the management of his company, but Ryan kept pressuring us to make the payment and saying that he would pay the firm on my behalf. When I mentioned that I was uncomfortable with this, he showed me a receipt which I later found out was fake. Sad to say, I fell for it and paid him.”

“The management of the firm itself wasn’t helpful; they urged me not to make a police report and that they would settle this among themselves. It did get resolved eventually, but it took a while and it was very stressful. I should’ve listened to the reviews online as there were many bad ones.”

-- Genevieve

What we can learn: Other than looking at portfolios, do also look through online reviews on multiple platforms (Qanvast, Google, Facebook, etc.) to see what past clients have said about the firm.

Know that a reputable interior design firm will NEVER ask you to send your payments to their personal accounts. If you’re unsure whether the account is legitimate or not, check that the PayNow ID is a Unique Entity Number (UEN) rather than a phone number. You can also cross-check this number on UEN.gov.sg.

2. “I had to tell my contractor that we needed door locks.”

“My husband and I went with a contractor over an interior designer as we had existing connections. Plus, we thought it’d be cheaper.”

“Little did I realise that it was a mistake. The process was so tedious – they not only tended to propose cookie-cutter designs (to the point that we had to come up with ideas of our own), we also had to spoon-feed them and tell them exactly what we wanted.

“For example, she installed bathroom doors without a lock of any sort, which should be a no-brainer to think about. We had to tell her to redo the doors, and even then, we still had to source for the lock ourselves.”

“The hard part is, it was difficult to be 100% honest with her since she was a family friend, and we didn’t want to sour the existing relationship.”

-- Valerie

What we can learn: Engaging the help of a contractor can be appealing as they’re cheaper, but the payoff may not be worth it – especially if you don’t have the design know-how or the time to oversee the work, source for things, and figure out the measurements on your own.

An interior designer, while a tad more expensive, can do all of these things for you while providing ideas that will suit your own lifestyle needs – which makes them an ideal choice for busy homeowners (which we’re sure most of you are!).

3. “We were sold by false promises.”

“My husband and I were choosing between two IDs and eventually went with the one that promised a quick turnaround. We got our house keys in November 2024 and they said they can be done by December 2024 – which I initially thought was weird, but we eventually went ahead anyway.”

“Our ID also kept missing appointments – he’d give vague excuses like a sudden wedding, a sick family member, and all that. There was one time we were supposed to view fittings in JB, and he ditched us last minute without a proper reason. Mind you, we live in the East.”

“Their workmanship was quite shoddy also, but that’s a whole other story. In the end, the renovation took more than 3 months in total, which could have messed up our timeline. But luckily, we were renting a room at my sister’s place and they were flexible with the extension.”

“I would not recommend them in the slightest, and I wish we had gone for the alternative ID.”

-- Khaliesah and Adam

What we can learn: Quick turnarounds, flashy promos, and low costs are just some of the things that a professional can throw at you. But remember – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Instead of relying on verbal assurances, one thing you can do is to ask for a clear renovation timeline in writing, with milestones and buffer times included.

4. “My brother’s ID recommendation didn’t work for us.”

“We did our research and spoke to a few IDs, but we ended up going with the same ID that worked on my brother’s house a few years back, since he said she did a great job.”

“We had a boatload of problems with her, but the one that really annoyed us was the lack of site management. Our ID never gave timely updates without us chasing her, never came down with us to buy our fixtures, and never gave any recommendations for ones that suited the theme we wanted.”

“It was baffling because my brother had a great experience with her, so I’m not sure what changed. You see happy homeowners online talking about their chemistry with the ID, but I don’t know how that feels since we didn’t have that with our own ID.”

-- Farah and Farid

What we can learn: While asking your close friends and relatives for interior designer recommendations is alright, you should still speak to them yourself. Like any relationship, different people work differently with others, and a past good relationship doesn’t guarantee the same with yourself.

On top of that, you should also meet up with at least 3 to 5 interior designers. Not only does this allow you to compare different quotes – this also allows you to explore your working chemistry with different people and help you make an informed decision on the best person that fits your vibe and lifestyle needs.

If you think this is too time-consuming, events like our Qanvast Hangout gives you the opportunity to meet multiple interior designers in a single day. And the best part is, it’s free!