How we renovated our 3BHK in Hiranandani Gardens — a homeowner's honest account

My husband and I bought our 3BHK in Hiranandani Gardens in late 2023, having moved from a rented 2BHK in Powai. The builder's interiors were functional but cold — white walls, basic vitrified tiles, and a kitchen layout that made no sense for how we cook. We knew from the start that we'd renovate within the first year.

We made our first mistake early: we hired a vendor based on a neighbour's WhatsApp recommendation without doing any independent verification. The vendor — a small firm with a cheerful owner and an impressive Instagram portfolio — took a 40% advance and proceeded to ghost us for three weeks after demolition. When we finally reached him, the excuses were incoherent. We ended the contract, absorbed the loss, and started again.

The second time around, we found LivZio and spent two weeks reading reviews for firms that had worked in our building. We shortlisted Arjun Interiors and one other vendor, did in-home presentations with both, and checked references directly. The contrast was remarkable: Arjun Interiors produced a detailed scope document that ran to twelve pages; the other vendor gave us two pages of general headings.

We signed with Arjun Interiors in March 2025. The design phase took four weeks — longer than we expected but worth it, because we entered execution with absolute clarity. Every material was specified, every dimension documented. The site supervisor Ramesh introduced himself on day one and sent us a photo update every evening.

The project wasn't without tension. Around week seven, we discovered that the tiles we'd approved from a sample turned out to look significantly darker on the floor than in the showroom. Arjun's team offered to replace the already-laid tiles in the kitchen at their cost, since the sample and final material were from the same batch but the lighting difference hadn't been flagged during selection. We negotiated a shared cost arrangement — we paid for new tiles, they absorbed the labour — and chose a lighter variant. It was a disruption, but it was handled professionally.

Handover came on week fourteen, two days ahead of schedule. The snag list we compiled had eleven items. Nine were resolved before we returned the next day; the remaining two (a slightly misaligned drawer front and a gout line in the bathroom) were fixed within the week. We paid the full final instalment on day eight after handover.

Fourteen months later, our kitchen is the room every visitor comments on. The parallel layout, the island that doubles as our dining table, the cove lighting above the upper cabinets at night — it works exactly as we imagined. The one piece of advice I'd give anyone starting this process: the vendor who shows you their process before they show you their portfolio is the one to trust.