Nowadays, people tend to focus on celebrating Tet (Lunar New Year) rather than just worrying about food supplies as before. The first thing they do is beautify their homes, and those with more resources even create miniature landscapes to welcome the New Year.
Decorating the space with bright colors to welcome the spring with good fortune - Photo: YEN TRINH
Le Ha (45 years old), who owns a house in an alley off Nguyen Van Dau Street (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), is usually busy with work and travels to other provinces, so he took advantage of the past few days to renovate his house in preparation for Tet.
This is also the time when many people want to beautify, warm up, and make their homes more cheerful. "I chose a home renovation company located in Tan Binh district to repaint the walls and lay floor tiles. They finished the job in 3 days," said Mr. Ha.
Renovate for a lucky new year.
Although his income this year wasn't as high as he'd hoped, Mr. Ha plans to decorate and tidy up his house for a prosperous new year. He said, "My family will buy chrysanthemums and bougainvillea to display in front of the house, buy watermelons and pomelos, then decorate the ancestral altars with red paper and colored paper. We've already pruned the leaves from the apricot blossom trees on the porch on the 15th day of the 12th lunar month."
Around the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, he will scrub the candle holders and clean the altar. He doesn't forget to buy white sand to replace the incense in the censer, and fragrant incense sticks to make the house smell nice, then prepare a plate of betel nuts and leaves for offering incense. The family will hire a cleaning service to mop the floors and clean the windows...
In an alley off Nguyen Quy Anh Street (Tan Phu District), Ms. Phuong Trang (44 years old) said she plans to ask her younger brother to hire a service to repaint the walls and re-tile the floor. If things go smoothly, she intends to modernize the upper floor because the house has deteriorated after a long period of renting. "The company quoted 70,000 VND/m2 for painting. We'll just repaint the walls and re-tile because Tet is approaching," she said.
In a cool alley off Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street (District 3), two young workers are meticulously scraping off the old paint and sanding it before applying a fresh coat of paint to the fence of a villa. Before that, they trimmed and cut back the overgrown bougainvillea branches, leaving a blank wall for easier work.
Working diligently sanding under the spring sun, Dung (29 years old, a painter residing in Binh Chanh district) said that his team has been very busy these days. Standing next to him, Nguyen Huu Trang, a contractor, said: "This house's fence is wide, so we should finish it in two more days. Usually, we take on projects until around the 26th of the 12th lunar month. More complex projects have to be scheduled for after the Lunar New Year."
With nearly 30 years in the construction and home renovation business, Mr. Nguyen Van Nhieu (60 years old, residing in Phu Nhuan district) says that many people need to renovate and repair their homes more frequently near Tet (Lunar New Year). His team of 7 people, including painters, electricians, plumbers, tile layers, door installers, etc., always strives to complete projects on schedule and to a high standard so that customers can enjoy Tet with peace of mind. "Working during Tet, seeing customers satisfied makes me happy," he smiled.
Mr. Nguyen Van Nhieu repaints the walls of a house in District 3 (Ho Chi Minh City) on the 17th day of the 12th lunar month - Photo: Y.TR.
Free TV and post-repair cleaning service.
Carrying a small bucket of paint, meticulously painting the wall by the window, Mr. Nhieu said he would be taking on house and shop renovation and repair jobs until the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. Specifically, the house in District 3 that he and a worker are currently renovating includes demolishing the central wall to create a large window, painting it white, and adding decorative touches to the walls.
"Many clients also ask for advice on paint colors and floor tiles that suit their space and budget. We usually provide color charts and explain the characteristics and advantages of each material to help clients choose easily," he said. Having undertaken renovations for both townhouses and apartments, he noted that painting and tiling apartment floors are generally simpler than for townhouses with more complex structures.
Specializing in full interior and exterior painting, floor tiling, and functional design, Huong, an employee of VQ company (Go Vap district), said that the workers will come to the house to survey the price a few hours after the customer calls and agree on the renovation plan. "For the preliminary design, we don't charge extra; we use hand-drawn sketches of what the customer wants," she said.
Mr. Le Thanh Tien (NV company, Binh Thanh district), with 10 years of experience in the industry, said that the price for repainting walls is around 125,000 - 145,000 VND/m2 depending on the type of paint. He gave an example of an 80m2 apartment that would be completed in 4-5 days, with a two-year warranty. "We will apply one primer coat and two top coats. Customers can rest assured because we commit to meeting deadlines; otherwise, we will deduct 20% of the contract value," he said.
Meanwhile, an employee at VQ company (Go Vap district) said that demand increases in the last months of the year. "Vietnamese people have traditionally had the habit of renovating, decorating, and cleaning their houses to welcome good fortune. Customers choose to renovate before Tet with the mindset that everything is new in the new year, and they usually do it 30-40 days before Tet."
This company handles various projects such as repairing cracked walls, mold, tiling, wallpapering, electrical systems, room expansion, etc. The price for floor tiling ranges from 160,000 to 500,000 VND/m2 depending on the structure and type of tile. Labor costs are approximately 60,000 VND/m2, which will be added to the total cost.
To attract customers, some companies are offering promotional packages including free TVs and house cleaning services upon completion. VQ Company stated that for contracts around 100 million VND, they would provide a cleaning package worth several million VND. NV Company offers a cleaning package, and for contracts between 900 million and 1 billion VND, they would give away a refrigerator worth 15 million VND, while contracts over 1.5 billion VND would include a TV worth 20 million VND.
There's so much cleaning to do when Tet (Lunar New Year) comes.
With no need for renovations, many families opt for a house cleaning package. Referring to cleaning her house, which is over 90 square meters and consists of two rooms, Ms. Le Thi Tu (owner of a catering business in Hoc Mon) said that because of the busy end-of-year period, she often hires people to clean her house.
She recounted, "My house was recently renovated, so cleaning is easy; I just need to mop the floors and doors, wipe away dust, and wash the curtains... I usually ask an acquaintance who specializes in cooking for parties to also clean the house for Tet, paying her 500,000 dong."
According to her, hiring a cleaning service company or booking through a home cleaning app is cheaper, but not as convenient as relying on acquaintances. The general cleaning price, including cleaning the living room, kitchen, porch, wiping tables and chairs, vacuuming, cleaning windows, arranging furniture, wiping statues, sofas, cabinets, and emptying trash cans, averages 70,000 VND per hour, plus a service fee of 200,000 VND per hire. Therefore, hiring for two hours would cost a total of 340,000 VND.
Besides hourly cleaning services, many companies offer comprehensive cleaning services for floors, ceilings, furniture, odor removal, and disinfection, priced based on floor area (total area of all floors in the house). A small house costs 1.2 million VND for a complete package, while a 100m2 house costs approximately 2.1 million VND. To retain customers, TK company (Binh Thanh district) offers a 10-20% discount for customers who continue using their services monthly or quarterly.
Demand has increased by 30-50% compared to normal days.
Surveys of several house cleaning companies in Ho Chi Minh City show that demand increases by 30-50% during Tet (Lunar New Year). Depending on the distance, staff will arrive within 30 minutes to an hour after an appointment is made.
"Just tell the staff what you need cleaned when they arrive. The cost is calculated by the hour; for example, two hours would cost 300,000 VND," said a consultant from a cleaning service company in Tan Binh district.
Cleaning and decorating early will save you from rushing.
According to Mr. Le Ha's experience and advice from home repair and cleaning services, those in need should plan their renovations from the 11th lunar month or earlier to avoid rushing. If anything is not to their liking, customers can request corrections in time for Tet (Lunar New Year).
Mr. Le Ha bought flowers to decorate for Tet (Lunar New Year) - Photo: Y.TRINH
When it comes to cleaning and decorating, if we're doing it ourselves, we should do it gradually to avoid getting overwhelmed. For example, homeowners can utilize a few free hours during the twelfth lunar month to sort and discard old clothes one day, clean tables and chairs the next, wash curtains, and buy flowers to arrange.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lo-choi-tet-nhieu-hon-an-tet-20250116231824405.htm
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