Making your home feel more like home or getting your home ready to sell doesn’t have to be a long or expensive process.
Here’s a few quick, easy, and inexpensive ways to make your house into the home you’ve always dreamed of.
Paint
Painting a room, a group of cabinets, or a piece of furniture can have a drastic impact on the space. It’s also a project that most homeowners can tackle on their own over the course of a weekend. A fresh coat of paint is also a great way to improve your home’s exterior curb appeal. Do yourself a favor and use high quality paint, brushes, rollers and roller covers to see the best results.
Lights, Switches, and Receptacles
A gaudy ceiling fan from 1972 can make any room look dated, as can dirty or outdated switches and receptacles. Intermediate-level Do-It-Yourselfers can fix both problems. If you’re nervous about working with electricity, hiring a licensed electrician to perform these relatively easy tasks will probably be cheaper than you think.
Add a Molding
Trying to make a room look fancier? Look no further than the molding section at your local building supply. Crown, base and chair rail moldings are inexpensive, and if you’re handy with a miter saw and finish nailer, you can install them yourself. To dress the room up even more, consider adding wainscoting or beadboard beneath the chair rail.
Plumbing Fixtures
If a full kitchen or bath remodel is out of your price range, or you just want to add an extra touch to a room you already love, consider replacing some plumbing fixtures. It’s amazing how much a new faucet, showerhead and toilet can change the look of your bathroom. The same goes for kitchen sinks and faucets. A high-end showerhead also feels great after a hard day of home improvement.
Hardware Upgrades
Make your current cabinets and vanities shine by simply changing the hardware. You’ll be surprised at how much this seemingly minuscule change affects the appearance of the room. Think of hardware as jewelry for cabinets and pick a style that highlights the best features of what’s already there.
Landscaping
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and your home’s landscaping is the first thing people will see upon arriving. However, you don’t need to undergo a total overhaul to make your lawn look great. Focus on the details like keeping the grass mowed and healthy, keeping shrubs and trees neatly pruned, and keeping flowerbeds mulched and weed free —and you won’t believe how good your place will look.
Clear the Clutter
A neat and tidy space always looks better than a room or lawn filled to the brim. Instead of covering a wall with pictures, pick out a few of your favorites and store the rest elsewhere. You can even rotate pictures and artwork for the time of year. The same goes for your home’s exterior. Don’t get carried away with dozens of flowers. A few strategically placed beds or pots are easier to maintain and will make your home look great.
Whatever changes you decide to make to your home (big or small), it’s important to have a plan, a timeline and a budget before you begin. That way once the work starts, it will be completed quickly and you can begin enjoying the new environment you’ve created.
