Do you feel like you need a change? Sick of looking at everything in your house?
With some creativity, you can make changes that will help you feel like you’re in a new home. And the bonus? They are projects you can tackle yourself — no waiting for a contractor or other professional to slot you into their packed schedule. Nonetheless, if you are renting, you may need to get permission from your property manager or landlord before undertaking some of these projects.
Give Your Kitchen a Facelift
Your kitchen is the lifeblood of your home. But if faced with dated cupboards, fixtures, and countertops, you might find that you don’t enjoy the time you spend in there. You can spend a weekend replacing cabinet doors, or just the drawer pulls and door handles to get a new look. If you want to get a new look without replacing them, consider painting the doors a new color. Adding this splash of color will be an easier task if you’re working with painted cupboards. If they’re stained wood, there may be extra steps to prepare the wood to be painted, which may extend the project timeline to a couple of weekends, depending on how much time you have during the week.
A new faucet can also be a nice change. If you have been wishing you had a sprayer, for example, you can get one of the fancy new faucets that include a pull-out kitchen sprayer. If it’s tough to get under the sink, purchase the installation service when you buy the faucet. Otherwise, you can install it yourself. In addition, consider adding a disposal to put the sprayer to excellent use by sending debris right down the disposal.
You might find some spots that need a good deep cleaning, such as the tile and grout in your backsplashes or the area behind the rice cooker. Even though this isn’t a fun job, getting it done can give you a feeling of accomplishment that rekindles your joy in the kitchen.
Freshen up the Bathroom
Another essential room that often gets overlooked is the bathroom. New faucets here can make a big difference, as can an upgraded shower head – handheld plus rain shower, anyone? While you’re focused on the shower, consider getting a new caddy or shelf system to keep the hair and body products tidy. Outside the shower, a medicine cabinet can help everyone keep their stuff off the counter, so the bathroom looks tidier all the time.
The flooring can also be an easy upgrade. If you’ve got old linoleum, consider installing new vinyl tile. It’s low cost, easy to cut to fit around corners and fixtures, and available in various styles, from a slate look to wood grain.
Need something different than those boring white walls? Tiles can also go on the walls to give your bathroom a spa look, or a more colorful green or yellow paint could be just the change you need. Accessorize with a new shower curtain and fresh towels to feel as if you’ve moved into a brand-new home.
If you’re not looking to change the look, giving the bathroom a good cleaning and replacing dingy old grout can help the space feel more inviting.
Add Furniture with More Storage
Clutter can get the best of all of us. Whether it's the grown-ups’ books and knickknacks, the kids’ toys, or all the above, finding the right place to store these items can make a huge difference in how you feel in your living space. A smart option is furniture that does double duty, such as a coffee table with space underneath for sorting baskets or an ottoman that holds toys.
If books and knickknacks are the issues, a new bookcase might give you a better place to store these items. Adding one can dramatically improve the look of your living room, and you can consider one that doubles as an entertainment center to keep everything gathered neatly.
Clean Up
We mentioned deep cleaning the kitchen and bathroom already, but it can make a huge difference in the rest of your home, too. If you’ve got wall-to-wall carpets, rent a shampooer and clean those. If you use large area rugs instead, consider sending them out to be professionally cleaned. You may fall in love with that rug once you’ve restored its original color.
Also, look under and behind furniture to get the dust and debris that builds up where you can’t see it. If anyone in your family has allergies, they will benefit significantly from this task.
Rearrange
Does your couch really need to be on that wall? Would the TV actually work better in a different spot? Should your bed face the other direction? And would the cooking utensils be much more convenient in the drawer right by the stove? Without spending money on anything new, you can completely transform your home by rearranging the furniture or moving things around in the kitchen. You can either wing it or measure and use graph paper (or a home design app) to test and plan the changes before committing.
Once you identify the changes you’d like to make, you should be able to shake things up in your home with a bit of effort and some small purchases.
See if a Home Equity Line of Credit can help fund your home upgrades
