By Sally Norton
You’re running on a tight budget, but your home is in dire need of remodeling? Don’t worry – speaking from experience, this is a problem that can be solved with a little know-how. Most of us have been in the same situation, so we know how hard it is to make adjustments that will drastically improve your home, and not lose a ton of money in the process. If you have kids and other expenses, saving enough money to make your home truly shine isn’t easy, but it is possible. After we are done sharing these home remodeling tips, you will be prepared to take the next step toward having a home that you’ve always dreamed of.
Repaint your home
As we have already explained how to redecorate your kid’s room on a tight budget, we will focus on other rooms in this article. However, there is one thing that applies to all rooms – paint. Namely, painting your home anew is a good way to increase its appeal without spending a lot of money while doing so. You’ll just need to settle on a few colors, buy several cans of paint, and remodeling can begin!
How to choose the right colors? Generally, primary colors are always a good choice (unless you already have something specific in mind). As a rule, choosing primary colors can refresh a home and generally make it more pleasant to its inhabitants and their visitors. However, as the rule “different people – different colors” also applies, choosing darker colors is also an option. Whatever color you settle on though, repainting your home (especially the spots where the paint is visibly peeling off), will certainly breath new life into it.
The same goes for wallpaper. Old wallpaper makes homes look… old. If your wallpaper is starting to deteriorate, consider changing it to make your home appear more modern.
Adequate lighting can mean the world
Next, consider the lighting as well. Great lighting ideas aren’t necessarily expensive. For example, think about changing the light bulbs, as not all types of lighting fit all rooms equally well. Yellowish light is warm and relaxing (and it might put you to sleep), so install such light bulbs in rooms such as the living room or the bedroom. On the other hand, you can install brighter bulbs in your library, your study room, and in other areas that are meant for more serious activities.
When it comes to lighting, having plenty of mirrors will also significantly increase its intensity. Due to the laws of physics that are too complex to explain in this article, the amount of light exponentially increases with the number of mirrors you have. So, if you feel your home is too dark and you won’t be stretching your budget too much – you know what to do.
And while we’re talking about lighting, it’s worth noting that changing the curtains or the blinds will also affect your home’s appearance. We especially recommend blinds that are two inches in length and made out of wood. Not only are they more durable, but they are also generally more pleasing to the eye than their one-inch counterparts. Apart from changing the blinds, you can also be eco-friendly and install windows that are energy-efficient.
Replace your fixtures and surfaces
You can also remodel your fixtures and surfaces. Doorknobs and hinges can easily be replaced at an affordable price. And while you’re at it, you can change the cabinets’ hardware too. Switchplate covers (in other words, covers for electrical outlets) can also be easily changed, and they’re not expensive either. As time passes, these covers become more and more funky yellowish – replace them with pristine white covers. Better yet, find decorated covers, and for the kitchen, covers made of stainless steel should be a perfect fit.
Then, consider implementing crown molding and doorway and baseboard trim too. Trim made out of wood looks great, but it could be too expensive for your budget. If you get white trim, then that’s another thing you can paint over to make it more visually attractive.
Some more tips & tricks
Finally, here are some additional home remodeling tips that you can use to increase your home’s visual appeal while staying on budget:
Reorganize the placement of furniture. You may think that rearranging the furniture is not enough if the said furniture is out-dated, however, you may be surprised to learn that simply arranging your couches, tables, and chairs differently can bring as much good as buying new furniture. Apart from that, you can add decorations, such as pillows and slip covers, that will make your furniture even more attractive.
Remodel your home by increasing the number of decorations. This sounds obvious, but it is still very important to mention, as it can completely change your home’s vibe. Buy plants in beautiful ceramic pots (then paint the pots for additional gain). Get interesting coasters with motifs you like. Put some art pieces (or photos if you don’t have any) on the walls, and choose appealing photo-frames. The possibilities are endless.
You can donate or sell all the items that do not go well with the rest of your home (of course, as long as you don’t have a practical use for them). Organizing a garage sale will provide you with additional money to spend on your home after reading our home remodeling tips. However, the biggest advantage is that your home will be much more aesthetically coherent if you get rid of all the items that are simply a bad match with the rest of the home.
Final thoughts
We’ll conclude this article with some advice for one specific situation. Namely, if you are looking for home remodeling tips so that you can remodel your home and then sell it before moving somewhere else, you should know that moving is a very time-consuming process. In order to have enough time to dedicate to both remodeling and relocating, it’s a good idea to hire qualified professionals who will help you pack and organize your belongings, organize the logistics of the move, the shipment of your belongings, and so on.
Remodeling takes a lot of time; moving even more so. When combined, these two tasks can leave you with barely enough time to function properly – unless you hire reliable professionals, that is. Still, if you’re operating on a tight budget and you’re moving to an expensive city, for example New York, you should get well informed before relocating to NYC, so that you can plan your budget accordingly and minimize the chances of running out of money.
Hopefully, our home remodeling tips will also help you to stay well within your (low) remodeling budget. Remember that even though you aren’t operating with a lot of money, transforming your home so that it is practically unrecognizable is certainly possible to achieve (and it can also be very fun). Apart from our tips, you’ll just need some time, some creativity, and some effort. With these four factors, we’re confident that your “old home” will soon be forgotten.
Good luck!
