When the to-do list all around your house contains everything from “new roof” into “gut kitchen” and “buy furniture” (and you might easily pour your entire budget into only 1 area), you know it’s time to make a strategy. These 12 ideas will allow you to make the important decisions on where to place your money (and sweat) to make your house budget stretch the furthest.
Allison Ramsey Architects
Where to Start? Big projects, such as repairs to the roof, the base and systems (such as cooling and heating), should be prioritized, for obvious reasons — with one caveat. If a significant project has to be performed but is not entirely urgent (say, your house inspector said you are going to need a new roof over the upcoming few years), you may want to place more of your present savings toward cosmetic repairs you will appreciate right away.
Landscaping is a good example. Early on is the time to start planning (and planting) updates to your yard. Mature trees and plantings add significant value (and curb appeal) to your house, and the very budget-friendly approach to get there is to purchase small, young plants and give them time to fill in.
The best way to boost your curb appeal
Jennifer Young
Think about functionality first. Fancy appliance updates can wait if what you have works. Focus your budget on essential big-ticket jobs as needed, and after that on beautifying projects that will provide you the most bang for the dollar.
Keep Smiling Home
Get creative to keep prices down in the kitchen. Katherine Fugit and husband, Conan, whose kitchen is shown here, were able to do a remarkable transformation in their own kitchen for under $400. As opposed to buy new appliances, they scored a cool classic stove for $45 and painted their older refrigerator with chalkboard paint.
Watch the rest of this Home
Keep Smiling Home
Be ready to learn a new DIY skill. For a point of view, here’s the earlier photo of the Fugit kitchen. Several layers of amazing linoleum were eliminated, and the few refinished the hardwood floors hiding underneath. By putting in their very own elbow grease and forgoing expensive new goods, they were able to create a warm and functional kitchen inside their tiny budget.
In case you haven’t ever picked up a paintbrush (or leased a power sander), now is the time to dip in and pick up this new ability. If you’re worried, check your regional home improvement stores — many provide free classes in everything from painting to building cabinets.
Assist with home repairs and decoration
Whimages
Paint or refinish cabinets rather than replace them. Kitchen cabinetry is just one of the biggest-ticket things in a kitchen remodel, so unless the current cabinets are completely beyond repair, make do and mend them. You can’t go wrong with white or black, and new knobs and bin pulls will provide the cabinets a very different style to get a couple of extra bucks.
8 paint palettes for kitchen cabinets
Jessica Risko Smith Interior Design
Consider doing without the medicine cabinet and vanity lights. In the bathroom, consider picking a normal horizontal mirror paired with sconces rather than the anticipated off-the-shelf cabinet and row of lights. This is a more current appearance, and if you look for a sale, it should be a fraction of the cost of most merchandise made especially for the toilet.
S / Wiley Interior Photography
Do swap out kitchen and bath faucets. Sleek new faucets can update the entire area, and big-box stores frequently have great-looking options at a minimal cost.
Short Drum Pendant – $149
Update outdated lighting fixtures. Many are available for well under $200, and also the distinction that amazing lighting makes in a home is immense. Go for simple shapes and useful details, like a diffuser covering the bottom of a pendant lighting (as in one from West Elm displayed here), which colors your eyes from the bare bulb when you are seated underneath.
Read light fixtures
Save on window coverings. Surprisingly, curtains and blinds can add up to become one of the most expensive purchases in decorating your house. If you have to cover a lot of windows, then save pennies by selecting off-the-rack drapes (hem them yourself) and simple matchstick blinds.
Style tip: Inexpensive curtains look a lot more chic in neutral, neutral hues; organic fibers (cotton, linen etc..); and pole-pocket or clip-top design. Tab shirts have a tendency to seem a bit saggy, so I’d avoid those.
Before Photo
Kate Jackson Design
Decide exactly what to cover up — and what to disclose. A earlier shot shows how this living area had some serious TLC. The dingy brick fireplace stole the spotlight, while hardwood flooring hidden under scratchy industrial-blue carpeting. But …
Paint outdated brickwork to get an amazing after. Here is your after. Interior Designer Kate Jackson gave the space a coat of fresh, white paint and eliminated the carpet to show off beautiful hardwood flooring. The entire space feels completely transformed.
Watch the rest of this project | What to learn about painting brick
S / Wiley Interior Photography
Enhance curb appeal with essential details. Have you ever noticed a theme? Adopt the details. They’re the budget decorator’s best friend. When it comes to curb appeal, try painting (rather than replacing) front doorway, freshening up trimming (rather than painting the entire house) and incorporating potted plants, new dwelling numbers, and new seat or seat cushions.