Collaborative post
When you first move into your home, it can seem like a dream. Everything could be perfect and exactly as you want it. After a few years or decades, however, you could find yourself wanting to make upgrades.
Some of these could be quite small, while others might be complete room renovations or extensions. A portion of these will be expensive, which is why many people put them off for some time. If you’re thinking about a large renovation and need a loan, then the likes of mortgagecalculator.uk and similar places can be great resources.
These can help you budget your renovations and plan accordingly. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any affordable home improvements that you can take advantage of.
There are several more affordable options that you could try in the meantime. These shouldn’t involve extending or adding onto your home, as these can come with multiple factors that could complicate the process. Instead, they should be easy enough to do yourself.
Most Affordable Home Improvements
Install A Stair Runner
Your stairs can be the source of accidents, with these running the risk of being quite serious. You can reduce this significantly by installing a stair runner. When properly installed, these will make your stairs much less slippery, which removes most of the risks of the stairs.
Naturally, this wouldn’t be the case if you have carpeted stairs. For any hard floor stairs, however, it’s a recommended option. The stair runners will also make the stairs themselves much more stylish, alongside being relatively low-cost.
Get A Dishwasher
If you don’t have a dishwasher in your home, then it might be time to get one. There are several reasons for this. The most obvious is that it cuts down on the amount of cleaning you need to do.
Alongside this is the fact that it’ll cut down on the amount of water you’ll need to use. While this will be a little bit at a time, it can add up significantly throughout the year. That makes the upfront investment more than worth it.
Dishwashers can also come in a range of styles, so you can use them to complement the counters and other appliances.
Install Some Indoor Shutters
Indoor shutters were popular for quite some time, although they eventually fell out of favour. They started growing in popularity again, however, thanks to the style increase, they can add to your home. They’re also quite affordable, especially compared to other window-focused home improvements.
Alongside adding some style to your room, they can add some much-needed privacy. If you live on or near a busy street, then this will be a welcome addition. You can install them yourself, which cuts down on the costs.
Give Your Kitchen Cabinets A New Finish
A lot of homeowners will spend a lot of time in the kitchen, especially if they have kids. If you’re going to choose any affordable home improvements, then this should be the best place to start. Thankfully, there are multiple low-cost options that you can choose.
A fresh coat of paint will be one of the more obvious. It’s worth going with brighter colours, as these often make a kitchen feel bigger. If yours is on the smaller side, then go with bright and interesting. Adding a few darker areas will add enough contrast to make it more appealing.
Coupled with a few other surface-level improvements, this could have your kitchen feeling like new.
Install Some Ceiling Fans
Unless you live somewhere hot, you mightn’t see ceiling fans as home improvements. They can be a welcome addition to your home regardless of where you live, however. In hotter climates, the benefits of these will be more than obvious.
If you’re in a colder place, you might wonder how they might benefit you. While ceiling fans are usually associated with spreading cold air around the room, they can also do so with warm air. Couple this with a radiator, and you’ll see a room warm up much faster than normal.
That should help you cut down on your heating bills. There are also countless stylish ceiling fans to buy, so they’ll also add to the room’s style.
Put Some Insulation In Your Floor
When you think of renovating your floor, you might assume that changing from carpet to stone, wood, or tile – and vice versa – will be your only option. While these are all valid choices, they aren’t the only ones you can pick. If you choose them, you can upgrade them even further.
Adding some insulation will have a large impact on your home. The most notable of these will be reducing your utility bills, as less heat will escape through the floor. You should also notice, however, that your hard floors are warmer than they previously would have been.
At a minimum, they won’t be freezing in the morning. If you like to walk around barefoot, then you can do so without any discomfort. The savings on your utilities will also mean that the long-term savings will make this one of the more cost-effective and affordable home improvements you can try.
Add Some Stair Brackets
Stair brackets are an interesting way to spruce up your home. While this is minor, it makes much more of a visual impact compared to any stairs that don’t have brackets. Getting some with an interesting design could be more than enough to improve the stair’s style.
If you already have old stair brackets, then it could be worth upgrading them, especially if you’re changing other things around the room. In older homes, these brackets can be chunky and relatively unappealing. Replacing them with something sleek and modern will be an affordable way to spruce things up.
When you’re buying these, you should think of the overall look of the room that your stairs are in. Choose a colour and style that complements and enhances the rest of the room. Sleeker designs will also make the area feel airier and less congested.
Try A Kitchen Backsplash
A backsplash will have much more of an impact on your home than you’d think. The most obvious will be the way it can improve the aesthetics of a room, especially the kitchen and bathroom. There are some other benefits to putting these in.
They also work as protection for your walls. If installed in strategic places around your kitchen, it could prevent any heat or water damage to your walls. That’ll be done to a better standard than many paints or wallpaper can.
These can be done with a DIY approach, especially if you’re creative. You could even make the backsplash out of a few sheets of plywood that have been carved and painted. Getting a cheap enough material and designing it in the right way is not only affordable, but will turn out much better than you’d think.
Wrapping Up
If you’re planning on doing up your house on a budget, then it’s recommended that you try as many affordable home improvements as possible. Despite being low-cost, they can have much more of an impact on your home than you’d think, especially when added together.
The good news is that you can do quite a few of them yourself. In those cases, you’ll only need to pay for the cost of supplies and any tools you might need. Things can be more complicated in other cases, however.
Hiring a professional for these is recommended, as you could make mistakes that end up costing a lot. Contractors will be more affordable than you’d think and will prevent any damage from incorrectly-done improvements.