Having a place to call home is one universal goal everyone shares. Beyond that, most of us envision owning our own house and finally tailoring it to become an extension of our personalities. Even if we are renting, we still want a space where we feel comfortable, and that's all dependent on the steps we take to shake things up. Renovation usually gets you where you want in terms of transforming your house into a home, but we all know that it can get quite expensive.
Home remodels also are not a practical solution in the case of rentals. Whether you are on a tight budget or want to find creative ways to spruce up your house without spending too much, there are ways to go about it. We've compiled a list of the tips and tricks we came across while scouring the Internet for inexpensive ways to transform your house into a functional yet comfortable space.
A Fresh Coat Of Paint
Painting is one of the easiest ways to spruce up a room, but it's also perhaps the most difficult decision to make. The color palette you settle for should harmonize with the room's decor and furnishings. The best way to go about it is by choosing a color based on the mood you want to create.
The front door is one of the elements we overlook when deciding to give our house a fresh coat of paint. It's one of the smaller projects that can make a huge difference, but you also don't want to skimp out on the paint quality based on price. Go for high-quality paints to get an equally high-quality look.
Appliances Makeover
The right appliances combined with proper placement can add some extra glamour to your house. It's simply about investing in the appliances you need and blending them with creative decor ideas to end up with a functional yet artistically designed space.
You can give the appliances you already have a makeover using some wallpaper. Of course, you should go with the peel and stick type in a design that suits your aesthetics. In this case, the person seems to really love flamingo colors, but the good thing about wallpaper is that you can change it!
Bathroom Shake-Up
The bathroom is one of the most overlooked yet frequently used rooms in most homes. Please don't take our word for it; the average person is estimated to visit the facilities a total of 2,500 times annually and about eight times every day.
That's why the room deserves some TLC, and all it takes is a few simple things. Add a border to your mirror to make it stand out more. Go for a two-tone scheme and also install shelving units to declutter cabinets. You can also add little bathroom-friendly decor pieces to your shelving.
Tiles That Will Leave You Floored
When working on a bathroom upgrade, you probably also want to give the tiles a facelift. If you have tiles that are in great condition, you wouldn't want to tear them off just to lay down a new set. However, if you have a couple of broken or mismatched tiles, you might consider changing them.
You can still skip the cost of installing new tiles by going for a DIY option, using adhesive vinyl tiles. You can lay them on top of your existing flooring, and they also allow you to choose a pattern you like.
A Welcoming Entrance
After the front door, the entrance to the house sets the tone for your experience indoors. If you don't already have a welcoming entrance, you want to create it by shifting things around in your entryway. A batten and board wall presents a cost-effective solution to this problem.
Once you have it set up, paint it to match your color scheme. You also don't need an expensive console table; you can go with a repurposed desk or just a simple set up for this space. Add personal touches to create an inviting and welcoming atmosphere you need.
Illuminate Your Space
We all have several lighting fixtures around the house, and they also often go unnoticed. They present a way to greatly impact how a room looks simply by switching your existing fixtures. This is a great option for older homes that often display the signs of aging through these fixtures.
Often, light fixtures are not that expensive, but you can go for elaborate modern options if you have a little wiggle room. You could also go the DIY route and create unique lighting fixtures out of mason jars.
Wood Laminate
Wood floors come with a fair share of maintenance requirements, but at the same time, they have a way of injecting some personality into any room. You can get the wooden floor look without actually installing the real thing.
Wood laminate offers the solution by imitating the wood grain. This one might require calling in the experts, but if you are a hands-on person, you could rise to the challenge of saving on cost. The result would be a wood-appeal feel without the hassle that comes with having wooden floors installed.
Paint In A Marbling Style
When giving any room a paint uplift, you also want to go outside the box to make the walls stand out more. The same applies to your ceiling, and it is possible to make it look glamorous with some marbling detail.
You won't exactly install marble on your ceiling, but you can't paint the look on your wall. All you need is a sponge, acrylic paint, and some latex to get the work done. You'll also need paint in two different colors to add a two-tone effect to your ceiling. Create a paint mix using the two paint colors and then use the sponge to create a marbling effect in the desired area.
Mosaic Treatment
When you look at any room, it becomes apparent that walls account for the majority of space. That's why we always try to dress them up with paintings and framed photos. You might as well give them some mosaic treatment while you're at it.
It's a simple DIY project that shouldn't cost you much, and mosaic is also relatively easy to work with, which shouldn't make the task difficult. It's also a task that you can complete in a couple of hours. You can follow an online guide to get it right, but getting a professional is a safe bet if you are not confident in your skills.
Barn-Style Closet
The doors to any given room and closets can start looking boring after a while. It doesn't mean that you are doomed to live with them as they are; you can switch them into something more appealing. One way to go about it is to transform them into rustic, barn-style doors.
Wood laminates are a cost-effective way to approach this project. Set it up like what we see in this photo and finish it off with a coat of paint. Don't forget to change the door handle with an attachment that's more suitable to the theme.
Sheets For The Windows
Window treatments can set your finances behind quite a bit, particularly if you have multiple windows all over the house that need dressing up. While several people embrace the bare-window look these days, you don't necessarily want passersby peering into your house.
The most affordable way about it is to transform a set of sheets into curtains. You don't even need to buy a new set of sheets for this project, as you can repurpose old ones. Simply cut slits on the end with the thicker border where you'll slip in the curtain rod.
Update Your Countertops
Countertops can make your bathroom look dated, but with just a few moderations, you can bring them into the 21st century. Older homes usually have this problem, and if you are not financially ready to swap them for newer designs, you can create the look yourself.
This photo gives us inspiration for how to go about it. Sand down your sink area, and then give it a coat of paint. Go for a white limestone look to truly modernize the area, or you can still go for peel and stick options that can get the job done. Paint the cabinets beneath to match the color scheme.
Runner On The Staircase
Most of us never know what to do with the steps on our stairway except for keeping it clean. It can quickly become an eyesore and look uninviting if neglected or left in its bland form. A fabric runner set on the steps can make a difference.
You'll want to start by restoring your steps, in the case of a wooden stairway. Follow through by installing a mesh running down the center of the steps. Finish off by adding the fabric runner using a staple gun to pin it safely in place.
A Cinematic Experience
We would all love to enjoy the cinematic experience right in the comfort of our living rooms, but we all know that getting a similar set-up doesn't come cheap. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars installing a home theatre, but you can still enjoy the experience on a smaller scale.
If you have a mantle in your living room, it's even better because that's where you want to set your TV. Add a frame to your TV, and that's your gateway to a personal cinematic experience right at home.
Ditch The Cabinets
Cabinets are practical storage solutions, but they might result in a dated look in older homes. Even if you have more modernized versions, you might get the sense that they are constricting your space.
Just get the doors off your kitchen cabinets, and you are halfway there. Please give them a fresh coat of paint to brighten them up. For the lower cabinets, you can choose to strip them or retain the doors. Paint them so that they coordinate with the top cabinets. It opens up your space and also modernizes your kitchen.
The Stairway Shake-Up
Your stairway can also wear down over time and need an upgrade. It also might clash with your color scheme if you've worked on other areas of the house. Tearing it down seems like a nightmare, but you don't have to go that extreme.
What you can do is stain the wood and paint it to match your theme. You can do it yourself but remember to take the necessary precautions to avoid leaving paint stains all over the steps, especially if they are carpeted. Go for two contrasting colors for the wood bars to make it even more appealing.
Go For Contact Paper
Wallpaper is a good solution when it comes to giving your walls an entirely new look, but what's even better is investing in the peel-and-stick kind. There are also contact papers available in a diverse range of patterns allowing you to spruce up just about any room in the house.
You can work with both contact paper and wallpaper in different areas of the same room, but at the same time, you also want to make sure that they work together. Work methodically to avoid ending up with uneven edges or air pockets.
Reupholster Your Chairs
A room isn't complete without chairs, and they are some of the furnishings in a room that can also make a world of difference. You want them to be as comfortable as possible but also look stylish. You can combine the best of both worlds just by reupholstering your chairs.
All you'll need is new fabric and perhaps some cushioning if you want to make your chairs more comfortable. Remove the old fabric, place the cushioning, secure it in place, and then cover it with the new fabric. Use a staple gun to secure the fabric to the wood.
Accentuate
An accent wall draws attention to a certain area of the room, and in the case of the living room, most people go for the wall right behind the TV. You can carry the theme around the house, and the walls around your stairway present a prime piece of real estate for this project.
Instead of painting the wall, you can give it a rustic and texturized look using wood or pallets. Go for wood that will offer a nice contrast, and you can also achieve the look by staining the material.
Create Wall Effects
Besides repainting the walls in a room or giving them a wallpaper treatment, there are other ways to go about it. One idea is to borrow from the accent wall concept and add a bit of steam to it. It goes without saying that being a good painter is a requirement coupled with a steady hand.
You can come up with your desired pattern or borrow ideas online. Start by painting the neutral color you are going for and follow up with a stencil of the pattern you want to include. You end up with a wallpaper effect at a fraction of what you would pay for wallpaper.
The Baseboard Manipulation
If your dining or living room looks a bit plain, then it is time to give it an elegant boost. It's as simple as including some baseboards all around the room alongside moldings and trim. The same applies if you have a small baseboard that could use some extra thickness.
In the case of giving the baseboard thickness, add a thinner piece above it, and paint the areas in between. It saves you the hassle of ripping off the old one for another piece while still providing the look you are going for.
Handle The Situation
The door handles around the house may also be some of the elements we neglect when switching things up, but you'll realize that they can really improve the look of any room. All it takes is making simple alterations like switching the old with new or antique-style handles.
Just about anyone can do it, and it doesn't even take a lot of time. You'll need a screwdriver to unscrew the old door handle, and the same tool will help you fix the new piece. That should give any room an instant uplift.
Upcycle Broken Or Old Furniture
When you have a chair with a broken leg or an old chest of drawers that's lacking several handles, you may think that there's no hope in restoring them to their former glory. All it takes is looking at them as materials for new pieces of furniture.
If you've always wanted a kitchen island but can't exactly afford one, that old chest of drawers is your answer. Sand it down before giving it a fresh coat of paint. Include an extendable leaf at the top and get rid of the bottom-most drawers.
Hints Of Marble
There are several ways to improve the appearance of your countertops. The best approach is to refinish them, and you could cement them or cover them with a new coat of paint. However, marble has a way of giving countertops a luxurious look.
The only problem is that marble is quite expensive, but that doesn't mean that you should give up on it entirely. Painting kits designed to give surfaces a marble-like finish were made precisely for such projects, and you can find the right one at any hardware store.
Mirror Image
Mirrors added to walls in any room instantly add a touch of elegance. They also have a way of creating the illusion of space, which is never a terrible thing, particularly in smaller rooms. You can use them as decorative pieces, framing them takes it to the next level, and mirror tiles are easy to work with.
Mirrors are inexpensive, which makes this DIY task the right kind for anyone working on a budget. You want enough mirror tiles to fit into your space. You could fix the tiles to the wall with double-sided mounting to create your unique mirror wall.
Ladder Storage
This is a DIY task most of us must have come across at some point. It still makes it on the list of some of the easiest ways of converting the old items you have at home into new functional pieces. You could build a rustic blanket ladder specifically for this purpose.
Building one requires more thought, more resources, and time. On the plus side, you can make one in the precise size and design you want. You'll take pride in knowing that you've created a unique item for your house.
Metallic Accents
Including metallic accents in your home decor is a great way to inject some character into any room. In the kitchen, you could do it through the appliances or install industrial-style lighting. You can also get a metallic-style kitchen island, but all these are things that call for having a decent budget in place.
The living room is where you don't have to break the bank when incorporating metallic accents. Getting a brass coffee table is the best way to go about it, but the price might make you think twice. You can just get a regular table and spray paint it to achieve the metallic look.
Wood Additions
Your breakfast island could perhaps use an update, and it’s achievable without necessarily digging into your finances to get a new one. All you need is a couple of wood planks, corbels, and some paint to spruce things up.
Fix the wood planks as well as the corbels using nails on your existing kitchen island. Paint the unit in a color that suits your theme, and that's it. You can get all the supplies you need at your local hardware, and this is yet another task that you can probably handle yourself.
Decorative Wall Lights
Lights don't have to exclusively go on the ceiling. You can increase the level of illumination in any room with the help of some decorative wall lights. This is one of the projects you'll probably need to get an electrician's help unless you are experienced in handling electrical wires.
Wall scones come in a range of designs, and you can find the right ones to add a touch of elegance to your home. Tutorials can help you fix them on your walls, but you are safer leaving it to the professionals.
Create A Garden
If you live in an apartment with only a balcony for outdoor space or you have a house without a garden, you can still have some plants in your life. Just install DIY planters on your balcony or at the entrance of your house.
Once again, you can choose to buy a ready-made planter or make one from scratch. Go for plywood if building one yourself or one-inch thick lumber. You can leave them as they are, but add a sealant to make them water-resistant, or you can choose to paint them.