Looking for ways to spruce up your home without breaking the bank? Whether you’re getting ready to sell your home or want to update it inexpensively for your own enjoyment, we’ve got 10 good strategies for you to consider.
1. Make your kitchen really cook
The kitchen is still considered the heart of the home. Potential home buyers make a beeline for this room when they first view a home for sale, so make sure your kitchen looks clean and reasonably updated.
For a few hundred dollars, you can replace the kitchen faucet set, add new cabinet door handles and update old lighting fixtures with brighter, more energy-efficient ones.
If you’ve got a slightly larger budget, you can give the cabinets themselves a makeover. Many companies can remove cabinet doors and drawers, refinish the cabinet boxes, then add brand-new doors and drawers. With a fresh coat of paint over the whole set, your cabinets will look like new.
If you’re handy, you can even order your own replacement cabinet doors and door fronts from retailers like Lowe’s Home Improvement or The Home Depot and install them yourself.
2. Give appliances a facelift
One of the simplest upgrades that can be performed is the installation of new hardware such as towel racks, cabinet handles, and other wall-mounted hardware. If your kitchen appliances don’t match, order new doors or face panels for them. Fun fact, many dishwasher panels are white on one side and black on the other. All you have to do is unscrew two screws, slide out the panel and flip it around. A more cohesive-looking kitchen makes a big difference in the buyer’s mind — and in the home’s resale price.
3. Buff up the bath
Next to the kitchen, bathrooms are often the most important rooms to update. They, too, can be improved without a lot of cash. Even simple things like a new toilet seat and a pedestal sink are pretty easy for homeowners to install, and they make a big difference in the look of the bath.
Replacing an old, discolored bathroom floor with easy-to-apply vinyl tiles or a small piece of sheet vinyl is another great idea. You may not even need to take up the old floor. You can install the new floor right over the old one.
If your tub and shower are looking dingy, consider re-grouting the tile and replacing any chipped tiles. A more complete cover-up is a prefabricated tub and shower surround. These one-piece units may require professional installation but can still be cheaper than paying to re-tile walls and refinish a worn tub.
Old houses, particularly, are notorious for their lack of closet space. If you have cramped storage areas, add do-it-yourself wire and laminate closet systems to bedrooms, pantries and entry closets.Firms like ClosetMaid allow you to measure and redesign your closets online. You can also get design details and parts for these systems at many large home-improvement stores. Most closets can be updated in a weekend or less.
In the end, your closets will be more functional while you’re living in the house and will make your home look more customized to potential buyers when you’re ready to sell.
5. Add a room in a week or less
If you have a three-bedroom house with a den, the only reason the den can’t be considered a bedroom may be because it doesn’t have a closet. If you add a closet to that room, you’ve now got a four-bedroom house. That adds a lot of value.
It’s usually possible to add a custom closet system and drywall it in for less than $1,500.
6. Mind the mechanics
Spending a few bucks on nitty-gritty stuff. It’s often very worthwhile to hire an electrician and plumber for a couple of hours to look over your electrical services, wrap or fix loose wires, fix any faulty outlets, and check for and fix any water leaks. Those details tell a buyer that someone has really taken care of the home and can really influence its price.
7. Look underfoot
Carpeting is another detail that can quickly update a home and make it look cleaner. A professional carpet cleaning is an inexpensive investment, especially if your rugs are in good shape and are neutral colors.
If your carpet is showing serious wear, cover it with inexpensive, strategically placed area rugs. Unless it is truly hideous, replacing wall-to-wall carpeting right before you sell your house is not usually recommended. The new homeowners may want to choose their own carpeting after they move in.
8. Let there be light
If you have boring recessed lights in your dining and living rooms, consider replacing one of the room’s lights with an eye-catching chandelier. Home stores offer a wide range of inexpensive, but nice-looking, ceiling fixtures these days. If you have a ceiling fan and light, you can also buy replacement fan blades (leaving the fan body in place) to update the fixture’s look.
9. Reframe your entry
Do you have a flimsy little knob on your main entry door? If so, spring for a substantial-looking handle-and-lock set. A nice, big piece of hardware on the front door signals to newcomers that this is a solid home.
Also, if you’re stuck with a basic steel front door, paint or faux-finish it for more eye appeal. It’s becoming a trend in some regions to add wood-grain doors to a home’s entry or garage. The good news, though, is that you can easily paint existing metal doors with stain and paint.
10. Consider curb appeal
Although it sounds obvious, a nicely mowed lawn, a few well-placed shrubs and a swept walkway makes a great first impression. What buyers see when they first drive by your home is tremendously important.
If you don’t have a green thumb, consider hiring a landscaper to install some new sod, plant a few evergreen shrubs and give your front yard a good cleanup. These kinds of changes can instantly change people’s perception of your home and, therefore, increase its value. And hey, your neighbors will love you for it, too.
While the actual cost and payback for each project can vary, depending on both your home’s condition and the overall real estate market values in your region, these simple upgrades can easily add thousands of dollars to your home’s value. For more information on what you can and should upgrade around your home, contact your local handyman or your favorites realtors!