Home Improvement Ideas and DIY Projects

Improving and decorating your home can be an easy task and a cheap one if you know what you’re doing. Most people don’t even think about repairing or renovating their home just because they believe that they’ll spend a lot of money in vain.

While it’s true that updating your home can be an expensive task, there are some interesting and inexpensive ways to make your home look much better, so let’s take a look at some of them.

Paint your cabinets

You probably never even thought about painting your cabinets, and that’s exactly why you should paint them right now! Here’s how you can do that:

  •    Remove drawers
  •    Remove doors
  •    Uninstall hardware
  •    Remove dirt
  •    Sand everything
  •    Paint
  •    Reattach doors and drawers

Bonus tip: Use Low VOC (volatile organic compounds) or No VOC paint.

Cost: $12 – $50

Use drawer space

Once you’ve finished with painting your cabinets and drawers, you can start thinking about using your drawers in a completely different way.

Your drawer can be your charging station; you just have to think outside the box. Put a divided storage in the drawer and drill a couple of holes through the back of your dresser to accommodate electrical cords.

Voila, now you have a safe and secure charging station for your cell phones, tablets, and other small electronic devices.

Cost: $20

Decorate the walls

Painting your walls is the greatest thing you can do for your house and yourself. Houses with a new coat of paint simply look stunning. The walls in your room are also the first thing people notice, so make sure to use light, eye-pleasing colors.

Put some pictures or paintings on the wall, and add some extra storage space by hanging the shelves.

When hanging shelves, it’s important not to make marks on the paint (you don’t want to destroy your new coat of paint). Do so on a masking tape, and drill only when you’re completely sure that you’ve found a perfect place for the shelf.

Cost: $70 – $250

Light up your room

There are several ways to light up your house. You can opt for installing a newer, bigger window, or you can simply use the magic of LED lights to do it. LED lights are great because they consume significantly less energy and because their glow is more natural.

Replacing your existing light fixture is probably the safest option. Remove your light fixture, turn off the power and connect the wires. Yes, it’s that easy.

Cost: $50 – $100

Paint your home’s exterior

Nothing says ‘’I care about my house’’ like the exterior paint job. Houses with a new coat of paint look glorious, and they make an immediate visual impact on all those who come to visit you.

Pressure-wash your house before you start painting to remove any dirt and pick a color with curb appeal. Then spray and roll. This method delivers and even finish, but it requires two people. One person uses a sprayer, and the other runs a roller over the paint.

The biggest problem with houses is that they’re usually tall. If you have a small house, then painting its exterior is not an issue. However, if your house is big and tall, then don’t be afraid to leave everything in the hands of professionals who have aluminum scaffolding and other proper equipment to do the job.

Cost: $1000 – $3500

Add a ceiling fan

If you want to cut the costs of electricity, and you’re annoyed by turning on and off your AC device, then you might consider adding a ceiling fan.

Installing a ceiling fan is just like installing a new light fixture. Shut off the electricity, remove the old fixture, and wire the new fixture.

Never lift a fan by electrical wires and make sure that there are no wires visible when the job is done.

Cost: $25 – $75

Plan your budget

As you can see, most of the DIY projects are not expensive, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t plan your budget carefully. Sometimes DIY projects can cost more, simply because you decide to do something that wasn’t a part of your original plan.

Dedicate a budget and stick to it. If you can’t stick to your budget, then upgrade the most important things first.