Home Improvements On A Budget

Home renovations can be an excruciating exercise in emptying the bank account. If you’ve been delaying action due to the fear of potentially soaring costs of improving your home’s appearance, then take a little glance at some of our budgeting tips. These ideas should help keep you out of the financial red zone…

Firstly, consider the kitchen. An attractive kitchen is one of the things a person notices and remembers about a home. Try picking up new doors and hardware, and maybe a can of wood stain or paint instead of spending large amounts of cash replacing cabinets and surfaces. Old cabinets can be freshened up with a brush and screwdriver in an afternoon for a lot less than a complete overhaul. Similar tricks work for appliances that feature removable plates. New plates can be ordered in different colours or materials. Some may even be reversible already, so if you want to remodel a white kitchen darker you only need to loosen a few screws.

Flooring is normally the realm of experts, but kits exist that are installed over existing floors. Eliminating worn out floors by doing the work yourself can save several hundred dollars. If your carpet is looking used but you can’t afford to lay new carpeting, rent a shampooer and purchase the cleaning agents for it. Using it in a high traffic room can put new life into it and put off replacement. Also, think about cheaper materials. Using slightly cheaper materials for flooring can make a big difference in your overall expenses.

Bring in family and friends to help out with renovations and thus reduce any associated labour costs with hiring tradesmen. This brings us to our next point as it isn’t always possible to do all renovations on your own or with relatives and so it’s important when dealing with professionals to avoid excess payments.

Don’t get overcharged. For any professional you hire, you should have a detailed account of the work they will do and the estimated costs in writing before they begin.

Don’t rush the changes. If you are already pushing your budget, identify the aspects of your home improvement plan that can be put off for another time. For example, you could wire your home for in-wall speakers but purchase the speakers and equipment at a later date.

Avoid outward expansions. Try to work within your existing walls and roof, as expanding outward can be costly. Think about remodelling existing rooms instead of adding more.

If you don’t have enough space for a proper garden behind your home, consider flower boxes. Installing them underneath a window is easy and having small flowers growing inside makes a home warmer. If you enjoy cooking you can install one near the kitchen as a boxed herb garden.

All of these simple little things are excellent ways to update the look and feel of your home without breaking the bank.