The best way to have a nicer home in this tiresome economy is to improve the one you already have. Selling your home at full value and trading up to a better one can be difficult (if not impossible) in current market conditions. Why not invest a little effort in perfecting your current home instead of taking a frustrating trip through the world of real estate? This article has tips on how you can make your current home seem new.
Some old shoe boxes can be a great way to add some storage space to a room. Use any wallpaper you have left, or any fabric, to cover the boxes with. This way you get an extra storage solution while adding drama and design to your room.
Change your door hinge as a start to your home improvement projects. You can buy one at a hardware store. Follow the instructions to easily attach it to your door and the frame around it. Try aligning the hinge and replacing the pins.
Just because your bedroom doors are dirty, don’t throw them out. Remove them, and sand them down to the bare wood. Get some oil-based paint and apply with a roller. To spruce things up, install new, fancy doorknobs.
Use the area between the rafters of your ceiling and the joists of your floor for storing building materials. You can place longer strips of molding and large materials, especially two by fours in these areas. Simply place a couple furring strips across a couple exposed floor joists and place your material.
You may be thinking of installing a conventional fireplace to heat your home; however, this isn’t always the best choice. While a traditional fireplace looks great, it is an inefficient heat source. Most of the energy is lost through the chimney. What’s more, fire is oxygen hungry, which means the amount and quality of breathable air in your home will be diminished.
Your outdoor chair cushions will eventually flatten as time goes by. One good way to renew your cushions is to put them out in the sun. The sun helps the moisture evaporate from the cushion’s fillings, bringing the bounce back. Place the cushions outdoors to freshen, but place them under cover after awhile so their cloth colors don’t fade.
Sprucing up your walls with art is a great improvement idea, but it doesn’t have to be a painting. You can use practically anything for artwork. You can use wall decals that come in thousands of different designs that will fit any budget.
Homes with older windows are likely losing up to one-fifth of their heating and cooling out the thin glass the windows are made of. A second glaze is an easy way to improve the energy efficiency of large windows. You will see reduced energy costs and enjoy a more comfortable home.
Consider installing a shower in your home if none of your existing bathrooms currently have one. A shower can reduce the amount of water used and is much more accessible than a bathtub. Compared side-by-side, you will find that a shower used for five minutes will use less than a quarter of the water that a tub full of bathwater does.
If you feel that the front exterior of your house lacks character or style, consider purchasing and installing a pergola. Pergolas have become quite popular in recent years and can add shade and ambiance to the front of a home. With some help, you can set up a pergola in your yard in just a couple days.
Do not let your contractor strain your home improvement budget by saying they will get the job done in an unusually quick time. Usually, they have great motivation to finish quickly. They might want to rush workers to get them to another job. This can be negative as well as positive, as they may try to charge extra for a job that took too long, but should not have.
A great way to put a nice addition to your home is to put in new covers on the outlets. With time, outlet covers tend to get dirty and dingy. With new covers on the outlet you can add a fresh look to the walls.
The tips in this piece will surely help you learn how to transform your house into your dream home by performing easy improvement projects. Home improvement doesn’t have to overwhelm you.