4 Ways to Spruce Up Your Home on a Budget

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Everyone knows that feeling where your home is just starting to feel a little bit lived in. 

There's nothing technically wrong with it, you're very good at maintaining it, but nothing is exciting, fresh, clean, or new anymore.

We've all been there. Especially those of us who have been in our homes for a while, it can take some creativity to keep that excited feeling about something that really hasn't changed in years or maybe even decades.

So you start toying around the idea of renovations. You and your spouse discuss things you would change if you hadn't limitless finances, you start fantasizing on your Pinterest boards, but when push comes to shove you both know it's nowhere near in your budget. 

While home renovations are certainly not the cheapest thing in the world to do, they can be affordable if you know how to go about it.

If you take the right steps and know where to look for the things that don’t cost a fortune, you can make a major difference in your home even on a really tight budget.

Budget Renovation #1:  A Fresh Coat of Paint

When it comes to renovating and decorating, there’s truly nothing more affordable and accessible than paint.

The best thing about paint is that it’s so easy to use and also makes such a huge difference.  While never in a million years would you ever grab your hammer and  attempt to put in a picture window all by yourself, it is quite feasible to grab the correct color, a roller, and some masking tape at the local hardware store and have a completely fresh, professional coat of paint on by the weekend.

If you’re looking for a fast, easy and affordable way to really transform a dull room into something warm and welcoming then paint is definitely one of the best ways to go about doing this. 

Tip from Experience

A word to the wise, spend twice as much time taping off your baseboards, and other things that need to not be painted as you actually do painting. This is what makes the difference between a professional paint job and something your toddler could have done.

Budget Renovation #2:  Bold Accessories

Home decor accessories are alarmingly easy to come across these days, whether it’s online at places like shop discount direct (https://shopdiscountdirect.com/shop/accessories) or just in the local department stores in your area (cough, cough, Target), you’ll find so many beautiful accessories to really give your place a new look.

The great thing about bold colored accessories is that if you’re not able to paint or just prefer to go for more neutral colors on your walls, then you’re going to find that bold colors will actually make all the difference when it comes to brightening the place up.

Tip from Experience

The best part about cheap (in price, not appearance) accessories is you can rotate them on a more frequent basis without breaking the budget or feeling wasteful.  If you give yourself a budget at Target (or whatever store is your drug of choice) every year even, you can completely redo the look of a room for an incredibly reasonable amount of money.

Budget Renovation #3:  Repurposed Furniture

Many people think that decorating means changing things and bringing in new pieces of furniture, but repurposing the furniture you already have is actually a great way to get the look you desire and also save money whilst looking out for the environment at the same time. 

If you’ve never done any kind of furniture repurposing before, then you may be hesitant because you think it’s too difficult, that you’ll mess it up, or that it’s too expensive, but in reality it’s actually not that different to painting a wall, and is certainly cheaper than buying new furniture. 

You’ll be able to find plenty of inspiration and tutorials on places like YouTube and Pinterest if repurposing is the way you’d like to go.

Budget Renovation #4: Prevent Major Roof Failure

It's not fun, it's not glamorous...but boy is it necessary.

Keeping your roof in good shape not only increases the value of your home but also saves you money! Asphalt shingles are made with asphalt and fiberglass. If they become damaged, deteriorate or lose their color, then you could be losing up to 20 percent on your energy costs. There are ways to protect your roof, whether it's by maintaining them when damage takes place or by applying protective coatings to them every five years. You can also consider re-tiling your roof with a specialist roofing company, which could ensure you have a robust roof for the foreseeable future.

Budget Renovation #5:  Reorganization

This one is my absolute favorite.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started feeling that “ick” feeling when I look around a room and been able to go from “ick” to excited in a few minutes of pushing couches around.  This is fantastic because it’s not only completely free, it’s also not something that makes a permanent mark on your house.  

(Yes, I still get a little nervous when I have to paint something.)

Rearranging is awesome because you can try it a billion different ways before you find the “right” way, with no harm done to your house.  (A billion different paint layers would be extremely bad, for many reasons.)

Tip from Experience

My ace in the hole here is to pull pieces of furniture from different rooms.  There are a limited number of options when you rearrange the same sofa, coffee table, and chair over and over again, but if you throw the coffee table in a different room and bring in a bookcase, it can make a crazy amount of difference.

The Big Picture

It really doesn’t take a ridiculous amount of money to make your house feel more exciting, welcoming, and new inside.

If you leverage a little bit of creativity and some elbow grease, you can have that “new home feeling” even if you’ve been living there for years.