7 Affordable Ways to Upgrade Your Home
7 Affordable Ways to Upgrade Your Home
The tips listed in this article have been proven to work and will help you make the right investments in your home without breaking the bank.
Written by Liz Bayardelle, PhD | See Comments | Updated 08/31/2021
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7 Affordable Ways to Upgrade Your Home
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When many homeowners think of updating their properties, the first thing they worry about is the cost implications.
Yet, the reality is you can actually add some updates to your home and upgrade its looks without having to spend a ton of money. Affordable home upgrades are great because they add value to your home and generate significant ROI for their costs.
If you’re on a tight budget but are looking for some creative ways to upgrade your home, we can help. The tips listed in this article have been proven to work and will help you make the right investments in your home without breaking the bank.
Start With Curb Appeal
Your home’s exterior should look beautiful, or gorgeous as people approach. If it doesn’t, then you need to do something about that quickly. Mow the lawns, trim the hedges –if any, hang some flower boxes at the entrance of the house, update your mailbox to something more modern, and paint the main entrance door in a lovely color.
Also, change the door handles, pressure-wash the driveway and sidewalks, and maybe the roofs if you can. Sometimes, just pressure washing the roof can reveal the original color, and restore it to its former glory. If you have vinyl siding, you can either wash them or repaint them.
If it’s just walls, you can either repaint the exterior walls or just add some wall cladding. This works really well and improving your home’s aesthetics and making it more attractive.
Change Kitchen Cabinets
Although you love your kitchen cabinets, it’s time for an updated look. Cabinets that are older than 10 years are due for a replacement. But if you can’t afford the replacement, consider refacing or repainting them.
Of course, it goes without saying that if there are some bad parts, you’ll need to repair them. However, if you don’t want to replace or reface them, splash some paint and change the door handles to modern contemporary types.
Freshly painted kitchen cabinets with more modern looks tend to brighten the kitchen and elevate the vibes therein.
Upgrade Your Kitchen Countertop
Can you keep a secret? Do you know you can upgrade your kitchen countertop without shelling out $20k+ in remodeling costs?
Yes, you can use something called a faux granite DIY paint kit or vinyl self-adhesive laminate sheets that will completely transform your countertop’s looks from regular to luxurious, and make your house look new.
And you can do all that without the astronomical costs of real granite. How cool is that?! Listen, most people don’t know this and probably won’t ever find out. So, now that you know the secret to transform your countertop for a very low price.
These “fake granites” come with straightforward installation instructions, are super simple to install, and can be done by anyone.
If you don’t have the budget for an expensive countertop remodel, you can use this to “upgrade” the kitchen until you have enough money for the real deal. Thankfully, they last very long when taken care of and well-maintained.
Get Used Appliances
Here’s the thing most people don’t even think of in their home upgrades: home appliances.
However, instead of shelling out a lot of money for brand new appliances and fixtures, you can get relatively affordable kitchen appliances or fixtures like kitchen sinks for sale on neighborhood message boards and classified ads websites.
You can also online retail stores like Best Buy, Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, and other websites where people sell their used items.
These can help you get great appliances and fixtures for a lot less than you would have ordinarily bought them. With these used home appliances and fixtures, you can easily get them for 60 percent less than the price of a brand new one.
Repaint the Entire House
Many homeowners underestimate the importance and effect of fresh paint. A fresh coat of paint does wonders for even the most decrepit of buildings. If there’s one hack that you can use to upgrade your home, this is it. Paint the home in new modern colors.
Many homeowners make the mistake of just refreshing their homes with the same paint colors. Here’s the thing: the colors that were great 10 years ago, are now outdated. If you haven’t had your home painted in 10 years, change the colors to something more modern.
It’ll give your home a facelift and transform its aesthetics. Plus, you can easily do the painting by yourself or with a few friends in 1-2 days, depending on the size of the home. And if you can’t afford paint, you can use wallpapers. There are a ton of designs that you can choose from, that will bring your walls to life. And while you’re at it, declutter the home so the house can look even better.
Upgrade Your Lighting
This is one part of the home that many homeowners ignore to their detriment. Simply changing all the lights from incandescent “yellow” bulbs to CFL or LED bulbs will transform your home’s aesthetics. Lighting is a big part of your home and should be used to effectively complement your home’s beauty.
If you want, you can choose the light with dimmers. These provide you with the option of either brightening the lights or dimming them to your taste. Many homeowners have found this to be the final piece of their affordable home upgrades.
Lovely lights can tremendously improve how your home looks. If you want to make it even better, change the lighting fixtures themselves to something modern and in keeping with the times.
Clean Out the Bathroom
People often forget the bathroom because they think an upgrade will be expensive. All it takes is a bit of creativity and imagination.
Start with changing your bathroom tap heads and faucets, followed by cleaning out the tiles and grime from the walls, and the limescale from the toilet, sink, and bathtub. Bleach and some other special cleaners can do this.
Then, change the bathroom curtains and showerheads. These will instantly perk up your bathroom’s looks. Also, remember to change your bathroom’s lighting to something more modern too. You’ll totally love the results.
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About the Author
Liz Bayardelle, PhD
Founder | Contributor
Liz (or Dr. Mommy, as her toddler started calling her after learning what a PhD was) is the happily sleep-deprived mom of a toddler (and professional raccoon noise impersonator), a sparkle-clad kidnado, a teenage stepdaughter, 200 cumulative pounds of dog, and herd of dustbunnies (if daily vacuuming doesn't occur). During nights and naptimes, she uses her PhD in business psychology as an author, speaker, and consultant. She also serves as an executive and principal for three companies, two of which she co-founded with her very patient (and equally exhausted) husband.