If your home is looking a little worse for wear, it’s easy to feel down and want to move on from it completely. But, as the classic saying goes, don’t move, improve! You don’t have to break the bank to rejuvenate your home, and there’s a myriad of hacks out there for giving your home the new look it needs for less. Whether you want to go big and bust through a wall or start smaller with a simple coat of paint, here are 5 budget-friendly ways to refresh your home:
Do up your door
Your front door is one of the first things you or your guests see when arriving home, so why not make a lasting impression?
A stylish front door can add instant kerb appeal to your home, and something as simple as a fresh coat of paint can work wonders. A good scrub, vigorous sanding, and tactful colour change will not only give your door the refresher it needs but also change the look of your home’s exterior. Thankfully, a tin of exterior paint can be as little as £20, so you don’t have to fork out a few hundred pounds for a brand-new door when you don’t need to.
Paint the floorboards
If your room has wooden floorboards that look like they’ve seen better days, don’t think about ripping them up just yet. Just like the front door, a lick of paint can completely transform a room from drab to fab.
Painting the floorboards gives them a new lease of life, and the room a whole new decorating scheme. Whether you opt for a crisp white or feel brave enough to choose something colourful, a painted floor is transformative yet affordable. Depending on the area you choose to paint, you should only require a few tins of paint for a clean finish. Apply a few coats during the day and leave to dry overnight, ensuring they’re fully dry before walking on them.
Install bespoke shelves
Got a tricky alcove that you’ve never known what to do with? Well, you can never have too much storage space, so make the most of it with some bespoke shelves that are unique to your home. Making the most of awkward recesses is the perfect way to utilise every nook and cranny in your home. If you’re handy with DIY, all you’ll need is some sturdy wood, wall plugs or brackets depending on what you’re planning to put on the shelves, a measuring tape, and a cordless drill.
Measure the area you plan to hang your shelves in and cut your wood. You can either cut it yourself or take it to a hardware shop that’ll cut it for you. Add a coat of paint if you wish, and then hang using your drill, wall plugs, and brackets if required. Before you know it, you’ve got a gorgeous set of shelves that no one else does.
Add wood panelling
Traditional-looking wood panelling is all the rage right now, and you’ve no doubt seen influencers and DIY-ers creating their own on TikTok or Instagram. While it may look like a hefty task, it’s not too tricky to do yourself.
For a simple Victorian look, pick up some decorative moulding and adhesive, and mark out your square panels with a pencil. Cut the moulding to size, attach to the adhesive, and check it’s straight with a spirit level. Add a coat of paint and you’re done! It really is that simple. Wall panelling hides a multitude of sins, as well as adds interest to a featureless room, and if you choose the correct dimensions, it can be used to rebalance the proportions of an unusually balanced space.
Update your splashback
Looking to update your kitchen or add a bit of colour?
You can give your kitchen a whole new style and colour scheme by adding your updating the splash back on the wall. Your kitchen can be transformed in an instant with a clever choice of tiles, or if you’re interested in keeping up to date with trends, a large piece of mirror will do the trick!
However, if you can’t be bothered to mess about with tile spacers and grouting, there’s an array of adhesive tiles out there to suit your style. Simply peel off the back and stick them to your wall for a snazzy new look.
Conclusion
No matter what you want to do to your home, you can give it a new lease of life without spending hundreds and thousands of pounds on home improvements, and without needing to move house altogether.
If you have a bit of creativity, patience, and possibly access to Pinterest, you can turn your home into an environment you enjoy and not break the bank in the process.