Improving your home’s value is no easy feat. Whether you want to sell it soon, keep it as a safety net, or simply make it beautiful, fixing up your house will take a lot of time, resources, and ingenuity. But, don’t worry, all is not lost – you won’t have to get into more debt and become a bank’s slave in order to pull it off.
Some homeowners decide to prepare their homes for the market by investing massive sums of money, hiring a ton of contractors, and in general practically building it anew. And while building projects really will make your home more beautiful, it’s not all you can do. Some simple things can mean a lot, things you don’t even notice. Below are some tips on how to increase the beauty of your home, without breaking the bank.
Spruce it up a little – Paint and small repairs
The first thing you should do is keep it clean. On one level, this is quite obvious – a dirty house that gets clean becomes nicer. However, there is another aspect to this. Dust will stick, dirt can stain your floors permanently. Mold that forms in some parts of your garage will ruin the walls. If you let things get too dirty, you will find it very difficult to get things under control.
Next, and much more important – small fixes. So, paint the whole place, inside, and out. A fresh new coat of paint will make your place look brand new. Fix your drywall, any cracks or damage to your walls will make your home look much older than it actually is. The same goes for any cracked tiles. Replace your faucets, tighten any loose screws and spigots, fix any creaking chairs, even your table legs…
Check your windows, see in what shape they are in. Get as much natural light into your home as you can. Get your carpets deep cleaned, and get a fresh coat of lacquer or varnish over any wooden objects you have.
Work on your garden and yard
Now of course, regularly mowing your lawn will help make your backyard look much nicer. However, you should also think about planting some flowers, or maybe even get a tree there. A nice pond set, with beautiful decorations, will make things even better.
Working on your yard will do wonders for your home’s aesthetics. Things like installing a yard barbecue, a nice patio or pagoda, or a swing set. You can always add opening roof systems that could help you survive the hot Summer days outside without overheating. On the plus side, it would add a nice touch of modernism to your garden.
Any kind of projects, like making a small, open guesthouse, a sort of “home away from home” thing that is right there can give you some extra privacy, help you make the perfect spot for garden parties, and will in general just look absolutely stunning.
Big projects -Fix up your roof and driveway
People see one of these two things first when they look at your house. They either see your roof, or they notice the curb of your home. Now, if you want to increase curb appeal, you should get a couple of things right. Paint your front door properly. Another thing is a little detail like your doorknob. Sure, from afar people don’t notice, but once they’re close, a shiny and classy looking door knob can make an excellent first impression. The same can be said about your door knocker, and about your mailbox. These little things add up and are actually cheap to get a handle on.
On the other hand, something a bit bigger is fixing up your roof. First, clean the whole thing properly. Clean the gutters, remove all the needles and broken tiles and shingles. Algae and mildew build up quickly as well, as does dirt. If needed, install new gutters, and repair any damage. Finally, if you are truly up for it, you should remove and replace the shingles. A good idea is to get some durable and high-quality shingles that will last you a lifetime. They may cost a pretty penny at first, but it really comes through in the long term.
Fixing up your driveway is another big, but relatively cheap project you can take on. All those cracks and fissures are not that pleasing to the eye. However, unless you have experience working with concrete, this may be a project best left to the professionals.
Conclusion
And there you have it folks, a couple of ways you can spruce up your home, make it prettier than ever, without breaking the bank. Remember, you want to think about the long-term for bigger projects, and be thorough about the small ones. So regularly do small repairs around the house, and clean spaces that you know for a fact people won’t even notice. These things creep up on your as time goes by. The little things matter, as you will certainly notice once you replace some old tidbits like your door knobs or your mailbox. And for the bigger projects, they will always be dirt cheap in the long run.