Transforming your home from ugly duckling to graceful swan doesn’t have to be a huge and costly exercise.
We’ve put together our top 7 tips (plus one bonus tip!) to getting the look and live-ability you want without breaking the bank:
1) Get painting
New paint, whether inside or out, can often be the single best way to transform the look and feel of your home without spending a lot of money.
It’s also a renovation that you can do yourself, so for the cost of a few tins of paint (and a busy weekend or two) you can bring about huge changes in the appearance and value of your home.
It’s not just for walls and ceilings either – you can transform your kitchen by painting cupboard doors, or your bathroom with Tub and Tile paint to have a ‘virtual’ renovation at very low cost.
The ‘Paint My Place’ app is a great tool for visualising how your place will look with a new colour scheme – download it here (iPhone only).
2) A kitchen makeover
While we’re in the kitchen, why not consider going one step further and get the counter tops and cupboards professionally resurfaced? If your kitchen has good bones, this can be a very cost effective way of modernising without spending a bomb.
Another simple update is replacing that tired stove with a shiny new stainless steel model that will look good and cook even better (and hopefully motivate you to unleash your inner master chef a little more often!).
3) Bathroom Blitz
The Tub and Tile paint you used in the kitchen can really work wonders in the bathroom. That daggy bathtub can come back to life with a coat of it, and the nanna-style tiles can take retire at last under a bright coat of paint that will freshen up your bathroom no end.
A new toilet if needed can be a nice change, but even just replacing that old toilet seat can have a surprisingly noticeable effect.
Other inexpensive but effective bathroom updates include new tapware, a new vanity and a nice big mirror to add a sense of space to the smallest room in the house.
4) Windows to the world
One update that can create visual appeal both inside and out is new window furnishings to replace any dated curtains or blinds.
Timber venetians are a timeless classic as are plantation shutters – but there are plenty of other options to suit your house and personal taste while letting in light and looking stylish from outside and in.
5) Let there be light
In many homes we’ve worked on, our customers have been wowed by how their living environment changes with a change in lighting. Moving from harsh fluorescents to warmer lighting with updated fixtures makes a world of difference, just as replacing a single bright overhead light with more diffused lighting can soften an interior to make it a more pleasant place to spend time.
Many of the rooms in our homes are mainly occupied at night and it’s surprising how big a difference well-designed lighting can make.
6) Bring the outside in (and vice-versa!)
Living in Sydney we’re lucky to have the sort of climate that lets us enjoy outside activities pretty much all year round. Opening up living spaces to embrace the outdoors is a great way to add life to your home. Bi-folds or sliding/stacking doors are one of the best ways to do this.
If you don’t already have a usable outdoor living area, adding a deck or patio – or perhaps even just a shade sail – is one of the cheapest ways of gaining living space (and it can add a lot of value to your home too).
7) Add street appeal
This is a change that will bring a smile to your face every time you arrive home after a long day. Give your home a ‘facelift’ with some simple updates out the front such as painting your front door, jazzing up your garden beds, adding some potted plants and replacing (or just repainting) your front fence.
Even seemingly minor touches such as a new letterbox, new house numbers or exterior lighting can make a big difference by creating a welcoming feel to your home.
Get more ideas on adding street appeal from our earlier blog post here >>
Bonus renovation idea
OK, so it’s a shameless plug for our own services, but we’ve seen so many families benefit from having a little extra room (or a lot!) that we had to include the addition of bedrooms or living space on this list.
Especially in this booming Sydney property market, it’s hard to go wrong with adding space to your home. It doesn’t have to cost a lot either – if you’re on a budget our Classic Design range saves you money by using standard designs and materials so you benefit from economies of scale.
If you are considering home extensions or additions, a great starting point is our Consumer Guide to Home Improvement – you can download it here >>
All images in this post and more information on the specific projects can be found on the inspiration-inducing website Houzz.
