by Blake Herzog
Have you been in your home for a while and watched the walls turn from beige to greige? Or maybe you’ve just moved into your fixer-upper knowing the fix may have to wait for a year or three?
If you hit a mental or budgetary block when it comes to the word “renovations,” we’ve got some great hacks to rejuvenate your house, or any part of it, with a little cash and creativity:
Living Room
Rearrange or relocate — Consider whether the furniture and traffic might flow better if you flip the sofa and chairs around and put the TV in a different spot to avoid glare and other impediments to a prime entertainment experience. If you’ve got another space that might serve that function better, don’t hesitate to try it.
Four on the floor — If you have tile or laminate that’s definitely seen better days, there are peel-and-stick options that are affordable and surprisingly effective at papering over the defects. For carpet, you can deploy some rugs or remove it inexpensively to make room for a DIY replacement.
Kitchen
Enhance cabinets — If you’ve got to do something about them, there are many options besides just tearing them out. You can scrub down, repaint, resurface or re-accessorize with modern hardware that will make them look brand-new. If they need to go, you can remove them and put in open shelving for a much more affordable and radical makeover.
Island life — If you need more workspace, but can’t add a full-blown island, look at buying a simple table or recycling an extra one from your or someone else’s house, maybe adding wheels if it’s not practical to have it moored in the middle of the room 24/7.
Bathroom
Consider a cabinet — Medicine cabinets are much easier to deal with than kitchen cabinets because they’re much smaller and you generally only need or have room for one. Plus, they add storage space where it’s needed.
Silence is golden — If you have a rickety old toilet just off the master bedroom that slams shut at the slightest provocation, you can buy a self-closing toilet seat for $20 or so that will create a new world at bedtime, whether you’re usually the closer or closer!
Bedroom
A new light — The outdated, inadequate light fixture in the middle of the ceiling can be replaced with something chic or a ceiling fan with bulbs included. Or you can supplement it with one or two elegant light fixtures or wall sconces at the head of the bed or wherever else you might need them.
Inject drama — Your bedroom is one place where your guests are not likely to spend much time, it’s a great place for you to do you. And if you crave a dramatic red, blue, green or black accent wall, this is the perfect place to perk up with a weekend paint job.
