Renovating a home to represent you and your family can seem like a daunting task not to mention expensive. We are here to tell you, you can renovate your home with some simple, affordable projects that can upgrade and improve your home.
For most people, renovating a home takes time. Making rush decisions can also lead to regret. Polka-dot exterior paint anyone? We don’t want to see that happen. You want to love your space for years to come, not for a couple months.
Below, we have listed out some reasonable renovations for your home you can complete this weekend.
Before you get into all of our reasonable renovations, we would be silly to not mention check out some of our carriers for great homeowners insurance at affordable rates. After all, you’re putting your money, sweat, and tears, well we hope happy tears, into your home so lets properly protect it.
Curb Appeal
Ever drive up to a house, and judge a book by its cover? In this case, the outside of the home and its yard? Most people do. I still have a pirate flag in my yard from my son’s pirate birthday from last November. Arr Matey! Now that you know a little about me, let’s move on to how we can update the exterior of your home sans pirate flag.
Paint the exterior of your home
Painting the exterior of your home can be daunting, but it can really add to your curb appeal as well as protect your home from the elements. Painting your home, if done yourself, will cost you only materials. Material can range from $500 dollars to a couple thousand, of course depending on the size of your home. If you have a fear of heights, you might need to hire this one out. Hiring a contractor to paint the exterior of your home can run $1500-$7500. Below is a breakdown of standard pricing from remodelingcosts.org.
New Landscape
Landscape is easy to DIY. Cost wise can run a couple hundred or more depending on how much you want to change. If you want something simple, adding new mulch, some pretty flowers, and shrubs are the way to go. It doesn’t cost much, and you can easily do it yourself. Want to go a step further, seed and fertilize your grass if you have any as well as just keep it maintained.
If you want to go the professional route, it can run you about $50 – $100 per hour. Some say it’s best to budget for around 10% of your homes value for a complete yard overhaul.
Paint your front door
Painting your front door yourself will cost around $30 and it is the easiest small exterior upgrade for your home. Painting your door will not only give your front entrance to the home an upgrade, but it will also protect your door from the elements.
Add a couple planters with some easy to maintain plants and a new wreath and you have a welcoming entrance to your home.
Pressure Wash
A great way to not only increase curb appeal, but also maintain your home is pressure washing the exterior. Pressure washing the exterior is a great way to clean up a home when it is not in need of a paint job. If you have vinyl siding, brick, or stucco this is the way to go to clean up the outside of your home. Not only can you pressure was the home itself, make sure you tackle the porches, columns, sidewalks, driveway, and fences. Pressure washing yourself is a great option. Only materials you would really need is a pressure washer and attachments (usually included), and correct soap for the material of your home.
If doing it yourself isn’t in your idea of fun, you can hire a professional. According to Home Advisor, you are looking between $25 to $100 per hour depending on the size, type of job, and equipment needed. Most professionals will also just charge a flat rate of between $90-$200.
Interior Renovations
Now that we have your exterior looking all spick and span, let’s move onto some interior renovations you can tackle. Most of us spend a lot of time indoors, which now that I type that, let’s get outdoors people! Anyway, since we are indoors a lot we want to make the home not only function in the best way for us but also we want it to be comfortable and welcoming. Here are some ideas for simple and affordable indoor renovation projects you can tackle.
New Paint
I mean if we are going to give the outside new paint, we need to do the inside too. Painting room by room is probably the easiest. Painting one room, of course depending on size, will run $100 – $300 in materials. If it is a small room and you already have painting equipment, it can be even cheaper such as $30 for a gallon of paint.
Want to hire out? Hiring a professional to paint the interior of your home can cost between $1.50 – $3.50 per square foot. On average, for a 1,500 square foot home you are looking at around $1,500 – $2,400.
New doorknobs and locks
New doorknobs and door locks is a great and simple way to update the doors in your home along with painting, especially if you are still rocking the bright brass from the 90’s. Well, that seems to be coming back in so if that’s your style, skip this step.
New faucets and fixtures
New faucets and fixtures in your kitchen and bathrooms are a great way to update a homes look. Not only is it very affordable, but it will also really transform the space. Some fixtures include light fixtures, towel bars, and toilet paper holders. Stick to the same color palette throughout your home, including doorknobs, for a cohesive look.
Update Bathroom vanities and countertops
Updating bathroom vanities and countertops is a great way to add some updates to your bathrooms. It can run around $100 for a small vanity and $1000 or more for a larger vanity. You can tackle this project if you are handy or even hire a professional. Either way, it’s a cost-effective way to really update your bathrooms.
Now that we have our homes looking fresh, make sure you cover your home itself as well as its contents with the correct insurance policy. We wouldn’t be an insurance agency if we didn’t remind you of the importance of a homeowner’s policy. As you do updates and improvements on your home, review your policy to make sure you are still properly covered. If you need an independent agent to help, let us know!
If you are looking for more ideas on renovating your home, check us out on Pinterest.
