When it comes to home improvement, many homeowners believe in an all-or-nothing approach. They prefer to wait for a total remodel rather than tackling a series of smaller, more manageable projects. Choosing the latter can save money and make your home a more attractive and enjoyable place to live. Here are some tips and tricks to get you started.
If your bed doesn’t come with a headboard, or you didn’t purchase it with one, you can easily solve your problem. Use an old weathered wooden gate or a lovely iron gate to make a one of a kind headboard. That’s something you won’t see anywhere else and will not be sold in stores.
Make sure you get your contractor to sign documents before they begin any project. You may also want to have the contract looked at by a lawyer. Beginning and end dates, guarantees, deadlines, cost and the work that will be performed should be defined.
Hiring a professional organizer for a home storage makeover, can do wonders for your home’s look. Most of us have catch all areas throughout the house, where items tend to go to die. We all have areas that we look at and say that we’ll straighten it out tomorrow. A professional organizer can suggest changes you can make to avoid these problem areas and make your home more efficient.
When choosing a contractor, make sure to interview them and check references. There are few things more painful than a home improvement project gone wrong. At best you’ll have to live in a house that makes you unhappy and at worse you could find yourself without a place that’s safe to live in. Perform your due diligence upfront in making your choice so that you won’t be surprised at the results at the end.
Focus on interior lighting for your next home improvement project. If you change out your old light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lights, you will save energy and money. These bulbs also last longer than traditional lighting choices. This is a very simple project that will have remarkable results on the amount of money you save in energy bills.
Before paying for brand new hardwood, talk to a professional about your current floors. Sometimes you might have natural and beautiful hardwood flooring under your current old flooring that just needs to be refinished. You could end up with the most beautiful of floors for a lot less than you envisioned.
Children can easily climb out of windows or doors and harm themselves. Oftentimes, children think of ways to escape out of doors and crevices before you do. Make sure to keep your child safe by installing window and door safety locks that only your or older children are able to open.
Think outside the box in terms of artwork. Instead of expensive objects of art, try using unconventional items such as 3D tiles. Using three dimensional tiles, alternating in color, arranged on a wall behind your sofa and voila – instant art!
Treat your wall to a dolly! No, not to a child’s toy but to a specially made anchor and toggle bolt! The shank of a dolly expands when you screw it tight. It can be used to hold a picture or other light object in place on the surface of a hollow wall where there is no underlying stud to nail to.
Homeowners undertaking major renovation work on high-value homes should engage an architect. While their services are expensive, architects make back their cost on large, complex projects. They help homeowners manage complex jobs involving multiple contractors and sub-contractors and have the aesthetic sensibilities which can preserve and increase the market value of an expensive home.
If you are renovating your kitchen but need to spend less money, consider using laminate flooring and countertops. These synthetic options are generally much less expensive than wood, tile, or stone. They are also easier to care for. Many of these products are designed to closely mimic the natural products, so that the difference is only visible on close inspection.
Wallpaper and art additions can make a bathroom look better. Wallpaper trim is an inexpensive way to complement any decor with the numerous styles available to choose from. Not only that but it’s real simple to put on the walls. Add to it a few pieces of art, and you can completely transform your bathroom.
Hire a professional designer or architect if you are not one yourself. A lot of homeowners try to cut corners by using a “friend” or drawing up plans themselves, but experts have already done the work and know environmental and zoning restrictions. Oops — now that the putting green’s done, you didn’t realize it needed a permit? Improving your home is a big, sometimes costly endeavor. Don’t make the mistake of cutting corners.
With a small investment in extra insulation now, you can see long-term savings for your home. Many older homes do not have sufficient insulation. Installing extra insulation in your crawl space or attic can result in lower utility bills, saving you money for many years.
Bear in mind that different home improvement applications call for different kinds of screws. Know the proper screw you need for the specific project you are working on. If you are working on a project using wood, you want to use wood screws, as these are designed to easily screw into wood. When working with sheet metal, use screws specifically intended for that purpose.
One of the easiest ways to be more green and resourceful in your home, is to look for appliances and items that are energy star certified or energy efficient. This way you will be doing your part to conserve energy, lower your overall costs, and make the planet more efficient over time.
Rather than wait decades to save up the money for a total remodel, why not look for home improvement projects of all sizes and scales? By following the advice in this article, you can discover the joys of making occasional enhancements and upgrades to your home without waiting for a day that may never come.