After settling into your new home, chances are, it’s only a matter of time before you feel your interior or basement needs a refreshed and enhanced look. As times change, you could be forgiven for also changing your tastes, and you’d be surprised just how sprucing up your home can do wonders to your mood and mental well-being. Even if you are currently financially constrained, you can actually start with inexpensive adjustments. This article will delve into a few steps on how you can revamp your home without spending a king’s ransom.
Set A Budget
The maiden step you can take towards revamping your home ensures that you have enough to cover for the makeover project, irrespective of how extensive or small the work may be. Set a cap on the amount you’re willing to part with for your revamp and try as much as you can to exceed your budget. The many costs that encompass a house remodel can contrast sharply to what you have in mind, so open a spreadsheet and start noting them down.
If you are alien to how much your revamps are likely to cost, for instance, upgrading cushions of your couch, do a quick search on the internet. The difficult part as far as budgeting is concerned comes in when making cost estimates of labor. For example, how to deal with a wet basement, what size of manpower would you need? To work around this and be on the safe side, your labor costs should range somewhere between 20-40% of your entire budget.
Choose A Style
If you feel a bit lost at where you should start with revamping your home, the first thing you should do is try and think about what you want the outcome to look like. This can easily be done by looking through a few magazines and getting a feel for what kind of style you like. If living with a partner, you should discuss this together since styles are very subjective, and what you might think looks amazing, they might think looks awful. Think about whether you want to color, minimalism, or something in between.
You should try and agree on something you both like, and remember, you do not have to be entirely consistent throughout your whole home. Your style could be ‘eclectic,’ which means you can defy all the ‘rules’ if you want. The reason for having a style that you are working towards is that you will find it much easier to buy items that you feel will suit the mood, and you won’t end up with a random clutter of items that cannot be paired with one another. Maybe print off some pictures of what you are working towards, so if you are ever in a home store and spot something, you can remind yourself of what theme you have in mind.
Adding Some Houseplants To Your Home
A great way to keep your home feeling fresh and happy is to add a few house plants. House plants are a great decoration for your home and are often really beneficial to your mental health since they add an element of nature and greenery. This is also great for your home’s air quality since plants release oxygen, which is good for you to breathe in.
The great thing about house plants is that they can be as low or high maintenance as suits you, depending on what kinds of plants you are getting. If you are one of those people who is pretty forgetful and fear that you will forget to water your plants, you should go for something that doesn’t require regular watering, such as a cactus. Due to cacti originating from desert regions, they have cleverly adapted to not needing much water – instead, they manage to retain it well.
If you are looking for more green and leafy plants, they are also really attractive, but they require a bit more maintenance. If you are struggling to remember when to water your plants, you should try and put a post-it note up somewhere in your house, such as on your fridge, reminding you when to water each plant. Alternatively, you could do this by setting the alarm on your phone, which will act as a reminder for you. One thing to remember is to ask a friend or a neighbor to water plants for you when you are away on holiday. If this is something you would be comfortable with, then you will be all set!
Decluttering And Hiring Contractors
With a home remodel, many a time, you will find there are some aspects of the work you can handle yourself. These include flooring, painting, wall panel removal, toilet removal & installation, and tiling, amongst others. Sorting out simple tasks by yourself can save you some money you’re better off spending elsewhere. Again, on your spreadsheet, list the tasks you are capable of handling, possibly as DIY (Do It Yourself), and those you are unsure or simply incapable of handling, list them as PRO (Professional).
Once you have settled on the work that needs a professional, start your search for a contractor best-suited for you. You can ask for referrals from friends and family or jump on Google and review a host of contractors based on their qualifications and what clients say about them. The ideal contractor should have a wealth of experience on the particular type of work you are hiring them for and, more importantly, be licensed and insured to carry out the task.
Final Thoughts
In our daily lives, change is always around the corner. Whether it’s getting a new job, moving into a new house, or changing friends, change is constant. Indeed if you feel your house no longer provides the coziness it once did and are looking to revamp, believe it or not, you can do it, and you don’t need to spend a fortune. Decide on a budget, however small it may be, and if you find you can do without a contractor, do it yourself. Helpful guides can direct you through the entire experience.
