Home Decorating, DIY Tutorials, & Shenanigans

Don’t forget to include cleaning the cabinets and drawers, too. This may also be a good time to install shelf liners and any drip-protectors to preserve the life House & Home Improvement of the cabinets. Sell your home years down the line, this home improvement project may increase its value and make it stand out in the local housing market.

Get help making your home accessible The Adaptive Modifications Program helps people with disabilities live more independently in their homes. Either team them with light voile drapes or do away with other window treatments altogether. If your water pressure is low and you don’t have a combi boiler, your shower is probably less than invigorating. Installing a pump to increase the pressure and a thermostatic shower valve to maintain the temperature will improve it no end. Can be very expensive, therefore if on a budget go for the summer house or shed idea instead. There’s a cost to laying a good-quality foundation, but with reasonable skills you can keep the price of this low by doing it yourself.

• If you’re using an architect, make sure these are questions they’re also asking.
• A cash-out refinance gives you a new, larger mortgage that pays off your existing home loan with money to spare.
• Then you simply tape down a stencil, working tile by tile, and use a paint roller to fill in the design.
• One of the best DIY home projects that only takes a day or two to complete is updating your door handles.

Decluttering helps to reduce odors, so remove stacks of papers and books , old pet beds and toys, and any furniture that can’t be professionally cleaned. We’ve found that taking the time to improve our homes has a positive impact on home happiness, regardless of whether we enjoy the process itself or not. This means that investing time and energy into updating our homes and adapting them to suit our changing needs is also an investment in our happiness. Through these many voices, studies show how we connect with our homes emotionally and what is truly important to achieve happiness in them. The GoodHome Report research shows that often we look for happiness in the wrong places. Sometimes what we think makes us happy and what really makes us happy are not always the same.

Your painting budget will depend on which rooms you’re hoping to give a new splash of color. For example, HomeAdvisor pegs painting a bathroom — usually the smallest room in the house — somewhere between $150 and $350, while a 330-square-foot living room might cost as much as $2,000. The national average cost to build an addition is $49,562, according to estimates from HomeAdvisor.

Sometimes, a deck upgrade is well worth the time, effort and cost, especially if you love to party or relax outside. You can get ready in time for summer fun if you get it done in the spring. Although April showers bring May flowers, July is actually one of therainiest months in Virginia. Prepare for summer rain by fixing winter damage and making sure your gutters are in tiptop shape. You’ll save yourself thousands of dollars in water damage if you replace old broken gutters with new ones.

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Adding a conservatory is, on average, the most lucrative – just make sure it doesn’t eat up too much of your garden. Typically, you’ll not only make back what you spend, but double your money – and then some. The front door is the first thing a potential buyer will see when coming to visit your property so make sure it’s clean, and if needs be, give it a lick of paint.

Whether they’re viewing your exterior photo in an online listing, driving by, or attending a private tour or open house, it’s imperative that your home makes a good first impression. You will demolish and dispose of sections of the house that will be replaced by later projects. This is a huge undertaking that many homeowners overlook until the project begins, then they begin scrambling to make up for lost time. Draw up a simple “yes/no” list of do-it-yourself projects and projects you want professionals to do. Look for contractors and subcontractors for those jobs you do not want to do yourself.

Or, start small— you don’t necessarily have to paint your entire house. Investing in a fresh coat of exterior paint never goes out of style. However, like any other paint job, exterior painting requires occasional reapplication. At the very least, you could recoat the pain you already have to add polish to your home’s existing exterior.