Graham and I have been slowly making updates around the house in our limited time over the last three months. We would love to be able to tackle the kitchen renovation, but it’s not the right time for that yet. Instead we’ve been doing small upgrades wherever we can. Often these simple and cost-effective tasks completely transform a space. If you, too, are waiting on a major home renovation but want to make the house feel more like home, here are some possible fixes to make first:
- Switch out the outlets and switch plates. Our house came with old, beige outlets and switches that looked dirty. Buying new white outlets and installing them ourselves (if you know how to do it safely) makes a room look more clean. We also upgraded the outlets next to our bed to have USB slots that make charger our phones and electronics easier. Game-changer!
- Painting the walls and trim. Doing this yourself might be more work and will take more time than hiring someone, but it saves so much money and instantly gives any room a facelift. Our bedrooms were white, as are most of the walls in the house, and we’ve been having fun picking out new paint colors. So far we have finished painting two bedrooms. Painting the trim was such a time suck, but it looks a thousand times better in white than the natural wood color popular circa the 1990s.
- Remove old blinds and curtains and install new, more modern options. I absolutely hate the old style of mini blinds that are so pervasive in older homes. We bought 2.5-inch faux wood cordless blinds and installed them ourselves. They keep out a significant amount of light and look so much nicer. We haven’t installed new curtains yet because we are searching for the perfect picks, but that’s on the list.
- Pressure wash the exterior. The house was empty for a couple of years before we moved in, so it needed to be cleaned inside and out. You can easily rent a pressure washer (or buy one) and it made an immediate impact on the outside of our home.
- Remove outdated appliances or electronics. Our home came with an old radio attached to a kitchen cabinet. We removed that bad boy and gave ourselves more space. Perhaps you can wait on changing the refrigerator and range, if needed, but you can always upgrade things like the microwave for a lower cost.
- Add plants! Nothing makes us feel more at home than new plants. They bring life to any space.
Are you planning any home updates? What would you like to do next to your home? Stay tuned for more home updates, including bedroom reveals when they are complete!