We all dream about the things we’d do to improve our homes if we just had the time or the money. It’s a bit of a stereotypical statement, but if you want to find the time to do something then you’ve got to make the time for it. If you really want to make your home improvement ideas a reality then you need to decide you’re going to dedicate a weekend to doing so rather than relaxing on the sofa. If you have the mindset and mental determination to tackle a large-scale renovation then here are some pieces of advice that might help you with the practical side of things.
Make a budget
Before you get stuck into the project, you need to first display a little self-restraint and focus on the boring preparational side of things. It’s important to make a budgetary plan which lists everything you plan to do throughout your renovation project and how much each thing will cost. That might take a little of the fun and spontaneity out of it but it also means you’ll avoid the risk of getting halfway through your renovation project and running out of money. Being half-complete would definitely make your house look worse.
If you’re starting to realise that you may not have the funds to cover every DIY project you’d like to complete then you could consider other options, such as homeowner loans. Your home is a secure asset in itself, and it can give lenders more incentive to help you out than even a good credit rating. The point is that there are always options available to you to fund your home improvement project, whether that involves borrowing money or perhaps scaling back your renovation project for the time-being. You can always gradually add improvements once your funds have recovered. Anyway, you probably want to get started on the actual home improvements now...
Declutter the house
A great starting point is to declutter your home. You don’t really know how much work needs to be done until you’ve tidied up the place and given it a deep clean. You need to find homes for neglected items and finally dust in those difficult-to-reach places of the living room. You might also find that a room opens up and feels much fresher as soon as you put aside your hoarder mentality and throw out all those old possessions you haven’t needed for a long time. Go through each room of the house and completely strip each one back to the necessities and essentials of which you can’t dispose. See how the place looks afterwards. You might just find that there’s less work to be done that previously thought; you just needed to clean the place up.
Fix the kitchen and the bathroom
These are, arguably, the two most important rooms in the house. The bathroom might not seem like an integral room to the house because you might spend less than half an hour in there on the average day. Still, you want to shower or bathe in nice surroundings, and you want to step into a nice refreshing room when you brush your teeth in the morning or the evening. The essential thing is to have a bright, contemporary, and aesthetically-pleasing room.
You might want to replace the outdated frame of your mirror with a sleeker and more modern one. You don’t have to replace the entire mirror, and that’s a good rule of thumb for your entire renovation project. It’s not about chucking out everything that’s slightly old and replacing these things with brand new equivalents; making alterations can sometimes make the world of difference. In your kitchen, you might pull apart some of the cupboards attached to the walls and transform them into makeshift shelves. It could open up the room a little more and yet still perform the same practical function.
Make the garden homely
The final task is to take a look at your garden. In fact, take a look at the exterior of your property as a whole. You need to be making a good first impression if you want the home to feel inviting and modern before you’ve even stepped through the door. Things such as climbing plants and ivy should be removed unless you’re going for the “picturesque cottage” feel. You might already mow your lawn and tend to your flowerbeds, and these are both important parts of maintaining a garden. However, you might not have captured that “homely” feel yet. Create a cosy patio area for the family to enjoy the occasional summer evening (when the weather is actually good for once). Having some cushioned loungers and a dining table for early-evening barbeques sounds like the dream.