Renovating a House on a Budget

white den with green couch

Credit: Peter Molick

Say "abode renovation" and many people retrieve "too expensive." But revamping your spaces doesn't have to price a lot of money. Hither are 19 ideas for upgrades perfect for a domicile renovation on a budget.

In the Kitchen: New Countertops

Kitchen with gray brick and wooden cabinets

Credit: John Granen

Cabinets plus countertops plus fixtures can equal a v-digit kitchen renovation. But if your cabinets are in decent shape, y'all can indulge in new countertops and upgrade one of the hardest working surfaces in your home. The smaller square footage you take to cover, the lower your cost, which means y'all might be able to afford a more expensive material. An thought to save even more than: Enquire your local stone and tile visitor virtually seconds or remnants.

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In the Kitchen: Alter the Backsplash

Kitchen counter with geometric backsplash

Credit: Annie Schlecther

Swapping out a tired backsplash for 1 that adds a punch of pattern or color is a great way to freshen upwards a kitchen and add together visual interest. With options for tile, stone, drinking glass, ceramic, and beaded board, there are so many opportunities to notice a material that's right for your budget. Some other frugal option is to only install a backsplash where it provides the most protection, similar behind a range or near a sink.

In the Kitchen: Add a Simulated Island

remodeled shite kitchen red color infinite carpet

Credit: Laurey Glenn

Stand-alone tables or cabinets can be a cost-friendly feature for an island-less kitchen. Just add rolling casters and so you lot can move the piece at will. The more extras you add together (for example, a cabinet with drawers) the more it will price, so if a super-depression upkeep is your goal, start with a simple table. That is, unless you already have a piece of furniture sitting unused that y'all're ready to plow into an island.

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In the Kitchen: Upgrade Cabinets or Cabinet Doors

vivid dishes in white kitchen open shelving with wallpaper

Credit: Dustin Halleck

Paint, wallpaper, peel-and-stick wood products: All are great options to give a new face to former cabinets. Corbels can be added below cabinets or under floating shelves for a classic, built-in look. Removing doors on some upper cabinets offers you easy-to-access open storage without having to add new shelving. Expect for means to refresh your habitation that non only fit your budget but also how you use the infinite on a daily basis.

In the Living Room: Update Flooring

white den with greenish couch

Credit: Peter Molick

Many peel-and-stick floor options are thin enough that you don't have to remove existing flooring to give your room a budget-friendly upgrade underfoot. Even if the floor must come up off because you just tin't stand it whatever longer, a new floor can exist a long-lasting projection that, on its ain, isn't too expensive. Plus, plenty of DIY options be to help you save on labor, likewise.

In the Living Room: Change Window Treatments

low table and patterned defunction

Credit: Nicholas Johnson

New fabric, new shades, or a combination of the 2 can give a pretty facelift to a living room. Enough of sew together-it-yourself options can go a long way to hide older windows (which would be a pricey renovation project). To relieve a little extra money, aim to reuse the existing curtain rods and rings.

In the Living Room: Install Dimmers

open living room with modernistic chairs

Credit: David Tsay

If your abode has scarce overhead lighting, you might exist having a hard time getting the right residual of light. This is even more true in older homes with fewer outlets available for floor and side lamps. In these instances, installing a dimmer switch can be your quick and like shooting fish in a barrel solution: go along it bright when accomplishing tasks, merely turn it down for softer ambient lighting that'southward comfortable for lounging.

In the Bathroom: Add together a Medicine Cabinet

bath wall contemporary mirror and towels

Credit: Jay Wilde

You can add both style and storage to your bath with a elementary, budget-smart change: a new medicine cabinet. Supervene upon a plain wall-mount mirror to gain storage and a new wait. If you lot're feeling crafty, add together a cork board or chalkboard on the inside of the door for daily reminders and affirmations.

In the Bathroom: Wallpaper an Accent Wall

bathroom with vessel sink and assuming cherry graphic wallpaper

Credit: Paul Costello

Wallpaper has become easier to tackle, even for a beginning DIYer, which makes it a great projection for a home renovation on a budget. You can add together pattern and color with wallpaper in a snap, and it's totally fine to limit it to ane stand-out wall (and keep the budget low). But if you're not set to tackle proper wallpapering quite notwithstanding, try the temporary, peel-and-stick kind. You tin easily take it off if you change your decor style, so you don't accept to worry about giving a current design trend a shot.

In the Bathroom: Add Storage

slate bluish cabinet in bath with brick cavalcade

Credit: Kimberly Gavin Photography

Even the slimmest open shelves offer more than than just storage. Utilise them to create a display with baskets or other decorative accents. Other off-the-shelf storage options come in a variety of styles, including tiered carts, leaning ladders, and apothecary cabinets, and are intended to maximize vertical infinite. They're a pretty and practical storage choice y'all tin feel good about purchasing.

In the Bathroom: Swap Out Hardware

bathroom with gray vanity and white countertops

Credit: Jessica Delaney Photography, LLC

Bathroom cabinets can get a modern-day wakeup with new hardware. Choice different styles from the same family (say, long pulls for drawers and small knobs for doors) or mix and lucifer different finishes for a more eclectic await. Look to add backplates if your current knobs lend themselves to a more than shapely flair.

In the Bathroom: Safety Updates

floating vanity double sink in modern bathroom

Credit: Brie Williams

Toilet paper holders and towel bars are usually nothing special to expect at, only these ii disregarded accessories represent a chance for you to make your bath a little safer. Multiple companies now make ADA-compliant toilet paper holders, towel bars, and other accessories that tin safely be used every bit a take hold of bar. Whether you're thinking of yourself in the futurity or someone else now, it's a worthwhile investment at any time.

In the Bedroom: Add Involvement to Walls or Ceilings

two toned wall master bedroom

Credit: Brie Williams

Fifty-fifty if y'all don't have a stash of power tools, you tin easily add together wainscoting or trim to dull bedroom walls or ceilings. You tin can fifty-fifty get the illusion of wainscoting by applying trim or lumber to an area of the wall as an outline, then use paint to necktie the wall and trim together to imitate the real deal. It looks loftier-finish without all the cost. Choose prefinished millwork to cutting down on labor time, or cease it yourself to save even more than on your renovation upkeep.

In the Bedroom: Add a Headboard

small-scale white sleeping accommodation wall length greenish headboard

Credit: David Tsay

A guaranteed way to update your sleeping room is to add a headboard, whether it's small and stately or oversize and dramatic. To purchase new, they tin go quite expensive, but in that location's a lot of opportunity for maximizing your style and budget with DIY headboards.

In the Bedroom: Inset Brandish Shelves

bedchamber with built-in shelving bold bedspreads

Credit: James Nathan Schroder

Kids bedrooms nowadays an ever-evolving domicile renovation conundrum: They quickly motion from toys and books to collectibles and across, and finding where to store all of that stuff can be difficult. A simple home renovation alter that's easy on the budget is to add narrow, wall-to-wall shelves. They're cheap and don't crave a huge footprint to fit in a variety of sleeping accommodation sizes.

In the Dining Room: Install a New Light Fixture

slate bluish dining room with antique features

Credit: Nathan Kirkman

Dining rooms are ofttimes stuck in a light fixture fourth dimension warp. But a few hundred dollars and a little fleck of electrical DIY can requite your ceiling space (and your room) a game-changing focal point. Choose several pendants instead of the traditional chandelier for a more gimmicky approach. Don't fret near that electrical know-how: Check out this how-to guide for installing a light fixture.

In the Dining Room: Reinvigorate a Congenital In

shelving with wallpaper in back

Credit: Emily Followill

Obscured spaces, such as the wall or back panel behind shelves, don't become much attending. Simply those are corking spots to add together pops of color with paint or wallpaper. Some other idea: Bandy out the door inserts for glass or utilise colored film to existing glass. These niggling touches tin can go a long manner to making a room experience renewed.

In the Entry: Create a Mini Mudroom

mudroom cubbies storage drawers hanging bags

Credit: Laura Moss

A seat, a shelf, and some hooks are actually all you demand to create a life-irresolute, budget-smart mudroom, even in a tiny space. You tin can buy expensive organizers designed for this function, or yous can combine reused and repurposed pieces with less expensive newer items that work together as a whole solution. If yous have the infinite for it, a cubby for each family member makes the daily routine easier.

In the Entry: Paint the Stairs

white staircase with nighttime accent in center

Credit: Ann VanderWiel Wilde

A creative use of paint is a upkeep-friendly manner to renovate the path from one floor to some other. Option a pattern, a theme, or choose a solid, attention-grabbing color and make your stairs a showstopper. Once dry, pigment them with polyurethane to protect the finish. Practise it once and you're set, or have fun with it and brand updates seasonally to keep friends and family members wowed.