Lately, you may have noticed that your home could use some sprucing up. Maybe you were doing some light housekeeping and noticed the paint on the walls was starting to chip, or perhaps your bathroom is outdated and in need of an upgrade. If you have the time and patience, you could do these projects on your own. Here are some easy DIY home improvement ideas you can do to fix up your home and increase its value.
Fix Up The Roof
Is your roof starting to look dingy? Are you noticing shingles curling, discoloration, or leaks springing from your roof? If so, it’s time to fix up the roof before it gets even more damaged.
If you’ve worked on roofs before, making roof repairs could be one of those easy DIY home improvement ideas that helps increase the value of your home. Lower-quality roofs and roofs over 20 years old have a greater likelihood of succumbing to harsh winter weather (snow accumulation, ice, high winds, etc.). That means if you want to fix up your roof, you should do it before the winter weather hits.
The kind of roofing you do will depend on the type of roof you have. If you have a shingle roof, you’ll be able to pick up the materials from a local hardware store. These materials include roofing cement and the shingles themselves. If you have a metal roof, it could take more time to fix it up. The metal could be corroded, which requires more work to repair. Be sure to carve out a good chunk of time to repair your roof so you can do it right. You don’t want to rush the process and end up doing more harm than good.
Paint Your Home’s Exterior
If your home’s exterior could use some TLC, spruce it up by giving it a fresh coat of paint. In terms of easy DIY home improvement ideas, this is one that’s pretty straight forward. You pick the new color you want your home to be, and then you take the time to paint the entire exterior.
A fresh coat of paint can change the whole look of your home. Make sure you pick a color that reflects how you want people to feel when they walk through your door. It should match your home’s interior decor and also compliment features like your window shutters. If you aren’t sure which color to paint your home, you can get paint swatches to put on your exterior or download an app that allows you to test paint colors.
Before you paint your home’s exterior, make sure you properly prepare it for paint. Get a power washer and wash your home’s siding to get rid of dirt and grime that’s built up. If there are nicks and cracks in the exterior, fix them before you start painting. The smoother the paint job is, the better your home will look.
Update Your Landscaping
Landscaping matters when it comes to the overall look of your home. If you’re looking for easy DIY home improvement ideas, something that’s small but makes a difference is updating your home’s landscaping. Your home’s landscape includes the trees, bushes, plants, grass, and gardens in your yard. These landscape features should be properly maintained throughout the year. Keep your garden intact, trim any overgrown tree branches, and mow your lawn as needed. The more you maintain your yard, the better your home’s curb appeal will be.
On top of maintaining your landscaping efforts, don’t be afraid to shake up your landscape design. Try planting a new garden, or planting new trees that add value and beauty to your yard. If you have bushes in your yard, you could change up the way you trim them. You could let them grow out or cut them shorter to test how the design looks in your yard. Don’t be afraid to try new things with your landscaping. The more you test, the quicker you’ll figure out what work and doesn’t work with your landscaping.
Spruce Up The Backyard
While you’re working on your home’s landscaping, you should also make it a priority to spruce up your home’s backyard. This is one of those easy DIY home improvement ideas that, when done right, can add a lot of value to your home.
There are many ways you can spruce up your backyard. You can make fence repairs, create a patio entertainment space, or build a shed where you can dedicate time to hobbies. No matter what you do, make sure you have the time, resources and space to do complete the project.
You can also look into services like tree removal and hole filling for your backyard. Doing these things will make your backyard more level, which will help you create a stable foundation for any backyard fixtures you decide to build. Improving your backyard can also increase the value of your home if you eventually decide to sell it.
Redo Your Bathroom
When thinking of easy DIY home improvement ideas, a project that can make a big difference is redoing your bathroom. This may seem like a larger project to take on, but if done right you can make big improvements in a short period of time. Plus, redoing your bathroom can increase your home’s value and make you feel like you have a brand new space in your home.
There are many upgrades you can make to your bathroom. If you just have a sink and mirror in your bathroom, you could upgrade by installing a bathroom vanity. If you want to make a simple upgrade, you could paint the bathroom a softer grey or blue color that makes the room look bigger. You can also install new bathroom floor tiles to accent your new wall color. If you really want to tie the room together, you can add in a complimentary backsplash that makes the room pop.
Update Your Floors
Have your floors been neglected over the years? Can you see the cracks and crevices that have developed over the years? If your floors have seen better days, it’s time to do some home remodeling and upgrade them.
There are many ways you can update your floors. The first step is to decide what kind of floors you want. The kind of floors you want will depend on what room they’ll be in. If you’re redoing your living room’s floor, you may choose to go with hardwood flooring or vinyl tile. Or, if you have wooden floors already, you could choose to install a carpet in your living room. If you’re replacing your kitchen floor, you may choose to use an updated tile that compliments your kitchen’s current design.
As you research easy DIY home improvement ideas, something you’ll come across is using laminate flooring to replace your current floors. This is a good strategy if you want a hardwood floor look, but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on actual hardwood flooring. Laminate flooring is a less expensive alternative that can look just as good. Plus, laminate flooring is easier to install yourself.
Upgrading your home’s flooring can take some time, to make sure not to rush the project. It’ll be complete before you know it, but you want to make sure it’s done right, not just done quickly.
Put Up New Shelving
Some of the simplest and most easy DIY home improvement ideas are the ones that can make the biggest impact. If you live in a house that doesn’t have a lot of space, or if you simply want more space for your belongings, you can put up new shelving.
Shelving gives you more options for decoration and storage. For instance, you could put up suspended shelves in your home office to store documents and display decor. You could also put floating shelves in your living room to put up the decor in an organized fashion. If you want to create even more space, you could create built-in shelving in your living room. Built-in shelves can make a home feel cozy while providing extra space to put family pictures or place books.
Whatever shelving you decide to put up, make sure it matches the aesthetic of your home. Make sure the shelves complement your home’s color scheme and don’t stick out too much. The shelves shouldn’t be distracting. Instead, they should seamlessly flow into your room and make it a more welcoming space.
Repaint The Kitchen
A simple DIY home project that can give your home’s interior a boost is repainting the kitchen. You may spend a lot of time in your kitchen making food and entertaining guests. The kitchen is often one of the focal points of a home, so if it looks less than stellar, your experience in the room could be less than stellar, too.
If your kitchen has been neglected over the years, repaint it and give it some TLC. You could choose to paint it white, ivory, blue or gray for a more classic look. If you want a bolder look, you could paint the kitchen red. Red is a warm color that can make people feel comfortable, and some believe the color red makes people feel hungry. That could be a perfect combination of emotions to envoke when entertaining in your kitchen.
Don’t forget to update other parts of your kitchen once you repaint it. If you paint your walls, you may have to paint your cabinets to match. If you have a backsplash in your kitchen, you may have to update it to match your new wall color. You may also have to update your kitchen decor if the paint job is drastic enough.
Build a Fire Pit
One of the most rewarding and easy DIY home improvement ideas is to build a fire pit in your backyard. Building a firepit creates a new entertaining space for you and adds value to your home. The best part is that building a fire pit is a project that doesn’t take a lot of time but can have a great return on its investment.
The first thing to do when building a fire pit is to pick the right place to put it. You want to build it in a spot that’s accessible but won’t cause a fire. Try to keep a safe distance between the pit and any wooded areas you have in your backyard. Then, you’ll have to decide what kind of fire pit you want. You could choose a ring pit, a square pit, or an in-ground pit. The kind of pit you choose will depend on your entertaining needs and the space you have to build on.
You could pick up a fire pit kit at a local home improvement store, or you could get all the necessary materials and built it from scratch. It depends on the time you have to build the pit and the experience you have building fire pits. If this is your first time building a pit, you may want to get a kit that can help get the project started.
Install a Built-In Bookshelf
If you want your home to have a unique feature, something you can do is install a built-in bookshelf. A built-in bookshelf will make your home stand out and give you enough space to store all your books. If you’re an avid reader, you may have your books scattered around your home. This can make your home look messy and disorganized. Instead, you can build a space where you can house your favorite stories while keeping your home organized.
If you do them right, some easy DIY home improvement ideas can boost your home’s look without a ton of time or money involved. The key thing to remember with DIY projects is to only do what you feel comfortable taking on. Don’t bite off more than you can chew with DIY projects, no matter how great they’ll make your home look. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and take your time to complete these projects. You want to make sure they’re done right so your efforts last and add value to your home.