Improving your home aesthetic sounds easy until you actually have to start coming up with ideas. Then your mind is suddenly blank and you can’t think of anything good. If that sounds familiar to you, stick around. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best do-it-yourself projects you can take on to improve your home aesthetic without spending too much money. You can use all of these ideas in your home or take them and come up with your own unique ideas.
Our list is in no particular order, we love all these ideas equally and hope all of them will inspire and encourage you to make your home look absolutely stunning.
Add Natural Elements
If you like the idea of a natural home aesthetic, you should add natural elements to your décor. Doing so can create a sense of warmth, tranquility, and connection to the outdoors. Use plants to bring nature inside in a non-intrusive way. You should choose a variety of plants that thrive in different light conditions, such as succulents, ferns, or peace lilies. Place them on shelves and windowsills, or use hanging planters to add greenery to your space.
Adding natural stone is another good idea, and if you contact your local natural stone providers, you may find that these items are more affordable than expected. Use them in areas with plants for an authentic natural home aesthetic. Also, opt for furniture and accessories made from natural materials like wood, rattan, bamboo, or wicker. These materials bring a rustic or bohemian feel to your home. Incorporate wooden tables, chairs, or shelves, and use woven baskets or rattan storage solutions for organizing.
Install an Awning
Updating your exterior window treatments can go a long way toward changing your home aesthetic. Awnings come in many different sizes, designs, and colors, so you can really go all out when choosing a few for your home. Retractable awning installation is a good idea if you want to keep your options open or change things in the future.
But don’t stop outside, change your interior window treatments too! Hang new curtains that follow a specific theme or color palette to really improve how your home looks on the inside. If you’ve always had curtains, why not change to blinds for a complete change, and vice versa? Choose colors that contrast your current theme, or complement it so everything goes together nicely. If you go for contrasting colors, you’ll have a more dramatic home aesthetic, which can feel quite refreshing.
Get New Countertops
If you’re tired of your kitchen’s look and feel, it’s time for new countertops. You’d be surprised how much of a change this can bring to your kitchen. Bringing in new granite countertops in an interesting color can really enhance your kitchen, making it feel like a brand-new space. If you’re not allowed to change your kitchen so drastically, you can always opt for waterproof marble-print countertop contact paper instead. Buy a roll in your favorite color and apply it to your countertops without causing damage or getting into trouble with the homeowners.
While you’re changing the countertops, you may also want to give the cabinets themselves some new life as well, if you’re allowed to. Paint your cabinets in beautiful colors that go well with your countertops and you’ll fall in love with your kitchen in no time!
Revamp Your Storage
Storage space is often overlooked when it comes to breathing new life into a home’s appearance. Custom closets are awesome if you have the space for them. If you don’t, you can always carve out a space for an organized closet to store anything you have that just lies around. You can also use storage space like that and dedicate it to specific tasks, such as cleaning, so you put all your cleaning supplies in a neat place.
You can create new space just about anywhere. Not sure how to use that space under your stairs? Change it to something that can actually store stuff. Do you have a broom cupboard that’s basically empty? Convert it into a bespoke pantry section. It’s a good idea to go through your home and find corners and areas that can be used cleverly.
Add a Fresh Coat of Paint
Chances are your home’s exterior is quite neglected. There’s no shame in that—most people don’t have time to spend on the outside appearance of their homes. However, if you’re looking to upgrade your home aesthetic, starting with exterior painting is a great idea. You’ve likely had your home one color since you moved in and it’s about time to freshen things up. When choosing a color for painting your home exterior, keep your garden and other elements like the color of your front door and window frames in mind so they don’t clash.
Adding a fresh coat of paint to the exterior will not only change how your home looks but also provide the walls with an added layer of protection against the elements. Just make sure you use high-quality paint.
Pay Attention to Your Yard
While the focus of this article is on your general home aesthetic, that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss the state of your yard. In fact, your yard is an important part of your home’s aesthetic and shouldn’t be neglected. Landscape maintenance can go a long way toward ensuring that your yard looks lovely no matter what time of the year it is. To improve how your yard looks, consider taking on do-it-yourself projects for features like pathways, patios, raised beds, or trellises. You can find tutorials and guides online for building these structures using affordable materials like gravel, reclaimed wood, or concrete pavers.
If you want to change the plants or add new ones, go for native plants and flowers. They are typically more affordable, require less maintenance, and are better suited to the local climate. Native plants also provide a habitat for local wildlife.
Shop for Knick-Knacks
Another brilliant way to improve your home’s look and feel is by adding little items everywhere that represent your personality. Put your personal print on your home by decorating your walls, tables, and nooks with knick-knacks that you really like. If you don’t have any knick-knacks to display, hit local pawn shops and you’ll have many items in no time.
Although you don’t have to follow a specific theme or idea when it comes to these little items, sticking to one can create a more uniform feel in your home. For example, if you really like little angel statues, buy them in different sizes and designs, but make sure they’re all obviously angels. Or, if you’re a huge Disney fan, buy Disney-related items and place or change them all throughout your home.
Invest in a Remodel
A remodeling project is a big deal, but if you’re looking to completely change or revamp your home aesthetic, this is the best way to go. Residential remodeling can be quite a lot of work, so make sure you put in the necessary time and planning to pull it off. To gather ideas and inspiration for your home remodel, don’t limit yourself and explore a variety of sources. Browse through home improvement magazines, explore online platforms and websites dedicated to interior design and remodeling, visit showrooms or home improvement stores, and create a mood board or folder to collect images and ideas that align with your desired style and design elements.
Be careful not to get carried away though. Plan your budget carefully and stick to it so you don’t waste money or end up in debt.
Redo Your Floors
If you’re tired of your floors, it may be time for a change. You can buy new floor supplies and materials at your nearest home depot and go crazy with creativity. But before you start, research and decide on the type of flooring that best suits your needs, preferences, and budget. Common options include hardwood, laminate, vinyl, tile, or carpet. Consider factors such as durability, maintenance requirements, style, and the specific room’s function.
If you don’t want to remove your current floors, you can always simply put down peel-and-stick floors instead. These flooring options come in many different styles and colors and completely change how your home feels without the need to pull out the current flooring.
Add Some Life
Sometimes, all your home needs is for you to breathe new life into it without doing anything drastic. To do so, simply update the decorations and plants you currently have in your home. Bring in fresh rose bouquets or flower arrangements, change the rugs, and bring in new carpets if you can. If you have a few loose throw pillows, place them all around your home for little pops of color. If you don’t have any, shop for new ones and choose options that will stand out against the current décor and look good.
Paint Your Front Yard Fence
We mentioned earlier that you should give your home’s exterior a fresh coat of paint, but why stop there? You can paint your front yard fence too, while you’re at it. If you have a colorful garden or plan to have one eventually, an equally bright fence will look like something out of a fairy tale. This may take some time to get done, so make sure you have enough time so you don’t start and then have to stop and end up with a half-painted fence. Don’t forget about the weather either. Rain can mess up a fresh paint job so make sure you start when there’s only good weather expected.
Paint Your Rooms Brightly
Your rooms can be changed to feel completely new if you simply paint the bright colors. You can experiment with color blocking by painting different sections of the wall with different bright colors. This technique can create a visually striking and modern look. Ensure that the colors you choose complement each other and create a cohesive overall design. Just remember that when using bright colors, it’s essential to keep things balanced by incorporating neutral elements and ensuring that the colors work harmoniously with the overall design and furnishings in your home. Test paint swatches and consider natural lighting in the space to determine how the colors will look in different lighting conditions.
Go Big on Gallery Walls
Gallery walls are a brilliant way to make a room feel unique and stunning. If you have many wall art pieces you can use, you can fill an entire wall and make it feel like an art statement. You can do this anywhere in your home, but gallery walls tend to look best in living rooms. To keep things interesting, make sure your wall art all has different frames and that you don’t just hang one type of art, like landscapes or portraits.
Give New Life to Tiles
Bring new life into your home with a DIY tile project. Whether it’s the kitchen or bathroom, tiles have the power to define an area. By cleaning and regrouting or even painting the tiles, you can quickly spruce up your surroundings. Take on the task of refreshing a lackluster backsplash or a tiled shower wall and enjoy the transformation.
For an even simpler project that can be completed in a single day, consider scrubbing your tile grout and applying a grout sealer. Not only will the scrubbing bring back the original color of the grout, but the sealer will also prevent staining and dirt buildup, and, most importantly, inhibit mildew and mold growth. This is particularly crucial in showers and bathrooms, where moisture is present.
Now you have plenty of awesome ideas on how to improve your home aesthetic yourself. Choose the ideas that appeal most to you and make your home look as wonderful as you want it to. Most importantly, though, have fun! You can completely change how your home looks and feels by just making a few small changes, and all of the ideas here can serve as inspiration and encouragement. Take what you find here and come up with your own creative ways to improve your home aesthetic so it truly feels like a sanctuary where you can relax and forget about the rest of the world.