How to Renovate Your Home on a Shoestring Budget
Do you ever watch those TV home makeover shows?
Presented by a toothy host with a tan darker than a mahogany sideboard, it typically involves renovating a tired looking dwelling inside an hour and without spending more than £5.
With items that have been begged, borrowed or salvaged from a skip, the home is quickly transformed from shabby to chic before the owner is wheeled in and left to feign gratitude.
Typically, the ostentatious decor and gaudy accessories selected by the flamboyant designer wouldn’t look out of place in a 19th century boudoir or the set of Fawlty Towers.
However, aside from the irksome host and annoyingly flashy designer, these shows serve to demonstrate that, with a tiny bit of effort, it’s simple to renovate the home on a shoestring budget.
Here’s how …
Make an Entrance
It’s easy to make the mistake of blowing your meagre budget on showy goods for inside the home – but it’s vital to ensure your entrance is also up to scratch. Why? Because it’s the first thing friends, family and visitors will see.
Consequently, spruce up your doorway with a quality mat – check out The Mat Factory for an unrivalled range of floor coverings – and put the wow factor into the front of your home, as well as making your neighbours green with envy. Probably.
Rearrange the Furniture
This is hardly a hi-tech solution to sprucing up your dreary home, but by simply rearranging the furniture, it can make a massive difference to the way you perceive a tired looking room. This can also avoid you blowing your budget on unnecessary additions.
Whether you’re moving the television to another wall, changing the angle of the sofa or swapping your artwork around, this new perspective can avoid the inevitable boredom that often creeps in when the layout of your room hasn’t changed in years.
Opt For a Lick of Paint
No one wants to gaze at walls that are flakier than Mick Jagger’s skin after a long day spent in the Spanish sun. As a result, make an effort to get the paintbrushes out to give your dreary looking walls a much-needed lick of paint.
Of course, painting is a relatively easy job for the DIY enthusiast, which means you’ll save plenty of cash by avoiding the fees of expensive professionals. The hardest part of this job will be deciding on a suitable colour that will complement your existing decor.
Admittedly, the points above are just the tip of the iceberg, with a veritable smorgasbord of options available to renovate your home on a shoestring budget. Do you have anything you’d like to add to the mix? Please let us know by leaving a comment below.
This post has been written by Paul Watson.