When you buy a home for the first time, the fact is that you have only bought a house. You still have to do a lot of work to turn that house into a real home.
Buying the property is merely phase one, making it into your dream dwelling is phase two and where the actual fun lies.
But after the cost and hassle of finding and purchasing the home, you may be emotionally and financially spent. You probably only have enough money for minor improvements.
Moreover, given that this is your first experience as a homeowner, you don’t want to start with big costly projects, advises First and Main Property Management.
Doing big home renovations as a first-time homeowner is one of the quickest ways to flush your hard-earned money down the drain. This is because navigating the intricacies of city regulations and understanding what home improvement offers the most value is a skill homeowners acquire over time.
Despite your lean purse and the risk of making mistakes, you still need to improve your new home and make it suitable for your lifestyle and aspirations. To help you do this, without spending or risking too much, we have compiled a list of the best home improvement projects for first-time homeowners.
1. Repaint your walls
This should be the starting place for your home improvement plans as the wall paint creates a backdrop to everything in the home. It can dampen or liven up rooms, making them smaller or bigger. The color and texture of your wall paint matter. Also, consider the color of the floors when choosing paint colors.
2. Update your window treatment
Just like wall paint, window treatment seriously impacts the look and feel of your rooms. Drapes and shades affect the number of light rooms get and how cramped or roomy they feel. You can easily spruce up the rooms in your home by introducing window treatments that are colorful and modern.
3. Swap out old hardware
The kitchen, bathroom, door, and cabinet hardware are seemingly minor details, but these small items attract a lot of attention. Dated and worn-out door handles, cabinet pulls, and faucets cast the home in a bad light. Changing them does not require a lot of time or money, but the impact is immense.
4. Install new carpets
If you keep an eye on local or online home improvement stores, you are bound to discover some carpet installation deals. Stores will sometimes offer heavy discounts on installation costs – labor costs often exceed the price of the carpet.
You can take advantage of this to save money, while still improving your home.
5. Update your lighting
Lighting serves the twin role of illuminating the home and decorating it. Improving the lighting in your home will highlight spaces and make them feel bigger, airier, and more inviting. When updating your lights, pay attention to ambient, task, and accent lighting, as well as, light switches.
6. Improve your bathroom
Making your bathroom more functional, while giving it a new luxurious appearance, does not have to cost a lot. Two simple upgrades that will not cost a lot are installing a rainfall showerhead with multiple flow settings and changing the vanity or simply re-facing/repainting it.
7. Install a backsplash
Changing the backsplash in your kitchen will improve the ambiance of that space straight away. But doing this does not need to cost an arm and a leg. With newer peel-and-stick tiles that are available in most home improvement stores, you can easily complete this project in one weekend.
8. Swap your front door
Visitors to your home cannot avoid taking notice of the front door; its appearance tells people what to expect inside the home. There are two ways to improve the look of your front entryway. You can change the door completely, or you can repaint it, and install eye-catching door handles and knockers.
9. Improve energy-efficiency
Reduce your home’s energy usage by installing appliances and equipment that use less power. Doing this could involve trading in old appliances, replacing older light bulbs with LEDs or CFLs, placing insulation films over window panes, or swapping out old blinds for energy-efficient Roman shades.
10. Carry out repairs
Minor repairs that address energy leaks and wastage in the home can improve functionality and reduce costs. Here are a few small things that make a lot of difference: fix leaky faucets or running toilets that increase your water bill, and weatherproof windows to reduce heating and cooling costs.
11. Upgrade your floors
This is one of the more expensive projects, but one that is totally worth it. Upgrading the floors will completely change the look of the home. But when doing this project, think long-term. Hardwood floors may be more expensive than laminate, but unlike laminate floors, you won’t need to reinstall them in the near future since they only need polishing.
12. Improve the landscape
This project will directly impact the curb appeal of your home. Refresh the appearance of your home by planting flowers around the entryway and along the walkways.
Quickly and easily improve the landscape by introducing hardscaping elements – retaining walls, pavers, and curved or raised beds. Also, consider planting trees and shrubs in the yard.
There you have it. Quick and easy home improvement projects for first-time home buyers.
