Home Makeovers

If you are ready to update the look of your home you have endless options. Your choices depend on your budget, your access to skilled trades (or your skill level if you plan a do-it-yourself project) and what you are trying to achieve. The keys to successful home makeovers are planning and research. Before you redecorate your home you need to form a plan for which rooms you will work on, how much you can spend, and have a general idea of the scope of projects you, or someone you hire, can successfully complete.

Even with a limited budget and doing the work yourself, you can still transform your home. There are many resources on the web that include episodes of ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition or tips and video clips of TLC’s Trading Spaces, home decorating tip websites, and many do-it-yourself videos and resources. If you have the budget to hire someone for the carpentry and handyman projects great, if not you need to realistically consider what types of projects you can do. Stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s offer free do-it-yourself home makeover workshops where you can watch step-by-step demonstrations of basic household projects.

Once you have considered the scope of projects you can begin to research the looks you might be interested in. You should look at all the rooms you want to work on and consider what you would like to change. Ask yourself what you most want to change; is it the color on the walls, the furniture, the window treatments or everything. You can look at magazines and books on decorating and decorating websites and find something close to what you want your rooms to look like. Your local library can be great source for this, because you can look at a lot of materials and take detailed notes.

After you have chosen a basic look, you need to make a detailed plan for each room and consider what you need to achieve the look. One of the first places to start is paint. You can give a room a fresh new look simply by choosing a new paint color. While deciding on paint color you should also be considering what fabrics you want to include in a room. You should decide on a general paint color and then take the paint samples to your fabric store and coordinate the paint and fabric. You fabric needs may be as little as covering a few throw pillows, or you may decide on slipcovers and new window treatments. You also need to keep in mind any carpet or rug you may have in the room. You should design the room on paper considering all these components and make sure that everything coordinates. The elements don’t have to match necessarily, but you should not have anything that clashes, unless that is part of your design.

When you have chosen your color buy a sample container. You can usually buy a paint sample for fewer than two dollars. Paint an unobtrusive patch on your wall and consider the fabric samples, furniture color and pattern, and the carpet or rugs against the test patch. This is a critical step because the paint in the can or on the paint chips can look dramatically different on the walls. Be sure to consider your colors and fabrics in the day and evening, particularly if the light in your house changes a lot. Once you have chosen your color scheme, you can consider the furniture.

If you have the budget for new furniture, you should consider that when choosing colors, if you cannot afford new furniture, you could consider slipcovers and coordinating pillows. Even on a limited budget, that will not allow either of these two options, you can do lot with throw pillows, wall color or texture, and wall hangings. If you cannot afford a new couch and chairs, consider new lamps, new end tables, or a new cabinet or shelving unit. An excellent way to change a room’s look on a budget is to buy unpainted furniture and paint or finish it yourself. You can affect a big change by finding and framing interesting wall hangings. This is a great DIY project that can be very budget friendly. You can buy inexpensive frames and use interesting photos, fabrics, or wallpaper samples to create a few coordinating wall hangings.

In rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms, a makeover can be more involved. If you have the budget to hire someone, new hardware, tile-work, or counter tops can really transform a room. However, if you cannot hire someone for plumbing and tile work and you are not comfortable tackling these projects yourself, you can still do a few small things to make big changes. Buying new hardware for drawers and cabinets and painting or removing some cabinet doors can give the illusion of space and provide interesting focal points. These, in addition to a new paint job, can give a kitchen or bathroom a surprisingly updated look for very little money.

These are just a few of the home makeover strategies that can help you transform the rooms in your home. Even a makeover performed with a limited budget can yield big changes with the proper planning and research. If you do most of the work yourself and budget and spend wisely you can affect amazing changes.

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