Spending a lot of time at home can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you can relax being away from the stress of the outside world, but on the other, you’re starting to remember the last time you gave your home a little makeover – and how many birthdays ago it was!
Giving your home a spruce up doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg. There are simple ways to refresh the look and feel of every room in your home on a budget and of course, without taking up too much of your valuable time.
We’re going to start with the two rooms that you may think are the most expensive to update. But fear not, you can give your bathroom and kitchen an entire makeover that doesn’t involve hiring tradesmen or huge amounts of cash. A lot of our tips are easy enough for you to do yourself.
Bathroom
Depending on how your bathroom is currently decorated, there are a few ways you can give it a lift. Retiling your floor can be an expensive option, but have you thought about sticky vinyl tiles? They’ve come a long way in recent times, so don’t be put off. You can buy these in a variety of colours and patterns and even the DIY novice can handle them. They can be cut to size with a Stanley knife or scissors and you simply peel off the paper on the back and stick on to the tiled floor. When it comes to wall tiles, paint for these is easy to come by and you can even buy stencils to create your own pattern effect. Is the grout looking a bit grubby? You can buy grout pens that are a bit like marker pens in different colours. You can choose to return the white grout to its original glory or change it up a bit with grey or black – very on trend right now.
Another way to bring your bathroom into modern times is to swap out your old shower curtain and replace with a glass screen. You can pick one up from a hardware shop or online for less than £100. You may need some help to install it but by adding a screen you’ll make the room look so much bigger and brighter.
Add some colour to your bathroom by changing up the towels and even adding some art to the walls or some slim shelves with candles. If you have a window, why not add a nice bright roller blind to match the towels or if you’re looking for some more privacy, you can buy window vinyls that have a frosted effect or nice patterns that can be cut to size and stick easily on the glass. This prevents anyone from seeing in but still allows light to shine through.
Kitchen
Like the bathroom, an expensive room to upgrade fully, but there are low cost options if you are handy with your DIY. Remember sticky back plastic? It’s back in fashion and a great way to give your worktops a makeover. This is basically rolls of thin, sticky plastic that you can buy in a variety of colours and patterns. Swap out your dated and scuffed worktops for sleek white marble or warm wood finish. Simply peel and stick to the worktop, cutting around the sink and hob. You can do the same for your cupboard doors and even your appliances. A great way to freshen up your white goods without the expense of replacing them altogether. We’d recommend watching a few how-to videos on YouTube before you start! If you’d rather paint your cupboard doors, just give them a sand down and paint with your choice of colour. Any woodwork or furniture paint would do, and the choice of colours is endless. Once you’ve upgraded the cupboard doors, it’s time to swap out the handles or paint the existing ones. Remember the tile paint and sticky floor vinyls from the bathroom? You can use these in the kitchen too.
For accessories, why not treat yourself to a new kettle and toaster set and new dinnerware too for all your hard work?
Bedrooms
When it comes to styling your bedroom, the best way to inject some colour and style, whilst keeping costs down, is to add it through your accessories. Keep your wall colours neutral, like white and grey, but use your curtains, bedding and cushions to inject splashes of colour. Buying new bedding and hanging a new set of curtains can cost a lot less than a few tins of paint once you factor in all the rollers and brushes you’ll need to buy, plus it will take less time too. Once you’ve bought the cushions, next time you’re thinking about changing the colour, just buy new covers and match the size of the cushions. That means you can store the others away, pass them on to a friend or use them in another room.
Don’t forget about artwork. You can find some really trendy prints online and IKEA is great for cheap frames too. Make sure you buy the same size prints each time, meaning you can keep the same frames. You can update the frames easily too with a cheap can of spray paint.
Can’t afford a new carpet? You’ll be amazed at what a good deep clean and adding a colourful or patterned rug can do.
If your furniture is looking a bit tired, upcycle with a lick of paint and new door handles. You can pick up a tin of furniture paint from most hardware stores or online and you can buy cute, quirky doorknobs from eBay or Etsy, or even just try spray painting the existing ones.
Metal accessories like curtain rods and light fittings can benefit from that spray paint too!
Upcycling is a great way to keep costs low, give a much loved item a new lease of life and is good for the environment by cutting out waste.
Living room
Moving on to the most used room in the house, this can be the most difficult to update as it no doubt has many uses. From the TV room to the playroom to the dining room, your living space probably needs to be more practical than anything else. But you can still add some style along the way.
Your sofa likely dominates the room and can be the most expensive piece in the room – with the exception of the TV! So replacing this often can be costly. But have you considered replacing the covers? If your sofa is in generally good condition but it’s looking a bit off-colour, you can buy covers that fit over the top. IKEA do a range of these covers that are made for their sofa ranges, but you can find places online that offer made to measure services. This can be more expensive, but definitely cheaper than buying a whole new sofa and are machine washable! Alternatively, adding a new throw and some scatter cushions can have the same effect.
Many of the tips for the bedroom can be used in the living room too. Like adding a nice feature wall for a splash of colour or why not try adding a nice gallery wall with lots of family pictures? A great way to add a personal touch to a room. You can even get the family involved to pick out their favourite pictures.
Plants are a great way to brighten up a room and fill any unused corners. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean another mouth to feed, there are plenty of really great looking fake ones to buy.
Have you tried shopping from other rooms in your house? You’d be surprised at how much you can change your rooms by simply swapping the accessories about.
Hallway
There’s nothing nicer than a warm welcome so don’t forget your hallway when you’re giving your home a makeover.
If it’s on the small size then good advice is to keep it nice and bright to give the illusion of space and add colour by adding some prints to the wall, some useful hanging hooks and even a funky doormat. Everything in your hallway needs to have a practical use, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring.
You can add plants here too but if you’re limited on floor space, why not try some hanging baskets or small potted plants on shelves.
Maybe go the extra mile and paint the doors in your hallway? This trend is becoming more popular, with people opting for painting their doors and skirting boards, from pink to yellow and even black.
Hopefully, these tips have given you some DIY inspiration to give your home a little low-cost makeover.