There are many ways to achieve a new look for your home without having to invest in a complete home renovation. Focusing your home makeover efforts on select areas of your home help to elevate the overall space without breaking the bank. It’s what we like to call “Mini Home Makeovers.”
While homes from certain era’s present their own style hurdles, there are universal updates which can modernize any home. We’ve listed a few key mini home makeover projects that are not only quick-turn but typically provide a significant bump in your resale value. Best of all, each of these projects typically cost $2,500 or less, and can take as little as one day to complete installation!
We have also included our recommended “Do It Yourself” (DIY) Ranking as a guide for which projects will absolutely require a professional, and which ones you may be able to install depending on your skill level and access to certain tools.
Our DIY Ranking Explained
Easy-Peasy: If you can build an ikea chair, paint clean lines and use a drill sufficiently, then you’ve got this!
Mid-Level: Patching drywall, installing hardware, fixing drains is no problem for you - show off!
Mad-Skills: You know to always measure twice, cut once. And you may have secretly named all your tools (we feel you).
New Entry Door
DIY Ranking: DIY Not Recommended - Professional Installation Required
Adding a new entry door is one of the easiest and most valuable updates you can make to your home. In fact, replacing your entry door has the second highest return on investment according to the Remodeling 2018 Cost vs. Value Report. Updating your entry door adds additional security and curb appeal, and compared to other home projects, can be installed and completed in a day!
There are two major trends in entry door styles that we are really loving right now:
1. Colorful Fiberglass Doors
You can get a lot of impact from a simple fiberglass door by painting an accent color, adding unique fixtures, handles and knockers. Colorful entries are a perfect way to highlight your home style, from modern farmhouse to California coastal.
2. Natural Wood Doors
A step up from fiberglass, wood doors can add a rustic or antique elegance to an entryway. While they are typically more costly than fiberglass, they offer a more custom look to your home.
Tile Backsplash
DIY Ranking: Mad-Skills - Professional Installation Recommended
Without having to invest in a full kitchen remodel, adding a tile backsplash can make a smaller space feel more open, and enhance the existing kitchen elements or modernize an overall space. Perhaps the most challenging part of a tile backsplash project is selecting the right tile for your space and your budget. While you can never really go wrong with a subway tile or penny tile mosaic, there are so many different colors, materials and textures to explore with tile that you can create a very unique space very easily. Tile backsplashes aren’t just for kitchens and baths - one of the trends we’re loving is to tile an accent wall in a common area or office space of your home. Wall tiling is a clever way to break up open spaces and create distinct living experiences from room to room.
Depending on your skill level, we recommend hiring a professional for tile installation. It is very easy to install tile poorly or incorrectly, and more often than not, DIY-ers will end up having to hire a professional to redo the work. Rather than risk the extra expense of paying for tile twice, we recommend consulting a professional.
Lighting
DIY Ranking: Mid-Level to Mad-Skills
Lighting, very much like color, can communicate mood and set the tone for a room. Open and inviting kitchens will have a few different light sources often integrating the available natural light, a bright light above any food prep areas, and lower lighting above or beneath cabinets for late night snacking ;D. Aside from adding lighting and creating new sources of light, you can also update the your existing fixtures with more modern ones that suit your style and the mood of a particular space. Now, the list of lighting fixtures is equally as endless as tile options - so again, the most challenging part is selecting the right fixtures for your home. Adding exterior security lighting, and updating the lighting sources or fixtures in key rooms of the house will always add value to your home while adding ambiance.
Here’s a simple outline of how to install a light fixture for those that feel up to the task. If you are not into working with electricity, we recommend contacting a local contractor to perform the installation. (Pssst. Hit us up, we might know a guy)
Painted Stairs
DIY Ranking: Easy-Peasy to Mid-Level
Stairs are often one of the first features people notice when they enter a home. Stairs are a central focal point of your home, and while it’s a challenging DIY project, it’s not very difficult. Most staircases will need carpeting, nails, and staples removed, then the treads and risers and railings will need to be sanded to remove any glue or varnish. Once smooth, tape off and prime or begin staining, then paint either the stairs, treads or both the desired colors or patterns. As simple as this process sounds, it will typically take 2-3 days to complete due to dry times, and will limit your use of the stairs during that time. While this project will demand elbow grease and perhaps some blood, sweat and tears (depending on the age of your home), the end result is worth the work. Whether your intention is to create a more updated and modern home, or you are wanting to put your personal stamp on things, stairways are the ideal and unexpected way to accomplish a wow-factor in your home.
Questions about any of the above?
Please send us a note.
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McKenzie Home Services provides interior and exterior home remodeling and repair services in the greater Columbus, Ohio area. We are committed to providing construction solutions for the home with attention to quality craftsmanship and customer care. Contact us today for a free consultation on your home project needs.