an old hardwood floor, marked up with age.

If your house is starting to show signs of wear and tear, but you are not quite ready for a complete home makeover, you can instead opt to clean, repair, or update key areas that need help. Enhance vital areas to bring them back to life and give your home a polished look.

Tile

Depending on the type and color of tile used in your home, particularly the kitchen or bathroom, certain kinds can begin to fade or turn yellow. Tile can also crack or chip. The grout can darken or crumble. Replacing individual tiles may be the answer to the problem unless the replacement tiles look much newer in contrast to the remaining tiles. If the tiled area is not large, you could replace all the tiles to brighten up the room.

Countertops

Kitchen and bathroom countertops can typically become smudged with food, cosmetics, or marks left by equipment such as hot cookware in the kitchen or a curling iron in the bathroom. Small areas might be treatable with a special cleanser, while larger areas might require the replacement of the tile’s protective cover or shading. Extensive aging or wear suggest the need for new countertops, but if you retain the cabinets, the cost will be much lower.

Bathtubs

Older ceramic bathtubs sometimes develop chips or cracks that are unsightly. Left untreated, these may increase, or more may appear. Re-glazing the tub’s finish can be managed by onsite surface repair experts to give your tub a brand-new look. This will be much less expensive than buying and installing a new bathtub. The color of your tub can be preserved, and the new glazed finish likely comes with a warranty and/or guarantee.

Flooring

The floors in your residence are most likely to wear out before other areas due to continual daily use. Pets, wheelchairs, and frequent visitors can accelerate this process. Fortunately, you may be able to repair or restore the flooring in some rooms instead of buying all new floor coverings. As indicated above, tile may be replaceable if the damage is limited and mild. Carpeted areas that are damaged by burns or stains can often be restored by effective scrubbing or replaced by carpet squares from the original carpeting if you still have some.

You may be willing and able to make these repairs yourself. If not, there are experts who can do the work for you. Either way, your home can soon look refreshed and renewed by addressing these common worn areas.