You have just purchased a new home. It is livable, but you also realize that some areas could use a little help. Where do you start, or what do you put at the top of your new home renovation to-do list? Here are six suggestions.
1. Painting
Painting is a great way to make your new home truly yours. One of the nice things about painting is that it is inexpensive, simple, and forgiving.
You don’t need to hire a professional contractor to paint. After watching a few short tutorials online, you will be painting your walls in no time.
Think beyond just the walls. For example, when painting the exterior of your home, give your home a unique look and feel by painting the window shutters and trim. Use contrasting colors for a modern look, or stick with the current color pattern to hold onto the home’s existing character. Baseboards, interior doors, and patio furniture can be made to look new with just a little dab of paint.
2. HVAC Maintenance
If there were other tenants in the home before you, they likely left skin, dust, and hair particles in the HVAC system. As soon as you turn the air conditioner or heater on, you are circulating those particles around.
You don’t need to be an HVAC professional to do some minor maintenance. By following simple HVAC maintenance tips, you can improve the function and lifespan of your HVAC unit. For example, clean the areas around your furnace coil. Dirt and blockages around the unit impact their performance.
Maintain the area around and on your air conditioner. Any airflow blockage, especially airflow blockage around the outdoor condenser, can lead to expensive repairs. After you have done what you can to keep your HVAC system up and running, contact professionals to do more in-depth HVAC maintenance and cleaning. This will keep your unit running longer and improve the quality of the air you and your family breathe.
3. Improve the Lighting
In the same way that painting can dramatically improve the feel of a room, making minor lighting changes can drastically improve the way a room looks and feels.
If your new home is dimly lit, it can feel small and uncomfortable. You may want to replace existing lighting fixtures with color temperature bulbs. These can make the room take on a soft white or daylight feel. This is a simple fix that doesn’t have to break the bank.
4. Decorate
You can walk into two houses with the same floor plan and feel like you are in drastically different spaces. It all has to do with how the home is decorated.
Set the tone of your home with the front door. Could you give it a fun and glossy hue? In your living areas, set up your furniture in groupings that invite conversation. You want a sense of balance and intimacy.
Decorate your kitchen so that a lot of sunlight comes in. Choose colors that won’t fade in the sun.
When it comes to hanging artwork, go big. Few things look as goofy as a tiny piece of art hung too high on a big wall. If you have dated fixtures, reinvent them with spray paint. Even dated kitchen cabinets can look modern if given a few coats of white paint and some new hardware.
5. Upgrade Bathrooms and Kitchen
The kitchen and bathrooms should always be some of the first projects you tackle. Beautiful kitchens and bathrooms make an amazing first impression. Renovations could include new appliances, fixtures, flooring, and countertops. This could be a more financially intense project, but the results will be worth it.
6. Repair Major Systems
Hopefully, before you purchased the home, you checked to ensure that all the major systems were working properly. Now that you are in the home, you may notice that some of them have minor issues. Address them immediately because they not only impact your quality of life but can impact safety. In case you are unaware the major systems are: electrical, heating, air, and plumbing.
Conclusion
Doing projects on your new home is half the fun of homeownership. Safety should always be your priority. Know what projects you can do yourself and which ones you need a professional to help with. In no time, you will be able to transform your new house into a home.
