As a homeowner, chances are you’ve been through your share of surprise home repairs—which means you’ve also likely experienced expensive bills, poor service, and unreliable handymen. Unfortunately, those are risks homeowners take when they hire out for home repairs or renovation projects. But here’s the good news: There are a number of easy home improvement projects you can tackle, many of them on your own, without breaking the bank.
Easy Home Improvement Projects
The following project ideas represent just a few inexpensive ways to improve your living space, and many of them offer that priceless sense of accomplishment that comes from doing it yourself. And when you need an improvement or repair that you can’t manage on your own, ABC is here, ready to help.
Update Your Home’s Front Entrance
Want to enhance your curb appeal? Of all the many easy do-it-yourself home improvements, updating your home’s entrance is one of the best and least expensive ways to make your entire home more attractive and inviting. Sometimes, a home entrance refresh is as simple as installing a new front door or applying a fresh coat of paint to your existing door along with a new lock, doorknob, and fittings. Repainting any wooden trim around your front door and windows is another great way to upgrade your entrance’s look.
If your door is already in good shape, you can update your entrance appeal with a new exterior light fixture, a new welcome mat and some potted plants. If you have a chair or swing on your front porch, add some cushions or throw pillows for a lovely pop of color.
These changes can cost anywhere from $150 or less for paint, pillows, plants and other sprucing-up supplies to $500 and up for a brand-new front door.
Give Your Bathroom a Facelift
Relatively speaking, bathrooms are one of the least expensive rooms for a total renovation, since they’re typically small—but a bathroom renovation can still cost an average of $15,000. If a complete overhaul is outside your interests or budget, there are several smaller, inexpensive home upgrades you can make in your bathroom to give the room a fresh new look.
For less than $1000 total, for example, you can buy a new toilet and sink or vanity and pay a plumber or handyman to install them for you. For far less than that—more in the $150 range—you can install new sink fixtures yourself, paint a fresh color on the walls or use molding to frame your plain, builder-grade mirror.
Update Your Kitchen’s Appearance
Any home improvement project involving electricity may seem daunting, but switching out your old light fixtures for fresh new ones is actually easy to do. Simply turn off the power to your kitchen at your home’s fuse box, and you’re ready to go. Grab your screwdriver, set up a ladder to make the job easier, and you’re ready to unscrew the old fixture and disconnect the wires. Then reverse the process to install the new fixture. Now your whole kitchen feels updated!
If you need (and can afford) new appliances, you can really upgrade the look of your kitchen. Refrigerators, ranges and dishwashers can cost in the hundreds or thousands of dollars, depending on how high-end you go. But whether you choose white, black or stainless, as long as your new appliances match each other as well as your overall kitchen aesthetic, you’ll be giving the entire room a facelift.
Create an Outdoor Patio
Do you have an unused corner of your yard in need of an update? You can create a patio area, whether small or large, using flagstones and bags of crushed granite and sand from your local home improvement store. Simply clear the area, pour and smooth out the sand, and then lay down the flagstones in an appealing pattern. Finish it off with crushed granite poured between the flagstones, and voila—you have a rustic and attractive new space that’s ready for potted plants, a bench and any other enhancements you like.
What About a Bigger, Tougher Project?
When things don’t go quite as planned, or a project proves to be outside your scope as a do-it-yourselfer, ABC is your go-to resource for handyman projects. Whether your project is big or small, we’re here when you need us, ready to work around your schedule to get the job done. Our people are experienced, skilled and reliable, which means you’ll get high-quality work along with excellent service.