20 Ways to Upgrade Your Home on a Budget

All – this will be Erin’s last post for Young Adult Money as a regular contributor. She started writing for us over two years ago(!) You can see her first post from October 2014 here.

Erin has been a huge asset to Young Adult Money and we wish her the best with her blog, her podcast, and everything else. She will be greatly missed as a contributor to the site.

-DC

There comes a time for most people when their living space just feels…stale.

Things have been the same for years, and you no longer enjoy your home like you used to.

Or maybe you’ve outgrown the decor that you started with.

Or maybe that wallpaper isn’t as charming as you originally thought it was.

Whatever the reason, you’re presumably going to be living in your home for quite some time. You want to be happy when you’re in it!

There’s just one problem: you don’t have a huge budget to work with.

That’s okay. You don’t need $50,000 to redecorate or transform your home into something you like. You don’t even need $1,000 for most of these upgrades.

So if you want to spruce up your home and give it a little TLC, here are 20 ways to upgrade it on a budget.

1) Fresh Coat of Paint

 
Yeah, I know, plenty of people throw this tip out there, so it sounds old and boring.

But let me tell you from personal experience, as “old” as this trick may sound, it’s completely true.

When my parents were selling their house, we gave all of the rooms a new coat of paint, and it made a tremendous difference in the way we even saw the house.

Everything just looked more put together.

We did the same thing when they bought their new house. It came with white walls. Boring.

My mom and I got a few swatch books together and started picking out colors according to a theme. They live in the south, near the beach, so we went with some neutral colors, along with sea blues and sunny yellows.

When we were all done, their house had SO much more personality. Heck, I even suggested they paint their shutters because the exterior of their house is also a boring white. We chose a cute teal color, and they get compliments on it all the time.

The key with paint is to go with a theme. Don’t pick any old colors and try and throw them together. Figure out what makes home feel like home to you, and go off of that. It will greatly help you implement the following tips and just makes designing the interior of your house easier.

2) Outlets and Light Switches

 
This is another thing I helped my parents with before they sold their house. Unfortunately, my parents are smokers, and almost everything that was once white in the house was now a gross yellow color. Including all of the outlets and light switches.

As I began looking for replacements, I discovered a whole new world out there when it comes to specially designed plates. You definitely don’t have to go with plain white ones or wooden ones – there are plenty to choose from.

Hopefully you have a theme you want to go with for design, because that makes choosing plates easier. For example, maybe you want a beach-themed house. Pick plates that have seashells and sea creatures on them!

3) Cabinet Hardware

 
Are you tired of your cabinets? Give them a new look by getting some hardware, or replacing old hardware.

My boyfriend and I recently did this, and as weird as it sounds, it has made a big difference in the kitchen.

I’ve always loved our kitchen because we have mahogany colored cabinets with a pretty backsplash, but something was missing. And some of the drawers were hard to pull out.

New hardware is functional as well as beautiful. We chose oil rubbed bronze hardware and it looks awesome. We have about 20 cabinets and we got all of the hardware at Walmart (of all places – we stumbled on it!) for close to $50.

4) Light Fixtures

 
Light fixtures aren’t something you normally pay a lot of attention to, but you will notice the difference from a boring, generic fixture to one that really shines.

For example, I remember this chandelier we had in our old house that was in a hallway on a vaulted ceiling. It was barely noticeable because it was hung so high, and honestly, it just looked old. It didn’t add anything to the house – we barely even used it to light the hallway.

However, when my parents went house hunting, I remember seeing a few really pretty chandeliers in dining rooms that you could easily design your furniture around. More recently, one of my friends crafted a really cool chandelier out of a ship wheel.

Light fixtures can also add some oomph to otherwise boring or small bathrooms. Modern fixtures look way better than those old dressing room style lights – you know, a bunch of bulbs everywhere.

5) Lamps and Shades

 
Again, I feel like lamps are something that most people tend to ignore unless they really add something to a space.

Most lamps and lampshades I see are the same. White or off-white shade on top of a chrome, bronze, or black rod. Woo, right?

Why not go for something more decorative that stands out? Get a fun shade with color and design, one that’s a funky shape, or one that adds some ambiance. Example: I recently got a salt lamp. A what? Yes, a salt lamp – straight from the Himalayan mountains. Apparently they help with allergies by cleaning the air, and they emit a warm glow. Plus it looks interesting. Win on all fronts, and they range from $20-$50.

If you’re not a huge fan of table lamps (I’m not), then see if you can find any nice standing lamps. I prefer these – especially ones with 3 or more bulbs – because they light a room better and they’re flexible.

6) Actual Lighting

 
With all this talk about lights, we need to talk about actual lighting – as in, the type of bulbs you use.

So many people have made the switch to more energy efficient bulbs, such as CFL and LED (LED being more efficient). Doing so can save you money on your electric bill. It’s an easy upgrade, and prices have been steadily decreasing on these bulbs.

Furthermore, did you know there’s an art to choosing the color your lights emit? Since I’ve only been co-owning a home for the last few months, I had no idea how extensive the light aisle in Target is…until we needed to replace a bulb. There were more choices than I thought!

Depending on the type of space the bulb is for, you might want a warmer or cooler tone. So if you are replacing bulbs, make sure you go with the right color – it could help with your productivity, especially if you work from home.

7) Fix Up Doors

 
I’ve been browsing the housing listings in our area as I’m itching to get started with real estate investing, and I’ve discovered that I’m fairly put-off by plain wooden doors.

That’s not something I’d normally think about, but I’ve had white doors my entire life, with white trim, and that’s just what I’m used to. Wooden doors that haven’t been painted or stained just look unfinished.

Here’s where paint comes in handy again! If your doors are older, or the paint has been coming off, give your doors some paint love.

If that’s not enough, consider getting new door knobs that match the plates you went with for outlets and switches. My parents had old gold knobs, and we made it a point to replace them when we put the house up for sale. They screamed “antiquated.” (Which is fine if that’s the look you’re going for, but we weren’t.)

Do you have a larger budget? You could also think about replacing the doors completely. There are other options besides the “regular” doors we’re all used to, like barn doors, french doors, and sliding doors – as long as they fit the frame. You could also consider updating your closet doors with one of these styles!

Of course, you can do the same for your exterior doors: new coats of paint can make your home “pop” before people even come in. Or you can get a nice new screen door.

8) Paint or Upgrade the Trim

 
Most trim is white. There’s nothing wrong with that, but over time, trim can get scuffed up, or maybe it just looks worn because there’s nothing special about it.

Yet again, trim isn’t something we pay a whole lot of attention to, but now that I’m thinking about it, I looked at the current trim in our house and realized it’s a step above what I’m used to. The trim around the doors has indented lines going around it, whereas the trim at our old house was just flat. It complements the doors nicely because they’re the ones with the rectangles in it. (Is there a technical term for that? Probably.) And at our old house, we just had plain, flat doors.

While these sound like small upgrades, they can make a difference when you’ve been used to something less-nice.

You don’t have to replace the trim if that’s outside of your budget. Give it a new coat of paint, or paint it a different color.

If you’re up for adding something, one thing I always notice in houses is crown molding. My old apartment had it and I always thought it was a cute touch. It’s a great way to add character to your home.

9) Seal Your Windows

 
Especially if you live somewhere with cold winters. Drafts are no fun! They’re also not great for your energy usage.

Replacing windows can be costly, but in the meantime, you can seal them by caulking them. There are plenty of videos on how to do it, so venture into the DIY land for this one.

Also – if you don’t have pets that will break the seal – consider putting a plastic seal over your windows. There are inexpensive window sealing kits that are easy to use.

10) Get New Blinds

 
One thing I really miss about my old apartment is the awesome blinds it had. That might sound weird, but they were the heavy wooden blinds (that coincidentally make it harder for pets to destroy) that just felt nicely made.

Cheap blinds can get ruined easy, and they just look generic. My old blinds happened to be painted white, but my parents have similar blinds in their kitchen that are more of a chestnut color.

Some houses don’t even have blinds, but have shades instead. Our old house was like that, and I hated them. Hated them. The ones in my bedroom had this old school pink floral pattern on them, and the ones in my parents room were forest green. It was like the wallpaper equivalent for windows. They also got ripped easily.

Upgrading blinds can be slightly expensive, but it’s an interesting way to change up the look of your home, considering windows are usually in every room!

11) Frame Your Windows Differently

 
Okay, if you can’t afford new blinds or shades, then focus on covering your existing ones. Get new curtains, new curtain rods, or style your curtains differently.

That sounds weird to say, but if you run a search on it, you’ll find quite a few ideas on how to shape your curtains, and there is no shortage of patterns, designs, and materials to choose from.

Plus, some curtains are heavy, and they might reduce drafts. Blackout curtains could be a good idea for your bedroom if there are any bright lights that shine in.

12) Insulate

 
This is a more boring way to upgrade your house, but an upgrade is an upgrade, right?

When most people think of insulation, they think of insulating an attic. While that’s true, there are a lot of different places you might want to insulate your home. Energy.gov has a useful diagram you can refer to.

Again, this is a simple DIY fix you can do over a weekend.

13) Add an Appliance

 
The price of some appliances is enough to make my eyes widen and jaw drop. I don’t know how people can spend $3,000 on a fridge, but then again, newer appliances are doing more and more crazy stuff that I had no idea they were capable of.

But if your budget is over $500 and your appliances are getting old or giving you grief, then think about upgrading – one at a time. Your kitchen may look a little mismatched temporarily, but who cares.

We actually did this recently, but we got an appliance for free. A friend of a friend was giving away a dishwasher, and we wanted one because we didn’t have one. So we snagged it, paid for some parts (like the hook-up), and installed it. Now we have a dishwasher, and it cost less than $100.

If you live in a decent area, look on Cragislist for deals. Some people may be trashing their appliances for the simple fact they’re upgrading to all stainless steel.

14) Create More Space and Get Organized

 
So many people feel the need to move into a large home because they lack space. If you’ve felt a little cramped, why not look for ways to create more space?

This has been a big one for our house because it’s 400 sq. ft. We also have one small closet. Not a lot of room to work with, but we make it work anyway.

First, we have a lot of stuff in the attic. Go through your rooms and pick up anything that hasn’t been used in the last six months. Store it in the attic or garage, if you have the room.

If you find things that haven’t been used or seen the light of day in over a year, consider if you even need it. If not, get on the decluttering bandwagon and donate it, sell it, or trash it.

Next, figure out how to create more space, and where you need it. We implemented the following storage solutions:

• A shoe rack for our closet
• A DVD case for movies and video games
• A smaller entertainment system (giving us more room in the living room)
• A shelf for the laundry room to hold miscellaneous items like paper goods
• Another 4-tier shelf for the laundry room that holds towels
• A shelf in the bathroom
• A long ottoman for the living room that holds spare blankets and pillows
• We’ve been thinking about adding shelves to the bedroom, living room, and kitchen as well, along with some containers to go under our bed.

Functional furniture, decluttering, and organizing can help create more space in your house, allowing you to breathe easier. Clutter creates stress.

15) Upgrade Your Furniture

 
Furniture sets can be had for less than $5,000, but assuming you’re working with a more limited budget, there are a few solutions.

First, you can reupholster furniture if you’re crafty. Get different fabric that goes along with your decor and go to town on chairs and couches.

Next, look to Craigslist for used furniture like tables, chairs, desks, and dressers. You can always refinish older furniture and give it new life.

You can also go cheap and buy “starter home” furniture from Ikea, Walmart, or Target. However, I’d think twice about going this route because you don’t want to spend $500-$1,000 and have to replace it all again in a few years.

Another option might be to put out the word that you’re looking for a new ____. Especially if you have friends that are moving into houses and selling their old furniture.

16) Focus on Your Yard

 
A home’s curb appeal can matter a lot – even to you! Who wants to come home to a yard that looks like an overgrown mess? Not you, and your neighbors probably don’t appreciate it, either.

After cleaning up anything that shouldn’t be out there (don’t use your yard as storage), think about getting rid of unsightly or out-of-control plants and shrubs in your yard. Trim back bushes and branches. Pull out weeds. Plant a garden or some flowers instead. Get your grass green again with fertilizer.

If you have the budget and an expansive yard, consider hiring a landscaper to do the initial work for you, and maintain it afterward. Or, think about getting some nice pavers, create a patio, or steps if you have a hilly yard. Put in a fire pit.

There are so many things you can do with the exterior of a house. You can even get stones and get rid of your grass, or add some gravel for more driveway space.

17) Add a Backsplash

 
Nice backsplashes can make a big difference in kitchens. It was one of the first things I noticed when my boyfriend sent me the listing to the house he bought.

There are so many different types of backsplashes to choose from, too. You can use fabric covered by glass, subway tile, tiles with a unique cut, wood paneling, or even paint your own. The color and character added might just convince you to spend a little more time in your kitchen.

18) Add a Butcher Block or Get an Island

 
This is another upgrade we made recently. My boyfriend loves to cook – the kitchen is almost like his man cave. (I hate cooking so I gladly stay away unless there are brownies.)

When we added the dishwasher, we moved a cabinet out, and thus needed more countertop. Since we had no idea what was used previously, we decided to get a butcher block.

It looks unique and it’s definitely a little bonus for any chef. It cost us around $300 for an 8 foot piece of wood.

Alternatively, if you need more meal prep space, you can get a rolling island – as long as your kitchen is big enough. This also serves as a good storage solution.

19) Re-do Your Floors

 
Flooring can really make-or-break the entire decor of your home. I absolutely love wood floors, and I detest green carpet (why is that still a thing?).

Laminate flooring is a much cheaper alternative to real wood floors, and it’s not that hard to install. Prices can be as low as 50 cents a square foot. If you want something a bit sturdier for a little more money, look at ceramic tile with a wood “look.”

Don’t have the money to upgrade, or you’re stuck with carpet? Try having your carpets professionally cleaned. If you have pets or a high-traffic area in your home, this can help make your carpet look less worn.

20) Upgrade Your Bathroom

 
Bathrooms tend to be on the smaller side, and therefore easier and cheaper to upgrade.

As I mentioned, I got to help my parents upgrade their house before it was sold, and I had free reign on how to re-do my bathroom.

Believe it or not, I was still budget-conscious about it, so I did my research and picked the nicest, cheapest tile I could. My dad renovated the bathroom from the sheet rock up. New bathtub with new tile surround, new paint, new floors, new towel holder.

When it was done it looked like a spa getaway. I was jealous I wouldn’t be able to use it much longer!

I’m fairly certain we did all of this for under $1,000, but the bathroom was also smaller.

However, you don’t have to go crazy. Maybe you just want a new vanity ($100-$500). Maybe you want a new mirror, or want to add shelves, or want to replace the hardware and faucets with something other than chrome. Each individual piece shouldn’t be that much money.
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I hope you realize there are numerous ways to upgrade your home on a small budget. You don’t need to tear out a bunch of stuff and hire a contractor to add personality to your home. One simple “fix” you could do right now is rearrange furniture! It can literally be that simple.

 
What are some small upgrades you’ve made to your home? Is there anything on this list you want to do?
 

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