Easy Home Improvement Ideas That Go A Long Way

Window Treatment – The easiest way to brighten up your home and make it a little more cheery is to simply keep the curtains open. The best way to do this home improvement project while still keeping you privacy is to install two rows of curtain rods. The outer rod should have thermal curtains (energy saving curtains) and the inner rod, closest to the window, should have pleated curtains. White is the best choice for pleated, as it allows the most sunlight to shine through. This curtain set up works wonders. It’s amazing what waking up to a little sunshine can do for your morale, let alone your home. Waking up naturally to the sunlight will keep you more energized throughout the day, as opposed to waking up to the horrid beeping of the alarm clock.

Blinds are another easy route for home improvement. While at home, keep the blinds pulled up. At night, pull the blinds down, but keep the panels open to allow light to shine through in the morning.

Regardless of which you chose, be sure to keep the windows clean! Finger prints, dirt smudges, rain stains, etc. can quickly take away from the sunlight and sunny feel.

Plants – Plants – be it spider plants, potted flowers, small indoor trees – are not only aesthetically pleasing, but they also help the oxygen flow in your home and a great way to add a little home improvement. Plants promote clean air flow and give homes a sense of “life”. Once your plants are cared for and strong, potting them in your yard to create a small garden is also a nice “welcome home” everyday. If caring for plants is too much of a responsibility, fake/dried plants and flowers are also a nice addition to a home décor and add a little home improvement.

Scented Candles – Scented candles help created a sense of home. It is said that the strongest human sense associated with memory is the sense of smell, so creating a scent that you associate with home can help create a relaxed atmosphere. The mind can begin to associate your home with that given scent, allowing you to unwind more quickly once you’re home. Aside from smell, candle light itself is relaxing.

Paint Your Space – Paint the walls for a huge home improvement. Adding color and/or a fresh coat on the walls (don’t forget the ceilings!) brightens up any place instantly. Fresh paint gives any room a cleaner look. If painting the walls is too much of a project, painting the trim and/or the doors will do enough to give the place a more cheery feel.

Once you’ve added fresh paint to the walls, consider adding your own art to the walls with paint. Painting a mural on a wall is a great way to add your own touch to your space. Think of your favorite scene and you have a mural idea! Think beach scenes, waterfalls, golf courses – anything or anywhere that you love and find peaceful and relaxing. If you mess up or don’t like the mural, you can simply paint over it.

If you aren’t artistically inclined for a painting home improvement project, a projector is a simple way to transfer a photo to a wall. Projectors enlarge photos and project them on the wall, allowing you to trace the image using a pencil. After the image is traced on the wall, shut off the projector and paint the image however you’d like. This is a fool proof way to make sure art on the walls turn out how you’d like.

Wallpaper is another option, but over time paper begins to peel and can make rooms look cluttered. Besides, if you hang art/decorations/shelves on the walls, the holes in the wallpaper cannot be hidden. It is also a much more complicated process than painting if you do the papering yourself.

Whether you choose paint or wallpaper for your small home improvement project, be sure to recruit friends to help out. Not only does it divide the work, but it takes away the aspect of work. In addition, always ask friends, family and neighbors if they have any spare materials you can borrow. Paint brushes, painting tape, drop cloths and the like wrack up a high bill.

Decorate Your Space – Before you begin your next home improvement project, figure out the direction you’d like to go with the selected room. Do you want this specific room to have a theme? Or do you want another room to just be decorated in the same color, in varying shades? Think about this before you begin nailing art to the walls and decorating your spaces.

If you choose a certain theme, be sure to follow it. A common theme for bathrooms is a beach theme. Many people hang art of beach scenes or boats on the walls, decorate the shelves with seashells and use shower curtains with bay scenes or surf boards. Use light tones for paint.

If you’d rather use a color theme, use varying shades of the selected color to give the room variety. If you use green, for example, decorate with green curtains and bed sheets. Paint the walls green as well. Add another accent color, such as white or light yellow, to make the green come together and “pop”.

Adding decorations to rooms will add personality and liven up any space. Pre-printed art – with or without a frame – can be purchased at most home goods stores, such as Target and Walmart. If you have photos on hand that you are particularly fond of, you can either frame the photos, or enlarge them before framing. Shutterfly and Kodak are great options for enlarging photos. To save money on frames, consider stopping by your local thrift store for old frames. Some of the frames may be a little worn out, but it’s cheaper to spruce up an old frame with some glue and paint rather than purchasing a new frame. Photos can be also enlarged and placed on canvas as another alternative to framing for a quick home improvement project.

While you’re at your favorite thrift store, shop around for shelves or knick-knacks for a simple home improvement project. You’d be surprised what recycled treasures you can find at thrift stores. While shelving and knick-knacks are recommended, stay away from furniture such as couches, mattress, bedding, etc. Anything fluffy/plush/soft can harbor bed bugs.

Creating your own decorations is also nice way to make your space more your own, as well as more cheery. For this home improvement project, gather old fashioned milk jugs or jelly jars and clean the jars out completely. Then, fill with sand, seashells, gems, beads or any other small, lively objects you’d like to use. These jars could also be used as vases, pencil holders or change jars.

Keep It Clean – Above all, keep your space clean! Nothing is more homey and relaxing than a clean home. Keep tables and couches cleared, run the vacuum often and be sure to dust. As they say, a clean home is a happy home. Enjoy!