Budget-Friendly DIY Home Upgrades… I’ve Done Them All

It’s been 2.5 years since I started updating our 1970’s fixer upper. It hasn’t always been easy… with only two hands and a limited budget. But, where there is a will there is a way. I had to learn new things and work with what I already had.

Today, I’m sharing several of my home upgrades and hope that you too can figure out ways to improve your home on a DIY budget.

Let’s start with the front door. A crappy-looking entryway can make a million dollar home look, well, crappy. A simple home upgrade such as a freshly painted front door can have an immediate impact on your home’s entrance. The door paint I used was around $35. You can see the before and after pictures and read about the painting process here. Btw, the door paint has held up beautifully.  A new door mat, DIY wreath, and yard sale planters complement the color scheme of the entrance.

New interior paint made all the difference in this house. The lighter colors really  opened up the small areas.  Before, the walls were dirty and grimy. The dark colors made the house look dark and small. You can read more about the paint colors I chose in this post and here.

Not everyone wants to take this one on, but, you can save a few thousand $$$ with this DIY project. Nice hardwood floors will for sure raise your home’s value. Refinishing the hardwood floors was an insane amount of work but well worth it. You can read about the products I used and all the hard work that went into this project in this post. Total cost: around $260.

Here’s an easy home upgrade. Updating the garage door was quick and inexpensive. The hardware kit was on sale at the big box store for under $10 but you can get a similar kit here. You can read more about the garage door upgrade in this post.

Staining the kitchen cabinets and working with what I had saved me thousands of dollars. My total cost for this stain and poly (both have gone up in price by $20 ) was around $40 and I had enough left to upgrade the bathroom vanity. Take a look at the before pictures.

New hardware can make old cabinets look fresh and modern. I received these knobs free of charge for a review ( I love them), however, cabinet knobs and pulls (such as these) are fairly inexpensive ( $2 – $15), compared to the cost of an entire kitchen remodel.

New paint, vinyl tile, faucet, a stained vanity and a DIY board and batten took this bathroom from scary to fresh and bright. Once again, I worked with what I had and spent very little money. You don’t have to do a major remodel to modernize your bathroom. More about my bathroom in this post.

Dated light fixtures don’t do much for the overall look of your home. Light fixtures can certainly vary in price. I found this over-the-kitchen sink pendant for just $6. I have also replaced most of my “boob” lights. The kitchen light was under $50,  my son’s room light fixture under $40.

Staining and painting the patio was labor intensive, but once again, so worth it. The deck stain came in at around $40. Check out the before pictures of the deck here and here.

I got motivated during Labor Day weekend when I cleaned and organized the garage. I also painted the garage floor and created simple but efficient storage.  I can’t begin to tell you how much I love having a clean garage floor. Total cost: $32

What home upgrades have you done?