We’ve talked about how to increase your home value with some home improvement ideas, but the truth is that they can be quite costly. Sometimes we just don’t have the money to change the flooring, or get solar panels - especially when you need to buy them instead of leasing them in order to avoid the Solar Panel trap – or to make big changes that improve the curb appeal of your house.
With that in mind, we’ve decided to write an article about some DIY Home Improvement that you can do without spending so much. Sure, individually they won’t bring as many perceived values like installing cool smart home gadgets and all, but if you manage to do some of the DIY Home improvement ideas we’ll list in the article, then, maybe, the home seller’s perception regarding fair market value might grow closer to yours.
Wallpaper one wall
Wallpaper can be tricky. You’ll hardly manage to get to a nice look if you put wallpaper on a whole room. However, when using it on only one wall, you then turn it into an accent wall which enables it to bring great freshness to the overall look of the house. The trick is being smart regarding which wall. Does your house have one separated by two pillars or one that just stands out geometrically? You should look for that type of wall and put the wallpaper on it, as a way to completely remove the wall from the room; almost like saying “this is not even a wall, it’s a feature”. The idea is to make that wall and everything close to it feel like a different area, so finding a motif for it also helps: a reading area, a tea/bar area... but keep it minimalistic. The wallpaper already brings too much attention; if you clog it up with lots of décor objects it will be unpleasant to the eyes and it won’t help to bring value to the house, after all, the more spacious the house looks, the higher your chances of charging more.
You’re going to have to work hard and spend more than 300 with this DIY Home improvement idea. Do your research, look online for a variety of patterns, and, especially, watch the hundreds of video tutorials teaching the rights and wrongs of applying wallpaper by yourself. It really isn’t that hard. You can do it!
Bathroom makeover
A big makeover – checking the plumbing, maybe adding/renewing a tub - would go a long way to increase your home value, but the small DIY version of it can also be done. Mirrors usually give away the age of the place. Change for a new one; and if you can’t DIY that, then, at least, clean it thoroughly so it looks brand new. Same with shower glass doors, if you have them.
Most people think that a new granite vanity top is expensive and difficult to install, but you can find one for less than $400 at Lowe’s and if you assemble a group of friends (they can be quite heavy, depending on the size) it will be manageable to DIY.
But if you just change the faucets of the sink, the lights in the bathroom and the cabinet handles, it will look remodeled and even if you do it all, it will never cost you more than $1,000. Keep in mind that the bathroom and the kitchen are the rooms of the house that will benefit you the most with renovations; home buyers usually keep a close eye to it because it’s the two places in a house that will cost you more in the long run. If it looks new – it doesn’t need to actually be new – home buyers will relax and be less picky about the rest of the house.
She Sheds
We did include this one in the other article, but we need to do it again because it’s really cheap for the results it delivers. Plus; DIY and fast to do it. If you have a lawn with a vacant spot, look for a novice level DIY She Shed Kit and get your builder side to work. You can find DIY She Sheds kits under $500 and it might bring your house value up to thousands of dollars higher. If your goal is to sell the house as fast as you can, then maybe the best way to go is the vanilla box route and don’t add much, so the home buyer will see it as a blank canvas for him/her to “paint” whatever they want. But if you do plan on enjoying the house for a while, by all means, have your fun and add whatever you feel like (and can afford; in many cases, the “ add-ons” of a She Shed can be more expensive than the She Shed itself).
Organize closeted spaces
This one is a little tricky because home buyers will only notice if you say “And, hey, look at how much room this bad-boy has”. But it’s worth it for the time you live in the house and sometimes the home buyers are curious and will open the closet door themselves.
For the kitchen, we recommend getting rollout storage. It’s of great help when you need to get that fondue pan that sits in the back of the kitchen cabinet because you almost never use it, and will prevent you from disorganizing the cabinet altogether.
In the bedroom, it’s imperative that your closet feels big and capable of receiving the home buyer’s collection of couture. Organizing it with different size of shelves and racks for shoes and hangers will give a nice impression.
Both of those DIY Home improvement are cheap (you’ll find kitchen rollout under $50!) easy to find and easy to assemble. All you will need is a drill and proper measures of the internal size so your storage kit fits perfectly.
Create a space on your lawn
We know lawns and gardening are not for everyone. But there are other DIY things you can do besides installing she sheds that will bring value to your home. Remember: there’s no exact math to it; it’s all about perception. That’s the whole thesis behind Home Staging.
So, if you get a medium sized part of your lawn and give meaning to it as if you’re creating a specific area within your yard, it will bring value to your house. How to do it? How about a firepit, if your house sits at a cold place? Assemble bricks and rocks in a circular shape. Put a metal grid between the rocks, creating a level to the floor. Get some comfy chairs around the bricks and rocks, add nice throw rugs to style it. Get a rustic wheelbarrow to stand by there with logs and serve as a home garden décor. Whenever the temperature gets cold, throw the logs in the middle of the brick-and-rock circle, make a fire and you’ll have a rustic outdoor fireplace that will add much value to your home.
See? DIY Home Improvement that increases the value of your home can be really cheap and easy. All it takes is creativity, patience, and will. Good luck!
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