It’s almost the perfect time of year to revamp your winter ravaged home.
Leaving behind the festive season’s relentless chill, we hurtle toward the first throes of spring, as your worn-out brickwork and wind and rain-battered windows breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Inside the home, though, your normally immaculate flooring and walls have seen better days, with throngs of muddy footprints combining to tarnish your surroundings and compound the January blues.
It’s time for a change.
If you’re anything like the rest of us, however, the alcohol-fuelled, gastronomic and financial excesses of winter loiter like an intolerable hangover in your mind’s rear-view mirror.
With your penny-pinching New Year’s resolution quickly cast aside in a post-Xmas sulk, your bank balance is akin to that of an insolvent vagrant, making extensive home improvements impossible.
Or so you may think.
Although statistics show we tend to spend just under a thousand pounds a year on renovations, it’s actually possible to spruce up your home on a much more wallet-friendly budget. Here’s how …
Improve the Exterior
Sprucing up the exterior of a home is a favourite for estate agents everywhere – and it’s easy to understand why: the facade of a property is the first thing a potential buyer sets eyes on. Although you may not be planning to flog your home, it remains vital its exterior is more chic than shabby.
With that in mind, make sure your garden path is kept clear, with uneven paving stones straightened out. Next, try giving your front door a lick of paint and purchase a quality door mat – check out The Mat Factory for an inexpensive range – to give your visitors the welcome they deserve.
Make an Immediate Impact
If you’re sick to the back teeth of your living room’s outdated decor and desperately want to decorate, avoid overreaching financially by only wallpapering one wall. Why? Because it’ll become the focal point of your space and instantly transform the room for very little money.
Additionally, if you want to spruce up your floors without forking out exorbitant sums for a new carpet, get your hands on some top-quality floorboard paint, as it can make a real difference to any room without breaking the bank.
Hunt Some Bargains
If you’ve ever watched Bargain Hunt on TV, you’ll know that David Dickinson – the show’s perma-tanned host – is fond of picking up aesthetically pleasing items he deems “cheap as chips”. To be more like Dicko, then, try hunting around your local charity shops or flea markets for some bargains.
Just because they’re second hand, however, needn’t mean they won’t add a new dimension to your home, with many items in charity shops handed in due to people downsizing or clearing out surplus items from their attics or garages.
Now it’s your turn …
Do you have any other wallet-friendly tips for our readers to spruce up their homes without hemorrhaging cash? Please let us know by leaving a comment below – we’d love to hear from you.