You don’t have to dig deep into your savings to make home improvements that will make a big difference. Some home improvement projects will update and improve the look and style of your home while others help conserve energy and save money.
1. Caulking around your windows and doors is a very inexpensive home improvement project that pays off for years. Air and water filtration on the outside of the house can be stopped just by applying a few beads of silicone caulking to the exterior seams around all your windows and doors.
2. Unsticking a cabinet door – Get that sticky cabinet drawer to glide smoothly open by using powdered chalk to locate the exact location of the sticking problem. Coat the edge of a cabinet door that sticks with colored chalk and close the door. When you reopen the door, the areas on the edge where the chalk has rubbed off indicate where you need to improve the situation. Use a simple block plane on those chalk spots to smooth down the wood so that it no longer sticks.
3. Finishing trim work around the house can provide a subtle improvement of your home that makes it look more elegant and expensive. A draw-scraper can be used to remove layers of old paint. Sanding and smoothing the wood helps to remove paint that has become embedded. Once you’ve got the wood molding clean, apply paint, seal or stain to bring out the wood grain.
4. Paint a single wall-An affordable way to use paint to improve your home is by making a dramatic statement inside a room by painting just one wall. A vibrant and bold color that would be too overpowering if used to paint the entire room can create a dynamic design when used to paint just one wall. Accent the boldness of the richly painted wall by painting window and door trim in the same color. And then accent your furnishings with throw pillows and silk flowers that match the color of the wall for a designer look!
