From frantically running to work every morning, COVID-19 has shifted us to a lazy work-from-home routine. Being holed up at home has killed our productivity, and we crave the adrenaline rush.
Instead of moping over the situation, let us look at things from a different perspective. You can use this time to give your home a fresh upgrade.
When you first moved into your house, you probably had lots of ideas to revamp the backyard or paint the walls. Sadly, most of those projects fell wayside amidst the frenzy of daily routine. The onset of pandemic and lockdown brings you a chance to work on those ideas. So, get those home improvement magazines from the back of your closet and give your place a new look this year.
You aren’t the only one doing so.
Comscore data shows that many people confined at home have decided to tackle home improvement projects. There was a marked increase in visits to home furnishing websites. Compared to the week of Jan 13-19, 2020, visits to the home furnishings category increased in all EU5 countries till April 2020.
Alongside, visits to home architecture portals have also escalated notably.
If the stats have inspired you to join the bandwagon, we are here to provide a valuable perspective. Check out the ideas below for a list of home improvement projects that you can tackle in your sanctuary and increase its value:
- Refresh your rooms with paint
You can give your washed-out walls a deep pop of color by picking up your paint can. A coat of paint is pretty painless, inexpensive, and the easiest fix to boring walls. Even though you don’t have to be a pro to learn how to paint walls, you should do some homework before slathering color on the walls.
- Choose colors – Figure out the general characteristics of the colors. Figure out how it will complement the furniture or art pieces. Then pick a few shades, test samples, and check how they look at different times of the day.
- Determine paint needed – The general rule of thumb for paint quantity is one gallon per 400 square ft, as per Carl Minchew, vice president of color innovation and design at Benjamin Moore. Sometimes, a deep color base requires more coats of paint than lighter colors. Also, a textured surface asks for more paint than a plain one.
- Prep the walls – Empty the room of all the furniture or cover pieces with a drop cloth/plastic sheet.
Embrace a pop of color that adds an accent to your living room or bedroom walls. You can even go for painting the ceiling or the kitchen cabinets. This season, go out of your way and accept the new colors. While you are at it, scan the house for chipped or peeling paint and provide touch-ups there. Once done, you can then choose the wall art for your space to make it livelier.
- Add storage and shelving
Once considered an organizational need, shelves have come out of the closed doors and made an entry into the design world. Open shelving is an efficient and typically inexpensive way to categorize, display, and store your sundries.
We have all corners in our homes that we have little idea what to do with. Installing some simple floating shelves will give you more storage space and adds a smart touch at the same time. From your garage to the pantry and bathrooms, adding vertical shelves and storage baskets will keep things off the floor and out of the way.
It gives you a perfect spot to show off what you love to collect while creating a remarkable design feature.
- Give your kitchen a makeover
Your cavelike kitchen feels suffocating and dark, probably because you have little or no time to remove the gloomy look. Opting for a brighter makeover doesn’t mean you have to replace all the cabinets and dig holes in the wall to place windows. If the doors and frames are structurally sound, you can clean them and brush on new paint.
Some of the ideas you can work on include:
- Tile backsplash – It is functional, long-lasting, and visually appealing.
- Kitchen Island – It could help with dining, dish storage, or comfy seating.
- Countertop flair – A new shade of countertop can do wonders for your overall kitchen look.
- Make a cozy nook – add extra storage space to an unused corner or turn it into a comfy nook.
A kitchen refresher is all you need at times. Look for local service providers if you feel like you are a noob in such affairs. For example, search for “kitchen remodeling Montgomery AL” if you are a Montgomery resident looking for reliable contractors.
- Go Green
Bland or dated spaces can instantly uplift with plants and flower additions. Even the most simple and small potted plants can refresh the air, adding a dose of happiness and vitality to the rooms. The dash of color it brings is not something you can expect with a pop of paint.
The best indoor plants can add the right amount of intrigue. They are usually organic, clean, and sculptural. They excite you with their uncertain growth yet reassure you with their steady presence.
Before you leap into it, make sure you find some stellar pieces that have a better chance of growing in your surroundings. Dennis Schrader from Landcraft Environments in Mattituck, New York, advises group plants for natural growth. The plants that grow together will have the same needs, making it easier for the owner to nourish them.
- Work on existing flaws
Before you opt for other ideas, it is important to remove the current flaws in your household. Some inexpensive home upgrades like fixing a leakage can give your kitchen a new look as things look neat. A few improvement ideas you can work on include:
- Removing stains from the carpet
- Repairing old furniture
- Decluttering the closet
- Organizing the kitchen cabinets
- Fixing the creaked floorboards
- Removing scratches from the tiles
You don’t need to hire an expensive pro or tools to work on these home improvement ideas. In fact, most of the tools are already there in your storeroom.
Over to you
It is apt to state that sometimes the smallest changes can make a big difference to overall home appearance. So which of these ideas has managed to inspire you for the home upgrade mission?
Let us know how you plan to kickstart your home improvement journey!
