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Tips for Renovating Your Home on a Tight Budget

Are you renovating your home because you want it to look beautiful and be comfortable? You should regard your home renovation plan as a business plan if you want it to succeed without going over your budget. You can hire an architect if you have the funds; but if you do not, you need to take charge of the project.

The key to renovating your home on a tight budget is to plan everything from scratch. Here are some tips that will come in handy during the renovation:

Divide and Conquer

Effective planning is the key to a good renovation. If you are doing everything yourself, you should start by focusing on the big picture as well as the smaller individual parts. Devise a renovation strategy for each area of your home you want to renovate.

If you are hiring an architect, he or she needs to assess your needs and plan accordingly. When working alone, think about your requirements and write the end goals for every room in your house. Once you do this, also write the overall goal for your home.

Budgeting

Because you want to save on money, you need to decide on the final figure that you are willing to spend. When coming up with a budget, go over your individual plans for each room and come up with a rough estimate. Then add them all up to figure out how much you need for the entire project. If the estimate exceeds your planned budget, see what changes you can live without and scratch them out.

Shop Around

Once you start researching, the number of options available will surprise you. For instance, you might find out that one of the beautiful lamps you have been eyeing can be found at a cheaper price. When renovating on a budget, you need to research things like furniture and paint to find cheaper alternatives. Take advantage of thrift stores and online shopping and get the best bargain.

Clean Up

Before you start making any changes in your house, put everything in its rightful place. Doing so will make an unsightly room look better, which might lead you to make fewer changes. When you clean up, you will think of ways to rearrange the furniture and make a room appear fresher.

Getting rid of clutter also makes rooms look bigger. You can use this newfound space to store items from another room, which will make your home more functional. When all’s said and done, you might decide not to even renovate, therefore, saving money.

Think Big

If you want to save money, make the biggest changes first to get the most bang for your buck. Things such as paint, lighting, and flooring will make a big difference in any room. Applying a fresh coat of paint will update your home quickly and economically thus making it look better.

If you still have money left, you can use it to make smaller changes that will affect your home in subtle ways.

Smaller Changes

Once you make all the big changes, start thinking small. Here are some changes you should consider:

–          Painting the trim instead of the whole house

–          Adding drawer organizers to eliminate the need for additional drawers

–          Changing cabinet hardware: for instance, you can reface your existing cabinets without taking them out

–          Changing the towels or rugs in the bathroom

DIY

If you want to save most of your money, do what you can yourself. If you have experience and skill in doing something, use it. DIYing will be cheaper. You can also search for and learn additional skills from YouTube tutorials or books. Of course, you need to be careful to avoid causing additional damage you cannot afford to repair.

Take your time with DIYing and start with smaller projects you can complete. Over time, your skill level and confidence will increase and you will be able to progress to more complicated, large scale ones.

Only Buy What You Need

Some building items come with special features you do not need. You can save money by not purchasing those with the special features. For instance, if you are installing a garage door, you can save money by purchasing one without a keypad.

Borrow or Rent Tools and Equipment

If you are looking for tools for your project, think about renting and borrowing instead of buying. Make a priority list of essential tools you will need to finish your projects. How do you decide what are the priority tools? Research what are the features of the tools you need reading the Bosch 4100-09 portable table saw review by Toolnerds.com or any other guide and make your selection. Purchasing the top items on your list will be a sound investment since you will use those excessively.

But see if you could borrow those tools that are at the bottom of the list. They will just end up collecting dust. For instance, if you have seen the, you should consider renting the tool instead of spending any money on it.

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