Updating your home can seem like a huge job to take on. You may think it will involve a lot of DIY projects and decoration. In fact updating your home can be quite a simple and budget-friendly thing to do. If your home doesn’t require any work and you are happy with the decoration, then it’s all just in the finer details. So if you want to update your home without the need to decorate then here is a quick guide for each of the main rooms in your home.

Kitchen

More often than not the kitchen is the hub of the home. It needs to have the right balance between each functionality. It’s a place to cook in, to relax in and dine. There are quite a few different things you can do to update your kitchen without decorating. Perhaps incorporating a new colour scheme would be a great place to start. You could add a vase of fresh flowers in your chosen colour. Update some of the things on your counter shelf life storage pots. Perhaps adding some shelves to a wall so you can put a few pictures on there or some inspirational messages. Adding a touch of colour to this room is all it will take to give it a new lease of life.

Bathroom

The bathroom is often the trickiest room to spruce up. Without adding a new bathroom suite what can you possibly do? There is quite a bit you can do in fairness. Firstly, much like the kitchen, you could incorporate a bit of colour or a theme to the bathroom. Adding new touches like luxury towels, a new toothbrush holder and cup. Perhaps a fancy soap dispenser. Also, as much as we clean our bathrooms, giving it a once-over with a steam cleaner could just be all it takes to make that bath sparkling once more.

[Photo courtesy of Maureen Didde/flickr.com]

Living space

You could add quite a bit to your living spaces. Personal touches like photo frames with new pictures in could be a great place to start. You could also consider a new rug in a different colour. Adding a new colour will give the impression of a freshly decorated room without the need to do any hard work. Alternatively, by changing some of the lighting you could give off a whole new vibe to the room. Adding a few more lamps or candles could create a different ambiance.

Bedroom

Finally, the bedroom. A place to relax and reflect on the day. Changing this room is a lot easier than you would think. It doesn’t require an expensive purchase like changing your bed. But just by changing the bed linen it could make the room look brand new. You could incorporate a new colour scheme in here to. Perhaps add some candles to give it a more romantic feel. Or by adding some different lighting. Things like fairy lights draped over the head of the bed can make the room feel pretty and styled.

I hope this simple guide give you some inspiration to update your home.

Is your house really untidy? Believe it or not, more people live in total chaos than you might think. Some people are so ashamed of how messy their house is, they won’t let necessary visitors past the front door. If you have kids or lots of pets, tidying up may seem a never ending task. It’s true that many of us try and give ourselves very high expectations. If you’re trying to look after a large family, there are never enough hours in the day. And what is the point of picking up all those toys when the kids are going to empty them all out again tomorrow? It can seem like an utterly thankless, and pointless task. But we all feel better when our houses are clean and tidy.

It might be unrealistic to say right, let’s get that house cleaned from top to bottom! You haven’t done it properly for some quite some time. House cleaning gurus Flylady.net always say that you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. Take baby steps to fixing your home. It didn’t get this way and a day, and you’re not going to have it all fixed in a day, either. These things take time. Do it properly, and form better habits.

[Photo courtesy of go_greener_oz/flickr.com]

In the kitchen, start from the basics. Don’t start sorting out cupboards if you have a sinkful (or two) of dishes. Make sure you’ve done the fundamental tasks before you move on, or you’ll just end up in a bigger mess than you started. Start from the top and work down. There’s no point in giving yourself extra jobs to do. You’ll just be wasting time if you keep having to revisit the same areas.

If you’re a bit lazy when it comes to changing sheets, then you might want to give your mattresses a quick once over.Are the all in a good clean state? Do they have bust springs or stuffing trying to escape? Another thing you should look for is bedbugs. The bug busters at AtkinsInc.com say it’s a far more widespread problem than most people realise. These horrible beasties could be living in your mattress without you even knowing!

Deep cleaning your bathroom will give it some sparkle back. If you’ve got grotty grouting, though, it could make the whole room look past its best. Instead of laboriously removing and replacing the cement, why not use a grout pen. It’s a cinch to make your grout stand out for all the right reasons. It’s quick and easy and will fix up your smallest room in a jiffy! Check out tips on how to use them at Doityourself.com

Wipe down your walls. It’s amazing how grubby your walls can look once the bright light simply of spring comes flooding through your windows. Get a bucket of warm soapy water, dampen a cloth and give them all a good wipe. Pay attention to skirting boards and light switches too, they’re a prime breeding ground for bugs and germs.

There are so many things you need to think about when it comes to your home. Decorating your property and adding some personality is really important. It helps you enjoy the home much more and gives it a lot of character. Check out these awesome ideas that can help you add some personality to your home.

Mood Wall

Mood walls can often seem a bit gimmicky these days. They come across as the sort of thing you’d expect to have to do as part of an art project. But, in reality, they can be a welcome addition to any home. This is a wall where you can let your personality loose. You can paint the wall whatever color you want. And you can add anything you want in the way of artwork. Mood walls are a fantastic addition to their property and a brilliant way of adding some personal touches to the home.

[Image courtesy of jf28858/pixabay.com]

Frame Pictures

It’s important to have pictures and artwork displayed on the walls. Now, you’ve got your mood wall already, but you also want to have pictures on the other walls. These might be family pictures, or they could be paintings. But, if you want them to be displayed prominently you’ll need some frames. So you should check out Images & Details Framing and pop to their local store to get the right frames. You’ll be surprised by the impact the right frames can have for your pictures and your home.

Change Colors

Believe it or not, the colour scheme is possibly the most important visual aspect of any home. You can tell so much about a property by the colors on show. And, it’s entirely possible to completely transform the entire home just by changing the colour scheme. Have a think about the current color scheme you have in the home. And do what you can to change it to something a bit more captivating. As a rule, you tend to find that the home works best when the colors are vibrant and bright. Sure, you can go with white and magnolia as your primary color. But you shouldn’t be afraid to add splashes of color here and there as well.

Decorate Each Room Differently

Each room in the home serves a different purpose, and represents a different part of your life. So it stands to reason that they should have a different balance and feel to one another. You don’t want all the rooms in your home to look the same. This will result in the place lacking character and coming across as dull. So, the best approach to take is to make sure you decorate each room differently. Try to add some flair and capture the essence of each room when you decorate. This is an excellent way to make your home look as wonderful as possible.

Adding personal touches to your home is the best way to inject some life and personality. Your home is like an extension of you, and you should treat it as such. So, you need to do whatever you can to ensure you make it look and feel amazing. The best way to start off doing this is to make sure you add a personal touch to the place.

What is it that we actually want from our homes? Should they be stark, hygienic areas for hosting a range of valuable antiques, or should they be somewhere you can unwind after a long day at work?

I think they should be the latter. We all need a space that we can relax and our environment can have a large impact on our mood. So here are some ideas for making your home that little bit cosier.

Make Your Entrance Inviting

The entrance is the first thing you’ll see but this typically tends to be a neglected area in the home. Why? People tend to concentrate on the main rooms in the house, but they forget that the tone is set as soon as you walk in. When guests arrive often they’re not treated to a livable space, but somewhere rather shabby and boring.

Having bright and welcoming colours in the entrance hall can really help. As can soft, colourful mats. Pot plants in the hallways can also work a treat for brightening any entrance hall if you have space. Don’t just go for green either. Pick a colour that really complements the style of the room. If it is characterised by light tones, for example, choose a pink or a lavender to add a bit of contrast.

Cut Through Draughty Spaces

[Photo courtesy of Harry Zilber/wikipedia.org]

Each room in your house is a big cavity. And because of the necessities of construction, these are square. But squares do not make your home feel more cosy. You want to find ways to make sure that the eye is drawn through the space. When you enter a room, have a big painting on the opposite wall. This can help.

Also, it can help if your furniture is themed, but not matching. Having different colours, textures and patterns throughout the room can break it up and make it less formal. Just make sure that the different textures work together in a pleasing way.

Finally, don’t try to eliminate space in the centre of the room. This can actually enhance the room’s appeal, rather than make it look stark.

Mix Formal With Informal Furniture

It’s really nice to have a sofa or two for settling down in the evening, as well as a nice coffee table. But you can also mix things up with a foam bag chair. These are great for reading or for people who like to fidget, rather than just settings on their bums. Check out Fombag.com if you want to know more about foam bag chairs.

Eliminate Harsh Lines

Jagged, straight lines can really dull the cosiness of a room. Long straight lines give the room a formal look. It’s hard to escape the idea that you’re at an airport or in some other public space. You certainly don’t feel like you’re somewhere private where you can relax.

Eliminating straight lines is easy. You can introduce things like round rugs and tables. And put decorative lamps in ugly, harsh corners. For more ideas on how to make your home cosier, check out realsimple.com.

Our homes should be our haven. But let’s face it, in those hot summer months it can be quite unbearable to be in and outside. While it’s tempting just to give in to the heat, there are a few things you can do to make your home cooler. Without causing too much strain on the finances. With this simple guide, your home will be a cooler place in know time.

[Image courtesy of deovolenti/pixabay.com]

Focus on your body temperature first.

Keeping your body temperature low is a step in the right direction. Drinking ice-cold drinks and applying a cold compress to your forehead and neck is a great place to start. Also by wearing clothes that are cooler like cotton or linen.

Check out your air conditioning.

Before it gets too warm, make sure your air conditioning is in good working order. It’s no good getting to a point where you need it, and it’s not working. Getting regular ac services drastically improve performance. It will also make sure it does not cost you more than it should to run it.

Keep your blinds closed.

It’s been proven that 30% of your home’s unwanted heat can come from your windows. It might seem simple, but something as simple as closing blinds or curtains can stop your home from becoming like a greenhouse.

[Image courtesy of j_ridley2000/pixabay.com]

Use your doors wisely.

Keeping doors shut during the day will allow the cooler air to circulate the rooms you are using. But the opposite should be done at night as the temperature drops. This will allow all the cooler air in your home to circulate throughout reducing the temperature and making your home feel fresher.

Change your bedding sheets.

It’s a good idea to change your sheets through the seasons. Fleecy style bedding is perfect for the cold winter, but you will want something a lot cooler and thinner during the summer.

Let the night air in.

During the summer months, the temperature will drop after the sun sets. If this is the case for where you live, then make the most of it and open the windows in the house allowing the air to circulate. It will also allow you to have a cooler night’s sleep. It’s always difficult to sleep when your bedroom is hot.

Retire your oven during the summer months.

It may seem obvious but by not using your oven you’re going not to create any extra heat. Grilling and changing your cooking habits will be vital for keeping your home warm. The oven expels heat and will only add to your indoor temperature whenever being used.

Use extraction fans in the kitchen and bathroom.

Finally, the last piece of advice would be to make the most of your extraction fans in the kitchen and bathroom. These will suck in the warm air. A hot shower will generate steam as will cooking, no matter how you are doing it. So crack those fans on to help avoid increasing your home’s temperature.

I hope this guide will help your home stay cool in the hot months.

It’s a dilemma many of us have faced before. Should we do it ourselves? Or should we let someone else do it? There’s no simple answer to this question. There are many positive things about DIY, and there are many reasons why we should stay away from it. It’s time to weigh up both side of the argument.

For DIY

There is always something really satisfying about completing a DIY project. This is undeniable. Knowing that you’ve been able to make something with your own two hands is a fantastic feeling. And you will be reminded of your achievement whenever you see the finished product in your home. If you’re the kind of person that really likes to challenge yourself, then it’s understandable that you want to take on each and every DIY task.

You can sometimes save money by doing a DIY job too. Of course, it’s important to remember that this is not always the case. Sometimes, people spend so much money on tools and materials that it might have been cheaper just to hire someone to do the work. But in some cases when you already have the right tools, and the materials can be found cheaply, you could save a lot of cash. Many people who have a small budget to work with decide to take on DIY projects all by themselves.

[Image courtesy of stevepb/pixabay.com]

Against DIY

One of the main reasons not to DIY is your lack of skills. Sure, I don’t know what your exact skill level is. But I’m guessing it’s not up to a professional standard. This is the problem for most of us. We’re never going to be able to do the job as well as a real professional could do it. We might be able to scrape through and do a semi-decent job if we spend enough time and money on a job. But is it worth it when you can simply hire someone who could do that work in half the time? The finished product is always going to be better and more secure if it has been done by a pro.

The health and safety argument also has to come into it. Every year many people are injured, and some are even killed as a result of DIY jobs gone wrong. Before you go ahead with any task, you should be aware of the dangers of DIY. Every task is different, so every task presents different dangers and hazards that need to be confronted. If you’re not sure what you’re doing and are worried that you could hurt yourself, it’s probably best to call in the professionals.

Conclusion

The best advice I can give you is to use your common sense. If you make sure that you know what you’re doing and don’t take any unnecessary risks, you might be able to get a good outcome. But if you want the job done to the highest standard and you don’t want to take up your time, letting someone else do it is for the best.

Are you tired of looking at your room? It is time to change the aura of your room by adding new curtains on your windows. Curtains are made to turn a drab window to gorgeous in seconds. They are home adornment that should not be taken for granted apart from its multiple uses such as coverings from extreme heat or draft, and giving you security while alone in your house.

There are a lot of curtains specially designed for various purposes. Hotels, inns, dormitories and hospitals hang curtains to add aesthetic appeal to their rooms. The design of their curtains is similar to what your home curtains are. If you need new curtains for your kids, choose bargain curtains with cartoon character and fairy tale designs to fit in to their age. Your kids and little angels will feel happy and excited to sleep in their own room every time they see those bright colored curtains.

[Image courtesy of JamesDeMers/pixabay.com]

For the elderly, they too need curtains with sunny colors to divert their attention every time they feel alone and forsaken. Truly, curtains can help change your mood. Today, there are many types of curtain designs such as embroidered, linen, waverly and scarf panels available in the market. You can also opt to buy a blackout curtain, valance, drapes or casual curtains. There are unlimited curtain choices that are o: sale and if you are lucky enough, you can avail of promo codes and coupon codes.

Some homemakers are able to get high quality bargain sheer curtains by searching them online or flyers distributed outside food outlets and malls. If you are fond of reading magazines, you can find those coupon codes in between pages. Take note that these promos will expire so always take advantage of them while they are still available. Bargain hunting can save you a lot of money when you plan to change your curtains because you can buy as many as you can so your windows are not boring.

Your home is the place where you live, where you and loved ones can enjoy a peaceful life and leave all your cares outside. That’s not all it is, however. It’s also an asset. The asset that’s probably worth more than any other you own. So treat as an important part of your finances and you might find it helping those finances grow. There are a lot great ways to make a great investment out of your home. Following the tips below will have you piling on the worth in no-one. Even if selling isn’t on your mind, adding value to your home never hurts.

[Image courtesy of Jeremy Levine/flickr.com]

The kitchen

The kitchen is not just the part of the home where we spend a lot of our time cooking, eating and cleaning. It’s the heart of the home when it comes to selling it. There are a lot of different things you can to renovate your kitchen, depending on how much time and effort you put into it. Updating your surfaces to granite gives it a contemporary look that will offend few. Smart storage additions will give more space, always a good idea.

[Image courtesy of Bettina M/wikimedia.org]

The bathroom

The bathroom is the other heart of the home when it comes to selling. It should feel like a place of utmost luxury and relaxation. The bathroom is also the room that can degrade a lot faster than others if we’re not careful. Turn your nightmare bathroom into a place of total relaxation. You’ll add value to the home and love your newly kitted room as well.

[Image courtesy of Michael Coté/flickr.com]

The garden

The exterior of the home is incredibly important to how much worth is attributed to it in the end. There’s a lot you can do to add value to it as well. You can use patios and landings to add more useable space to it. The right floral arrangements and gardening set-ups can give it the pizazz that really brings in the worth. Water features like pools and fountains are always a smart bet, as long as you’re willing to maintain them. If you have the space and money for it all, the services of the right backyard designers could implement them all in one design.

[Image courtesy of Literatirus/wikimedia.org]

The conservatory

The above tips are sure to add value and selling quality to the home. However, there’s nothing quite as reliable to the value of a home than sheer space. One way to add that valuable space is by fitting it on the side of the house. Not only do conservatories add space, but they can add the selling quality in how aesthetically pleasing they are. Conservatories can be used in all kinds of ways, so adding them is rarely a bad idea.

[Image courtesy of Holland And Green Architectural Design/flickr.com]

The loft

The other easy way to add a lot of space to your home, often less expensive than a conservatory, is by converting your loft. Most homes have a near floor’s worth of usable space that is going to waste as storage. Lofts can be converted into bathrooms, offices, bedrooms or whatever you like. If you could do with a bit more utility in the home, the loft could be the answer.

When you’re unhappy with your home, the correct course of action is often unclear. Is selling your home and buying a new one the way to go? It seems a little extreme. But there are many people out there who would tell you that renovating your property would be even riskier. So what do you do?

We’ll explore the options and methods in this article. If you’re currently struggling with this problem, we hope this helps drive you towards a decision.

Why are you unhappy with your home?

The first thing you should do is identify the problem you have. Without knowing specific reasons you’re not happy with your property, you will struggle to come up with decent solutions. Do you not have enough space? Do you have too much space? Do you not like the layout? Is there a weird smell? Do you hate your neighbours?

Whatever the reasons, you need to note them down. Otherwise, you may find that whatever action you take may not have solved the issue you had in the first place. Oh, and if the reason is that you hate your neighbours, you may find this article disappointing. We have no hints for neighbour disposal to offer you.

Have an extreme clean-out

All that clutter is giving you an inaccurate image of your home. A messy environment always looks smaller than it actually is. Having piles of clothes and boxes and miscellaneous items will make you feel cramped. So you need to pull up your sleeves and have an extreme clean-out!

[Image courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio/pexels.com]

The aim here is to make your home look as bare-bones as possible. Imagine for a moment that you really are going to sell it. What would you do? You would make that home look as attractive as possible in order to get a good price and land a sale fast. You need to revert it back to a very basic state, one filled with potential.

Tour your home

Cleaned your home? Good. Now you need to go through every room in the house and assess it. Ideally, you would assess your home over the course of a year. This way you know exactly what happens in each room when there are external changes. These changes will include light, temperature and noise. They also include all the different types of weather

This will really help you get your finger on what might be bothering you. By re-evaluating your living spaces, you may find that you only need to make simple changes. Maybe you just need to rearrange the furniture. Or maybe you need new blinds to adapt to light changes. But maybe you’ll find that you still feel a bit cramped in these rooms. Maybe making extensive changes will be the right way to go. In any case, this clean-and-tour method will have helped you make your decision.

Photo from Flickr

Visit open houses

So, you’ve made up your mind. Either you’re renovating or you’re selling. Here’s a great idea: visit open homes. That may seem like something you’d only do if you’re looking to buy a new property. Not so.

By visiting a new and open property, you can get a good idea of what a professional renovation looks and feels like. The most effective way of going about this, if possible, is to visit open homes in your neighbourhood. This is because the houses here may be very similar. This will allow you to see what upgrades have done to homes that are similar in layout to your own.

It is, of course, also an excellent way of scoping out property you want to buy when you sell your home. If you’re not sure, or are definitely just looking at renovation, we recommend keeping it to open houses. Arranging a private visit to a property will just waste the time of the estate agent!

The blueprint

If you have the blueprints to your home, then there are other possibilities open to you. You can take blueprints to renovation and building stores and ask them for advice. If the store is particularly modern, they may even be able to give you a digital rendering of what your renovated rooms could look like.

If you don’t have the blueprints for your home to hand, there will be ways to get them. Local councils are usually able to help. Previous owners of the property may also have them, or any building company that have worked on your home in the past.

Selling versus renovation: getting assistance

Selling can often seem like the easier way to deal with the whole thing. Getting the money for your current home and simply buying a brand new one is definitely an attractive solution.

Do remember that you’re not alone if you are thinking about renovating. Contractors or remodelers can give you practical tips. Websites like R.H. Homes are replete with suggestions and inspirational articles and guides.

Consider your commitments, career and social life

Moving home, of course, comes with its own unique stresses. If you move to a new home, there’s a chance you’ll have to change career, or that your child has to go to a new school. Your commute will change, as will your social life. If you’re heavily involved in your local community, then moving will take its toll on you and that community.  One of the main reasons people choose to renovate is so that they can avoid the need to move from their home permanently.

Considering the costs

Buying a new home seems like the most expensive solution, right? Well, not necessarily. Remember that the cost of buying a new home will be offset significantly by the money you make from the sale of your current home. It also depends on how you go about the purchase. Say you pay in instalments for a new home. You could actually end up paying less monthly than you would for extensive renovations.

What you need to get is a cost estimate for renovation.  A contractor or remodeler can provide this. You may be looking at something small, or you could be looking at a waller-devastating structural change to your layout. And if the renovations are complex and require you to live somewhere else for a while, there’s that cost to consider too

So what do I do?

We can’t tell you that! If you research all of your options carefully, you should be able to come to the right answer in no time. Weigh the risks and benefits. Remember that the purpose of this is to increase the quality and enjoyment of your life. Best of luck to you!

Saving water is something that we should all be making more of an effort to do. It will help the environment, but it can also help you to save some money, so keep that incentive in mind. Here’s how you can start saving water today.

Wash on a Full Load

When you’re filling the washing machine or loading the dishwasher, do you always make sure that it’s full? Most people don’t, but this wastes water because it means you’ll be doing more washes in the long-term. It’s a common sense idea, but most people don’t even think about things like this. So, wait until the machine is full before turning it on next time. You should also think about the quality of your washing appliances. When you decide to upgrade it, make sure you go for a more water-efficient option.

[Image courtesy of  Edal Anton Lefterov/en.wikipedia.org]

Collect Rain Water

You can use a tank to collect rainwater in your garden. You can funnel the water down to your tank as it falls, and this helps you to save water when it comes to watering the garden. By cutting your reliance on the mains water supply, you will save a lot of water and a lot of money too. It’s very cheap to set up a tank to collect the water, and it will be very useful at the times of the year when there is plenty of rain. In the dry summer months, this won’t be a great option though.

Avoid Overwatering Plants

Watering your plants too much is one of the most common ways in which people end up wasting water. As I mentioned above, you can save some by collecting rain water. But this won’t provide enough water to cover all your garden watering needs. So, you need to be careful when you are using a hose on the plants. It’s very easy to overwater them and waste lots of water. To avoid doing this, you could start using an irrigation system. Visit http://proirrigation.com/ to find more about that.

[Image courtesy of Piotrus/en.wikipedia.org]

Don’t Leave the Tap Running

Very simple things like leaving the tap running when it’s not needed can waste a lot of money. For example, if everyone in a household left the tap running every time they brushed their teeth, think of all that wasted water. You should try your best to turn the water off. And that’s just one of the examples of wasting water around the house that could be easily avoided.

Install a Water Meter

A water meter allows you to closely control how much water you use. You then can pay for exactly the amount you use. So, if you use a lot of water, the bill will be larger. But if you use less, you will pay less. This gives you an extra incentive to use less water. Simply being able to keep tabs on your own usage is a big boost when it comes to saving water. It means that you can no longer forget about your water usage because it’s always there for you to see. Go to http://www.economicshelp.org/ to find out more about the benefits.