Reinvent Your Home: What are the Best Home Improvement Projects to DIY?

Home improvements are a wonderful way to invest time and many pleasant afternoons into your home. Every change can make your home more enjoyable to live in and potentially increase your final resale value. But you don't need to hire a team of contractors to take on a renovation project. Many homeowners love to roll their sleeves up and dive into a few positive changes to the house. The only question is which renovations are the best to DIY.

Let's dive into the ultimate checklist for DIY home renovations. Choose your favorites or tackle them all one weekend at a time.   

Painting 

When you own a house, the easiest way to change a look is to try a new shade of paint. You can transform your living room or reinvent your kitchen just by careful painting and apt use of tape and drop cloths.

• Walls
  
  • Repaint your walls new colors to recreate the space and play of light through each room.
  • Repaint your walls the same color to make them look fresh and new.
  • Choose one wall to make your accent wall and paint it a different, complementary color.  
• Doors
  • Doors can be painted in place or taken down off the hinges and painted in entirety. Homes with doors that are off-color from the walls will stand out and create more dynamism in the home design.
• Cabinetry
  • Repaint your cabinets instead of replacing them. You can repaint the sides, interior, shelves, and take off the cabinet doors to fully change the way your kitchen looks. If you're handy with carpentry tools, you can even reshape your cabinet doors to a new design style.
• Door & Window Frames
  • Doorframes and window frames are often overlooked and get shabby over time. A fresh coat of paint in different shade can make your doors stand out in an elegant or striking way.
• Baseboards
  • Take some time for your baseboards. They can blend perfectly with your walls or provide a new set of shaded lines defining the floor space of your home.

Replace Hardware

Most people don't realize just how easy it is to change a home's style with a screwdriver and some new hardware. You can remove the old hardware and install something new more easily than building flat-pack furniture. A few twists of the screwdriver will remove and then replace knobs,  handles, and faucets with more stylish modern versions.

• Light switch & Outlet Covers
  • Old switch and outlet covers can make a home look shabby, even dated. You can replace with fresh new covers or stylish covers that suit your sense of décor.
• Doorknobs & Locks
  
  • Doorknobs and locks are easy to install once you remove the old knob. Change the style of your doorknobs or even switch to lever handles if you prefer.
• Cabinet Handles & Drawer Pulls
  • The handles on your cabinetry mark the style of your kitchen or bathroom. You can replace every cabinet handle or drawer pull in the house to update the look and feel of your space.
• Hinges on Doors & Cabinets
  • You can even replace, upgrade, and stylize your hinges. Take each door off the hinges and replace with new decorative hinges in the same place. Again, just a little screwdriver work.
• Vent Registers
  • The registers (metal grates) covering your household vents can also date a home. Replace those old paint-flaky vent covers with a stylish new vent register that suits your home design.
• Faucets and Handles
  • You can even change out your faucets and the matching handles. Switch out for a pot-filler sink or give your bathroom luxury waterfall faucet. A little intuition and guidance can make it possible do detach your old faucet and install the new one.
• Showerheads
  • Showerheads contribute to your quality of life, and you deserve a shower head that makes you feel luxurious. Buy a showerhead that is both elegant and delightfully multi-functioning and swap them out.
• Toilet Seat & Lid
  • You can even update the comfort and design of your toilet by changing out the lid and seat. This is another simple hinge operation for satisfactory effect.  

Install Organizers

One of the best ways to improve the function of a home is to make better use of the space. Organizers and organization systems can drastically improve your kitchen, closet, or bathroom experience. The right organizers in the right place transform hassle into convenience - and look elegant when you're done.    

• Pantry System
  • A pantry system is an installed set of racks, drawers, cubbies, and hooks that work together to create the ultimate pantry storage structure. Choose a pantry system based on how you like to store things, the size of your pantry, and even the height of each feature where you'd like it most.  
• Drawer Organizer Trays
  • Just a few of the right organizer trays or compartments can transform your drawer game. Silverware, cooking utensils and those essential handheld kitchen gadgets can all find a neat and tidy home.
• Pull-Out Cabinet Organizers
  • Some of the coolest ways you can organize a kitchen involve pull-out organizers. From rolling Lazy Susans to hydraulic mixer arms and everything in between, you can enjoy a stoop- and stretch-free kitchen and never again rummage in the back of a cabinet.
• Entryway Hooks & Cubbies
  • Other than the kitchen and some bathrooms, the entryway can also get an organization makeover. Install a rack of hooks or even build in a wall of cubbies for quick, tidy homecomings and departures.

Landscaping

If you've got a green thumb or an eye for outdoor aesthetics, you can make improvements to your home through landscaping and back garden design.

• Gardening & Cultivating
  • Simply make your plants more beautiful by deciding what to plant and taking good care of them.
• Planting New Trees or Bushes
  • Bring new long-term features into your garden with trees and bushes.
• Pathways & Flower Beds
  • Change the functional shape of your landscaping by adding new stepping-stone pathways or laying new flower bed dividers.
• Canopies & Pergolas
  • If you want to put up something new, try an anchored canopy or construct a pergola.

Bigger DIY Projects

What about bigger projects? Most of the ideas we've covered could each be done in a single afternoon. But if you're handy and have the time, you can take on a few bigger DIY home renovation projects.

• Installing a New Light Fixture
  • Installing a light fixture is often done by calling an electrician, but very careful DIY-ers can safely shut off power to the circuit and install a newly bought light fixture to enhance an interior or exterior space.
• Re-Tiling the Backsplash
  • Laying tile isn't difficult, but it is delicate and time-consuming. If you're feeling creative, scrape off the old chipped backsplash and re-tile something beautiful.
• Installing New Floors
  • Installing fit-together wood floors can take time and a little carpentry skill, but is a popular DIY home renovation project.
• Installing Sinks & Toilets
  • If you're good with plumbing, pipes, and caulk, then it is possible to DIY the installation of a new sink or swap out an old toilet.

When to Call a Pro

Finally, there are a few projects that should be done by professionals - no matter how handy or determined you may be. This is due to safety and licensing issues.

• Major Electrical and Wiring
  • Installing an outlet or major electrical fixture should always be done by a licensed electrician. This is true any time exposed household wiring is involved.
• Major Plumbing Changes
  • You may be able to swap out the kitchen sink, but should not DIY moving the location of the sink. You may need a licensed plumber and possibly (by your location) a license to make major plumbing changes.
• Major Appliance Installations
  • Major appliances - especially in-like gear like HVAC and the water heater - often take a whole professional team to transport and set up inside the house.
• Garage Doors
  • Finally, never ever try to repair, replace, or install a garage door with a high-tension spring. This one component makes the heavy, suspended garage door much less safe to work with untrained pros. But you can repaint the garage door without assistance.  

Home renovation projects are a great way to enjoy yourself, work on your handy skills, and improve the value of your home one weekend and afternoon at a time.  Here at Urban Ambiance, you can find every type of light fixture your home might need for beautiful upgrades in style and function. Let us help you illuminate your house and unlock your inner DIY home renovator. 

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