updating your home question $$

our humble abode needs some serious love. it's a mish-mash of two lives, an elderly mother, and a shitload of hobbies that don't play well together... add to that a drought that has killed all the plant life and my debt-killing mindset.

so

i'm starting to look into wanting to spend time and a little money on making things more "homey." i don't want to add a new to-do list to my life at this moment, so i'm planning for the spring.

if you needed to do some serious decorating and some yard work... what would your priority list look like?

where would you first put your money/time
where would you skimp

i'm only at the planning part and am looking for a general guide as to where to splurge and where to skimp.

Re: updating your home question $$

First, my kitchen because I LOVE to cook and because EVERYONE gathers there. It's the first place I'll put money and effort. Having updated appliances, nice counters, and a warm, inviting cooking space were very important to me when we did our kitchen.

Then my den, because aside from the kitchen we spend the majority of our time as a family in the den relaxing. So a comfy couch, cozy decor, and a good tv and surround system are a priority for us................but we tend to be homebodies.

After that, my bedroom. It's nice to go to bed in a relaxing, cozy place.

For the outdoors, I would look to give my home curb appeal. A welcoming front door, nice paint, and simple landscaping.

updating your home question $$

First I would spend time to clean house. Get rid of everything that is not needed.

Then I would start with paint. A new coat of paint can do wonders with little money spent. DIY. Painting is easy and a room can be done in a day.

Then go from there!

Re: updating your home question $$

Number one, cleaning. I would figure out homes for the items that you do have, decide what to keep, donate, then discard. You can do yard work yourself, pruning and trimming shrubs.

I think it depends what your budget and how handy you are to determine what to recommend. What area do you or do you want to spend the most time in?

updating your home question $$

I always start with cleaning and decluttering. Sometimes our projects take a while (like my bedroom- 10 months) partly because other things needed our $$$ (fertility treatments). We pay for things with cash- don't touch our savings or use a credit card so it takes us a while. Depending on my budget, I would start with the living room or kitchen. Sometimes just new pieces of furniture or a fresh coat of paint! If you have a lot of stuff, I would get rid of what you don't need and then do some serious organizing!!! I purge stuff all the time- including my crawl space!
I knownfor us- outside this year will be our fence. If it survives winter I'll be amazed! Little things go a long way!!

Message edited 10/14/2016 1:53:57 PM.

Re: updating your home question $$

Re: updating your home question $$

It's hard to say without knowing what the house actually NEEDS, KWIM?

For instance, in our house we really needed a new front door. It added both curl appeal to the front, extra light (we got one with small windows in the top) in our main hallway, and overall just updated the feel of the front entrance.

Our bathrooms all needed to be redone, but right now we don't have the money to do total gut jobs, so instead we did face lifts. We replaced the toilets and the vanities (we just did simple basic vanities from Lowes and added a nice new faucet to dress it up), fresh coat of paint, new towels and shower curtains, and scoured Home Goods for some cute accessories. Looks like new even though the floor and tub needs to be replaced but those things aren't noticeable now that the rest is updated.

I would put a fresh coat of paint in every room. That makes a big difference. And (not necessarily an easy job) new baseboards believe it or not makes a big difference. The taller baseboards give the walls a more updated look.

And lastly, decluttering makes a HUGE difference. Sometimes just decluttering the space and finding good storage solutions can change the whole feel of the room. For example, I know you love to knit...maybe find some ottomans that can double as yarn storage for you - it'll hid the hobby clutter and it'll be a new piece for your family room or living room. Things like that make a big difference!