Home Inspection Services

New Year Home Makeover Tips that Are Easy and Inexpensive

With the New Year here many people find it as a new beginning. Many make resolutions to lose weight, stop smoking, exercise more, etc… While other’s take this opportunity to give their home a makeover. With a little work and some imagination it can be done with ease and quite inexpensively. Here are just a few ideas to spruce up your home.

Before you begin, start with a notepad divided into three columns, and walk around your home, noting in the appropriate columns what you like about your home and will not change, in the second column list things that don’t necessarily need to be changed, but can be if you find something you like better, and finally in the third column make a list of things that you feel definitely need to change…

Next, sit down and figure out your budget, it’s a good idea to start with the front of the house and work your way back. You don’t have to give every room a makeover all at the same time either, begin and finish one room or area before moving to the next. This will give you the opportunity to take time to coordinate the rooms, and spend avoid spending a lot of money all at one time.

Your entranceway or foyer often is the first impression guests will get of your home, you want them to feel welcome and give them the impression that you take good care of your home. You want to make sure that it is bright and cheery and free of clutter. If your home does not have a foyer, consider putting a fresh coat of paint on your front door.

The first and probably the easiest way to brighten up a worn drab room is to apply a fresh coat of paint. The colors that you select for your home set the mood. Before your run off to the nearest store, stop to decide what type of statement you want to make. Color enhances a home, and can make its occupants feel more content and peaceful. When deciding what colors you want to incorporate into your home, keep the following in mind: If you want to convey a message of togetherness and strength? If so your best bet would be to select warm colors which include various shades of red, orange and yellow. Perhaps you want to give a feeling of peace, tranquility, stick with shades of green, blue and violet.

Because neutral light dramatically affects colors within a room, before you decide on what color you want, take into consideration the rooms lighting, beginning with paying close attention to how or when each room is exposed to natural light from windows or doors. Here are a couple things to keep in mind: Rooms facing north receives less direct sunlight than a room facing south. Rooms exposed to the sun during late afternoon and evening will take on an orange tint, and rooms that are exposed to sunlight in the morning often have a white glow.

After establishing what time each room is subject to natural light, you should consider what type of interior lighting you use. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

If you use Incandescent lighting often casts a yellow glow and typically makes warm colors more vibrant and incandescent halogen lighting which emit a white glow does not distort colors and compact fluorescent light bulbs produce a warm and inviting light.

You can add some pizazz to the room by incorporating pillows, lamps, lamp shades, paintings, and throws that have colors that knickknacks that contain colors that include your primary color or dominant color, adding secondary and accent colors., a good rule of thumb is to use the dominant color for 60% of the room, 30% for your secondary color and only 10% that compliment your walls. A nice touch includes green or flowering plants in decorative vases. You can complete the new “look” with throw or area rugs, no matter if you have wall to wall carpeting or hardwood flooring.

If you find that your kitchen needs a pick-me up you can accomplish this quite easily, before you consider major renovations, keep in mind that sometimes all you need is a fresh coat of paint, new window treatments, tablecloths, and other knickknacks which can transform a drab kitchen. If you find that your kitchen cabinets are in good shape, but are drab and worn, consider applying a coat of paint and replace kitchen cabinet knobs as an alternative to completely replacing them. To freshen up your sink area, replace faucets.

One of the most used rooms in your home is the bathroom. You want to make this room a “room of impression”. It probably is the easiest rooms to update frequently without having to spend a lot of money. A few pictures, a new shower curtain, a coat of fresh paint, new hardware on cabinets, new towels, and a few throw rugs may be all that it takes to make a dramatic change. If you don’t have time to “clean” your home everyday, make this room a priority, as a clean bathroom gives unexpected guests the impression that the rest of your home is in spic and span shape as well.

In recent years, many homes have been built with great rooms that flow from the foyer to the living room, dining room, and kitchen, also referred to as an “Open Floor Plan” While most like the open airy feeling, some feel that they cannot achieve a ” cozy” feeling . A great way to divide this open space is by using Shoji screens (privacy screens) which come in a variety of colors and sizes, typically they are four feet tall and anywhere from two to four panels, so you can determine how much or little space you want to create with them.

There is no hard and fast rule to follow to create a home that will reflect and compliment your personality, Creative and unusual twists make your home unique. Don’t be afraid to try out different things, the end results can always be reversed or redone.

Last Wednesday I received a call from an agent that I did an inspection for a few months back. The client finally obtained possesion of the home, moved in and made some of the repairs noted on the report. In the process the spout (diverter) for the tub was sealed at the base because of a water leak that was noted on the report.  Unknowingly the homeowner sealed only the exterior of the diverter and was now forcing water into the wall and flooding the surrounding area. When I received the call water was seeping up through the tiles in the opposite room and the adjoining bathroom 5 feet away and through 2 walls away from the actual leak. After removing the caulking and the diverter I discovered the “O” ring used to seal the diverter had been damaged. I went to the auto parts store down the street and purchased a new ring for .30 cents. Thats right .30 cents! Thousands of dollars to homes occur daily from water problems. Most of these problems can be located and fixed with minimal effort or cost. Take a few minutes to dig around under your sinks, behind toilets, the refrigerator, your washing machine….These areas are seldom visited and many times leaks go undetected for some time before they are noticed. Sometimes with devestating results. If you do find a leak dry it up and then monitor it to try and diagnose its roots. If you cant make the repairs with confidence then call a professional. Remeber that I am always just a phone call away and I am anxious to help you in preserving your homes integrity.

Until next time…Happy Homing!