Make Your Home Look Elegant Without Spending a Fortune

Make Your Home Look Elegant Without Spending a Fortune

Having a high-end looking home isn’t easy. Usually, it means you have to spend a lot in order to make your home look exactly how you want it. But what if we told you that you don’t need to spend a fortune in order to make your home look elegant? We came up with 5 tips for doing this that you simply can’t ignore.

Go for hardwood flooring

Carpets may seem like a more comfortable option but in order to make your home look elegant, going for hardwood flooring is a much better idea. Luckily, quality hardwood flooring doesn’t really need to be extremely expensive. In fact, you can find hardwood that is very cheap. However, bear in mind that some materials require you to spend more. Still, there’s no need to worry as hardwood is a long-term investment that’s guaranteed to pay off.

Choose the right colors

When designing a home, people often struggle to choose the paint color they want to go for. Still, if you want your home to look elegant, there are certain color palettes that can give it an instant elegance boost. For instance, a combination of bold and dramatic colors is something you just can’t go wrong with when looking for elegance. For example, a combination of black and white is often used when designing elegant homes. What’s so great about the paint is that it can make your home more stylish without having to spend a lot of money.

Think about the lighting

What kind of lighting your decide to go for can have a huge effect on how elegant your home looks. Ideally, you’ll be able to let in as much sunlight as possible. Natural light has the power to make almost any space seem larger and more elegant. That being said, you should consider the idea of installing as many new windows as possible. However, you probably don’t want sunlight entering your home all day long and that’s why you should get shutters that can also add style to your home.

Keep it clean and uncluttered

Here’s a tip that doesn’t require you to spend any money at all. In order for your home to look elegant, you just need to make sure it’s clean and remove all the clutter from it. In order to do this, you need to clean, dust and vacuum your home on a weekly basis. When it comes to clutter, you should think about adding more storage to your home and keeping your clutter there. You can also think if there’s something in your home you can give away or sell online.

Get a lot of pillows

Pillows in your living room serve two purposes. Firstly, they help you maximize the elegance factor inside of your home. If this is what you’re aiming at, opting for large and overstuffed pillows is a good idea. Also, it’s recommended that you don’t skimp on pillow inserts. Besides making your home look elegant, living room pillows can also help you add comfort to your home. If you go for pillows that are large enough, you and your guests will also be able to sit and rest on them.

Once all the work is finished, you might just find yourself surprised by how easy it is to create a home that looks and feels elegant even when you’re designing it on a budget. Also, don’t forget to keep looking for some new ways you can add elegance to your home with.

Guest Contributor, Amelia Atkins 

Hidden Costs of a House Renovation

How to avoid hidden costs of house renovation

Every now and then, your home is in need of an update. Whether it’s a simple repair in the bathroom or a complete kitchen makeover, home renovations can amount to a sizable sum. However, with careful planning and a detailed approach, you can renovate your home without breaking the bank.

Start by creating a plan and a budget

It’s not uncommon for home renovations to cost more than you’ve expected. This typically occurs because homeowners didn’t really take everything into consideration. Therefore, you should avoid making this mistake and start planning your home renovation on time and in detail. You should make a list of all the necessary materials you’ll need, determine different stages of renovation and try to come up with an efficient approach. You should also set up certain deadlines to prevent any unnecessary delays.
Furthermore, you should definitely set a budget for your renovation. This will prevent you from spending more than you can afford. When doing so, make sure to add around 20 per cent for unplanned costs.

Decide whether to DIY

Hiring contractors and architects isn’t only expensive, but also time-consuming and tiring. However, you should evaluate your skills and experience realistically and determine whether you should DIY or call a pro. If you already have some experience in home renovations, or you’re apt at design or construction, you can probably take on a range of renovation projects. However, if you have no experience in the field whatsoever, it’s better to call the experts.

Invest in quality projects

The most profitable home renovations are the ones that will help you enhance the value of your property, make your living space more comfortable and provide your home with timeless appeal. You should definitely steer clear of passing fads and trends because they are a waste of money. Instead, make sure to invest in high-quality materials, green improvements, projects that will enhance the comfort of your home, such as better insulation, or remodels of your home’s exterior. Also, if you’re currently living in a home that was built before 1990’s, it is strongly advised that you hire asbestos clearance professionals. Asbestos was once one of the most commonly used building materials. However, it was eventually found out that prolonged exposure to this hazard may cause a variety of serious health problems, including cancer.

Find opportunities for increased savings

Renovating your home will definitely cost you some money, but there are still opportunities to cut your expenses. For instance, you should take some time to shop around, find great deals and even discover some discounts. Researching your options will allow you to compare prices and find offers that fit into your budget limits.
You should also consider purchasing used and recycled materials, or repurposing your old materials. This solution is both budget- and eco-friendly, so it’s definitely one of the best options. You can repurpose old slates, bricks, wood and even furniture pieces.

Update your roof

If you’ve noticed some missing shingles or other roof problems, you should definitely give your roof an uplift. Not only will this project boost your home’s curb appeal, but it will also help you prevent other serious problems that may cost you even more later on. You don’t even have to go with complete re-roofing, but opt for partial one and change only the damaged parts. You can save even more by finding a low-cost scaffolding hire company that can rent you all the necessary equipment. This is also advisable if your own equipment isn’t sturdy enough – safety is the number one priority.

Opt for green improvements

When renovating your home, you can go with eco-friendly and sustainable upgrades that will provide you with numerous benefits. Energy efficient installations are a popular choice because they can help you save money on electricity in the long run. You can also go with other simple green improvements, such as installing LED lighting, low-flow toilets and shower heads, etc. Designing a lush green wall is another beautiful project that will provide you with numerous benefits, including improved insulation, better air quality and an infinitely charming look. Furthermore, this mesmerizing addition will fill your home with a sense of serenity and tranquility. If you want to spend a bit more, you can install an energy efficient water heater, a sustainable heating system or an entire renewable energy system. Although these projects may require a bit more money, they are an investment worth making.

Style up your kitchen or bathroom

Modern and functional kitchens and bathrooms can increase the value of your home significantly. The best part is the fact that you don’t even have to go with complete remodels. Instead, you should implement minor changes that will enhance the appeal and functionality of your bathroom and kitchen. Replacing the hardware, painting the walls, introducing more storage solutions or updating the floors can actually bring a higher return on your investment.

With a detailed and carefully planned renovation approach, you’ll be able to remodel your home without spending a fortune. Furthermore, you’ll even be able to undertake projects that will help you increase your savings in the long run.

Guest Contributor, Lucas Bergman

Lucas is a real estate agent and renewable energy consultant with many hobbies and passions, but above all, he enjoys the most spending time with his wife – Mara. He also likes Lord of the Rings. He, actually, very much likes Lord of the Rings. He is a regular contributor at smoothdecorator.com

Points To Ponder While Opting For House Renovation Plumbing

Points to Ponder While Opting for House Renovation Plumbing

House renovation can get more than scary if it is not done with thorough preparation and careful planning. All those DIY projects available online now a day may not give you expected results when done single-handedly. In the end, you will realize it would have been better if you had considered expert’s advice in the matter that is as big as house renovations. Bathroom, kitchen and living room are the most essential parts of your beautiful house that need special touch and personal care to achieve a dream-come-true design.

However, most of the time bathroom is often gets a blind eye from homeowners who tend to give much importance to enhancing the look and feel of living room. They are forgetting that house renovation plumbing is the job that eventually adds elegance and charisma to your house. Fixing up a bathroom, they don’t consider, is not just some makeover effort. A lot of thinking and practical feasibility go into creating the perfect shape of your bathroom especially if you are a first timer.

Here we have compiled some of the significant points of how to approach the idea of bathroom renovations that entail meticulous side of plumbing endeavors.

Plan for the long-term future

Budget and time are the most important aspects of any home renovation project. So before you set eyes on a specific bathroom design, you need to do your research in advance. To begin with, you need to know what exactly you want out of the entire project and determine what areas of your house need plumbing efforts.

Knowing what you want will help you avoid all the impractical ideas and keep overall cost of house renovation plumbing to an optimal level. Blueprints will come in handy to find out all about water flow system in your house. If things get complicated, you may ask a professional plumber to figure it out for you.

Bathroom features you desire

Some bathroom features are not suitable for homeowners living a unique lifestyle. For instance, you may need a bigger water heater if you have installed more accessories with multiple water outlets like a big soaking tub and multi-head shower.

Having people who use wheelchair to move around again generates special needs for you. You can increase the accessibility of bathroom for them and optimize it to their limited mobility. Tub not used for a long time can be removed to place a pleasant shower, creating more bathroom space.

Here comes the plumbing project

There are certain things that only strike your mind when the project of house renovation plumbing begins such as budget flexibility, labor cost, materials and scope of work expanding a little more than predicted.

To optimize your expenses on the plumbing project, you should reserve minimum 10% of your overall budget to meet unknown design implementations. Certain structural changes and creativity will eat a little more of your budget slice, which will not be regrettable considering the fact that renovation plumbing initiative is executed to last for 30-50 years.

How a licensed plumber is your fruitful resort

If your house hails from the classic era of 50’s or 60’s, you should better think of changing the old plumbing. Old pipes might have degraded or eroded, which increases the chance of subtle damages, blockages or water leaks.

No matter how knowledgeable you are with plumbing process and tools, you can’t still do what a licensed plumber can for your house. They can:

·       Save you a lot of money by performing precise techniques

·       Do more than just sealing, patching and drilling

·       Use their tools skillfully, giving you exact solution

·       Diagnose the problem efficiently with minimal disruption

·       Handle the whole plumbing with fast turnaround time

·       Recommend you modern house renovation plumbing ideas

Quote it right

Low-price bid may sound tempting, but in the end as you go along the path of home renovation, you will realize it might turn out to be a pricy deal. If the existing plumbing problems are not fixed by low-cost plumber, you will have to be prepared to pay more for complicated renovation situations.

After all, there is also the factor of time to consider. If plumbing takes two or more revisions and much efforts are wasted in focusing on just one aspect of renovation, you will end up not being able to perfect other equally essential elements of grand house renovation.

Guest Contributor, Amelie Lawrence