How To Do Up Your Home On A Budget
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Buying a house is probably one of the most expensive things you will ever do. After years of saving for a deposit, house hunting and possibly quite a long time from having an offer accepted to finally getting the keys, you may now find you want to make a start on decorating and updating your property. Here are my tips for decorating on a budget.
How To Do Up Your Home On A Budget
Moving house can be very expensive, so you may find there’s not a lot left in the budget for buying materials to do up your house with. In this post, I am going to share my top tips for doing up your house on a tight budget. It’s an area I’m very familiar with – after moving into our first home we ripped out the whole of the living room and dining room and started completely from scratch! Below is our living room fireplace two weeks after we moved in.
1. Do the work yourself
Of course, it’s always going to be cheaper to the work yourself rather than getting in a painter or decorator to do it for you. If you’re unsure of how to do something online tutorials can be a fantastic learning resource and you might just find a whole new skill set you didn’t know you had.
For example, you might decide to learn how to lay your own wood flooring, affix coving yourself or even tile your own bathroom. And once you’ve learnt how to do these things, they are skills that can be used over and over again.
There are also lots of jobs that the whole family can get involved with too – older children could get involved with things like stripping wallpaper and teens could help with painting and furniture building.
I would always recommend getting a professional for big jobs such as plumbing and electrics!
2. Set A budget for the Big Stuff
Major refurbishments such as new Kitchens and Bathrooms or new Windows and Doors definitely don’t come cheap.
Budgeting for these, before you move, could mean being able to afford to get them sorted before or as soon as you move in. This could save major upheaval and disruption further down the line.
While having new windows and doors installed is a bit less disruptive than actual structural work, it can still be a huge expense, especially if all of your windows and doors need replacing.
That said, you might be surprised at the number of companies that offer cheap windows and having the front of the house done initially and the rest of the house done at a later date could be a great way to spread the cost.
3. Protect Your Home
If you’re doing a lot of work to your home, it’s worth making sure it’s well protected. Saving money on decorating is all very well but it’s important not to neglect doors, windows and other access points. Ensure locks are in good working condition and that all windows have easily accessible keys in case of emergency.
If you find you are missing a key or have any sticky locks, The Lock Boss can sort these problems for you at a very reasonable cost. It’s also the perfect time to check that fire alarms are in good working order.
4. Use What You Already Have
When we moved into our home, we initially ripped up all the carpets as the previous owners had cats and I’m allergic. Under the hallway carpet was the most beautiful Victorian tiled flooring – we couldn’t believe anyone would have wanted to cover it up! It took some elbow grease but it looks amazing now and saved us from having to replace the carpet with laminated as we had originally planned.
Window and Door Replacement might seem like it’s going to be expensive but there are ways to go about it on a budget. For example, if your double glazing has misted up, you may just need the seal replaced rather than the whole window.
It’s worth being really careful when taking things out of your house as much of it could be repurposed, reused or even resold.
5. Get Inspired For Free
If you’re struggling for inspiration or budget ideas for your home, Pinterest has an amazing array of and ideas – you can honestly get lost for hours looking! I also like to pop into DIY stores and pick up their magazines and paint sample booklets for ideas – much cheaper than buying pricey home magazines.
6. Upcycling & Freebies
Upcycling has become super trendy in recent years, and lots of furniture can be transformed with a little TLC.
For our living room, we bought a cheap second-hand chest and T.V unit and then paid a local upcycling company to repaint them for us so they matched.
Doing this cost less than buying new and was also more eco-friendly.
Scouring local Facebook selling pages can be a brilliant way to source furniture and other household items for free as often people can’t be bothered to get rid of them or take them to the tip.
There is also a website called freecycle where you can search for and source free items.
How To Get Free Garden Furniture
7. Find Budget Buys
If you don’t fancy upcycling or aren’t a fan of buying second hand there are plenty of places that offer beautiful homeware on a budget. My favourites are Home Bargains and Ikea.
Ikea is especially good for finding stylish, yet affordable storage solutions – in particular, their Kallax units are extremely popular.
It’s also worth looking out for discounted wallpaper and paints – although make sure you buy enough as these are often cheap due to being discontinued.
8. Take A Look At Reclamation Yards
Reclamation yards can be a fantastic source for various items you may need when doing up your home, especially if you’re going for a more vintage feel.
They usually have a huge array of items from kitchen tiles to railway sleepers and garden furniture to vintage taps and other fittings.
Of course, prices will vary depending on what you need and possibly where you are in the country. However, it’s always worth taking a look and is a really lovely way to spend an afternoon.
