Is your home in dire need of a makeover? Don’t worry about your budget anymore. Home improvement doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg; In fact, if you have the right tools and the right DIY home ideas, you can transform your home yourself. Why hire expensive contractors when you can get what you want and save money at the same time? Here’s a room-by-room guide to creating your own home.
Meeting room:
First, decide if you need to replace the furniture. It’s a huge change, so you may need to change the rest of the decor around it. If you’re keeping your furniture, create a new look with new upholstery or a beautiful cover. Carry the design around the room by repeating it on rugs, carpets, curtains and other room fabrics.
Kitchen:
Kitchen design is all about combining style and function. Start by putting away the basics: sink, fridge and stove. Make sure they are all within easy reach of each other. Then you can simply change the colors or update the lighting. Task lighting and pendant lamps give the room an instantly modern feel.
Water cycle:
Over the years, bathrooms have evolved from basic amenities to luxurious places to relax and unwind. The best way to create a bathroom is to add luxury elements such as dramatic lighting, rich tiles or a new sink. Look for new building materials – most of them are very durable and specially designed for wet bathroom environments.
Bedroom:
Your personal style should be your guide when it comes to bedroom design. The easiest way to do this is to use your favorite color as the dominant color. If the shade is too strong, consider painting two walls with it and using a lighter, softer color for the other two walls. Fill a shelf (or an entire wall if you prefer) with your favorite things – photos, art, memorabilia, whatever suits you best.
Basement:
Often your first decision will be what you will use in your basement. Do you want a home cinema, library or entertainment room? A theme that makes decorating easier also helps. Be sure to leave ventilation as basements tend to be narrow and damp.
If you hire a design firm, be sure to let them know that you want to receive bids from other subcontractors and don’t commit to using them on the job. This will potentially affect the price of the original plans and also ensure that when you receive the original design, the prints are actually your property to keep and not the property of the design/build company.
Once you have the initial plans drawn up and armed with the knowledge that what you are planning will be zoned and fit within the footprint of your new addition, you can then take those initial plans to your local lumber mill for material pricing. Make about 10 or more copies and you can give them to contractors like electrical, plumbing, HVAC, masonry, roofing, etc. Once you’ve collected all the prices, you’ll know if you can afford them. So far, all that has been spent is money for the initial plans and your time. Now you can go to the bank with a specific number and papers to back up. At the bank approval stage, it would be wise to write a complete project schedule, including start and end dates for all the various companies involved during construction. The average addition should take at least three months from start to finish, but maybe twice as long if the interior of an existing home is being remodeled. Get help from home improvement tipsandfill it with things that contribute to the purpose of the room.
