Ways to Remodel Homes on a Budget

Go Room by Room

• It's a good idea to change or upgrade something in each room. This way, you can make the whole house feel new. For example, if you add a new bath vanity and paint the walls a different color, you can enhance a bathroom. By dressing up a kitchen island with new tile and a pot rack overhead, you can give the kitchen new life.

Add Something New

• Make a list of what's tired-looking in each room. For example, if a family room has old carpet or old curtains, put this on the list. Look for carpet on sale in a different color, and buy new plantation blinds at a close-out sale at a home improvement store. If a teenager's bedroom is full of clutter, sketch a plan to build a new wall storage unit with closable doors and shelving. Buy materials to build the unit by keeping your eye on products marked down at local stores.

Use Paint to Add Appeal

• Keep in mind that paint makes a big difference. Paint your front entry and living room a light taupe with stark white wooden trim, for example. Add black tables and black-framed prints on the wall to complement the new painted walls. Paint one kitchen wall lime green and add hunter green accessories to the room. By changing the trim on your brick home from white to pale yellow, you can make a huge difference. You can paint the shutters a different color, such as dark brown, as well.

Give Furnishings a Lift

• Furniture changes can make a big difference. For instance, if you have lots of odd pieces of furniture in a guest bedroom, paint all of the pieces black. Buy paint that has primer already in the mix to make the job easier. Dress up the furniture with inexpensive throw rugs and bright-colored pillows. Take all clutter out of the room for a neat look. Rearrange the furniture in certain areas of the house to make things look different.

Install Inexpensive Flooring

• Use vinyl flooring to spruce up bathrooms and the kitchen. By adding pale gold vinyl flooring to a kitchen, you can make the space seem clean and new. Pale brown vinyl flooring can make a black and white bathroom look upscale. Look for ways to improve a back entry or laundry room with new white vinyl flooring with tiny accent designs in black or hunter green.