Often, the best home remodeling ideas are easy to do and inexpensive. Paint, new fixtures, and thoughtful re-organization figure heavily into many of these ideas. A few dollars for a self-installed thermostat saves hundreds in the long run. Brick and cabinets can be painted. Or you can spend a bit more for a pantry unit that wraps around your refrigerator or for an all-out bathroom makeover with a frameless glass shower and a drop-in bathtub. A single non-load-bearing divider wall cuts the large closet in half and turns it into two smaller closets, half serving one bedroom and the other half for the bedroom on the other side of the wall. By taking down that middle wall, she instantly doubled her closet space. Double-the-Size Closet Makeover from Ramshackle Glam Except for being a place to drop the mail and set down groceries, this kitchen island had no redeeming qualities, nothing to draw people to it. On top of it all, the dark kitchen cabinets and pendant lights made this outdated kitchen feel gloomy. San Diego builder and designer Murray Lampert was tasked with turning this kitchen around and making it a showpiece. The cook’s needs, too, are addressed with a sink installed in the kitchen island. Dated pendant lights have been stripped away in favor of unobtrusive recessed lights. And clean lines are preserved with the counter-depth side-by-side refrigerator. But looks count for nothing when it comes to saving money. Manual thermostats are notorious energy- and money-wasters because they rely on you to physically adjust the temperature. If you’ve ever forgotten to turn down the thermostat before heading out to work or for a long day trip, you’ll know what it’s like to have your HVAC system expensively pump heated air into an unused home. These digital smart thermostats can be programmed to turn your heating or cooling system on or off at specific times throughout the day and night. Most have a holiday mode, which allows you to reduce the need for the HVAC system during long periods of absence. Second, by painting over that red wall color to match the ceiling color, the eye is now encouraged to view the room as higher than it really is. Eliminating these horizon lines is a surefire way to promote height visuals. The light is a Ganador 9-Light Shaded Chandelier. Family Room Reorganization from Driven by Decor By wrapping cabinets and pantries around the fridge, the appliance melts away—far less noticeable than if it were a freestanding unit. Fridge Wrapped in Pantry From Eating Bird Food Wall cabinets definitely have great utility. Items are right there, within arm’s reach. And wall cabinets’ doors hide items that are less than attractive. Yet wall cabinets can loom over your work area, casting a shadow and generally creating a ponderous look. The owner cautions that it’s a move to be made with great thought, though. Be sure that you already have storage in place for items that will lose their home. Whatever ends up on the open shelves will be in full display to anyone who walks by. Another idea is simply to thin out much of the unused, unloved junk from the wall cabinets, reducing the need for alternate storage. Kitchen Open Shelving From The DIY Playbook But what about when you have brick so dated and unattractive that you can’t even stand looking at it? For this homeowner, that was the case. Plus, the sheer size of the fireplace only made things worse. Painted White Fireplace From House of the Hepworths In this bathroom, the yellow wall was garish and dirty, and the cabinets were chipped. Due to the size of the bathroom, this nook could never be enlarged. Still, it needed some decorative help. Bathroom Nook Remodel From Bigger Than the Three of Us Patios are central gathering points. They bring friends and family together in the great outdoors for barbecues, drinks, dog dates, or whatever your heart desires. But when the patio is far from beautiful and overrun with neglected plants, no one wants to be there. Patio Remodel From Pretty Prudent Just one item from before remains: the bar cart. What really makes this refurbished dining room work, though, is the introduction of a focal point: the statement chandelier. Dining Room Makeover From Sugar and Cloth To cater to today’s needs, she also added a frameless glass shower. Frameless glass enclosures make bathrooms feel larger and less imposing. Vintage Bathroom Remodel From Homebody in Motion Given the high cost of kitchen cabinets, removal and replacement were out of the question. Even two low-cost solutions, ready-to-assemble (RTA) cabinets and cabinet refacing, can be out of reach for many homeowners’ budgets. But there is one solution that is very inexpensive. Painting leaves structurally sound cabinets in place and is considered eco-friendly since it reduces items sent to the landfill to zero. Avoid using the type of standard interior acrylic-latex paint that you might use on walls. Instead, pick a cabinet paint that gives you long-lasting durability. Painted Kitchen Cabinets From Place of My Taste
