From your front door to your basement, every single part of your home requires a certain amount of maintenance and upkeep. However, unfortunately, most of us can either not take time out of our daily lives to tend to these matters of home improvement or simply don’t have the budget for such DIY home projects.
Interestingly enough, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to spruce up your place. All you need is some basic material and enough motivation to take on a few affordable home improvement ideas. If the prospect of making some significant changes to your home feels a little overwhelming, you can always take things one weekend at a time.
Here are a few weekend DIY house project ideas that won’t be too heavy on your pocket and completely change the look of your home.
1. Give Your Front Door A Face-Lift
Despite being the first thing people notice when they visit your house, front doors are rarely shown any love. So, if you are hoping to tackle any DIY projects for home improvement this weekend, start by revamping your front door with a fresh coat of paint. It’s up to you whether you just want to do a little touch-up or completely change things up, but you need to make sure of a few things.
Firstly, check the weather forecast. If it’s supposed to rain or remain cloudy over the weekend, postpone your home improvement project until it gets a little sunnier. It would allow your paint to dry quicker so you can do a second coat if needed. Secondly, decide on what kind of paint you want to use. If you have a metal gate, using oil-based paints might be a better idea. However, they take much longer to dry and you would need a high-quality paintbrush for its application.
Meanwhile, if you’re planning to paint a wooden door, you can choose between oil-based or latex-based paints and select a primer accordingly. Make sure the primer has completely dried before you begin painting the surface. For smaller doors inside the house, you can even take them off the frame to make the job easier. However, only do that if you know you’ll be able to perfectly reattach it as well.
While you’re at it, also consider replacing your door knobs or handles for a completely new look.
2. Upgrade Your Cabinets
The cabinets in your kitchen and the shelves in your living room require regular upkeep as well. If you have open shelving, which is perfect for smaller rooms, paint the inside of the shelf in striking colours to create a contrast with the rest of your colour palette. However, in case you feel like painting the back wall is too big of a commitment or if it might clash with the rest of your décor, try accenting other parts of the shelf with a fresh coat of paint to instantly upgrade its entire look.
As for regular cabinets, if the paint doesn’t appear chipped or if the lamination seems perfectly fine, thoroughly clean the dirt and grime off the surface and use varnish or polish to give them a brand new shine. You can even swap the boring old handles on your drawers and cabinets with new ones in different shapes and colours. Purchase something that instantly catches your eye as soon as you enter the room.
The best thing about such easy DIY ideas is that they’re pretty cheap and doesn’t require a lot of hard work. Even if you are a beginner, this particular weekend project won’t be very difficult to take care of.
3. Add Moulding To Your Walls
Beautiful moulding can turn boring, old walls into a masterpiece. The key here is to think beyond adding trim to ceilings and floors, as you can take things up a notch by adding moulding to your wall and making your room reminiscent of a Parisian apartment.
You can do a lot here. For starters, you can use multiple bands of moulding in a room for a dramatic effect or use narrow strips to create eye-catching geometric shapes. This panelled look will instantly upgrade your dining and living rooms while making your décor look modern and luxurious. Moreover, this weekend home improvement idea is pretty budget-friendly.
For a better effect, you can paint your trims in colours other than classic white in order to add some visual interest and depth to the room. However, if you already have dark coloured walls, traditional white moulding might be your best bet.
This is among those DIY ideas that are perfect for the weekend. However, if you think you can’t complete the task in two days, you can always do it one room at a time.
4. Make A Centerpiece For Your Table
A centrepiece on your dining or living room table can instantly brighten up the room and make your décor look much more elegant. Depending on the theme of your home or the season, you need eye-catching centrepieces to serve as focal points for each room.
You can use anything as your centrepiece. For instance, if you love flowers, you can make a floral arrangement for your dining table; or if you don’t want to go through the hassle of picking up dried petals, you can just display a few small potted plants for a cleaner look. One of the easiest DIY centrepiece ideas is to buy a trendy tray that fits your décor and fill it with miscellaneous items – like scented candles, scent diffuser, a delicate flower case and other knick-knacks. Moreover, you can even upgrade your tray according to different seasons and holidays.
Needless to say, this is one of the easiest DIY projects for your home.
5. Give New Life To Your Entryway
After entering your home, your entryway is the first thing that people see. Unfortunately, in most flats and smaller houses, entryways are rather cramped. So, if you want to spend your weekend giving your home a new look, first work on this particular area. If it doesn’t receive much natural light, make sure to install a new light fixture or a pendant light to brighten it up.
Next, you can add a small console table on one side with a small bowl to hold keys, maybe a few succulents and other decorative pieces. If there is not enough space to add in a console, invest in some statement wall art or put up a large mirror to create the illusion of a bigger space.
Re-painting the entryway or putting up a new wallpaper is another way to revamp this area, especially if the walls are losing their colour or look dirty. This is one of those easy DIY ideas for house renovation that might take up a good chunk of your weekend, but will have a huge impact on your overall décor.
6. Show Some Love To Your Staircase
This home improvement hack may look a little expensive, but it is really budget-friendly. If your stairs aren’t already carpeted, you can try using a stair runner in bright hues and geometric patterns. It will not only look elegant but also add texture to your house. However, make sure to secure it properly to the stairs to avoid any unfortunate slipping accidents.
You can also use decorative decals to give your staircase a complete makeover. If you can’t afford to purchase actual tiles at the moment, invest in peel-and-stick tiles to give a mosaic effect to your staircase. If runners and carpets aren’t your things, repainting the handrail and the treads might also be a good idea. However, don’t forget to seal the paint with a coat of varnish to secure the colour once you’re done.
7. Fix Scratched Wooden Furniture
Contrary to popular belief, you can easily fix scratches on wooden furniture by using common household items. This affordabel home improvement project requires a bit of hard work, but if you don’t want your coffee table to look downright shabby, you need to take some time out to cover up these minor imperfections.
First of all, make sure if the surface of your furniture is actually scratched or if it’s just a scratch in the wax buildup on the furniture. The easiest way to figure this out is by running your finger on the scratch mark. If you don’t feel an abrasion, you don’t need to worry and just remove the wax buildup. However, if you can feel the nick, you can use walnuts to fix it. Just take a walnut and rub the meaty side in the direction of the grain. Do this until the oil from the nut sinks into the wood and the scratch vanishes.
You can even use crayons, oil paint and charcoal powder to cover up minor imperfections, depending on the colour of your furniture. This home improvement idea is the perfect home renovation project for the weekend.
8. Brighten Up Your Home
As far as the beginner home improvement projects go, this one is pretty simple. Homes that don’t receive a lot of natural light tend to look a little gloomy and cramped. It doesn’t matter how much time and effort you put into your décor choices, your home won’t look nice if the lighting is bad. An easy way to brighten up your house is to replace current light bulbs with new, LED ones that are not only several times brighter but would also help you cut down on the electricity bill.
If installing new light fixtures on your walls is not possible for some reason, invest in tall floor lamps and place them in traditionally dark corners of the house. You can also buy hanging pendant lights in different shapes and sizes to add an artistic touch to your décor. Using mirrors directly in front of light source also help to amplify the light and make the room look brighter.
9. Install New Fixtures In Your Bathroom
Your bathroom might look clean and tidy, but something small like replacing the faucet can make a huge difference. Of course, renovating an entire bathroom is not an option for everyone. However, you can put some extra effort into cleaning the tiles and filling the missing grout for a tidier look. Swap your old fixtures with new shiny ones and upgrade the lighting. If your budget allows, go for gilded faucets for a more expensive look.
Replacing your showerhead might also be a good idea. If there is an empty corner in your bathroom, you can fill it up with open shelves that would both increase the storage space and add depth to your space. You can fill these shelves with wicker baskets to hold your towels and other accessories. If you want to make your bathroom feel like a spa, buy some scented candles and place a plant or two on an empty surface to complete the look.
10. Tend To Your Garden Or Start One
Spending some time sifting through weeds and mowing overgrown grass might be one of the most relaxing outdoor weekend project ideas. After a long and tiring weekend, spending some time outside walking in the grass is actually good for your health. If you love gardening and growing things, dedicate your weekend to tending to the plants and flowers in your backyard.
If you don’t have a garden but have enough space to start one, you might as well do that over the weekend. You can simply start off with buying some potted plants if you have no prior experience. If there is a plant nursery near your place, visit it to learn more about which plants would thrive in current weather and how often you are supposed to water them.
