For most people, the new year signifies a fresh start and an opportunity to focus on new goals and initiatives. It’s especially a great time to get organized, freshen up your home and make changes that inspire you to be the best version of yourself in the year ahead. During the long, cold winter months, a great way to feel productive and stay occupied is by tackling a DIY home design project or two. This can easily revamp your home and make more exciting use of the space you already have.
Check out some of these cost-effective projects and tips that can update your space and help you fall in love with your home again.
1. Paint a Spare Room
You’d be pleasantly surprised to see how a couple of fresh coats of paint could change the entire look of a room. If you now work remotely and want to turn a room into an office or restyle a spare bedroom, you might want to change the paint color. Oftentimes, using lighter paint will give the illusion the room is bigger and brighter than it really is. Depending on which way the room faces, you should consider what paint color is best for your space.
This can be a quick and low-maintenance project if you don’t use the room for regular living space. All you’ll need is paint, rollers, a paintbrush or two, a drop cloth, a paint tray, and maybe some old clothes to wear. Painting can be a fun and relaxing activity with a little preparation. Throw on your favorite playlist and even ask a friend or your partner to help.
2. Create an Accent Wall
If you want to change the look and feel of a room without painting the entire thing, an accent wall is an excellent, trendy alternative. A recent popular interior design trend that’s included to create a modern farmhouse appeal in bathrooms, living rooms, bedrooms, and more is shiplap paneling. Introducing shiplap adds visual interest to a part of the wall or room that is typically overlooked. There are so many creative shiplap accent wall ideas that add life and dimension to any space of your choosing. Consider placing shiplap on a blank wall in your bathroom or behind your bed for a new look. You can hang mirrors, clocks, photos, or any of your favorite decor pieces on top of the shiplap wall to add your personal touch.
3. Add Shelving
Whether you’re in a small starter home, a condo, or a larger family home, everyone can benefit from more organized storage space. A great way to create better organization is to add shelving into areas where you have accumulated a lot of belongings. Think about what’s in your kitchen pantry, garage, and various cabinets. Installing custom shelving can truly make a difference and allow you to get your home more consistently organized. Once you have the shelves, you can get creative and add color-coordinated bins, labeled containers, or decorative baskets for easy access when you need to find something specific.
4. Replace Lighting Fixtures
Lighting is sometimes an easily neglected part of the design process. If you’re not aware of the different options for types of lighting fixtures available, you may not be able to fully transform the look of your space. Especially during the wintertime, you’ll want to make your home look comfortable and cozy whether you’re spending a snowy movie night in or hosting your friends and family for dinner.
Different rooms have varying functions. You may want to personalize lighting for each room if you’re dedicated to making the best appeal of all areas. When selecting the best lighting for your space, it’s helpful to review a guide that showcases the many lighting styles, how to calculate the proper voltage and types of lighting fixtures. The installation process will vary based on if you’re installing a fixture overhead or purchasing a standalone light, which is why it’s important to do your research ahead of time.
5. Touch Up Doors and Molding
An extremely cost-effective way to revitalize the appearance of your home is to repaint doors and molding. This could include anywhere there are scratches, peeling paint, or visible chips. An off-white color tends to be your best bet when it comes to your baseboard molding, however, it will require upkeep every couple of years. A medium-high gloss can allow you to clean the molding easier without having to repaint it every time you nick it with shoes or when you move furniture.
In addition, giving your doors a fresh coat of paint can make more of a difference than you may realize. Especially being front or main entrance that gets a lot of traffic, it’s likely fading without you even noticing. These small details can have a big impact to freshen up your home while helping your walls look cleaner too.
6. Refinish Worn-Down Furniture
Do you have a favorite piece of furniture, but it doesn’t seem to fit with your current aesthetic? Before getting rid of it, consider the ways that you might be able to refinish this piece to fit with your current home design. There are so many inspiring and simple ways to update your furniture which can make for a great side project to complete in your spare time. Re-staining or chalk painting and old cabinets, shelves, or tables are all great ways to upgrade and transform the look of your furniture without having to buy new. Take a look at some chalk painting basics to help you get started and ensure you have all the right materials. You can customize the look to appear more matte, shiny, rustic, or whatever fits the look you’re going for.
Hopefully, you’re feeling excited to get started on one or a few of these refreshing DIY home projects to keep you occupied and productive this winter season. Grab a friend or your partner and tackle a fun, affordable project that will upgrade your home and inspire you to keep reaching for your goals this new year.