Renovating your home can be an expensive job and this usually leads to many households updating one room at a time. However there are many simple ways of reducing the overall cost of your renovation that will also allow you to finish the job a lot quicker. If you are lucky enough to not have a maximum budget, take note anyway as some of these hacks may save you time as well as money.
Let’s start with your flooring options as this can make a huge difference to any home. If you are wanting a traditional appearance, many interior designers would suggest solid wood flooring. Real wood flooring looks fantastic, however solid wood can sometimes be expensive, especially when you compare it to the cheaper alternative. Engineered wood flooring would be the ideal replacement, it is cheaper and is more stable. Whereas solid wood flooring is solid wood throughout, the core of engineered wood flooring is manufactured using plywood and then topped with a wear layer of real wood. The product is cheaper as a plywood core is used, however more durable as the multiple layers of plywood naturally absorb any fluctuations in temperature or moisture. If you were wanting to save even more money, then laminate or vinyl flooring is always an option, however this would be sacrificing the quality of real wood.
Now the flooring is down let’s put something amazing on it. One of the easiest ways to save money can be with the installation cost. Many large companies that sell kitchens or bathroom suites will also charge installation costs if you are wanting this extra service, although it seems that they do this at a premium price. Some of the flat pack areas are easier to put together than you think if you are wanting to give it a go. If not then you could hire your own local DIYer who will be able to carry out the installation at a lower rate. Some companies also place delays on their installation, where as your own handy man is probably able to install your new kitchen without the delays.
A crafty idea that I have recently come across is the ability to decorate your old tiles. It can become very expensive to replace your wall or floor tiles in order to update them. Stencils are now available to allow you to decorate and paint your old tiles making them appear to be a brand new style. You do need a few materials and some time on your hands, however the stencils make your tiles look amazing.
This technique can also be used on your walls if you are wanting to save money on wallpaper. All you have to do is paint your wall in one shade, purchase a stencil and then stencil your walls using another shade of paint. It sounds simple, however the results are amazing and can save you an awful lot of time.
Here’s a video from April Wilkerson on how to install hard wood floors:
