After the considerable expense of buying a new home, you may be having to review your finances before making any costly renovations. But a lack of budget shouldn’t stop you from personalising your new home and making it feel more like your own.
Here are seven simple, cost-effective methods to show you how to refurbish a house on a budget.
Instead of thinking about what you can’t afford to fill your home with, consider what you could take away. In a world of Marie Kondo and timeless Scandinavian minimalism, less is more.
Try rearranging your furniture in a way that allows for more free space. Better yet, is there any bulky furniture you can part ways with? Try repainting rooms with affordable white emulsion – it allows more light to reflect around a room, which increases its perceived space.
Similarly, if your new home came with old, heavy curtains, consider taking them down to allow more natural light to spill into a room – adding once more to that open, light-filled feel.
As a final touch, any old mirror you have can be placed strategically to reflect this natural light and open the space just that little bit more.
When you buy a new home, the garden can seem an intimidating task. Luckily, this costs very little except your time. With a few cheap gardening tools, you can remove any weeds you see and get any excess overgrowth under control.
Grass seed is inexpensive, but requires some persistence and work to get growing. However, this is the most budget-friendly way to replant a garden and get it looking great.
You can even ask your neighbours for some offshoots of their plants to fill any bedding areas.
If your garden is limited in space, consider covering it with AstroTurf or decking – both of which may chip into any budget you have but will save you lots of money on garden maintenance in the long run.
Ceramic tiles are often chosen for homes because they’re durable and easy to clean.
However, surface glazing can be chipped or worn over time. Rather than having to replace the material, you can use tile paint to smarten any chips in the tiles and bring them back to life.
All you have to do is find the right colour of tile paint, clean the area with a tile cleaner and sponge then wait for it to dry before applying.
Now might not be the time for a full bathroom overhaul. However, outdated taps can be easily spruced up with a coat of metal-friendly paint.
The perfect choice for DIY on a budget, and in a colour of your choosing to help make it your own.
Homebuyers can try a brand like Rust-oleum, but be sure to use masking tape to cover the sink area and apply multiple thin coats to achieve the best coverage. For modern tastes, a neutral black colour is a great choice.
Light switches are a detail you may never consider until you’ve moved into your house and interact with them every single day. You’ll be touching your light switch regularly, and drawing attention to it as a result.
They can be easily replaced and made to suit your style for very little. You can either paint over them or buy affordable replacements.
Whether you’re looking to refresh furniture left behind by the previous owner, or bringing furniture with you and want to make it ‘feel’ different to your previous property, upcycling is a great and economic option.
Renovating a house on a budget means choosing affordable ways to make a big impact. A split-colour feature wall is the perfect way to transform a room and creates a focal point you can use to tie other elements together.
Split-colour walls can be achieved in a variety of ways – from using masking tape to create geometric shaped-designs through to simple two-tone designs where one colour stops midway through your wall.
Whichever design you opt for, make sure you consult the colour wheel to choose complementary or contrasting colours that don’t starkly conflict.
Refurbishing your new home is only one part of the house buying process. We’ve put together a handy collection of guides for all stages of the process – including everything from advice on how to improve your credit score through to the role of a solicitor in buying a house.
Want some personal mortgage advice? Book an appointment with one of our mortgage specialists who will be happy to help.