Hoping to spruce up your house this weekend?
Check out these 6 quick-win home improvement projects for some ideas! Easy and affordable, each one has an unexpectedly huge payoff when it comes to improving how your home looks, feels, and functions.
Depending on what you’re replacing, combining some or all of these DIYs could even help boost the marketability of your home!
Quick Win #1: New Doorknobs
Even though you use them every day, it’s still strangely easy to overlook your doorknobs as an affordable home update. Think of them like jewelry … the same way a beautiful pair of earrings can bring an extra sparkle to your face, gorgeous new doorknobs can bring that extra sparkle to your home.
There is an endless variety of door knobs and levers from basic to luxurious, vintage to modern, boho to contemporary, you’re sure to find something that will make your home as unique as you are.
Quick Win #2: Switch Plates
A small update with a big style punch is as simple as turning a screwdriver. Layering texture and color is key to good design, which means switching your basic white switch plates (see what I did there?) with architectural plates just might be the missing piece you’ve been looking for that will transform your room from ordinary to extraordinary.
PRO TIP
Don’t let dingy, yellowed outlets distract from your beautiful new plates! It seems scary working with electricity, but even a first-timer can tackle this update. This easy to follow tutorial from The Home Depot will walk you through step by step.
Quick Win #3: Peel & Stick Floors
This isn’t your grandmother’s laminate! Today’s designer selections are impressively high quality, easy to install and maintain, and come in tons of cute patterns and colors.
We bought this self-stick laminate in Black Obsidian the day we closed on our home, installing it in the laundry room that also serves as the entrance from the garage. We opted for a grey grout designed specifically for vinyl tile and put it right over the old 90s sheet vinyl. I was rather aggressively warned by people who thought they knew better that it was going to pop right back up because it’s in a high traffic area, but after 6 months of daily foot traffic it looks just as good as the day it went in!
Quick Win #4: Pops of Greenery
No need to go overboard here. It doesn’t take many! Just one or two carefully chosen plants can change the feel of a room. Country Living has 15 unique suggestions for houseplants that would work in any part of your home.
Caring for plants not your thing? Modern silk plants are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Ain’t no shame in this fake game!
PRO TIP
Here’s an opportunity to have tons of fun with color and texture that doesn’t require a long term committment or a lot of work! Don’t be shy about mixing tall cacti with a fiddle leaf fig, grouping brightly colored pots with neutral baskets, or hanging some from the ceiling with others on the ground.
Quick Win #5: Light It Up
Layering the light in a room through multiple illumination sources is the most flattering for both people and furnishings (no harsh shadows or sickly color cast) and creates a more comfortable environment to work, play, and live in.
Aim for these 3 light sources in every room (yes, even the bathroom) –
Ambient – Ambient lighting is the general lighting throughout the room that might come from a flush mount in the hallway, an entry way chandelier, or pot lights in the kitchen.
Accent Lighting – Accent lighting highlights special features of the room such as artwork, a curio cabinet, or a fireplace mantel.
Task Lighting – Task lighting provides focused light for specific tasks such as a table lamp for reading or undercabinet lights to make sure you can see your fingers while chopping that onion for dinner.
This short YouTube video by Collingwood Lighting offers an excellent demonstration on the impact that layered lighting makes on the feel of the room.
PRO TIP
Did you know that the bulbs you choose for your lighting can affect how colors appear? Don’t be afraid to experiment until you find what you like. You are allowed to return light bulbs 😉
Quick Win #6: Paint
Whether you want a subtle adjustment or a dramatic change, paint is the single most effective way to transform your home easily and affordably.
Don’t be afraid of color! You can always change it if you don’t like it (I know. Easy for me to say, right?).
I found this fun GIF on Home Stratosphere that shows the same room in 17 different paint colors! Keep scrolling down the page for endless color inspiration!
Share Your Weekend Project!
If you pick up any of these projects, I would love to see your before and afters! Leave a comment or if you’d prefer to keep it between us girls, shoot me an email!
I’d love to hear from you!
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