The 11 Best Kept Secret Renovations On A Budget For Every Home Owner

Home renovations on a budget can be insanely stressful. I am not penny pincher but I do want to make sure I am getting the best deal possible, especially when it comes to my home renovations! How do you know if your plans for your DIY projects are going to produce a good return?

Or may even be asking yourself, I want to renovate my house, where do I start? I have been there and can definitely help you get started. In this article, I have put together a list of the best renovations on a budget to get the best return on your investment.

This post is all about renovations on a budget.

Best Tips For Renovations On A Budget

Home renovations on a budget that make a big impact

1. Paint

Fresh paint on anything has to be the most budget friendly upgrade you can make to any space. A gallon of paint is $35 at Home Depot and you can literally get any color created for no additional charge. Not only does a fresh paint job just make a room feel bright and clean but a bold color choice can completely change the look.

This bathroom was in desperate need of a total refresh and once the basics were done, I picked this emerald green for an accent wall and it just made the bathroom pop! Go bold with your paint choices, it’s a super inexpensive DIY (and fix if you hate it).

2. Floors

Replacing the flooring will transform any space. Over the last decade, luxury vinyl plank (LVP) has taken over the market as a durable and affordable alternative to hardwood and tile. Most LVP can be self installed and purchased for $3 a square foot (I’ve gotten it even cheaper than that!).

This is LVP and it was installed by ME (can’t even believe I did that) and my husband in like a day. We did a 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom house that was 1,200 square feet in 12 hours. Super easy DIY and huge impact to your home, value and ROI.

3. Lighting

Adding lighting, changing old lighting and can lights are all a great investment. You want to use soft white light bulbs always. Like do not get this wrong and if you have great lighting but it’s fluorescent or too dark, swap out all your bulbs to the same soft white. These are the ones I literally use religiously in all 9 of my properties.

 

4. Countertops

Countertops are a controversial budget friendly renovation because they can be super expensive. However, the more I dove into budget friendly countertop options, the creativity of some people on the internet is truly amazing! I was able to uncover some great tips over my renovations that I will share with you today.

Butcher block

The best tip and most affordable countertop option out there is butcher block. Now, there are varying levels of wood quality but I have done the ones from IKEA and Lowe’s. IKEA has one that is literally less than $100 for a 6 foot slab and the Lowe’s one is less than $200 for a 6 foot slab. There are so many DIY install videos on Youtube you can research and do it in a day. Some people seal theirs and I have just left it raw in both houses and condition it every 6 months. It develops a lot of character but that is part of the fun!
This is the 6’ slab from Lowe’s. I have had these countertops in this unit since 2021 and have not had to sand or anything. They’re holding up super well!

This kitchen was completed in 2019 and has the IKEA butcher block countertops. They have held up pretty well and have some stains and burn marks from pots and pans but honestly, I love the character.

Quartz & Granite

Quartz and granite are just so beautiful and durable but tend to not be as budget friendly. I did find a way that saved me 50% of my total cost though on my Vista Airbnb project in 2021! It’s a little complex but hear me out.

When you’re to the countertop portion of your kitchen planning and visiting slab yards, most of these sales people are going to tell you that you will need 2 slabs for your fabricator to be able to make all the necessary cuts. Let me tell you, they don’t. Unless you’re doing a massive kitchen, you could get away with what they call an “orphan” slab. These are called “orphan” slabs because their buddy slab (sold in sets of 2) was broken.

Ask the sales person to show you all the “orphan” slabs and try to find one amongst these that will work for your space. Most of the time you’re going to get a bigger “orphan” slab with a natural stone (granite) than a quartz. I found one that was $2,400/slab marked down to $400!! Then I found a fabricator that was confident he could cut the countertop I needed out of that one slab.

A fabricator, at the time, was around $42-$45/square foot so I still paid $2,400 for the fabrication but I saved $2,000 on the slab. Here’s the final result!

5. Shower curtains

If you have an old bathroom with old shower doors, take those off and put up a beautiful shower curtain. It is such a cost effective way to hide a not so pretty tile job and then add a beautiful pattern to the space.

6. Windows

Windows are such a great way to upgrade any space. I know these are not necessarily cost effective but you can save money on your taxes by upgrading old windows and there are many cost effective ways to do this including just breaking up the project over a long period of time. In the first house flip my husband and I ever did, we literally had to gut the entire house but we found brand new windows on sale at a Lowe’s for $30 a piece. They were not the right size but since we were already gutting the house, we just rebuilt the walls to accommodate the new window sizes.

Check out this article on renovation mortgage information!

7. Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is always a great way to add value to your home. If you need to upgrade HVAC, windows, take out old appliances, these are going to directly correlate to the increased value and have a great ROI.

8. New appliances

Upgrading the appliances int the kitchen so they all match and are energy efficient are going to help your house appraise for more and be better for closing a potential buyer. You do not have to get super high end appliances for this to pay off just getting stainless steel and energy rated will do the trick for getting an excellent return on investment.

9. New fixtures

Putting new fixtures in like faucets, door knobs and cabinet pulls can really upgrade any space for next to nothing. Best part is that most of these are DIY projects that can be learned through a simple Youtube video if you’re super unsure of what you’re doing.

10. Landscaping

Landscaping has a huge impact for value. Buyers want to see a yard that is well kept and maintained but the curb appeal is often what makes them pull the trigger. A lot of times landscaping is sweat equity over more dollars put in. Unless you’re going to invest in hard scape, just keep the outside looking fresh and it will add a ton of value.

11. Kitchens & bathrooms

Like the old saying goes, kitchens and bathrooms sell a house. If you’re hesitant on where to start after all these tips, start in the kitchen and bathrooms. Whatever your goals are for your renovations, dollars spent here will see the greatest return.

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How to plan a home renovation

1. Understand your goals

A lot of times I tend to put the cart before the horse and start renovating without understanding my end goal. I have over improved properties that didn’t need it and designed other properties for my personal use that I turned into an Airbnb. Try your best to understand your goal for your property and that will help you make strategic investment decisions around your budget allocation.

2. Know your budget

Know your budget! I am terrible at this but trust me, it’s the only way you will be able to track your true return on investment. If you have a set number, you’ll be able to make strategic decision that will get you the best ROI for the goal you are trying to achieve.

3. Know your comps

Regardless if I’m selling or keeping the property (and I usually keep it) I always look at the comps in the area. This is going to inform your budget and where you should spend the dollars to see the best return because you’ll know what buyers are looking for in the area.

4. Nail the timeline

This is so crucial. You need to understand your timeline and hit it. If projects drag on, they will cost more money and take away from other projects in the future.

What home renovations have you done that made an impact on your home value? I would love to know in the comments!

This post was all about renovations on a budget.