6 DIY Home Improvement Projects for the New Year
Ahhh New Year’s resolutions. We know we’re going to give them up by February (at the latest) so why do we make them every year? I’ve got a better idea. Instead of resolving to keep the house clean for an entire year or make a homemade dinner four nights a week or go to the gym 3 times a day…why not tackle a one time project? Spend a weekend sprucing up a room or maybe just a corner. It’ll be done before the Christmas magic wears off, and you’ll enjoy the change all year long. Here are a couple weekend projects that you can do without calling your contractor.
1. Paint a Room or Accent Wall
Add a pop of color to a drab room, change the mood of an unused room, or touch up the paint in a high traffic area for a fresh clean feel. Never painted a room before? Take a trip to your local paint store and ask questions. Don’t be afraid to buy several small quart cans and paint swatches onto the wall so you can see how it looks at different times of day. Here are some great tips to help you out: How to Paint a Room
2. Give Your Cabinets a Facelift
Sometimes, rather than spending tons of money replacing certain parts of the interior, just refurbishing or deep cleaning an area can completely change the appearance. Spa treatments for your cabinets are a great way to update your kitchen without spending much. Check out our blog on the subject
3. Get Organized
Sometimes your home is like a gorgeous butterfly waiting to blossom from its cocoon of accumulated stuff and downright junk. Setting aside a weekend to get organized is a wonderful way to simplify your whole life. I love this book by Tsh Oxenreider (I promise I’ve actually read it), or if you want a quicker how to, check out this blog by one of my favorite interior decorating bloggers.
4. Put Up Unique Wallpaper
Wait, you say, isn’t wallpaper a decorating faux-pas??? Now I wouldn’t advise you to stick up a busy pattern all over the house, but there are some new wallpapers out there that are very chic. And wallpaper itself is pushing back onto the design scene. It’s a bold, but edgy touch. Many of these “new wallpapers” would make amazing accent walls. There are wallpapers with texture, wallpapers with retro patters, metalic wallpapers, and if you like your home to have an element of deception/fun: trompe l’oeil wallpapers!
5. Update Your Stairs
Why not spruce up that second trip upstairs because you the first time you forgot what you actually went up for? Here’s a great how-to on getting this high-traffic area feeling fresh again: Updating a Staircase
6. Create a Decorative Table to Spice Up the Room
You were wondering how I was going to weave granite into this marvelous list of inspirational home improvement how-to’s, weren’t you?
Here are the elements of my table that’s on it’s way (I wanted to get this up for the new year, but this is actually my new year project):
- This edgy little end table I got as a hand-me-down
Table from Target
- My favorite granite of all time, Marinace, on all three shelves
Marinace Granite
- With a 3/4″ Beveled Edge
3/4" Beveled Edge
- The top shelf will have a stainless steel desk lamp,
since this really is my reading table
Stainless Steel Reading Lamp
- On the second shelf I’ll stack some of my antique books
Antique Books
- And next to the lamp perhaps a ceramic bowl for pens
(I must have those on hand at all times while reading!)
Ceramic Bowl
I’ll definitely post a picture when it’s done. Meanwhile…
Here’s to a lovely New Year’s Eve, reasonable resolutions, and gorgeous homes!
See you around,
