With shelter-in-place orders set in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, you’re probably finding yourself spending more time in your home than you ever have before. Due to COVID-19, millions of Americans are now either unemployed, facing reduced hours, or working from home. During these tough times, the last thing you want is for the place you spend most of your day to be unwelcoming.
While times may be tough, there are plenty of easy home improvement projects you can tackle over a weekend to create a more comfortable living room, a more productive home office, or a more relaxing bedroom. To help you get started, take a look at these three easy home improvement projects that you can start right away.
1. Organize your entryway
As they say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The first area of your home guests will see is your entryway. If it’s cluttered with shoes, bags, dirt, and hats, it can be easy for them to trip and get overwhelmed—and the same goes for you and your family.
To bring your entryway up to speed, all you need is a few hours and staple pieces, and it will be good to go. Some ideas to help freshen up your entryway include:
- A welcome mat for your friends and family to wipe their shoes.
- A bench that makes putting on and taking off shoes a breeze
- Baskets or bins to hide underneath your bench to reduce clutter and organize shoes
- Hooks or a coat rack to hang jackets, sweatshirt, and hats
- Floor plants to liven up the space and add a pop of color
These are just some of the fast and affordable ways to revamp your entryway. The key to creating a welcoming entryway is organization, and these simple home upgrade projects are perfect for keeping everyday items in the right place.
2. Create a board and batten wall
Are you getting bored with your space? Maybe your bedroom is lacking some personality, or perhaps your living room seems a bit drab. One of the easiest ways to liven up any space is by creating your own DIY board and batten accent wall. A board and batten wall creates a grid-like pattern on a wall using medium density fiberboards (MDF, which is an affordable type of wood).
What’s great about board and batten walls is that you can create any type of design, such as simple horizontal stripes, a neat grid, a fun zigzag, or in a wainscoting design that covers half of a wall.
To get started, all you need is properly measured primed MDF slabs in the size you need, nails, a nail gun, and a saw. Once you nail all of your wooden pieces to the wall, pick out a color you think will complement the room, and begin painting! In no time, the room you remodel will look unrecognizable (in a good way!).
3. Design DIY accent pieces
Just like getting dressed in the morning, accessories can bring the look of a room to a whole new level. No matter what kind of theme your house is—whether maximalist, minimalist, modern, mid-century modern, bohemian—accent pieces are a must.
There are plenty of affordable accent pieces you can create to improve the look of your home. A great place to start is visiting your local thrift store, finding unique pieces, and making them one-of-a-kind with your own creativity. Some ideas include:
- Painting clear vases and jars with a mix of acrylic paint and baking soda for a rustic look
- Using a silicone rubber mold to create dreamy epoxy coasters with dried flowers
- Turning baskets into charming pendant lights to hang in a breakfast nook or above a bed
- Giving wired baskets a boho-chic makeover with macrame yarn
There are endless easy and affordable DIY projects you can do at home to turn your house into your dream home.
The bottom line
The idea of a home renovation project can be daunting, especially when you think of large projects like retiling a bathroom, installing wooden floors, or replacing a roof. However, there are plenty of affordable and easy home improvement projects you can do yourself without the help of a professional or a personal loan.
