Inexpensive DIY Home Renovations

[MatticusMania]

As many of you know, I'm getting married in just over 2 months. Also, my roommate has moved out and we are not planning on finding another, since Ive gotten a promotion at work and my fiancee is pulling in more clients, the two of us can afford rent on our own.

We live in a rather large 2 bedroom condo, with an upstairs loft, 2.5 bathrooms, a kitchen, dining area, a living room, and a small patio.

Our ex-roommate is moving the last of his stuff out of the house this week and we are going to begin some serious "spring cleaning". Probably going to fix any cracks/holes in the walls, really clean everything up and repaint. We want to spruce the house up a bit, as we have a lot of outdated-hand-me-down furniture and appliances.

Im moving in an entertainment center (that needs to be restained) to the living room, moving a desk up to the loft (thats becoming my "office"/mancave). Our roommate left us a giant beanbag that we're moving up to the extra bedroom as a guest bed.

We've registered for some new kitchen appliances and a few furniture pieces such as a coffee table, a bookshelf, etc. and plan to purchase a new couch with any funds left over after our honeymoon.

With the interest of finding some other creative things to add appeal and fun to the house, what should I do next? Practically every room of the house minus our bedroom and the kitchen will have extra open space. We have various posters and original paintings up around the house, but have room for more artwork and decor. We could use a cool lamp here or there. Any ideas?

[MJ5150]

Before you start, come up with a plan for every room so you have some kind of flow to your pad. It is always easy to identify the remodels that were done with no forethought. Each room looks like it came from a different house.

I'd get all the walls cleaned up and painted. Paint is fairly cheap and can make a huge difference.

-Mike

[macaroni tony]

+1 on the paint, fresh/loud/muted or whatever colors make a world of difference for very little money.

Not much else to add from here, sorry...

[EBodious]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Our roommate left us a giant beanbag that we're moving up to the extra bedroom as a guest bed.

only in california!

[elgecko]

Styrofoam crown molding is cheap, easy to install, and can really class a place up! Also, get some indoor plants.

[TBird1958]

A little bias on my part but some new, nice lamps go a long way to making a space comfortable.

[basstotheface]

New kitchenware is always good if you want guests over a lot or cook most of the time.

Other than that +1 to Mike's paint suggestion.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by TBird1958

A little bias on my part but some new, nice lamps go a long way to making a space comfortable.

Yeah, this is going to be crucial, as the house has no overhead/hanging light fixtures. The spare bedroom and office space will definitely need some lamps, as well as some other choice spots.

Originally Posted by elgecko

Styrofoam crown molding is cheap, easy to install, and can really class a place up! Also, get some indoor plants.

Is styrofoam crown molding cost effficient compared to MDF or vinyl? Something I'll consider.
Also, I like the idea of a few indoor plants!

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Before you start, come up with a plan for every room so you have some kind of flow to your pad. It is always easy to identify the remodels that were done with no forethought. Each room looks like it came from a different house.

I'd get all the walls cleaned up and painted. Paint is fairly cheap and can make a huge difference.

-Mike

Yeah, we're definitely painting. We're definitely trying to tie the house together with decor. We have ideas colorwise, but have not yet entirely decided on what we want to do with each room.

[sandmangeck]

I like open floor plans, w/ minimalist furniture. maybe a bookshelf, and go shopping in used book stores for old books.

[tplyons]

If you're good with a miter saw, 5-1/4" crown moulding and 5-1/2" base moulding really peps up a room.

[Kitsapbass]

Originally Posted by tplyons

If you're good with a miter saw, 5-1/4" crown moulding and 5-1/2" base moulding really peps up a room.

+1. Paint is a must, simply because for between $75-200, you can transform your living space. Accent walls work nicely as well, especially if you pick a complimentary color. One thing though - you mentioned "rent", are you renting this place? If you are, about the only thing I'd do IS paint, simply because if you're not going to get anything out of it when you leave, what's the point?

[iamlowsound]

To spice up old furniture, try your hand at reupholstering the nicer stuff. All it takes is some fabric, scissors, and a heavy duty stapler.

lowsound

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

As many of you know, I'm getting married in just over 2 months. Also, my roommate has moved out and we are not planning on finding another, since Ive gotten a promotion at work and my fiancee is pulling in more clients, the two of us can afford rent on our own.

We live in a rather large 2 bedroom condo, with an upstairs loft, 2.5 bathrooms, a kitchen, dining area, a living room, and a small patio.

Our ex-roommate is moving the last of his stuff out of the house this week and we are going to begin some serious "spring cleaning". Probably going to fix any cracks/holes in the walls, really clean everything up and repaint. We want to spruce the house up a bit, as we have a lot of outdated-hand-me-down furniture and appliances.

Im moving in an entertainment center (that needs to be restained) to the living room, moving a desk up to the loft (thats becoming my "office"/mancave). Our roommate left us a giant beanbag that we're moving up to the extra bedroom as a guest bed.

We've registered for some new kitchen appliances and a few furniture pieces such as a coffee table, a bookshelf, etc. and plan to purchase a new couch with any funds left over after our honeymoon.

With the interest of finding some other creative things to add appeal and fun to the house, what should I do next? Practically every room of the house minus our bedroom and the kitchen will have extra open space. We have various posters and original paintings up around the house, but have room for more artwork and decor. We could use a cool lamp here or there. Any ideas?

less is more....it's way to easy to go nuts and find junk to fill every inch of space.....

[Muzoid]

2 words:

Yard Sales

[Hawaii Islander]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

As many of you know, I'm getting married in just over 2 months. Also, my roommate has moved out and we are not planning on finding another, since Ive gotten a promotion at work and my fiancee is pulling in more clients, the two of us can afford rent on our own.

We live in a rather large 2 bedroom condo, with an upstairs loft, 2.5 bathrooms, a kitchen, dining area, a living room, and a small patio.

Our ex-roommate is moving the last of his stuff out of the house this week and we are going to begin some serious "spring cleaning". Probably going to fix any cracks/holes in the walls, really clean everything up and repaint. We want to spruce the house up a bit, as we have a lot of outdated-hand-me-down furniture and appliances.

Im moving in an entertainment center (that needs to be restained) to the living room, moving a desk up to the loft (thats becoming my "office"/mancave). Our roommate left us a giant beanbag that we're moving up to the extra bedroom as a guest bed.

We've registered for some new kitchen appliances and a few furniture pieces such as a coffee table, a bookshelf, etc. and plan to purchase a new couch with any funds left over after our honeymoon.

With the interest of finding some other creative things to add appeal and fun to the house, what should I do next? Practically every room of the house minus our bedroom and the kitchen will have extra open space. We have various posters and original paintings up around the house, but have room for more artwork and decor. We could use a cool lamp here or there. Any ideas?

Rent or mortgage? If it is rent, do you have permission to remodel? My kid brother and I rented an apartment together while I was attending grad school. The landlord had to approve any work done. We painted the apartment with permission and got our monthly rent reduced for the cost of materials. Changes in the walls (painting) and flooring (new carpeting, areas rugs or wood or tile flooring) makes a huge difference. My older brother and I just put in new bamboo flooring in most of the house and new ceramic floor tile in the kitchen. Looks great, but it was a lot of work. Good Luck and congrats on you upcoming wedding!

[Tsal]

Some paint companies have these "color matching chips" available, that give you a main color and 2-3 secondary colors that are matched to complement each other. Large hardware/indoor stores tend to have a lot of brochures and guides available, and there's all kinds of interior decorating magazines around for ideas. I agree that fresh paint, wallpaper and a bunch of matching pillows and such can bring an apartment alive, just think everything through before starting and you'll do good. The obvious method is to look all the rooms through and think about what you don't like about them, then see how difficult or expensive it would be to replace/renovate those things.

However, a word of caution: if you see something that you think would be better off re-done by a professional, don't try to MacGyver it together yourself, especially with bathrooms, piping and electricity, and don't be tempted to cover up something that's obviously in need of replacement. I've seen some bathrooms that have been "renovated" by using "out of sight, out of mind"-method, and the results are always both bad and expensive to fix up later.

[EricF]

Originally Posted by Tsal

However, a word of caution: if you see something that you think would be better off re-done by a professional, don't try to MacGyver it together yourself, especially with bathrooms, piping and electricity, and don't be tempted to cover up something that's obviously in need of replacement. I've seen some bathrooms that have been "renovated" by using "out of sight, out of mind"-method, and the results are always both bad and expensive to fix up later.

I know this all too well. I'm working my way through a very long list of renovations and fixes to the house my wife and I bought in July. Every time I come across renovation/repair work done by the previous owners, I'm appalled by the half-@$$ed, slapped-together, bass-ackwards way it was done. More often than not, their lousy work has at least doubled the effort I've needed to put in to make it right. Bottom line...Do it right the first time.

[Atoz]

Originally Posted by EricF

I know this all too well. I'm working my way through a very long list of renovations and fixes to the house my wife and I bought in July. Every time I come across renovation/repair work done by the previous owners, I'm appalled by the half-@$$ed, slapped-together, bass-ackwards way it was done. More often than not, their lousy work has at least doubled the effort I've needed to put in to make it right. Bottom line...Do it right the first time.

This. I've dealt with the exact same issue in my house.

[UncleFluffy]

A small closet for one of these?

More sensibly, is it worth getting the clearout + paint + lighting done first so that you get a better feel for the space and can plan the next stuff better?