Many people want to do projects that will improve their homes but are not experienced with doing DIY projects and feel that many are too hard for them to do. So, what are some affordable projects that beginners can do to improve their homes?
1. Paint
Adding or changing the color of the paint on your walls is probably the easiest, and one of the cheapest, home projects that you can do. Painting should make every Top10 home projects for beginners list. Cans of paint cost $15 to $40 per can, and you will likely need multiple cans of paint to paint the entire room that you want to paint.
If you want to test out a paint color on your walls, then you usually can get paint can samples and test out the color before you purchase a larger can of the color. Paint sample cans typically range in price from $5 to $11.
However, some paint types and paint colors are not available in a sample can size, so you may not be able to purchase a sample can of paint in the color of paint that you like. But you can always ask if you can purchase a sample-sized can of paint.
When you add paint to your walls, consider only painting one wall a fun color and paint the rest of the walls of the room white or another neutral tone. This makes the wall with the fun color an accent wall.
Pre-Paint Process
Before you start painting, you will need to remove everything from the walls that you plan on painting and move all of the furniture away from the walls. You will likely need someone’s help to move heavy pieces. Plan for the painting process to take at least a day because you will likely have to do multiple coats of paint to fully cover the walls properly.
2. Update Lighting
One relatively easy thing that you can do cheaply and easily is change out the light fixtures in your home. Light fixtures can cost anywhere from $20 to $1,500, but luckily the more expensive light fixtures tend to be chandeliers, and many people do not want chandeliers in their homes.
Light fixtures are relatively easy to install because there are typically instructions included in the box, so you don’t have to figure out how to do it on your own. However, these instructions tend to only be included in new light fixtures. It is very hard to find second-hand light fixtures that still have the installation instructions included.
There are many different light fixture types, and some are easier to install than others. But they definitely upgrade the look of a room and are relatively easy to install, especially when you have someone helping you.
3. Renew the Grout
If you want to uplift a space but you do not have a lot of experience installing tile, and you don’t have the budget to install new tile, then you can renew the grout that is around the tile. You will have to remove the old grout, as you can’t put new grout over old grout, but there are products out there that can help you remove old grout.
Although beginner DIYers can remove tile grout, it is not easy. It takes a lot of time to remove grout because you are basically scraping it away while trying not to damage any of the tiles that you want to keep and maintain. If you are going to renew the grout, plan on it taking at least 2 to 3 days before you finish renewing the grout. It will be worth it in the end though.
Before you start renewing the grout, purchase a grout remover. Trust me, the grout remover will make the process go a lot smoother than if you use any other products. Grout removers cost about $17.
When you are removing the old grout, be careful not to damage the tile. Tile is not easy to repair or replace, and it can cost a lot of money to replace the tile.
New Grout Installation
Although it is difficult to remove old grout, it is very easy to put in new grout as you can buy new grout in tubes. New grout tubes cost $5 to $8 each, and you will likely need multiple grout tubes depending on how large they are and how large the area that you are re-grouting is.
4. Install Backsplash
A somewhat cheap project that you can do is install a new backsplash in your kitchen or bathroom. If you do not want to install an actual backsplash, you can get a peel-and-stick backsplash. A peel-and-stick backsplash is much cheaper than a tile backsplash, although it does not look the same as a tile backsplash and may warp over time if it gets wet repeatedly.
A tile backsplash is surprisingly cheap. Tile backsplash typically costs $2 to $50 per square foot of tile that you need. Tile is relatively easy to install, although you will have to be extra careful to install it correctly and make sure that it is straight and that there are no odd gaps anywhere.
5. Add Under Cabinet Lighting
You can add lighting underneath your cabinets if you want an easy project to do. And it is surprisingly cheap. It costs about $20 to $87 to install lighting underneath cabinets.
The easiest way to add lighting underneath your cabinets is to purchase LED light strips. LED light strips are great because they are easy to install, can sometimes change colors, and are not a fire hazard. If you want to add light to your kitchen or bathroom, you can easily add light strips underneath your cabinets.
Although there are ways to install under cabinet lighting that does not involve using LED lights, it is hard to do because you have to drill into the actual cabinets. Plus attach the lights to a power source, which can sometimes be difficult if you can’t plug these lights into a power outlet.
6. Build Floating Shelves
If you want to add some storage space to your home, then build a few floating shelves. They are surprisingly easy to build, and the materials don’t cost a lot of money.
It costs $10 to $40 to build floating shelves. The cost varies on the size of the shelves you build, the number of shelves you build, and the wood you use for the shelves. If you do not want to build floating shelves from scratch, you can always purchase floating shelves online or at a hardware store.
Floating shelves are a great way to add storage space to your home or add something visually interesting to the walls of your home. You can put many pictures or other items that you want to be displayed on floating shelves, and you can stain or paint them any color if you build them yourself.
If you would like to know how to build floating shelves, click here.
7. DIY Spice Cabinet
If you enjoy cooking and want to have more space to put your various spices, but your kitchen is relatively small, then you can build a spice cabinet. Spice cabinets online tend to be very expensive, but you can build your own spice cabinet for $30-$50, even if you don’t have a lot of experience building things.
You can hang this spice cabinet anywhere in your kitchen, and a spice cabinet will make all of your spices easily accessible to you so you can easily grab any spice that you need while you are cooking or baking.
If you build your own spice cabinet rather than purchasing one online, you can paint or stain it any color you want it to be. You can even make it match your kitchen cabinets. Spice cabinets are easily customizable when you build them yourself.
If you would like to know how to build a spice cabinet, click here.
8. Wainscoting
Wainscoting is a really neat way to add something very interesting to your walls. Luckily, wainscoting is very easy to install and does not cost that much. You can either add wainscoting to an entire room, or you can do a small section of the wall in a small room, like the bathroom or a small section of the kitchen.
The video below describes how to add wainscoting to your walls from scratch, although there are many different styles of wainscoting that you can choose from.
9. Wallpaper
Adding wallpaper to your home is a great project for a beginner DIYer, especially because nowadays peel-and-stick wallpaper is readily available. Peel-and-stick wallpaper is much easier to add to walls than actual wallpaper, and it is very easy to remove if you or the next homeowner to move in doesn’t like it.
Peel-and-stick wallpaper costs $8 to $90, although you will likely need multiple packages of the peel-and-stick wallpaper if you want to add the wallpaper to an entire room. However, if you just want to add wallpaper to a small section of your home, you will only need one package as a package comes with multiple rolls.
Peel-and-stick wallpaper is very easy to add to small spaces in your home because you can very easily measure it and cut it. You can add peel-and-stick wallpaper to your home with only a plastic card, measuring tape, and scissors.
10. Change out the Kitchen Sink Faucet
If you want to modernize your kitchen but do not want to spend a lot of money doing so and you don’t want to hire someone to do it, you can change the faucet on your kitchen sink. It’s a great way to modernize your kitchen a bit.
Gooseneck faucets are currently very popular and will make your kitchen sink seem very sleek. You can even get one that you touch to turn on and off. Then you don’t have to turn the hot or cold water knobs which is very helpful when you are doing a large number of dishes or need to use the sink while you have stuff on your hands.
Kitchen sink faucets cost $36 to $300, but the more expensive faucets are very fancy and will be harder to install than the cheaper faucets. There are many different kitchen faucet looks, so you can easily find one that suits you and the look of your kitchen.
New Kitchen Faucet Installation
Kitchen sink faucets are very easy to install, but you will have to take some time to remove the old faucets first, which may be difficult depending on the type of faucet. Make sure that after you remove the old faucets, you thoroughly clean the sink where you will be installing the new faucet. Dirt or grit may result in the new faucet not attaching securely.
Kitchen sink faucets are easy to install as long as you follow the instructions included. If you are a beginner at doing DIY projects, you can still easily install a new faucet to your kitchen sink. However, make sure you have all of the necessary tools before you start installing the faucet.
Doing Home Projects Safely
Whenever you are doing DIY projects, make sure you wear protective gear. Wear protective goggles and gloves so you don’t accidentally cut your hands while doing your DIY projects. And don’t ignore small injuries. Take care of them, you can always go back to your project.
Try to do DIY projects while there is another person in the house with you, even if they are not helping you with the project. It is better to have someone in the house who can help if you get hurt than be alone and get seriously injured with no one around.
DIY projects are an excellent way to refresh your home and bring a lot of life to it. What will you be doing to your home?