Tips for Improving Your Home

While many folks love the idea of upgrading their homes, they usually don't follow through on these dreams because they feel they don't have any money. For the budget-conscious, here are seven ideas to give up your home a quick pick-me-up without dipping into your childrens' college fund:

1. New drawer pulls. One of the simplest ways to add pizzazz to the kitchen is to install new cabinet hardware. Your corner hardware store should offer a wide array of drawer pull designs, from ceramic or metal knobs to glassblown fantasy-like creations. Replacing cupboard hardware is simple: just unscrew the old, replace it with the new, and you've just completed a quick an inexpensive update for your home.

2. Buy a new faucet. A beautifully designed faucet can change the look of your sink area and the way you feel about your drinking water. A clean, streamlined faucet design can make a modern addition to the kitchen or bathroom sink, while some faucet models can even improve the taste of the water coming from your tap.

3. Use drawer organizers to increase your storage space. These days, you can find a nice range of inexpensive racks, drawers and baskets at a dollar store. Whatever knicknacks you just can't do without, drawer organizers may be just the thing you need to keep everything together in one place--and get the clutter off the counter.

4. If you have kids, consider washable paint. All kinds of food- and dirt-related stains can be wiped clean with some paint finishes available today. Don't use a flat interior paint; if you use even something soft like a damp cloth to wipe away smudges, you may remove the dirt but you'll expose the underlying pigment and ruin the finish. Choose a high performance paint instead, one that can withstand the rigors of a household with children.

5. Upgrade your flooring. Flooring makes a huge difference in the appearance of a kitchen or bath. Vinyl flooring is frequently dated and worn, but you can easily place new vinyl or laminated wood material right on top of the old flooring. Many flooring options today offer the look of expensive tile or wood at a lower cost.

6. Brighten the kitchen. For an easy and inexpensive way to brighten up a kitchen, consider installing under-the-counter lighting. A few bulbs at the hardware store is all it takes to completely change the way the light hits the surfaces of a room. Switch from incandescent light bulbs to more energy efficient compact fluorescents to help lower the cost of your energy bill at the same time. You can also move natural light further into rooms by bouncing it off the ceiling; a window close to the ceiling works well for this.

7. Make your bathroom look bigger. Even tiny bathrooms can look larger with a few tricks to fool the eye. Lighter, cooler colors will accomplish this, as will wallpaper with a smaller busy-print pattern. Maybe try some on the ceiling, or use horizontal lines with a matching border. You can also try installing bath tile with a subtle pattern and use the same pattern on the floor. As a rule with small bathrooms, remember to go all-out with the lighting and utilize reflective surfaces, such as marble.

These tips will help improve the look of your home without the need(or expense) for an interior designer.