Updating This & That
When you move as much as we do, you quickly realize that the perfect, move-in ready house that is also in your preferred area and in your price range is rarely found on the market. And so, you develop a keen ability to look past someone else’s style and focus on the bones of the home and not so much the color of its lipstick. Because while it’s true that you can make just about any home your dream home with major renovations and a generous home improvement budget and timeline, there are ways to make small changes that have a big impact. And so, we often go into a potential home thinking about what we can update rather than renovate.
Below are six things my husband and I consistently do to update a new house to make it feel like our home. Style is incredibly personal, so I don’t expect the following before-and-after examples to wow everyone, but I do hope the concepts presented might help inspire your own decorating and updating pursuits. Because while moving might be considered one of life’s most stressful events, updating your new home to reflect your particular style doesn’t have to be one of them.
1. Create a wishlist and stick to your budget.
When we walked through our house for the first time, we were immediately drawn to its floor plan, its location, the large corner lot in a beautiful established neighborhood, and how well cared for the home was. But we also saw several opportunities for cosmetic updates to make the house feel more like our home.
And so, shortly after we moved in, we made a wish list. Every month, we would take a look at the list, take a look at our budget and our schedule, and decide which projects we could tackle. It took patience and a bit of planning, but slowly over the course of a year and a half, we have transformed a ranch house we liked into a home we love.
2. Start with the walls.
Not only does a fresh coat of paint do wonders for a room, but it also offers you a blank canvas. We always choose neutral wall colors because 1) when you move as much as we do, you keep resale in mind (potential buyers seem to appreciate neutral wall colors), and 2) I tend to be indecisive. I’ve learned that it’s not only easier but also much cheaper to add pops of color and pattern with my décor rather than with a more permanent wall color or wallpaper. I love statement walls and bold wallpaper designs, but I always resort to neutrals, saving the color and interest for accent pillows, throws, frames and sconces, area rugs, table runners, and floral arrangements—things that are much easier to switch out than paint or wallpaper.
IN OUR HOME: When we moved into our current home, I was eight months pregnant so painting an entire house wasn’t exactly feasible. So, for the first time ever, we splurged and had the house professionally painted. (Wow, professional painters are fast!) To keep costs low, we chose one color and decided to leave the oak woodwork as is. Our home features oak cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms, oak trim, and doors to match. I wouldn’t necessarily choose oak myself, but as it turns out, I absolutely love the warmth of the brown wood and the contrast between our white walls (Dover White from Sherwin Williams) and the oak woodwork.
3. Patiently add your décor.
If there’s one thing that makes me feel like we’re finally settled in to a new house, it’s decorated walls. And if there’s one thing my husband does not like, it’s hanging things. Thankfully, my dad bought us a laser level (the RYOBI Multi Surface Laser Level, $24.99 from Home Depot), and I truly believe this nifty tool has saved our marriage.
In previous homes and in my desire to feel completely settled, I’ve hastily thrown things on the walls or purchased something I kind of like but don’t love to fill a space. In my experience though, it’s better to take your time and really think through what you need or want. Otherwise, you’ll probably end up spending more money and finding yourself back at square one: patching holes and painting.
IN OUR HOME: For the longest time, our formal living room was half empty. It’s a long rectangular space, and we didn’t have enough furniture to fill it. I eventually decided to divide it in half: the far end by the fireplace became a seating area and the space nearest the entryway would be a dining area. When we moved in, we didn’t own a dining room set, so we turned the formal dining room into our home office, which I love. Finally, after months of hunting, I found a French Provincial dining room set on Craigslist, and it fills the empty space in our living room perfectly. Once I had all my furniture, I could finally plan for and hang the wall décor! I have yet to refinish the dining room set, but after a year and a half of living here, there are pretty things on the wall, and I finally feel completely settled.
Some of my favorite living/dining room décor include these Danya B. Wall Mount Hanging Glass Cylinder Vase Set with Metal Cradle and Hook ($36.99 from Amazon) that I hung inside empty frames I found at an antique store, and this Vintage Wood Wall Clock ($129.99), Large Square Tobacco Basket ($49.99), and Lamb’s Ear Wreath ($39.99), all from Hobby Lobby. (Tip: Never pay full price at Hobby Lobby. Either use their 40 percent off coupon on a full price item or wait for the item to go on sale. If an item isn’t 50 percent off when you’re in the store, it most likely will be on sale the following week. To get a coupon, simply visit hobbylobby.com and click on the “Get Coupon” button at the top of the home page.)
4. Switch up your window treatments.
If you’re looking to freshen up a space, try switching out your window treatments and hardware. I tend to not go expensive with my window curtains since we’re constantly leaving them in every home we sell. In our current home, we don’t have especially tall ceilings, so I went with a soft look around my windows, selecting white curtains in some rooms and tan curtains in others. I do have these crazy yellow and gray curtains in a guest room, but it’s a “Mizzou” room (Go Tigers!), so I figure they work. (Plus, after moving eighteen thousand times, you do try to use what you already have.)
IN OUR HOME: For our bedroom and office windows, I used the MERETE curtains ($29.99 per pair) from IKEA, and in our living room and kitchen I went with sheer tan curtains I found at Home Goods. For all the windows, I used the RÄCKA curtain rod ($8.99 from IKEA). (A little head’s up about the MERETE curtains: it’s near impossible to iron the wrinkles out of them once they’re washed. Perhaps a steamer might do the trick!) In our son’s nursery, I used these Rosenblum Plaid Blackout Grommet Curtain Panels ($40.99) from Wayfair. (Note: I did purchase blackout liners because these curtains do not block a lot of light.)
When it comes to hanging curtains, I like to hang the curtain rod closer to the ceiling than the window trim. I like how doing so makes a room feel bigger. I also tend to purchase longer curtains that pool on the floor. For some rooms, like the kitchen, I don’t want curtains on the floor, but for our master bedroom, office, and living room, I really like the “pooled” look. I also like to buy grommeted curtains because they slide easily on the rod, and I can put a grommet or two outside the bracket to help hide the hardware
5. Replace outdated hardware.
To update the look of our kitchen and bathrooms, which featured oak cabinets and gold hardware, I chose to replace all the gold handles and doorknobs with black (or bronze, if black wasn’t available) hardware. Many of our furniture pieces have black features and we have several black frames hanging in various rooms throughout the house, so I thought black hardware would help tie it all together.
IN OUR HOME: For the kitchen, I selected the Cosmas Flat Black Cup Drawer Pull ($24.95 for 10) and the Cosmas Flat Black Handle Door Pull ($34.50 for 25), both from Amazon to replace our existing pulls.
For the bathroom, I chose the Brainerd Caroline Flat Black Arch Bar Cabinet Pull ($4.08 each for the 3-inch pull from Lowe’s). We replaced the gold faucet with the Delta Valdosta Venetian Bronze Faucet ($139.00 from Lowe’s) and added a homemade custom black frame to the large mirror, which was attached to the wall by a couple of brackets. We also removed the oak cabinet above the toilet and replaced it with a gunmetal wire basket and towel rack from Hobby Lobby. This particular item also comes in a smaller size, which we hung on the wall next to the right of the sink for a hand towel. Last, but not least, when we were unpacking, I found four black-and-white curtain panels from a previous house. So instead of buying a new shower curtain, I used two curtain panels and a liner for my shower curtain. Et voilà! Without spending several thousands of dollars on a bathroom remodel, a few updates here and there turned a bathroom I didn’t quite like into a bathroom I absolutely love.
We also replaced all the interior door handles, switching out the old gold ones with the Kwikset Cove Venetian Bronze Knobs from Menards ($12.99 each for Hall & Closet Passage Knobs; $13.99 each for Bed & Bath Privacy Knobs).
6. Tackle the fixtures.
Last, but not least, we took on our light fixtures, including ceiling fans and the front porch light, which I’m happy to say I found on clearance at Menards. In past homes, we have spray painted the hardware on ceiling fans and light fixtures, so if you want to save some money, a can of spray paint can be an incredibly useful tool!
IN OUR HOME: Two of my favorite light fixtures include the Quoizel Forfolk Oil Rubbed Bronze Semi-Flush Mount Light ($125.00 from Lowe’s) that we put in our home office and the four-light chandelier we hung above our kitchen table, which I found at SAMS Club during a grocery trip. (A perfect example of why shopping at SAMS is dangerous. You go in for groceries and come out with a chandelier!) Sadly, I cannot find the light on the SAMS Club website to share the link, but this Indigo 4-Light Lantern Chandelier from Wayfair is similar in both style and price.
For our bedroom ceiling fans, we chose the Hunter Cedar Park Premier Bronze Fan (price varies by size), and in our living room we chose the Hunter Creekside Bronze Fan ($99.98 from Lowe’s). I love the look of the light greyed oak blades on the Hunter Creekside Fan.
A Note about Bigger Projects . . .
Several months ago, we tried to remove a leaky dishwasher and realized we couldn’t do so without removing the laminate countertops and backsplash. (The new hardwood floor had been installed right up to the dishwasher, and the countertops had a 3/4-inch overhang. Not a good combination.) So, after turning off the water to the dishwasher and subsequently washing dishes by hand for a long time, we finally made the decision to not only replace the dishwasher but also hire professionals to make some bigger updates to our kitchen at the same time.
While our kitchen project was definitely less extensive than a complete kitchen remodel, it was still more extensive than simply replacing doorknobs or cabinet pulls. Nonetheless, we kept the same mentality of “updating this and that.” When it came to choosing what to renovate and what to leave as is, we based our decisions on our budget and on how to keep the look and feel of the updated kitchen true to the rest of the house.
IN OUR HOME: In addition to new granite countertops and new appliances (dishwasher, range, and refrigerator), we removed a large fluorescent light and installed four dimmable recessed lights; sawed off the scrolled part of the wood valance above the sink to create a straight valance; removed the tan tile backsplash and simply painted the wall to match the rest of the kitchen; and removed two cabinets hanging above the peninsula to open up the kitchen. All in all, I couldn’t be more pleased with the way the kitchen turned out. And, I no longer hit my head on the cabinets over the peninsula—a huge plus!
Making updates to your home, whether big or small, can be intimidating, and most of all it can get expensive fast. But if you combine planning and patience, and stick to your budget, home updates can also be really fun!
What are some tips you have for making small updates that have a big impact? Share your ideas in the comments below.
6 Comments
Sharon agne
Great writing not all people have the skills to renovate themselves any suggestions
Barbara Shippy
Thank you, Sharon! so glad you enjoyed the article.
Felicity
Beautiful ideas. I love what you did. Thanks for sharing.
Barbara Shippy
Thank you, Mrs. Buckley! After moving around as much as we do, I’ve learned to really enjoy the process of making a new house feel like our home. Thanks for reading!
Kenny Killingbeck
cool post. I just stumbled upon your article and wished to say that I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
Barbara Shippy
Thank you for your comment! New articles are published on the first of every month, so I hope you visit again soon!