Renovating can quickly and easily become an extremely expensive task. Fittings, fixtures, sinks, vanities, stovetops, bathtubs, tradespeople and those sneaky unforeseen costs. It all adds up and before you know it your budget can be blown out of the water! But you needn’t worry if you don’t have the budget for a full kitchen or bathroom renovation with these 5 simple ways to refresh your space with the costly renovation bill.

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1. Update your bathroom taps and accessories. Cost effective and a quick fix, updating tired or old school tapware and accessories can instantly bring a bathroom into 21st century design. Going for simple on trend chrome, brushed nickel or black tapware will instantly give your bathroom new lease on life.
   

2. Lighting in your bathroom or kitchen should never be underestimated, both for practicality and keeping your space looking beautiful. Changing old fluorescent lighting or improving poorly lit spaces with downlights and well placed pendants can make your space feel new again.
   

3. Do you have a retro or dark glass shower screen? An instant giveaway of a bathroom’s age can often be the shower screen. A 70’s or 80’s bathroom shower screen with thick, coloured glass and door hardware can really close in a space. By simply replacing this with a cost effective semi-frameless shower screen, you will open up your space and a achieve a quick reno on a shoestring budget.
   

4. A new sink and tap in your kitchen is a quick and cost effective way to update the most used area in your home. Modern looking sinks and taps can instantly add value to your kitchen and make it feel loved and recently renovated.
   

5. Replacing your benchtop with modern laminate can instantly brighten up a kitchen, adding value for a fraction of the cost of a full renovation. Modern laminate has comparable heat and scratch resistance to stone and many finishes mimic the natural textures of more expensive materials, making it the perfect choice. Depending on your current door hardware, updating your handles could also tie in quite nicely with a new benchtop, without the need to replace cabinets.

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If you are looking to fully renovate your wet space you can always talk to Designbx for a professional and high quality interior design solution!

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But renovation can also be a very costly enterprise. The average cost of a full-home renovation project can run close to $200,000. Not everyone has that kind of cash to splash, particularly for a home you’re trying to sell.

The good news is that you can add serious value to your home without even picking up a hammer.

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If you want to boost your home’s value but don’t want to break the bank, there are some remarkably simple ways to get started.

1. Work on your kerb appeal

First impressions are incredibly important. A 2012 Texas Tech University study found that good kerb appeal could boost a home’s value by 17%.

Start by putting yourself in a potential buyer’s shoes. As you approach your home from the street, what are your impressions? Is the landscaping tidy and inviting, and does it showcase the front of your home or just serve to obscure it? Does the front of the home itself look appealing?

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Good kerb appeal can add measurable value to your home, while poor kerb appeal can scare potential buyers away before they even set foot inside. A fresh coat of paint, some new door hardware and a bit of landscaping won’t set you back much, but they’ll have a serious impact on your home’s saleability.

2. Tidy things up

No matter how nicely constructed your home may be, a dirty house will make a poor impression on potential buyers. Think back to your renting days and the dreaded end-of-lease inspections. That’s the standard of cleanliness you want to strive for.

Even the neatest amongst us can overlook a few nooks and crannies when we’re cleaning. If you’re hosting an open home, it’s worth paying the money to have your house cleaned professionally. You may not notice a few bits of grime, but a potential buyer might.

3. Get rid of the clutter

This may sound a little redundant after the previous tip, but de-cluttering is about more than general cleanliness. It’s about creating an open, flowing space for potential buyers.

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Have a look at the layout of your home and the way you have your furniture arranged. Is it hard to navigate through the rooms? Do they feel cramped and claustrophobic? You want buyers to be able to walk through your home with ease, and for the rooms to feel open and spacious. Getting rid of or rearranging some pieces of furniture can greatly improve the flow of your home, and a few well-placed mirrors can make rooms feel larger than they are.

4. Keep it light

Make sure your home looks bright and open. Open up the shades and shutters to let in as much natural light as you can. If you don’t get a lot of natural light, consider opting for some brighter bulbs in your fixtures to give the illusion of more natural light.

Keeping your home light goes beyond just your windows and fixtures, though. It also includes your design choices. The goal in showing your home is to create an environment that potential buyers can picture themselves in. Choosing more neutral colours will better allow buyers to imagine their own furniture and belongings in the home.

5. Make it cosy

Add the finishing touches with some accessories. These little details make your home warm and inviting. Small touches like coffee table books, artwork, flowers or candles can make your house feel like a home.

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This article is written by Adam Smith, Home Loans Editor at Finder.

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When you want to revamp your home on a tight budget  you may be wondering what to do. We all feel like a fresh start at the beginning of a new year and one sure method is to revamp your environment. It’s a more profound change than a new outfit and certainly lasts much longer than most resolutions! Unfortunately just at the time you’d most like to shake things up, the piggy bank is usually rather roomy after the revelling and generosity that go hand in hand with the silly season. Hopes are high and budgets are low. The good news is you don’t need to spend a fortune to get more out of your home’s interiors.

One effective trick to revamp your home is to create a sense of scale by using the full width and height of your rooms. You can highlight dimensions by leaning prints on high cabinets, building multiple book stacks high or using an oversized pendent.

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Don’t relegate your beautiful pot plants to the floor-level. Elevate them by mounting them on surfaces to add height and make your greenery feel more opulent Use a mantle, buffet, picture rail, or bookshelf to create vignettes. All it takes is a themed collection of complementary items.

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These arrangements of loved objects can be grouped according to colour, style or theme, and will present a striking feature. What may have been disparate objects in assorted locations around the house suddenly build a feature that will create a definite visual impact.

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Gallery walls are another example of bringing together existing items to make a dramatic impact. In most cases, we’ve all accumulated plenty of inspiring visuals although you may want to add a signature piece. It may simply be a matter of framing and arrangement to create a striking effect. Don’t be afraid to combine an eclectic collection and range of sizes. In many cases, even the most diverse images work together. From family photos to illustration, there are no hard and fast rules. The only consideration is your space’s style. Does your room suit more textured, subtle finishes or does your contemporary space need a high gloss print?

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We’ve all done a spring clean and rearranged the existing furniture in a room, but why not break free from your traditional perception of where furniture should be placed? A quick swap can mix things up and give your space a new lease on life. Make your hall table a dresser, bring the spare chairs from the dining room into the bedroom for bedsides, or move the bookcases into the dining room from the study to give an opulent and cosy feel. Completely swap bedrooms, taking the colour palette from one room to another. You’ll be amazed by the difference.

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A little spending on paint can go a long way. From flourishes and finesse, like painting parts of furniture and insides of bookshelves, to highlighting a key architectural feature, don’t feel limited to the classic idea of repainting a room. If you decide to take the plunge, consider changing atmosphere from airy to moody or vice versa. And of course, why focus on the walls? Perhaps a new colour and finish for the floor could reinvent the space.

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Adding greenery not only provides more colour and fresh scents to a room; a space with well selected and arranged plants always provides a greater sense of wellbeing. Scale, colours, shape…there’s so much plants can offer.

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It may not be the time for more significant investments like new furniture, but it doesn’t take much to revamp your soft furnishings. Pillows and cushions can often be the most vibrant items in a room while the addition or removal of rug may change a room’s personality completely.

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Garnish, rearrange, re-colour, reinvent! A new look for a new year may be right in front of you. Time to open your mind to possibilities without opening your wallet. Want your home to have a fresh vibe for the New Year but money and time is thin? Here are some great simple changes you can make to feel a sense of new.

Designbx |  “7 quick ways to revamp your home on a budget”  | designbx.com

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