If you’re going to be isolating at home during the Coronavirus outbreak, you might be thinking of easy projects you can do to help with increasing home value. These are projects you can do with minimal DIY experience that can really add some “curb appeal” (and thus increase your home’s value)!

Clear The Clutter (Cost: Free)

Do you have a lot “stuff” laying around in certain spots? It’s understandable, life happens. Sometimes there are just a couple rooms that become the gathering spots for clutter (that we hide when guests come over, am I right?).

When it comes to boosting your home’s value, clearing the clutter can be HUGE to opening up your home, letting light in, and re-claiming room in your home! If you’re thinking about selling, prospective buyers will definitely be distracted by the excess clutter, which can make it harder for them to visualize themselves living in your home.

Grab A Paint Brush (Cost: Under $100)

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to completely rejuvenate your home (which leads to increasing home value) is to put some fresh paint on the walls. A gallon of paint costs, on average, about $25, which leaves plenty of room for tape, rollers, brushes, and drop cloths. Neutral colors, like grey for example, are the most ideal as they appeal the most amount of people.

Additionally, you can do inexpensive (and fairly easy) board & batten or “accent wall” projects (see this tutorial) to further add appealing features to your home’s walls. Just see how it transformed THIS dining room

Don’t Miss The Small Things – Fixtures, Switches, Etc. (Cost: Under $200)

If you’ve lived in your home for some time, you may not have event noticed it. Those faceplates, switches, and outlets dull or change colors over time. Those pieces of plastic age with Sun/temperature changes, and cracks, dulling, or yellowing happen.

These changes can completely change the curb appeal of your home, and if it’s bad enough, can decrease the value of your home.

Make sure you’re keeping an eye on those outlets and faceplates. New looking faceplates can prevent a room or home from looking dated, and keep the value of your home higher, just from “curb appeal” alone!

Freshen Up The Landscaping (Cost $100-$200)

You can create a dramatic facelift for your home from the *outside* just by doing some simple landscaping projects.

Do you have overgrown bushes or plants that just “swallow” entire chunks of your outdoor spaces? Trim them back and let the area around those plants breath a little bit. Do some weeding and edge your grass along mulch beds or gardens to really give your yard space a much more refreshed look. 

Putting fresh mulch down can transform a yard and make it look updated and new. You can also spruce up the color a bit by adding some planters with colorful flowers to bring up the overall curb appeal to a whole new level. 

Oh, and don’t forget to do some power washing on the outside of your home to remove mold/algae or spots on sidewalks that have shown up over the years!

Bathroom Facelift (Cost: $100-$500)

Does your bathroom seem dated? Do the countertops not match the cabinets (or the bathroom itself)? Is the hardware in your bathroom from decades ago?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you might be surprised to know that you can update most, if not all, of the items in your bathroom without dropping a lot of money.

The bathroom picture above shows a nearly complete bathroom renovation for UNDER $500 (including decorations). The countertops were *painted* (yes, you really can do that!), and the cabinets were transformed using a kit from the same company that created the countertop paint (Check out the Giani line of counter and cabinet paints).

The bathroom is the second most important room in your house, behind the kitchen. Make sure to pay close attention to the needs of your bathroom when it comes to the value of your house. If you’d like a professional opinion, just reach out to me!

Kitchen Rejuvenation (Cost: $200-$varies)

The MOST important room in your house is your kitchen! The kitchen is where families gather and where memories are made. Generally, the kitchen can be a deal-maker or deal-breaker, even if the rest of the house is fantastic!

Remember the bathroom renovation tips above? You can do the same thing in your kitchen! And it can cost a lot less than you think.

A simple painting of your cabinets is straight forward, and not nearly intimidating as you might think (I’ve done it, and I can attest to that personally!). Much like with wall paint, neutrals are “in” for kitchens too.

A simple kitchen cabinet re-paint can be simple and inexpensive (cabinet paint kits are less than $100). However, if you want to really transform a kitchen, you can think about countertop painting/replacements, and even replacing kitchen appliances.

If you have no idea about your kitchen and what projects you can do, I can guide you with that process. No obligation. No pressure. Just info. We can get connected right here.

If you’re not sure, just ask!

We’ll get through this time. As a society, we always do. Take advantage of this time where you may be home more than you would otherwise.

If you’re not sure what projects YOUR home could use that helps with increasing home value, just ask me!

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Stay safe, and stay cautious. Wash your hands and check on others. Let’s get through this time together.