Us moms tend to spend a whole lot of time chasing after the kids, rushing out the door to work, and organizing the busy lives of an entire family. One of the things that can often slip by the wayside is home improvement. DIY home projects are a great way to teach your kids practical building skills and also bring a greater sense of life and space to the house where you spend much of your time.
Siding Vancouver, our local siding contractor shared a few ideas for busy parents who want to take on home improvement tasks.
5 DIY Home Projects Every Mom Should Consider
Add Curb Appeal
Adding curb appeal is one the simplest ways to improve the appearance of your home, and also one of the most variable. No matter what your personal style or the overall appearance of your home, curb appeal can help improve its appearance and fits well within any theme. One of the easiest ways to take on curb appeal is to set about developing a green thumb. Garden plants lining the walkway are a great start, and can be selected in any shape, color, and size to match the rest of the exterior appearance. You can also add some pizzazz with a nice edging around the walkway, or invest in a nice set of porch furniture.
If you are wanting to take it up a level, new siding is a great way to increase your overall curb appeal all at once. While many curb appeal fixes are easy DIYs, siding—be it vinyl, Hardie, or cedar—should be installed by a professional. Call your local siding contractor to set up an appointment.
Bathroom Makeover
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be a plumber or a contractor in order to take on a bathroom makeover. You can do a whole lot of things all by yourself. Try starting with a new granite countertop. These high-quality items are now available at most home improvement stores and are easily cut to size. If your vanity is in good shape, it’s a good idea to keep it—a coat of paint or a new wood stain can do wonders for its overall appearance.
Next, you’ll want to address the walls and the fixtures. Take out your old, outdated fixtures and purchase new ones that go well with your updated countertop and vanity. Repair the wall as needed, filling in holes and painting over marks. Install the new fixtures according to the instructions provided, and voila! Before you know it, you have a whole new bathroom. If all goes well, this project shouldn’t take more than three or four days at the maximum.
Improved Lighting
One of the easiest whole-house improvements available to busy parents is new lighting. Installing new light fixtures tends to be relatively straightforward and inexpensive, and is certainly easy to do by yourself, even with limited home improvement experience. Scope out the options at your local hardware or lighting store and pick out some fixtures that appeal to you. Make sure that they match the overall theme of the house, working well with the direction that you are taking the decor.
Once you have picked out new light fixtures, go room by room and install them. New lighting can make an enormous difference in the appearance of your home, bringing brighter days and warmer nights with just the flip of a switch. This easy DIY makes a big difference in every room. Don’t hesitate to give it a shot!
Paint and Trim
Subtle, but important—pretty much every home interior could use a fresh coat of paint. It’s more than likely that you’ve got skid marks, chips, and scratches on the walls from busy kids and frazzled parents. Clean up the overall appearance of your rooms and brighten every space with a new coat of paint. If you want to update the colors, head to your local paint store and ask for their recommendations—it’s their job to know what is new, trending, and classic.
When you paint your walls, make sure that you don’t neglect the trim. If the walls are redone, the trim is likely to begin looking dingy by comparison. White trim is typical in most homes, but don’t be afraid to mix it up either. With just a few gallons of pigment and few extra hours on the weekend, you can have everything looking beautiful and colorful in no time.
Outdoor Oasis
As summer gets into full swing, more and more of us are spending time outdoors. Few people have truly taken the time to build a pleasant outdoor space for themselves and for their family. With warm weather and rowdy kids that are out of school for the season, an outdoor oasis has incredible appeal. Green space to play is very important for kids, and can be installed with relatively little trouble. You will also want to invest in some seating for the adults, who are often outside with a book or work that they need to get done.
Not only is a backyard oasis space for play, it can be space for dining as well. A barbecue and a picnic table can work wonders in a small space, creating a sense of access to the outdoors. Keep an eye out for furniture and grills in your local newspaper. Before you know it, you’ll be having everyone over to celebrate summer holidays.