Ten easy DIY home improvement projects to try this summer

Is the lack of free time a reason you’re always giving for putting off the home improvement projects you know your home needs? While many projects can take days or even weeks and hundreds or thousands of dollars, there are plenty of smaller scale projects you can do yourself for little money. And best of all, each of them can be done in one day or less so you have no excuses to put them off.

A recessed pantry wall

If your kitchen is too small to include a walk-in pantry, the cost to remodel and add such a space will be outrageously high. But if you have a wall nearby, you can fashion a shallow pantry. There are a couple of ways to do this. The first is to build shelving onto the wall. Make the shelves deep enough to hold one or two rows of canned foods. You can make it floor to ceiling so even though the shelves are shallow, they can hold a lot. If the wall in question has no electrical wiring or plumbing, you can remove the drywall and insulation and build the shelves in between the wall studs so you’re not taking up any additional space in your home.

Match electrical outlets to backsplash

Plain white or off-white electrical outlets look that way so they’ll blend in with the surrounding wall and not draw attention to themselves. But that’s a problem if you’ve got outlets in an area where you’ve tiled a backsplash or where you plan to have one tiled. There, a white electrical outlet will disrupt whatever color scheme or pattern you’re going for. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution: paint the electrical outlet.

Paint your ceiling a new color

You’ve heard of accent walls, but how about an accent 5th wall--the ceiling. In the majority of homes, ceilings are painted the same color as the walls and no one ever looks up at them. If you paint the ceiling a different color, you’ll be taking advantage of a space that is almost never used. It’s a great way to create some drama in a room that was previously bland.

Install some new light fixtures

Is your bedroom too small and your bed too large to fit in matching nightstands? If so, smaller end tables on either side of the bed and matching sconces mounted to the wall above them can be a great solution. Bedside lamps will take up virtually all of your table space so by mounting them on the wall you make room for a coaster to set your drink on or a place to lay down your favorite book when you go to bed at night. You can also upgrade light fixtures in the bathrooms, kitchen, or any other room in the home.

Put in a luxurious shower head

One of the best things about staying in an upscale hotel is the oversized and very luxurious shower head so why not splurge a little on one for your own shower? All you need is some pliers to remove the existing one and some thread sealing tape to make a tight seal when you install the new one.

Install baseboard radiator covers

If your baseboard radiators have seen better days--perhaps they’re scuffed up, rusting, or dented--you don’t have to completely replace them. You can purchase snap-on baseboard radiator covers that are easy to install over existing baseboard heaters to give them a completely new look in almost no time at all.

Display souvenirs from a recent trip

Designate a space in your home to display souvenirs or other memorabilia from a recent vacation. You can hang some photographs from the trip and lay out a few things you collected during the trip on a small table below. To keep things interesting, you can swap everything out the next time you travel.

Update your cabinets in the kitchen or bathroom

Instead of hiring a contractor to tear out old cabinets and install new ones, you can resurface them. There are a few different ways to do this. You can purchase new cabinet doors and drawer fronts and replace your old ones. You can repaint or restain your cabinets if you like the look but not the wear and tear that’s accumulated on them. Finally, if the cabinets are in good shape but you’re just looking for something different, you can swap out all the drawers and pulls to give them a new look.

Put in unique interior doors

In most homes, every interior door is exactly like every other interior door and they’re all white with the same rectangular and square shapes carved into them. Consider replacing at least one or two of them with something with a different pattern or color. It’s as simple as unscrewing the door from the hinges and then screwing the new door into place.

Revive something old and put it on display

If your decorating budget is tight, visit a local thrift store or antique shop and buy something used. You’ll know just the right piece when you see it. Old furniture can be repainted or reupholstered to give it new life and it’s still usually cheaper than buying brand new.

---

Also in EZ Snap Covers Blog