Many believe that your home is supposed to reflect your personality. You’re its owner, after all. However, as satisfying as it may be to decorate your house based on your preferences, the practicality should go hand-in-hand with your taste.
Still, for someone riding the high of finally being a homeowner, you can’t deny the thrill of designing a place you can call your own. But, the longer you’ll familiarized yourself with your property, the more you’re likely to realize some significant design flaws in your home. And, some might even be calling for a renovation.
Although a renovation sounds like it’s less work than complete construction work, there are still many factors to consider before jumping into it. Besides getting yourself worked up decluttering the place before the workers come in, your main issue here would be funding the project. If you’re living on a budget, this dilemma might hit you harder than the other homeowners. So, what can you do to lower the costs of your home project? Read on!
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Give It A Personal Touch
Some would say that getting your hands dirty is an excellent way to hone your creativity while saving money. Everything you need to do to make the project happen is in your hands without paying someone else for labor.
Whatever design you have in mind will come from whatever ‘vision’ you have for the place. Of course, sometimes, this vision might be too good to be true, especially if you’re not a house flipper or a fixer-upper. In that case, it’s recommended you stick to lighter demolition activities, such as applying a new coat of paint or replacing lights.
However, if you’re confident with your crafting skills, you can go ahead and design the place. Any amount of experience you may have on tinkering with a house can help you discern the delicate balance between practicality and aesthetics.
And, since you already have experience on a similar project, you’ll do well in selecting your materials. Unless you’ve already made connections with manufacturers you can trust, then you can quickly go to their websites and buy metal online or some other materials you might need.
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No Space Gone To Waste
Conserving your living space, especially if you’re staying in a studio-sized home, or if you’re far too attached to the history behind an old house to make too many drastic changes. Instead of having some of your walls knocked down to make room for more space, you can simply work with what you have right now.
You can have drawers built into your staircase, rather than buying a cabinet or some other pieces of furniture that are just as bulky. In the same line as this, it’s better to use those types of furniture with multiple purposes all in one. The best examples are tables you can easily fold into shelves. This way, you don’t have to get yourself all worked up wondering how you’re supposed to fit everything in one room.
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Use Every Material Available
In their line of work, contractors tend to keep too many spare materials in their workshops. So, if it’s not too much, why don’t you ask them if they can use those instead of buying brand new materials?
Although these materials aren’t in mint condition anymore, you can easily save money now that you have to order fewer materials than expected. Of course, to keep things safe, it’s recommended you only do this on certain parts of the house that won’t undergo too much stress, like the ceilings or walls. Otherwise, you might be compromising your house’s integrity if you’re not careful.
Now, speaking of old materials, if your workers are done replacing parts of the house, such as your doors or windows, why not try your hand in revamping them instead? Old doors can be chopped down and put together as chairs or coffee tables. You could use your old window frames as decorations, the same with their glass. Who knows? You might create something more out of them beyond your expectations!
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Consult A Professional
In the end, any idea you might have needs to go through a professional first, whether you’re a fixer-upper or you have zero experience in handling this project. However, since professional architects tend to be pricey, you should do your research and have your designs in hand before meeting one. This way, you can opt for a one-time meeting instead of scheduling too many appointments to create a design eventually.
On another note, while they might not be what others would consider ‘professional,’ you can ask your loved ones who are proficient in construction work for advice. The same goes for your loved ones who might not have any know-how on the construction itself but know of contractors capable of doing the job efficiently. Either of these situations can help you in your renovations, especially if you’re planning to carry out significant changes in the house.
The Bottomline
Being a homeowner is a thrilling experience, especially for those who are still new to the real estate scene. Just the idea of having your own space that you can decorate it any way you want is already freeing. However, if you’re going to change many things inside your house, you should know that renovation or construction can get costly. However, there should be ways to save some money while you redesign or construct your home.
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