These winter home improvement ideas are all about keeping it cozy and fresh. Don’t wait for spring to make these upgrades. Spruce it all up now.
There are plenty of things you can do to improve your home. From getting a fresh coat of paint up to just a really thorough cleaning job, there are lots of options.
Here are 8 easy winter home improvements that you can make no matter what the season.
1. Replace your countertops
Your countertops tend to get a beating over the holidays, resulting in unsightly scuffs, grazes, and cracks at the start of your new year. One easy winter home improvement project that you can undertake is to replace your counters to really jazz up your kitchen.
Whether you opt for a hard finish like granite or something a little less expensive like tiles or wooden composite, they’ll look great and really brighten your space.
2. New cabinets
Like your countertops, around the holidays your cabinets can really get a beating with all the increased use. Hinges get work, drawers pulled too far, and what seems like the bottom half gets covered in scuff marks from too many feet in the kitchen.
Fortunately, replacing your cupboards is an easy, fast job that can be completed in a weekend without any hassle.
If you’re doing it yourself, you’ll probably want to look for something like IKEA cupboards, which are designed to remove the need for complex leveling and which are extremely modular (for future broken mishaps) all the while not breaking the bank.
If you have something fancier in mind, then shop around your local market and see if there are any small-time suppliers who are running winter deals. January and February tend to be the quiet months for contractors and tradesmen.
3. Update your insulation
The best thing you can do for your house and your health in winter is to keep your home warm and dry. Cold and viruses tend to spread faster during the winter months with everyone inside, so having a clean space will reduce how often you get sick and keep you and your family feeling great.
Of course, that’s sometimes easier said than done. One way you can help (and reduce your energy bill) is to make sure your insulation doesn’t have any holes in it, is in good condition, and fills the space that you need it to.
If not, you can buy some insulation from your local hardware store, get into your crawlspace, and plug the gaps. Just remember that if you’re using fiberglass insulation to wear a mask – that stuff is nasty when it gets into your lungs!
4. Create a feature wall with wallpaper
Amazing wallpaper can be insanely expensive – unless you only do one wall. Plus, if you’re a renter, you can get removable wallpaper that will help you can take up and put down with relative ease.
There are plenty of crafty suppliers out there, so you can browse the full range and pick the paper you want for a quick and easy winter home improvement.
5. Clean and re-grout your bathroom
It’s amazing what a good cleaning job will do to bathroom tiles. Whether it’s a full-strength all-the-chemicals sort of deal or more of natural vinegar and baking soda approach, you can bring new life back to your tiles with this easy winter home improvement.
Of course, there are some cases when the grime is just too much. When that happens, you’ll want to re-grout.
If you’re doing it yourself, make sure that you clean out the tiles completely before you put anything new down in order for the grout to cure correctly.
Alternatively, if you’ve tried everything, re-grouting might be a job best left to the pros.
6. Add tiles to your backsplash
Unlike floor tiles, which are extremely difficult to rip up, clean, and replace, redoing your tile backsplash or adding one from scratch isn’t so hard, and is a great way to really bring new life into a kitchen space that might have been previously a bit drab.
Subway tiles with white or contrasting grout are an easy way to add contemporary sophistication to any kitchen. Alternatively, you can buy sheets of tiles that are quicker to put up and easier (and cheaper) to work with.
7. Replace your faucets
If you think your bathroom could do with a touch-up but you don’t want to lay down some major cash (or be bathroom-less in the middle of winter for very long) then a quick reno you can do is to replace your faucets with new ones. You can pick up bathroom faucets relatively cheaply at major stores or look online for gently used second-hand ones.
Just make sure you get the right faucet for your pipes, or this will become a very leaky winter home improvement.
8. Replace your chandelier with a ceiling fan
Especially if you have nice, high ceilings. Hot air rises and often houses spend lots of time heating the air at ground level that just wafts up to hang out in the room.
So to reduce your energy bill and get the most out of your HVAC system, you can replace your chandelier with a ceiling fan. This will help circulate the air around your home, making everyone more comfortable for the same energy output as well as improving your air quality.
Now, you can use your heater less, resulting in air that has more moisture in it – and is more comfortable to breathe.
There are winter home improvement projects to keep you going until spring
Hopefully, this has helped you think of winter as a prime time for winter home improvements. Whether you’re in a tiny rental or a beautiful mansion, there’s always something to improve when it comes to your house.
Have you got your sights on a bigger renovation project? Get in touch and see how your dream home looks in real life with our Renovation service.
