Sometimes, you don’t have a lot of money, but your place is still looking tired, and you want to fix it. I know this feeling: you work hard all day long, and you come home every day, and the place is boring and uninspiring.
Of course, there’s a lot that can be done to fix up the place, but I don’t have that kind of budget. I only have $10,000, and I’m not very handy. What can I do?
This can be a great time to get creative with your to-do list. Do you need a new toilet? Maybe, but it will cost you at least $500 for a decent toilet and any other material you need, as well as a guy to come and install the toilet. While paying for a guy to take your other toilet with him because you don’t wanna haul that thing to the dump yourself. So, you’re probably looking at around $800-$1000.
Is a toilet really worth 10% of your total budget, not to mention the tax? Not to me.
If your toilet is having a problem flushing, it’s usually a valve problem which can be fixed by changing a $50 part on the toilet, saving the cost of changing the entire thing. Changing your bathroom vanity can also be a great way to change the look and appeal of your bathroom. A single bathroom vanity can go anywhere from $500-$5000 depending on how fancy you want to get, and you still need to install it and do the plumbing. Is it really worth $1000-$6000 for a new vanity in a small bathroom when you only have $10,000 to spend? Again, it’s not my favourite choice. If you want to upgrade the countertops or if the faucet is starting to drip or have problems sometimes you can change parts or just change what you need. If you want renovation, that’s an entirely different budget.
Let's get into what you can do or at least my top five recommendations for things you can do for under $10,000.
1. In the kitchen, a great option for under $10,000 can be to change your countertop so it’s no longer that old laminate as well as updating your faucet and sink. Depending on what you choose for stone countertops, you will be basically right there around your budget at $10,000.
2. A fantastic option is always to repaint. It’s been years since you’ve repainted, and with all those marks and scuffs on the wall, not to mention the mark left by the old location of the sofa and that time you were moving the furniture around and smacked the corner bead, your walls can really use some new paint. Plus, wouldn’t it look great with a new color? Did you even pick this color? The good news is if you haven’t changed your floors in 40 years, the colour is coming back in again. Lol, it’s not exactly the samecolour, but it’s pretty close, so if all you did was paint the walls, you might be able to buy yourself a little bit of time before you do that major reno. Painting a 1000-square-foot house will probably set you back somewhere around $6000 -$7000, which includes everything. And you still have a couple of bucks left over to remove the stucco on your living room ceiling. Great!
3. Accent walls, in my opinion, are the smartest way to use the money. They don’t break the bank, and you can do something really cool. Sometimes, this can be throwing on a quick wallpaper that you can even do yourself. If you have the patience for that kind of thing, painting one wall, or a series of walls. Afavourite for me is tiling, and this can be something you do to your fireplace or even in a bathroom. Depending on your choice of material, the cost of the material and the installation method will be reflected, but in most cases, you should be able to find some nice options for your budget. Obviously, if you are looking to repaint a 100 ft.² wall, it will probably only cost you a few hundred. If you decide to do a book-matching stone slab, you will definitely be looking closer to your $10,000 range.
4. Wallpaper is another favourite, and I know I have said this before, but yes, it is back. I know I know I just got rid of the wallpaper and I don’t want to do it again too bad it’s back. There are lots of options to do. Just stay away from the one you just removed. There are also some newer options that can be noise dampening as well if you are trying to keep the noise down in certain spaces or you happen to have noisy neighbours you are trying to ignore. I just wallpapered my powder room, put on some new accessories and a floating shelf, and hung a piece of art, and I think the whole thing cost me $3000 to $4000. Yes! I love being under budget.
5. Lighting can be #1 of the most impactful things you can do to your home. If you don’t want to get into anything major, you can change the type of light fixture you use in different rooms. If you have a little bit more patience, you can usually add pot lights in different rooms, including paint and patching as needed, for under $10,000. This obviously depends on how many and where you decide to put them. You cannot believe the difference between a room that is solely dependent on external lighting sources versus one that utilizes natural light and the proper style of fixture for that room.
All these options can be done whether you’re in the home or a condo.
If you’re in a condo, don’t forget to get permission first. If you’re married, don’t forget to get permission first. Hahaha
