Upgrade Your Current Home Easily and Inexpensively


by Sarah Simmons

The current economy doesn't leave a lot of extra money for non-necessities, but that doesn't mean you can't live in the home of your dreams. More and more people are looking to upgrade their current homes rather than sell and buy something new - many home upgrades are surprisingly easy and inexpensive and can totally transform your home, giving it a new, updated look. Whether you're getting ready to sell your home or simply want a brand new look, here are five ways to instantly upgrade your home for very little money.

1. A Clean Home is a Happy Home

The cheapest way to update your home is to de-clutter. This costs no money at all, and will dramatically affect the look of your home. Go through all your piles of paper, shelves of knick-knacks and boxes of odds and ends, and throw out anything that doesn't serve a purpose. And be realistic! Sure, that ceramic bunny from Aunt Millie may be an "heirloom," but unless you're planning on taking it to the "Antiques Roadshow," it's not adding any sort of value to your home. Donate it to a thrift shop where some lucky rabbit fanatic will find it, and then you can write it off as a tax deduction.

2. Update Your Family

This doesn't mean trading in your husband for that younger model you saw at the gym the other day. If you have a lot of framed pictures of family around the house, think about updating frames, switching out photos for more recent memories, or putting all the standing frames on a wall. Load up a boring bare wall with assorted framed pictures in varying sizes, colors and textures, and you instantly have a new point of interest in your home.

3. Change up your color scheme

The right colors in your home can make a space appear larger or smaller in order to evoke a cozier or more open feeling. You don't have to change up all your furniture, just paint your walls a new color for a dramatic yet affordable transformation. Consider painting just one wall in an accent color, or paint all walls the same color and pain the trim a contrasting color - don't forget the ceiling! New paint will make a whole room look clean and bright again, and at about $20 per gallon for affordable paint, it's a real decorating bargain.

4. Sweat the small stuff

Often times it's the small, subtle details that really make a house into a home. Try rearranging your current furniture into a design that opens up a room and makes it more inviting. Adding modern lamps to dark areas of your home can really brighten a room. If you have a ceiling fan and light, you can buy replacement fan blades or light fixtures to update its look. You'd be surprised at how much adding a few flourishing house plants can improve your home's appearance (just make sure that you know how to take care of them).

5. Clean your carpet

Carpet always makes a home look nicer and feel more pleasant to walk around in, but dirty carpets won't provide these benefits. Invest in your carpet with a good carpet cleaning on a regular basis - an energy efficient carpet cleaning company can instantly update your home and make it look cleaner, while staying earth-friendly - a win-win situation!

With these five quick and easy home improvement tips you can enjoy a whole new look in your home - without the cost!

About the Author

Using innovative products and technology, Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning®, one of the nation's fastest-growing carpet cleaning franchises, offers oxygen powered cleaning, which cleans all the way down to the bottom of the pile. Visit Oxi Fresh for carpet cleaning coupons and carpet cleaning tips today: http://www.oxifresh.com/

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