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Home Improvements on a Budget

In this day and age, everyone seems to be on a budget, much more than we were before! How long can you watch something on the television or read a newspaper before hearing any of these words 'credit cruch', 'crisis', 'financial crisis', 'world crisis' - it is just highlighting the point that the world is having financial problems. If you don't have the money to spend on lavish, new furnishings for your home, then we have came up with some simple solutions to your problems. It is amazing at what a tin of paint and other inexpensive products and tools can do to transform your home in to a palace!

Windows and Doors
If your doors or windows are looking as if they have seen better days, then you have three options: 1) put up with it (if it isn't bothering you too much, 2) Have a new set of windows and doors put in, or 3) Sand the frames down and paint them. It is true what they say 'it is amazing what a lick of paint can do!' Yes it is! Just by painting your window and door frames, you will make them look brighter and new. Often, the windows and doors in your home are of good quality and it is merely the colour of them that makes them look old. This is also a great tip for anyone renovating on a budget, because you will have saved on the windows and doors and will have the extra money to spend on something else. The important question to ask yourself is "Do they really need replacing?" Obviously, if the window frames are rotten and would cost more to fix compared to being replaced, then buying new would be the more sensible option. But if you can liven up your old ones, then you will be amazed at how good they look afterwards and what is even more amazing is that it has cost you very little.

Painting and Decorating
Wallpapering has to be one of the most tedious, boring and horrible jobs when it comes to decorating a home. The long process of stripping walls and making sure every piece of the old wall paper has gone, then carefully applying the new wall paper, making sure it is carefully lined up and even! Not only is wall papering a chore, it can be expensive too! On the other hand, paint is still the cheaper alternative. You can easily paint over wallpaper to revamp the room. It is easy and quick and you have the option to choose many different colors, whilst all at a low cost. If you have a talent when it comes to a paint pallette, you could also try adding patterns and prints using paints.

Floors and Carpets
If you are sick of your old, dated carpet and have floor board underneath, then get rid of the carpet and neaten up the floor boards. Make sure that you use a sander to sand them down, to avoid getting splinters if you walk around bare footed. Once you have sanded the floor, if you are not happy with the colour, you could paint or varnish the floor to create a modern or vintage look. But if you like the feel of carpet under your feet, you could always get a rug to cover up parts of the floor where you like to have carpet or any parts that you would like to cover up. And if you don't want to splash out money on a rug, can't find one that you like, or whatever the reason, you can cut a rug from a decent piece of the old carpet that you were throughing out.

Kitchens and cupboards
Whether you want a new bedroom suite, new cupboards, a new kitchen or new tables and chairs, it doesn't have to cost you a fortune or hinder you with illagible written instructions or thousands of tiny screws.

If you want to make your kitchen a bit more modern, but you don't like the price tag that comes with having a whole new kitchen, then just replace the doors. Note down the measurements of the doors and frames and choose some new kitchen cupboard doors. Or if it just the colour of the doors that you dislike, then you could paint or varnish them and even add new door handles. Both ways save you money, time and the mess of having your whole kitchen turned upside down! You can also do the same to cupboards and wardrobes too, just add a lick of paint or a bit of varnish and you'll have newer looking furniture at a low cost!

If your tables and chairs are of great quality, but you have became bored of them or think that looked better in a different decade, there are a few easy, cheap and simple ways to bring them back to life. You could paint or varnish the table and chairs to a colour or shade that you would like. Buy a nice table cloth to cover any marks or scratches on your table top or even buy a piece of fabric and fashion your own. If the apolstery on your chairs are also in need of a makeover, you could choose some fabric and carefully cover the old apolstery with the new fabric. You could even make the table cloth match the new seat covers for a look that is truly unique.