Don’t have a lot of time or money for home improvements? I’ve got good news…you don’t need either! Here are ten easy ways to update your home in a weekend!
Let’s face it, we’re all short on time. Between jobs and kids and church, there often isn’t a lot of time or energy leftover to make changes to our homes. And yet, we love the idea of updating our homes and making them look more like the happy place we see them as in our heads.
Finally decorate your own home – with confidence!
You’re so much closer to a beautifully-decorated home than you think. You just need a little help to get there!
Well, I’m here to tell you, that it doesn’t have to take a lot of time (or money) to update your home! Here are ten easy ways to update your home in a weekend!
10 Easy Weekend Home Updates
Try one or try them all. Either way, any of these ten ideas will bring instant improvement – and dare I say it, joy – to your spaces!
1. Hang curtains
Hanging curtains improves your home in a few ways; curtains are good for noise reduction, light management and also just to add plain old beauty to a space!
Curtains can be expensive, but they don’t have to be. Try shopping for curtains on clearance shelves or online sales. Or make your own with my simple, no-sew drop cloth curtain tutorial or use my uber inexpensive Ikea curtain hack.
Remember to hang curtains “high and wide” for greater impact!
2. Organize a space
Whether you decide to dump the junk drawer or empty out a hall closet, you can easily organize one space in a weekend.
Follow my simple tutorial for how to organize any space in your house and think of how happy you’ll be on Monday morning when you don’t have to worry about what will fall on your head when you go to the closet for your umbrella!
3. Declutter
Along with organizing comes decluttering. It’s pretty clear that we all struggle with things piling up and looking cluttered. Clutter in your home clutters your mind too. And let’s face it, we have enough to manage. We don’t need clutter making it harder.
Ask yourself three questions when decluttering and getting rid of things: 1. Is it beautiful? 2. Is it useful? 3. Is it sentimental? Depending on your answers to those questions, you can keep, donate, sell or toss items.
For more on my decluttering process, check out this post about decluttering your home the easy way.
4. Add new lighting
I love lighting. Seriously, I have the hardest time choosing and sticking with lighting choices because I like so many kinds. Lighting can literally brighten a room. And it can add beauty to an otherwise blank canvas too. Lamps, chandeliers, pendants and sconces, oh my!
Lighting can be another one of those expensive upgrades, but it doesn’t have to be. Shop sales at your local big box stores, check out nearby boutiques or shop sales online to find deals.
5. Add a rug
Oh rugs, how I love thee! Just kidding, sort of.
Rugs really do add a finishing touch to a space…when they’re done right. Rugs are one of those decor things that people often do wrong. In particular they typically choose rugs that are too small for their space to save money. But that can ruin a room in an instant.
Check out my area rug size guide for the right sized rugs to choose for any space.
6. Paint something
Paint is one of the cheapest ways to add some fun, style and character to your home. You can paint a wall, a dresser or even a piece of original art (I won’t tell if you use a paint by numbers canvas!).
Just make sure you choose colors that work with your whole home color scheme!
7. Add a plant
I know it may not seem like much, but adding plants to your home is so good for you.
I tend to have a black thumb, especially when it comes to indoor plants. But I’ve recently discovered if I add plants inside, that require very little maintenance, I can actually keep them alive! I specifically choose ones whose instructions are “let soil dry out between waterings”. That way I only have to remember to water them all at once, about once a week (even less sometimes). I’ve had the best success with plants like a fiddle leaf fig and a snake plant.
Check out this article from MidwestLiving with twenty super-easy houseplants you’ll love!
8. Replace cabinet or door hardware
Another easy way to update your home in a weekend is to replace kitchen cabinet door hardware.
Of course, this can also get expensive. But you can shop around to find hardware you love at better prices.
Or you can remove the knobs and handles you have and give them a couple of coats of spray paint for about ten bucks!
9. Change outlets and switches
This one is the only update for which you’ll need to check with your local electrical safety board. But changing out your outlets and switches (and/or their covers) is a quick and economical way to update your home.
My favorite makeover is to replace faded, painted-on, old grungy outlets with nice new bright white ones. If you’ve got a little extra change kicking around, you can update some of your switches to dimmers and add usb port options to outlets for easy device charging.
While you’re at it, you might as well update the labels on your electrical panel too!
10. Hang art
There are so many options for art in your home. But don’t let the abundance of choices overwhelm you.
Choose what you love, be it framed black and white family photos or classic oil paintings or anything in between, and hang some up this weekend!
Inside my Decorating Uncomplicated course, I’ve got a bonus guide called Done For You Art Arrangements that has lots of ideas for art groupings plus how to hang art. I encourage you to check it out if you’re struggling with what to put on your walls!
Can you think of any other easy updates for your home? Any that can be done in a weekend?
