Money

I devised a plan that would have a big impact without costing a ton of money. It was also simple enough that I could do most of it myself, on my own timeline. 

Because budgeting for even a basic repair project can feel overwhelming.

For many renters, it isn’t the blank walls or the basic carpets, or even the neighbors that can disrupt that feeling of home sweet home. Instead, it’s the lighting. Whether your rental sports flourescent light bars that cast a jarring light, or those much-hated flush mount lights that seem dated and unoriginal, ceiling lights in rental units aren’t exactly envious. But there’s a rental hack for just about anything.

Here's a unique way to display botanicals without worrying about having dried flowers on hand.

Leave the spices behind!

Whether you're using it as an occasional getaway or hoping to turn it into full-time living, here are five tips for saving money on the overhaul.

Updating old laminate countertops without having to completely replace them can be a big challenge. Faux finishes can often look, well… faux, and tackling a DIY project (like pouring your own concrete countertops) can be tricky and exhausting. That’s why I was so impressed with this project from interior designer Kara Paslay.Kara managed a realistic concrete look without the hassle and weight of fully-formed slabs.

It is a good time to love tile. Beautiful patterns and shapes abound. But unfortunately for those us on a budget, a lot of the most beautiful tiles are just way too expensive to use for a whole wall, a floor, or even a backsplash. So we’ve come up with some creative ways you can incorporate just a little bit of that amazing tile you love, so you can enjoy its loveliness without breaking the bank.

TOP ROW:1. Before & After: A Trashed Curbside Dresser2. Before & After: An Unexpected Upholstery Project3. Before & After: Faux Snakeskin Table4. Before & After: Dresser Makeover5. Before & After: From Trash to Silk Screened Style BOTTOM ROW:6. Before & After: Ottoman Transformation7. Before & After: Salvaging a DIY Dresser Gone Wrong8. Before & After: Trash to Treasure Table in Just an Hour9. Before & After: Restoring a Solid Wood Desk10.

TOP ROW:1. Before & After: Molly’s IKEA Rast Turned Campaign Chest2. Before & After: IKEA Changing Table into Home Office Desk3. Before & After: The DIY IKEA Office Organizer4. Before & After: Bet You Can’t Guess What This IKEA Malm was Converted Into5. Before & After: IKEA Malm Gets an Upholstered Ombre Makeover BOTTOM ROW:6. Before & After: Anna’s Take on the IKEA Rast7. Lizzie’s Wallpapered IKEA Lack Table8. Before & After: IKEA Granas Table Gets a Rustic Makeover9.

I had no idea that my little kitchen overhaul would yield such a response, ranging from “awful” to “amazeballs.” Thanks for all the great comments, both good and bad. By the way, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Dr. Kevorkian, and stem cell research combined have nothing on the “brass knobs with stainless appliances” debate. I’m not sure which issue will take longer to resolve. And that brings us to the bathroom.

You are probably losing money right now, without even realizing it. If you’re less than pleased with your recent home energy bill, don’t fret. There’s room for improvement and savings. Heating accounts for the largest portion (45 percent) of our energy bills, according to the U.S.

Over the years, we’ve shared a lot of money-saving projects, large and small. If you can make something at home easily and cheaply, why wouldn’t you? Save some cash and flex those DIY muscles with these ten ideas for things to make rather than buy, from the Apartment Therapy and Kitchn archives. Your wallet and your home will thank you. Household cleaners. Ban chemicals from your home once and for all, and save pennies too with these recipes for eco-friendly cleaning products.

The biggest misconception about rental kitchens is that they’re unchangeable. Too many renters think that just because their appliances are mismatched, they have to stay mismatched. Or that there’s no getting around looking at the neighboring brick wall while you do dishes. There are lots of temporary rental solutions that won’t risk your security deposit.

So it’s time to stop telling yourself you’re okay with your old countertops, that they’re fiiiiiine, there’s nothing wrong with them, really. Because, truth be told, you just can’t stand to look at them one more minute. Maybe you tried an interim measure, a quick budget fix, but that reached its expiration point. The time has come and you couldn’t be more excited. But, before you get too giddy, there’s some bad news.

Many of us dream of upgrading at least some part of our homes, to make them: a) look better b) be more functional and c) feel more like us. Most people aren’t made of money, however, and look for the best ways to get bang for the buck. So, how much are you willing to spend on a remodel, and what would you do for that amount? Trulia recently conducted a poll of Americans and found that 76% of them plan to renovate or remodel their homes.

We can’t resist a good IKEA hack. Of course these pieces are lovely on their own, but this year a few intrepid DIYers managed to take a few basics to the next level. Swedish ingenuity + your ingenuity = some really inspired pieces of furniture. Click the links to see the ‘afters’. (Hint: clicking the links with your mouse wheel will open each link in a new window.) TOP ROW: 1. The IKEA VITTSJÖ: 5 Colorful Hacks 2. Before & After: From IKEA Dining Table to Chic Desk 3.

Living in a home where you can’t make any permanent changes can be frustrating, but clever apartment dwellers know that just means it’s time to get creative. Here are some of their go-to moves for turning even the most cramped, outdated, characterless spaces into a cozy, personality-filled home. Hint: It doesn’t involve buying all new furniture.

“Decorative art isn’t necessarily created just by bona fide artists. Everyday folks can get in on the action too, and make custom work for their walls. We asked our house tour residents to tell us about their DIY art projects, and the results are endlessly impressive. 1. Above, a Southwestern rug-inspired painted canvas from Kathryn & Perry’s “Have Less Do More” Apartment: My proudest DIY has got to be our little dining nook/statement art wall!

Some IKEA hacks go so far above and beyond the standard “coat of paint and new handles” that they somehow become whole new pieces of furniture. This one, for example, started out as the ubiquitous Rast dresser and a salad bowl, and was transformed into an elegant, modern bathroom vanity with plumbing and everything. I for one am impressed.

At Apartment Therapy, we believe the more personal you make your space, the happier you will be in it (and that goes for the time you spend caring for the roads leading up to your space, too!). In today’s video, Grandpa Carl shows us his hand-built custom snowblower cab, which he invented and built for less than it would cost to buy one commercially.

After moving to Saratoga Springs, NY, which is famous for its horses and horse track, Lucianna Samu became obsessed with old horse stall doors. She began collecting and refurbishing the doors for projects around the house. Below are pictures of a liquor cabinet and a kitchen pantry that Lucianna created by hanging the doors on modern sliding rails.According to Lucianna, My advice is that the lighter the door, the easier and less expensive the installation.

Keeping warm in the winter time sometimes requires extra work and some ingenuity. Thankfully, our reader community is a generous one; people regularly share helpful tips and secrets in the comments. Today, I’ve gathered just some of their great ideas on how to seal up windows and deal with drafts — so you can live as toasty (and as cheaply) at home as possible this cold season. gudnis: If you have double hung windows, head to the hardwre store and find some FELT weatherstripping.

When you’re dealing with tired and busted furniture, you have a couple of options. You can fix the easy water stains, dents, or cracks. But if fixing all the boo boos takes too much time, or you want a completely new look, you can cover up the old with a completely new material. When you’ve tried everything, and it still doesn’t look right, it might be time to start from scratch and take your furniture back to its beginnings.

We rounded up ten great home items and tasty food things you should save money on by making (instead of buying) in the post: Do It Yourself: 10 Things to Make Instead of Buy. We’re back with nine more suggestions of things around the house you could save money on in the long-run by DIYing. 1. Curtains If you want incredibly heavy, huge and intricate curtains — well you might be better off finding a deal to buy if you’re not particularly DIY-inclined.

Laken, the college freshman we introduced you to last week, is all moved in and set up, and ready to start classes this week. She took her college blah dorm and turned it into something personal and comfortable. Want to see what she did with her space? Let’s break it down, and see what Laken did to make it work: 1. Configured her furniture, i.e. raised the bed, to allow for more storage. As a result, the dresser, some storage bins and a hamper fit nicely underneath and stay out of sight.

Even more reasons to use these rental-friendly finds.

Sometimes I come across an adorable kid’s room on Pinterest and get the urge to spruce up my girls’ rooms a bit. Unfortunately money is tight these days and spending money on a new lamp or cute print is just not in the budget. That’s when I usually start getting creative and try to come up with projects that I can complete on the cheap.

A "before & after" bonanza of reader-submitted projects, organized by budget.

If you love looking at pictures of interiors like we do, you’ll probably see a few of the same pieces crop up over and over, design classics like the Eames lounge or Harry Bertoia’s wire chairs. But one of the most ubiquitous pieces has a humbler pedigree (and a much lower price point). It’s the IKEA Expedit, and it’s taking the world of storage by storm.

Jenny Komenda of Little Green Notebook consistently executes beautiful DIY projects with precision and flair. Most recently, she and her family used Ikea’s Billy bookshelves in combination with lumber, mouldings, and spray paint to create a custom look at a non-custom cost.Jenny has slowly been revealing updates to her New York home, and these shelves give the living room a sophisticated feel that’s still young and fun. It looks so good!

The challenge (and fun!) of small space living is finding the best use for every inch. Even though tiny apartments are usually short on closet space, a place to stash your suitcases is less useful if what you really need is an office. Melissa put her closet to work for her — for only $130!Melissa Massello is the Stealfinder in Chief of Shoestring Magazine, and with a title like that, you know she’s looking to save a buck.

As part of my ongoing quest to add some color to my grey living room, I picked up one of these inexpensive tv tray tables at Target and decided to give it the before and after treatment. Yes, there is spray paint involved. And lamp finials. And rope. Intrigued? Click on through to see my nautically-inspired end result.The goal was to transform this $9 table from ‘college girl watching sitcom reruns and eating popcorn’ to something a little more yacht chic.

Designer Gina De Pasquale renovated this Las Vegas residence that needed a little updating throughout. Her work is most impressive in the bathroom where she did a great a job of mixing high and low pieces, all while staying true to the mid-century aesthetic.

I’ve had this old quirky elephant lamp from Target for several years, and although I loved its silly charm, I felt like it was in need of an update. Using some fabric, and new shade, and some spray paint, I managed to change the look of my old friend.As for the shade, I used an old Urban Outfitters lampshade that I had from another lamp and covered it with sheets of brocade fabric. Read more about that process in this earlier post.

Save yourself some time and money with this one tip.

Make yourself a little happier with your home, without throwing money down the drain when you move out.

These budget-friendly ideas deserve a place on your list this year.

These types of IKEA "hacks" are the perfect combo of affordable and fast to do.

Stop spending your paycheck on this stuff.

Spend less, and still absolutely love the result.

There's life in them yet.

Your salt shaker doesn’t have to stay strapped to the kitchen table. We’ve got 18 ways to put it to work all around your house.

Get this hero out of the pantry and into your tool kit.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to make a big impact, and these 12 transformations prove it.

Do you know what kind of looks you get when you go to the hardware store and tell the clerk you want to DIY a sliding door? When they point in the direction of “Doors & Windows,” you know it’s time to take matters into your own hands. I needed a door for a lofted space above our living room, and wanted the sliding effect. However, since it was a temporary solution, its construction needed to be simple and easy to do.

Renovation by: Kristyn Location: Pittsburgh There was nothing WRONG with the kitchen when I purchased my first home except that it wasn’t me. It didn’t fit the 1920s Tudor Revival style of the house or my preferred bright, colorful, organic modern look. Although I don’t love bead board, there was no reason to replace the clean and sturdy cabinets. So I embraced it, adding more to the side and back of the island that separates kitchen from dining room.

Renovation by: Patti Location: Phoenix, AZ We moved into our fixer-upper exactly one year ago and finally finished the last room – the kitchen. I think the previous owner must have fantasied about being a princess because every single room was painted pink (including ceilings and doors!) and had wall to wall purple carpeting.