little things that make a Big Difference

The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.

-Louisa May Alcott

If you are looking at purchasing a fixer-upper or just a slightly dated house, you are probably looking at putting some work and money into the kitchen and bathroom. Though these may be the biggest transformation areas, you may be surprised by how little things (with little cost) can create a big impact and help your house look finished.

Remove dated technology: I’m talking about phone boxes, wires that don’t connect to anything anymore, the old door bell box, baseboard heaters or radiators if you aren’t going to use them, etc. This will clear up visual clutter and potentially give you more wall space and freedom when arranging furniture and decor.

Preserve any original features: If you have any of the original molding, keep as much as possible. It might be worth paying to replace what has been removed. In my house, the hardwood floors had been carpeted over at some point. The carpet had already been removed, but the toe kick molding in front of the baseboards hadn’t been replaced. When I first walked into my new house, I didn’t really notice it was missing until my parents pointed it out. Toe kick is relatively inexpensive to replace so we put it back and it really makes the rooms look so much more finished. I was also thrilled to have picture rail in the two downstairs rooms. It makes hanging pictures (and deciding where you are going to hang them) so much easier!

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Paint: Yes, a coat of paint will fix about anything, if you do a good job. Make sure you are confident in your paint selection before starting. Get swatches (or even get sample paint) and put them in various places around the room. Make a point to look at them at various times of the day so you can see how different lighting affects the tone. If you are painting over old wood or several coats of old paint, scrape any loose or chippy paint first. It is worth it to choose a quality brand of paint to save you the time and hassle of multiple coats, though in some cases, you may need more than one coat. One room in my house had beige walls and a royal blue ceiling. It took three coats of quality paint to keep the blue from bleeding through (let that be a lesson to those considering dark paints!). For even texture, paint a full wall at a time. If you stop in the middle of the wall and save it for another day, the line may be more obvious than you’d think.

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Clean: Perhaps obvious, but take the time to clean the blinds, light fixtures, stair rails, etc. Change out old, dim light bulbs. I also found it made a big difference to replace the funky old outlets and switches and their covers.

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Remove paint from metal hardware: For me, this makes a huge difference visually and features the original details of the house. You don’t have to spend hours with a paint scraper to do this! Pick up an old crockpot from a thrift shop. Fill it with water and a few drops of dish detergent. Put in your metal hardware (drawer pulls, door plates, window pulls, etc.). Turn it on high 3 or 4 hours. Carefully fish out your hardware and give it a scrub with steel wool immediately before it cools off. The paint should peel off easily.

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Scratch treat furniture: Almost all (okay, actually all!) of my furniture was purchased second hand or given to me for free, which means they all had scratches. After giving used pieces a good clean, use a wood stain to restore the finish (or stain pen if just small touch ups are needed.) I wish I had taken before and after pictures of a 1940’s chest I refinished. The difference was amazing!

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Take the time to paint inside closets: This may not seem necessary, but if you are painting the room a new color, the closet should usually be painted the same color to blend in. Repaint the shelving to match your trim color if necessary.

If you are investing in a home, a little attention to detail can go a long way even when you don’t have a huge budget for drastic transformation.