(collaborative) The costs of a home refurbishment whether it’s for your own or for a rental property can literally skyrocket if you don’t keep an eye on your spending. It’s crazy how engrossed you can get in a renovation project and then find that you’re £10,000+ over budget. We could all do with saving money as we go, but, it is also important not to cut corners. Doing so can have a detrimental effect on the appearance of a property and in some cases can mean spending much more later to redo the work properly. It can make sense to focus on the main rooms and come back to those less important rooms at a later date.
How to Keep Home Refurbishment Costs Low
DIY
Obviously doing as much as possible yourself will help keep down costs. We’re not all highly skilled in the various areas we would need to be to create a professional looking finish in our home. It’s important to be practical. There will be some jobs that you will need to have others help you with. Friends may be able to help but only get them in if they have experience. Otherwise, it could mean you having to pay for work to be redone.
Paints
We don’t always think about the amount of paint we may need for a home refurbishment project. The price can soon add up if you are decorating every room in your home. Here it is important to use good quality paint. Don’t waste your time with the cheap stuff unless you have no choice. We use Dulux every time we do any property refurbishments. It’s hardly the cheapest but you’ll find Wicks often have offers on Dulux paint so make full use of them.
Carpets
You’d be amazed to hear that you can find high-quality carpets at affordable rates. The trick is to find a good, competitive supplier. Buying a premium carpet from a reputable company will mean products last much longer making a saving in the long run. When you purchase a premium carpet you expect longevity from the product. A good product should come with a warranty although naturally, this will vary between the different types of carpets. Also, consider purchasing remnants from someone like Designer Carpet. These are the end pieces of a roll of carpeting large enough to still be used in smaller rooms and can also be made into made-to-measure rugs. Using these may give you a saving of up to 90%.
Wooden Flooring
Alongside carpets, wooden floors are also a popular flooring choice. A chunk of your refurbishment budget can vanish on purchasing materials and having them fitted. Finding places that can offer good quality products at reasonable prices is important. Some online stores can offer up to 79% off high street prices. It’s worth shopping around and checking on Trustpilot to make sure the quality of products is good before making a purchase.
Make Use of Spare Fabrics
We all have spare fabric within the home whether it’s let over from a previous project such as making your own curtains or even from clothing that no longer fits that you are looking to repurpose. Needless to say, there are plenty of things within the home that you can make such as cushions, quilts, etc. Not only can you make all sorts of great items for your home you can also save a fair amount by doing it yourself. You’ll find all sorts of great ideas to inspire you over on my post “Great Ways to Use Fabrics In the Home“.
Utilise Deals and Discounts
Whether you’re buying furniture, furnishings, or gadgets for the home always compare prices and look to see if there are any discounts available. Seeking the best prices on all purchases can significantly reduce the overall cost of your home’s transformation. Joining the Black Friday Club, for example, will allow you to find an extensive range of items at a lower cost. If you are willing to consider different brands or products, you will have an even better opportunity to generate big savings. In a world where price comparisons can be made within seconds, paying over the odds for home renovation items should be a thing of the past.
Ex Display & Used Kitchens
The kitchen can be one of the most costly rooms to refurbish. It’s not just the flooring and walls to think about you’ll also need a range of appliances that tend to be pricey. You could consider purchasing an ex-display or used kitchen. Places like The Used Kitchen Company can offer a range of ex-display kitchens from over 700 UK showrooms as well as a wide range of pre-used kitchens with savings of up to 70%. It’s a great way to find a kitchen that will fit your space and budget.
Summary
Whether you choose to do a full or partial refurbishment or simply a quick refresh in a few rooms you know have a few tips on ways to help you keep the cost down. You can always revisit rooms you haven’t managed to do when you have more funds available.
How would you suggest others save costs on home refurbishment projects?
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Written by Melanie Edjourian.
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Brilliant advice. Anything house related can be so expensive but you’re right in that there are ways to make it cheaper.
We’ve just tagged on to our neighbours getting their drive done, as our houses are joined we’ve bought the costs down for us both x
That’s a great idea. I’m pleased to hear you made a saving.
Some fab tips! I’m in total agreement for using Dulux paint, it is far superior to most! I just dislike painting so much :/ I really need to get cracking with my hallway right now though, just need the motivation! Sim x
Good luck with that Sim. Just think about how lovely it’ll look once done. That can sometimes be all the motivation you need.
We do love having carpets in the home. They make it so much cosier It is easy to find bargains on carpets and rugs. We’ve also learned a lot of DIY.
It sounds like you’ve been doing plenty on your home already. It can be quite fun to see a new room or theme for a room coming together.
Good tips! We saved a lot by hiring acquaintances to help us with our home renovations. Unfortunately, many of them did not do the quality of work we were expecting, so we plan to hire professionals next time.
It’s important to make sure you only use people that know what they are doing. Otherwise, it costs more in the long run.
Great ways to save costs here. It can be so easy to spend way more than you meant to on home refurbishments so it is important to keep costs down where you can.
It really can. If you don’t watch the spending it can spiral out of control
This is such a great list to keep home refurbishment costs low. It’s so important to maintain a budget and save money whenever you can because homeownership isn’t cheap. It’s an excellent asset though!
Keeping to a budget is very important.
These are great suggestions! My husband is really handy, so we’ve been able to keep costs down on every home project we’ve done with the exception of hiring someone to refinish our hardwood floors.
That really can help keep the costs low.
Thanks for the tips, it’s very timely now that I am planning to refurbish my home for the holidays.
That’s great to hear. I hope this will help you save some money as you do it.
It can get expensive but knowing how to keep costs down is great, this is a really helpful post as we are dong this at the moment
It’s great to hear you found the post helpful. Good luck with your project.
We are thinking of having Home Refurbishment and this is such a great help for us.
Thanks Dennis, hopefully you’ll use this to make some savings x
I think planning is the most important thing to keep costs low, but don’t always go for the cheapest option. It might be the cheapest offset cost but it might not be cheaper in the long run when you need to replace it or upgrade x
I agree the cheapest option can cost more in the long run.
So many useful tips! I will definitely need them next spring when we are plannings some refurbishments!
I’m so pleased you found this useful. Good luck with the refurbishment.
You have some great suggestions here. Most of our semi-sizeable projects have been DIY where my Dad did the work. It’s actually not too hard to reupholster chairs with fabric remants.
Exactly. Those sorts of things are quite easy and there are videos you can use to have a look if unsure.
These are great tips! We always try to do what we can ourselves (or call on a handy friend or family member). These kinds of projects can really add up.
If you have friends or family that can help it can save you loads.
There are some really good tips and advice here for sure. I would have never have thought about using ex-display kitchens, as I bet you do get a good chunk of money off xx
You sure do and can get some amazing designer ones too!
Before your DIY, make sure you have a good understanding of the task. You will cost yourself money in the long wrong if you have to redo what you spent money to do!
That’s very true. It’s important to get in the professionals if you don’t know how to do things.
Saving in these areas is great. It allows you to do more or even upgrade some in areas that you weren’t prepared for, which seems to happen a lot in home reno projects.
It can help with upgrades you hadn’t initially planned if you can save enough on the initial areas.
Upgrading the home is always fun but can definitely be pricey. These are awesome tips to keep the budget in check.
It can be pricey depending on the materials use, whether you shop around and how much help you have from professionals.
We always decorate a room at a time so we can spend the money gradually over a year rather than all at once
It can be a nightmare having the whole place done at once. Equally one room at a time can be a lengthy process.
I’m loving all these great tips. We have been doing a lot to our home. We try to keep it at a lower cost as well.
I hope it all goes well for you Kathy.
When I first purchased my home I learned how important it is to purchase good quality paint.
It can be an important lesson to learn.
I love DIY’s, Having another way of doing things on your own and experementing. This is very useful! These are life hacks. Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea. Will definitely apply this for our refurbishment!
Good luck with your project Ruth. I’m glad you found my post helpful.
Great tips! We’ve been DIYing while quarantining and have accomplished a lot. We’re happy campers over here. 🙂
That’s great to hear. It’s given loads of people time to get things done in their homes.
Great advice; we’re currently re-doing the flat and we used Dulux paint as tbh better safe than sorry! There’s things you can save on and then there’s quality that’s worth putting money in.
Dulux is great. Sometimes it is better to spend, I’m totally with you there.
These are great tips, when we buy our home we are hoping to fully refurbish ourselves so these tips will definitely come in handy! I definitely agree with doing lots of DIY or asking friends to help as this can save so much money (and will feel great that you so much yourself too!).
Thanks Jess. I’m glad you liked the post. I hope you save loads when you do your next refurb project x
We always to our DIY ourselfs. We aren’t that good at it, but practice makes perfect, as they say.
Sometimes you can bring in people to work alongside you. It can still save you money and show you how to do things for next time.
These are really great tips, I especially second your comment about using good quality paint!
It looks so much better. You wouldn’t believe the difference.
I love diy ideas but you’re right, don’t do it if you’re not good at it.. Great tips thanks.
It is best to do what your good at. I’ve seen things go horribly wrong when people mess up.
Thanks for sharing this! It’s crazy how quickly costs can add up when you’re trying to refurbish your home so this is some really valuable advice.
Thanks Jen. I’m hoping this will help a few make savings on their next home project.
These are great tips. We decided to do a refurb a few years ago and I loved doing it on a budget.
Good luck with the project. I bet your home looked amazing once finished.
Thanks for sharing this. I think the expense is what puts a lot of people off doing refurbishments and renovations, so it’s always good to have some idea of how to keep costs down. One thing I would add is having a bit of your budget put aside for the unforeseen costs that are sure to crop up with any renovation.
It can put people off. It always helps to know where you can make savings.