When planning a redecoration of your house, or if you’re doing up a house that you are going to eventually move into, it can take a lot of three things: time, effort and money. If you run out of any one of these three, the impact that it has on it getting completed can be devastating. However, if you know some cheap tricks that will look amazing and can be completed quite quickly, at least you have all of the bases covered so that you don’t fall into the pit – or get anywhere close, in fact.

Decorating

Paint can be costly – especially if you’re switching to different colours for every room. Picking a neutral colour and sticking with it all the way through the house is definitely the way to go if you want to keep your costs down. Trade paint in colours such as white and magnolia is accessible for the public to buy and at a fraction of the cost that you’d be paying for normal paints. The downside to this is that it may not be the specific colour that you’re looking for, but if you’re not too precious for the time being and have things to accessorise the room with other than what’s splashed on the walls, then it’s totally the way to go. The lighter you keep your rooms, the more sellable your house will be according to recent research, and so this is something to definitely keep in mind when you’re making your decisions if you’re thinking of moving on any time in the near future.

Heating

Heating your home can be one of the most costly expenses that you pick up with it. There are ways of reducing your bills, such as installing solar energy panels (which actually end up giving you money back if you don’t use all of the energy – winner!), but realistically what you are looking for is maximum energy output for little cash input. Making sure that you have the right sized radiators for the rooms that you want to heat is definitely a deal sealer with this. There are sites online such as http://www.onlyradiators.co.uk/radiators/vertical-radiators which can help for when you don’t have the room to fit in a traditional horizontal radiator – vertical radiators allow you to disperse the same amount of heat energy around a room without having to compromise on space.  So much heat is absorbed by things like sofas and cabinets that have had to be put in front of radiators for room. It’s such a waste of space when it can be better utilised!

Ornamentation

Decorating your house apart from the walls is something that can wait. Most people are eager to make their mark upon their new room, but if you haven’t got the means for it, then budget and save and wait until you do. You never know – you might find that your tastes change over time and so are a bit thankful that you’ve stuck it out. There are so many resources for us available online now that we are able to print off bit and bobs to stick up on our walls easily enough, and they can be as classy or tacky as you like depending on the look that you’re going for. Sites like Gumtree and Facebook are great for sourcing second-hand decorations that are often free – what is one person’s trash is another person’s treasure as the saying goes! Plants are certainly making their way up on the decorative scale, and are so cheap to purchase. If you are quite creative and crafty, you could consider knotting up a hanging plant basket to display your plants on the inside of your home. It’s a very up-and-coming trend and one that will instantly lift a room.

Energy Supplies

Shopping around for energy suppliers has been made a whole load easier thanks to comparison sites on the internet. There are hoards out there for you to choose from, so you won’t be stuck finding one. Make sure that you get the best deal by asking around. As aforementioned, solar energy is one of the best things that you can go for, especially if you’re living in a sunnier climate. It can power things such as electricity and heating, is renewable and you can profit from it – what’s not to love about it?

Furniture

To make a house a home, you truly do need bits of furniture on the inside. If you have an old sofa but aren’t too keen on the colours of it, you can always reupholster – provided that you’re a dab hand with a sewing machine. Even if you’re not, it’s easy enough to get somebody to do it for you. Again, it’s all about the online research. There are pieces of furniture that are often given to charity shops and places that can recycle them, and these can be a cheap buy. Don’t disregard places such as http://www.ikea.com either – it’s got a reputation of providing cheap, good quality furniture for a reason! Asking around friends and family members is the best way to get furniture given to you that has been previously loved but is needing a new home. There are often people who have quite a lot of furniture in storage that has never seen the light of day since it went in some years ago; people prefer it to go to those that they know rather than get rid of it completely in most cases.

The Outside

Decorating the outside of your home can be one of the most rewarding things, if only for its curb appeal when you first pull up. Plant a few flowers, get the windows and doors painted up (if wooden) with a fresh coat of whatever colour you desire and keep it clean and you’ve got your cheap and effective way to keeping both you and the neighbours happy. As long as the first impression is good, that’s all that counts, right?

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