Inspired by something we read in This Old House, here are a few home improvement projects that are great to do in the cooler months. These items not only can improve the value of your home, they can make it more comfortable to live in! What’s something you’ve been wanting to do?
Refresh With Paint
Adding an accent wall is a quick and easy way to really transform a room. At an average cost of $150, you can almost fit this into a day. It might break over to the next day when you need to remove the tape, but all in all, it’s a really nice, short project.
Add Crown Molding
This one costs $120 on average and can be a pain trying to get those angles and cuts just right. We recommend choosing polystyrene over wood, which is so much easier to maneuver with. One caveat: it goes up with joint compound, which means you’ll need to paint it, not stain it. However, most people don’t stain their crown molding anyway.
Install A Stair Runner
If you have a two-story house and you got wooden stairs, you can spend upwards of $2,500 bucks to get a stair runner installed after you’ve already spent the money you spent on the wood stairs. I don’t know that you want to spend another $2,500 to cover it up, but if you use just a couple of off-the-shelf woven runners and a few supplies, you can give your stairs a nice non-slip upgrade for about $300.
Install A Dishwasher
A lot of people think it’s a luxury, and a lot of people still wash dishes by hand. However, it can actually save you some money on your water bill for all the water you’ll save. Make sure you install a high-quality one with a pot washer feature. It’ll cost you $500 to $600 on average, and you can save as much as 40% off of your water consumption! If you go this route, make sure you have a garbage disposal to keep food debris from getting stuck in your dishes.
