Home DIY Tips For First Time Buyers

If you are a new homeowner this year or you will be very soon, first of all, congratulations. Becoming a homeowner for the first time is the best feeling in the world and it can honestly be the most amazing thing for us to do in our young adult lives. The feeling of independence and responsibility is amazing and we are able to dive into real adulthood with anticipation and hope.

One of the things you will be very tempted to do when you move into your Home is to decorate it from top to bottom. Moving into a place which is your own is amazing, but it will still have the decor of the person who lived there before you. If you are looking for some simple DIY tips and tricks this year, here are some to follow.

Get organized

It is so important that you organise yourself when you are about to start a DIY project at home. You might think that you can account for everything easily, but the magnitude of some projects can be a lot bigger than you anticipated. Make sure that you plan things out in detail and think about everything you want to buy, everything you need to do and the timescale you are looking at. Make sure you know which jobs should be completed first and ensure that you have enough time to really get down to business and get things done.

Know your Home

The mistake which many first time buyer make when they move into a space is to rush into DIY projects. Although you might think that living in a home which is completely finished and decorated right away is great, you can also think about waiting for a while. When you move into a home for the first time you will not be used to the space. As the months go by you will naturally start to move things around and you will get to know which parts of the house you love and which ones you hate. Get to know your home first before you decorate because you will be able to do a much more accurate job and it will last longer.

Make a list

It is important to make a list of things that you want to accomplish in the home. We aren’t talking about things like ‘do the kitchen’, you need to be more specific and make sure that you write down physical jobs that need to be done. For example you could say ‘fix the taps’, ‘hang the watercolour above the sofa’ etc… lists can make life much easier and they will allow you to stay in track.

Budget over what you need

Make sure that you over budget for what you think you will need. There will always be extra things that show up when you complete a project so it is always better for you to have extra funds set aside in case any extra work needs doing. You can fund your projects with savings, trust deed investment, and even think about asking your family for a little help if you need it.

Start small

Whatever you do, don’t start your DIY career by stripping out the entire kitchen and bathroom and redoing them from scratch. For someone who has never done DIY, you need to start with small projects and work your way up to the big stuff. Think about starting with painting the walls, hanging some art and work your way up to larger things once you become confident.

Test colours and wallpaper

If you are thinking about changing the colour of your living room and other parts of the house, one thing you will want to do is take the time to test it out for a while before you commit. If you have a wallpaper or a colour scheme in mind you can grab a sample from your local hardware store and you can stick the wallpaper on your target wall, and you can paint some plain paper and do the same thing. Keep this on the wall for a few weeks as you live your day to day life and have a think whether it suits the space. It is always better to test things out before you commit to it and regret it later.

Move things around

A lot of the time when you move into your first home you will end up just putting your things wherever they will fit. However, before you start redecorating you can see whether or not you can just move things around and make a difference without spending lots of money. You might be surprised at how different your Home looks when you move things around a little.

Don’t drill holes

Never drill holes in your walls! Although you might want to hang lots of art and mirrors in the home, did you know that you can do this without drilling holes in the walls? You can use command strips instead of holes to hang up your art and mirrors and this will save you having to fill in lots of holes in the walls when you rearrange or redecorate. It causes much less damage to the house and is much easier for you to do.

Finish a project before you start another

The most crucial thing you can do if you want to make sure that you can make big changes to your Home is to not start multiple projects at the same time! It is tempting to try and get all of your house decorated at the same time, but it is not practical and you will end up making more work for yourself if you try to do it. Think about starting one project and seeing it through all the way to the end before you try and do anything else. If you keep starting projects while other ones are going on you will never finish anything! Take things one at a time and by the end of the year you will have a wonderful new home to live in!