Unconventional Home Improvements for a Stylish, Eco-Friendly, and Efficient Living Space

It’s not easy creating and maintaining a home that’s perfect for you and your family. Whether you’re looking to improve the decor or how environmentally friendly your home is, knowing where to start without spending too much money can be a difficult task. Here’s some advice to keep your home in tip top condition so you can enjoy it for many years to come.
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Solar power

While solar panels are quite an investment to dedicate to, they have so many benefits that outweigh the overall costs. They are super environmentally friendly as they absorb natural sunlight and turn it into usable energy, allowing you to cut back on the amount of fossil fuels you’re using.

Sure, they don’t look fantastic, but did you know that solar panels can actually collect enough energy to power at least half of your monthly electric bill? So, while the initial cost might be hefty, they’ll actually pay for themselves over time.

Another way to incorporate solar power into your home is by using solar powered lighting in your garden. Not only are you continuing to be as environmentally friendly as possible, but you can add a stylish touch to your garden. They’re inexpensive and can completely change the look of your garden.

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Wood flooring

​If you’re lucky enough to have a home with wooden flooring, you’ll know how heartbreaking it is when they don’t look as good as they used to through general wear and tear, or even accidental damage. If over the years they’ve diminished in appearance, then looking into wood floor restoration is an effective and cheaper solution to replacing them altogether.

If you’re thinking about installing wood flooring, using a wood flooring specialist every few years will help keep your floors looking as good as new. They will also be able to advise you on how to properly clean and protect your flooring to prevent any further damage.

Window tinting

​An unconventional, yet extremely beneficial home improvement you might consider is home window tinting. Not only does it add another layer of privacy to your home, but you’ll notice some other extremely useful benefits, such as:

• A reduction in energy bills. The tint on the windows can help regulate the temperature of your home by keeping cold or warm air out and your desired temperature in. So this means during the summer it will absorb any heat from the outside and help keep your air conditioned room nice and cool and vice versa in the winter.
  
  
  
• Protect your skin. Even inside your skin is at risk of sun damage. The film helps prevent the harmful rays from damaging your skin.
  
  
  
• Protect your furniture. Did you know that the sun’s rays actually damage your furniture and belongings over time? Constant sunlight will fade your furniture over time, and you may begin to notice the difference between furniture that’s in the sun and furniture that’s not.
  
  
  
• Increases curb appeal. Window tint looks great and shows potential home buyers that you’ve looked after the property.​

Color

If you’ve played it safe over the years with plain colors, you might be feeling a little bored with your decor. While plain and lighter colors can make a space look larger, it can quickly become boring. Luckily, you can use different colors and shades to trick the eye into thinking the room is actually bigger than it is!

Experiment with pops of color in each room. Whether you choose to paint your walls or accessorize with pops of color is up to you and your budget. You could paint a feature wall, or buy new couch cushions, rugs, and curtains with a pop of color to brighten up the space.

If you’re unable to paint your walls because of rules set by your landlord, then you’re not at a loss! Consider buying colorful artwork and ornaments to decorate your home with. Beautiful artwork doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll ruin the walls either, as there are ways to hang artwork without putting nails into walls.

If you are looking to increase curb appeal, then you might consider repainting the exterior of your home too. This might be window frames or the brickwork plaster itself. Either way, a fresh lick of paint will make the world of difference to how your home looks and feels.
Above the headOne space that many people don’t think about is the space above the head. Why not utilize it? You could add hanging baskets with trailing plants, use it for storage, or even spice things up by painting the ceiling a different color.

Upcycling furniture

​If your furniture has seen better days then you might be wondering what you can do to make your space feel and look nicer without having to replace it all. That’s where upcycling comes in.

Many people think that upcycling is just a lick of paint and replacing the drawer or door knobs. While this is a perfect example of upcycling, there are lots of different creative things you could do with an old piece of furniture. There are lots of upcycle inspiration posts on Pinterest, so why not take a look and see what you could turn your old furniture into?

One thing to note is that the furniture you’re upcycling doesn’t have to serve the same purpose as it did before, and you shouldn’t be afraid to remove parts to turn it into something else, or even mis-match different pieces of old furniture to create a new one. For example, if you’ve got an old low-lying coffee table that you have no use for, you could turn it into a bay window stool by adding cushions from an old chair or even couch. Complete the look with a lick of paint and a couple of scatter cushions and you’ve got a fab new piece of furniture!

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Decluttering

​If there’s one thing that many people are guilty of, it’s hoarding useless items. Sometimes people find it difficult to part with items they no longer use and choose to keep it “just in case” or as a memento.

There are a handful of questions you should be asking yourself to decide whether to keep an item:

• Have I used it in the last six months?
• Will I use it in the next six months?
• Does it have sentimental value
• Am I really ever going to use it again?

If you’ve answered no to all of these questions, it’s probably time to think about binning, donating or selling it.

Decluttering can be a mammoth task, but if you spend your time going from room to room, you’ll soon notice your home is looking brighter, airier, and generally a much nicer space to be in.

Halogen

The colder weather is finally upon us, and with the current cost of living you might be wondering how you’re going to heat your home without breaking the bank. The answer? Halogen heaters. They aren’t the best looking things, granted, but they are very cheap to run compared to putting your heating on.

Not only are they cheap to run, but they are inexpensive to buy too. Most hardware stores will stock them!
Insulation Finally, insulating your home is another investment that’s worth making. If you’re noticing drafts coming from your roof or even underneath doors and window frames, now’s the time to do something about it. Draft excluders are an inexpensive way of eliminating drafts if you can’t afford to have your insulation reinstalled at the moment.