5 ways to lift your home

Renovation queen Cherie Barber is headed to the Sunshine Coast later this year to take part in a photo shoot for fundraising project, the Vintage Calendar Girls. As part of the fundraising efforts to support Coast families who are battling a rare cancer diagnosis, Barber has agreed to auction off one hour of her time to consult with the winner on renovation ideas.

Here, the public speaker and renovator from Network Ten’s The Living Room, shares her top five tips for DIY home projects.

Whether you have purchased a new home or own an investment property, these five cosmetic improvements will boost the value and appearance of the property.

1. Painting
Virtually anyone is capable of painting – and once you get busy with some good-quality rollers, you can knock off a couple of rooms in a day. In 25-plus years of renovating, I’ve never found anything as powerful as paint for achieving miracle transformations in really tight time frames. Opt for a neutral palette that won’t date and white high-gloss for doors and trims, so everything gleams.

2. Kitchen and bathroom facelift
If your kitchen and bathroom need replacing, that’s certainly no weekend project. However, if they’re structurally in good condition but just cosmetically the wrong colour or dated, then again, paint is your friend. White Knight Laminate paint goes on like normal paint, but can radically transform the look and feel of your kitchen cabinets or bathroom vanity for less than $100. There’s also specialist tile paint to gloss over unsightly tiles, appliance paint, products for painting or even resurfacing benchtops so they mimic granite.

Kitchen beforehand

Kitchen after

3. Updated flooring
New flooring is a big ask for your average DIYer, but with products like Gerflor stick-on vinyl flooring, virtually anyone can lay this over the top of existing flooring. You can change the whole look of a living room or kitchen in a couple of days.

4. The devil in the detail

This is when you break out the drill. Updating hardware like towel racks, door handles, even installing new shelves can really modernise a place. You’ll be amazed how much these small details can make. Slimline micro venetians are cheap and a great replacement for daggy curtains or those old ‘70s vertical blinds; just make sure you have the exact window measurements to hand when you’re shopping for your off-the-shelf venetians.

5. Spruce up the front facade
First impressions count, so it’s important your property looks its best from the street. Paving paint can revamp tired old driveways and paths and if your garden is overgrown, cut back and remove heavy shrubbery, which will make your front yard appear larger than it really is. Bulk up your garden beds with nicer plants or decorative pebbles / woodchips and breathe new life into your lawn with fertiliser. Top it all off with a snazzy new letterbox.

Cherie’s advice
With labour one of the biggest costs in any renovation, anything you can safely DIY is going to be a big money saver. A modern kitchen and bathroom is always going to attract buyers, so a quick cosmetic update is a great value-add. And never underestimate the power of good kerb appeal. Those first impressions could be the difference between a quick drive-by and a buyer leaping out of the car to get a look inside.

For more from Cherie visit renovatingforprofit.com.au.