New Year’s Resolutions are a great way to start off the year and what better goals to have than making your dream home a reality. This is a great time to make the changes you’ve been wanting to in order to make your home more functional.

Add a Coat

Paint can have an amazing effect on your home for very little cost. Not only does it help your home look well maintained by addressing the never ending wear and tear on your walls, but updating the colors keeps your home in this decade. Save money by focusing on high traffic areas and address at least one area every year to ensure your home projects don’t become overwhelming. Add color to breathe some personality into your space or keep it neutral to prep for selling.

Spice It Up

Kitchens are always on the dream list of homeowners and home buyers. While it may seem like you need to completely gut and invest tens of thousands of dollars in order to bring your kitchen into the modern world, you can do low cost updates that won’t break the bank. Countertops are available in a variety of options in very affordable materials and updating your appliances can make any kitchen feel fresh. Not planning on replacing cabinets? New hardware and some deep cleaning gives you a whole new look for a fraction of the cost. Update your worn out linoleum or sheet vinyl with luxury vinyl that look like wood planks or ceramic tiles and can eliminate the need to remove your old flooring.

Knock on Wood

Whether you have wood, tile or carpeted floors, ensuring that one of the largest surfaces of your home looks up to date is money well spent. Professional cleaning your carpets once a year not only makes your home healthier (do you know what your vacuum cleaner misses?) it may actually be a part of your carpet warranty. If you have tough stains, chipped tiles or aren’t able to refinish your wood floors, invest in rugs. Once again, luxury vinyl flooring is a great alternative and you may not need to remove the existing flooring.

Refresh and Accessorize

We would all love to completely replace every piece of furniture in our home some days, but you can start by switching out accessories. Updating pillows and throws can transform your bed and sofa while table top accessories create a whole new vibe. Add a fun lamp, seasonally swap out floral arrangements and expand your photo gallery wall to liven up your décor. Not looking to invest in new pieces? Refresh your décor by rearranging existing ones. Take yourself shopping in your own home to rediscover accents you stashed in an unused room or packed away because you thought you might do a project one day. Get creative with the things you already own by thinking about them in a new way.

Whatever you decide your 2017 home goals are, make sure to keep them manageable and set a budget. Start with a Pinterest board, do some research on trends and look into your neighborhood to avoid over updating. Hire a professional if you are unsure about what you are doing. DIY can cost more than a pro if not done correctly. Most of all, make this the year you enjoy the home you live in!