Surprisingly, there are so many things that can be done to update an old house without the breaking the bank! Here are 13 quick and easy budget-friendly updates to help modernize your home:

1. Update switch plates on outlets and vents
2. Paint the walls (and furniture too!)
3. Replace or update old doors
4. Change out door knobs and hinges
5. Update light fixtures
6. Remove carpet and replace with hardwood or laminate flooring
7. Paint varnished wood trim and doors white
8. Paint stair railings
9. Replace old blinds in living room, kitchen and bedroom
10. Paint kitchen cabinets and replace hardware (knobs, handles and hinges!)
11. Replace older appliances (when ready)
12. Don’t keep previous owner’s items (old chandeliers, paint colors and other trinkets must go with them)
13. Choose decor wisely!

13 Budget-Friendly Updates to Modernize Your Home

This post contains affiliate links for if you make a purchase from one, I may receive a small commission. Any commissions received go back into this blog. Thank you for your support!

1. Update switch plates on outlets and vents

Those old, ivory switch plates and electrical outlets have got to go! This is something that can be done immediately upon moving in or overtime as you tackle updating each room. We’ve been updating our switch plates overtime as we modify each of the rooms in our townhouse.

2. Paint the walls (and furniture too!)

Painting the walls is one of the easiest and fastest ways you can modernize the look of your home. Say good-bye to the pink and blue pastels of the 80s and hello to neutral grays and beige. Along with walls, you can also paint furniture such as old bathroom vanities or fireplace mantles.

Below is a before and after of our bathroom. We repainted the medicine cabinet mirror, walls and vanity and just recently had the countertop replaced. We went with Benjamin Moore paint colors White Dove for the trim and vanity and Healing Aloe for the wall color.

3. Replace or update old doors

Doors can get pretty worn down over the years, so why not spruce these up with a fresh coat of paint too? If you have louver bifold doors in your bathroom, you might consider replacing them altogether to avoid the hassle of cleaning and painting them. You can purchase newer ones, like these ones from Lowes, that come in a white pine finish (so if you’re feeling lazy, you can get away without painting them right away).

Total cost for the set of new doors is just under $200 and in my opinion, worth it. Here is a few of the original doors in our bathroom followed by a view of the updated doors.

4. Change out door knobs and hinges

Gold door knobs and hinges are simply a look of the past. Try switching these out for matte black, chrome or bronze. There are so many options nowadays you can’t go wrong! Depending on the knobs you choose, this update could get a little pricey but consider it one of those updates you do as you move from room to room. You’ll appreciate it in the long run.

The key is to do these updates over time, so you’re never dropping a ton of money all at once.

Our Little Home Style

5. Update lighting fixtures to modernize home

One of the very first things we did was update the lighting fixtures in the kitchen, bathrooms and hallway. We did this for two reasons:

1. The new lights were more aesthetically pleasing
2. The old lights were too dim and provided little to no light

In total, over the past four years we have added a farmhouse style lantern in the stairwell, changed out both lighting fixtures in the bathrooms, updated two lights in the kitchen and added a dining room light.

6. Remove old carpet

If you’re 1980’s house looks anything the way ours did, then you already know the moss green carpet needs to go. Replacing carpet with newer carpet is by far the most cost-effective option, however hardwood will add the most value to your home. We replaced the dining room and living room carpet with hardwood flooring and replaced the stairs and bedrooms with newer neutral colored carpet (you can see how we’ve decorated the dining room here).

For an in-between option, you may want to also look into laminate flooring. This type of flooring is generally less expensive than hardwood and looks just as nice. This is also a durable option for those who have pets too!

7. Paint varnished trim white

In the 80s, varnished wood trim was very popular. In the millennium, varnished trim make the home feel darker and smaller. Painting the trim in your home white will instantly brighten up the space and help give your home a more modern look. Below is a before of what my daughter’s room looked like with the varnished wood trim and original wall color followed by the after.

8. Paint stair railings

This is similar to the last update mentioned here. Painting the stair railings white can also help improve the appearance of your older home. This is some-what time consuming but would be well worth your time (it is on my list for sure – however may take some convincing of my husband to tackle it with me!).

9. Replace old blinds and shades in living room, bedrooms and kitchen

Overtime, blinds and shades get dirty, dull and outdated. Try replacing the blinds or shades to something more modern that won’t sacrifice the practicality of them either. You also may not even need to replace them depending on where they were and the function they served.

We removed blinds from the sliding doors that were left by the previous owner. They were old, dirty and unnecessary. We added some simple curtains from Home Goods and use those to provide privacy in the evening.

10. Paint kitchen cabinets and replace hardware (knobs, handles and hinges)

Depending on your budget, this is an update you can absolutely tackle yourself or hire out. Painting oak cabinets white or gray will help bring your home into the current ages.

Some exciting news for us – we are having our cabinets painted in September and I CANNOT WAIT! I’ll be sharing updates on the blog and social media. If you’re debating having your cabinets painted, then make sure to subscribe to my blog to learn more about the process and to see how they turn out!

11. Replace older appliances (when you need to)

Not everyone has the luxury of replacing outdated appliances when you first move into a home – and that’s okay! There are so many other small yet impactful updates you can make to your home that you won’t need to worry about those old appliances just yet. Once you’re able to financially afford new appliances (or once the stove kicks the bucket), make the change and invest.

12. Don’t keep the previous owner’s old items

If you don’t want your home to look like its from the 1980s, then absolutely do not keep items that were made in the 1980s in your home. If the seller offers to give you their older furniture for free, it’s most likely because it will cost them more money and hassle to have it moved than it’s worth. So, unless you plan on refurbishing the furniture or spray painting light fixtures, then I would kindly decline the offer and save up for the things you really want.

13. Modernize your home by choosing decor wisely

The final tip for modernizing your home and making it beautiful, is to simply choose your decor wisely. Don’t make hasty decisions when you’re at the store, this is how clutter and junk gets accumulated. Take your time, do some research and maybe even consult Pinterest to help determine the style you want to achieve.

By doing so, you will be able to make wiser decor choices, saving you time and money and allowing you to maintain a cohesive look throughout your home.

At the end of the day, you want to make smart updates to your home that will help increase the value of your property overtime. Take your time and I promise you won’t be disappointed. We’ve really taken our time with many of these updates and are incredibly happy with the results. Happy decorating!

Don’t forget to pin the image below so you can easily reference this list for later.

The post 13 Budget-Friendly Updates to Modernize Your Home appeared first on Kristen Fitzpatrick Realtor.

Hi friends! Do you tend to decorate for fall ahead of the masses or late in the game? Usually I wait until it’s deemed “acceptable” to break out the pumpkins (around the first week of September). However, 2020 is turning out to be the year of “no rules” so I’ve gone ahead and decorated our dining room with some pretty neutral fall decor.

When it comes to fall decorations, I lean toward neutral whites and woods with a few pops of color here and there. You’ll learn quickly that I am a sucker for blue and white pumpkins (I’ve acquired quite the collection over the past few years!). These neutral tones work well with our every day decor making decorating our home for fall fun and seamless!

This post contains affiliate links for if you make a purchase from one, I may receive a small commission. Any commissions received go back into this blog. Thank you for your support!

Our Farmhouse Style Fall Decor

You may remember from my spring dining room decor post that I am a big fan of shopping my own home for decorations before running out and buying new ones. There are certain pieces that stay on these shelves year round such as my Rae Dunn mugs, dishes, wine glasses and wooden crate of cutting boards.

As a design tip, try to incorporate your every day decor in with your seasonal pieces, this way you’re not starting from scratch and having to find new homes for these items.

Before decorating, I went through my fall decorations and took inventory. I wanted to see what I owned first and determine what to keep, sell or donate prior to buying anything new. I listed a few of my fall items for on my Poshmark page (you can check them out here!).

After taking inventory, I went to my local Hobby Lobby and found some really great deals! I scored some bundles of white pumpkins, this beautiful wooden bowl and these little light up houses. I’m excited for all of these items and know I will be able to reuse them come Christmas time!

Less is More

A design mantra I’ve really taken into practice since buying our home is “less is more”. Pretty simple, right? You’ve heard it before, over and over again, but I’m telling you – it’s true! When we were renting, I didn’t think twice about what I would buy to decorate with. I’d be in such a rush to get the place looking pretty that I’d often end up with a bunch of mismatched items that I later regretted.

Once we bought our town home, a place we actually OWNED, I started to become more intentional with my decorating. We also started DIY’ing more when we didn’t find anything we liked in the store. It’s amazing how liberating doing it yourself can be! You’re no longer limited to what’s in stores. This gives you the creative freedom to make it your own (like these open shelves that my husband made for us).

Thanks for stopping in and taking a peek at our neutral fall farmhouse style decorations.

Happy decorating!

The post Neutral Fall Decor | Dining Room Reveal appeared first on Kristen Fitzpatrick Realtor.

Happy Saturday friends! We’re finally starting to experience warmer weather in Massachusetts and I could not be more excited. It feels great to wake up to sunshine instead of rain. I’m already getting ready for sunny days with transitional spring to summer dining room decor. Pretty greenery, beautiful woven trays and sea blue vases are so versatile and offer the best spring and summer vibes. Sharing my current transitional style below!

*This post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own. This post does contain affiliate links for if you make a purchase from one, I may receive a small commission. Any commissions received go back into this blog. Thank you for your support!

Dining Room Decor for Spring to Summer

Rustic Wall Clock

Vintage milk jug vase | Wooden bead garland

More great reads:

How to Decorate For Spring by Shopping Your Home

The post Dining Room Decor: From Spring to Summer appeared first on Kristen Fitzpatrick Realtor.

Spring is in the air, friends! This year, I’m skipping the store and shopping what I have in my home to decorate for it! Over the past few weeks of social distancing, I’ve really taken to the idea of  “shopping my home”. I fully embraced this idea when decorating our dining room for spring this year and am excited to share it with you.

Most of the objects I used to decorate my dining room are ones I’ve had for a few years (minus the fresh flowers, of course!). Since most of my decor is neutral, the flowers help to add pops of color and allow me to change up the look by using different kinds. 

*This post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own. This post does contain affiliate links for if you make a purchase from one, I may receive a small commission. Any commissions received go back into this blog. Thank you for your support!

How I Decorate for Spring by Shopping My Home

This wooden sign is the newest addition to the room out of all of the pieces (I think I found it in stores in February). It’s my absolute favorite and a great focal point! I found it at Michaels and it looks like it is still available online here. 

A few months ago my husband made these beautiful open shelves for us and they’ve become my favorite area of the dining room to get creative with and decorate. He has helped me with a ton of projects around the house including this bedroom bureau furniture flip. I’ll look for some images of what the dining room looked like before the shelves were in place.

Lastly, I switched up the centerpiece on the dining room table and have been experimenting with different looks. These candle holders typically live all year-long on the mantle of our fireplace. I love the look of them on this table though! What do you think? 

I found them at Michaels too and have linked similar styles for the short and tall candle holders here (the original ones I have featured are no longer available. Linking a few that are similar just slightly more distressed than mine). 

I hope I’ve inspired you to have some fun these next few weeks by shopping your home and rediscovering items you forgot you had! If you do decide to try this out, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. 

The post How to Decorate for Spring by Shopping Your Home appeared first on Kristen Fitzpatrick Realtor.

Sloane’s nursery is by far one of my favorite rooms in our house. We’ve really taken our time with piecing it together and it’s finally at a point where it feels almost finished! We recently completed our nursery reading nook and I am so excited to share how it turned out with you!

This post contains affiliate links for if you make a purchase from one, I may receive a small commission. Any commissions received go back into this blog. Thank you for your support!

Our Bedtime Routine

Every evening, as part of our bedtime routine, we retreat from the living room, give Sloane her bath, put on some PJ’s and read a few books in her room. Reading books together in the evening has become a great way to relax and wind her down from the day. Mike is really the master with bedtime in our household.

He’ll sit beside Sloane as she carefully selects which books she’d like to read (or really in her case, open and close all the pages and/or chew on) and then takes the stack back with them to read in the rocking chair.

New Nursery Decor

We recently added the floating shelves which has made our little reading nook in her nursery that much cozier! Most of the decor featured here, including the floating shelves (linked this awesome set of 2), storage cube shelves and white rope basket, is from Target (all linked in this post).

Because I’ve been shopping for Sloane’s first birthday party, I thought it would be fun to decorate her nursery with Valentine’s Day decor. I found these adorable XOXO banners at Michaels. Can you take a wild guess what her party theme might be? Hint: her birthday’s in February.

Also featured in our reading nook, are these adorable Cuddle and Kind dolls. The dolls were given to us as a gift from family and are so soft! Sloane loves playing with them. The organization who sells these dolls donates a number of meals to help feed children per doll purchased. It’s truly amazing (and no, this is not an ad for them!). Highly recommend checking them out if you’re in need of a baby shower present.

What’s your baby’s bedtime routine? Share in the comments below!

The post Our Nursery Reading Nook appeared first on Kristen Fitzpatrick Realtor.

Can’t find a bedroom bureau you like for the nursery? Why not give your old dresser a makeover then? That’s what we did.

After visiting multiple stores and browsing online for days, we just couldn’t find one we liked. My husband’s childhood bureau had been sitting in our guest room (or soon-to-be nursery) since we moved into our new home. I had zero intentions of holding on to it, we didn’t use it anymore and I figured once we had chosen a new bedroom set, we would just get rid of it.  Instead, we decided “why not save some money and make exactly what we want?” and in two days, we ended up completely transforming my husband’s childhood bureau into a beautiful one for our baby’s nursery.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

What I love about do-it-yourself projects is that you have so much more control over the details – the color, style, finish and more.  We are huge fans of Benjamin Moore paint, and chose White Dove for the bureau in a satin finish (the color of her nursery is Mannequin Cream in an eggshell finish). Since I’m pregnant, I wasn’t able to help with the sanding, priming or painting of the bureau (how unfortunate…), but I did help with the paint selection and picked out custom knobs.

I found these adorable bronze sleeping fox knobs online from Land of Nod. Since the old bureau did not come with knobs, my husband measured and drilled holes for these new knobs as part of the bureau makeover. It’s little details, such as these bronze knobs, that really helped make this old bureau pop and give it a fresh new look.

The most important thing about this simple bureau makeover is that we now have a special piece of furniture for our daughter, custom made with love by her daddy.  The sentimental value that his old bureau now holds is greater than that of any new piece of furniture we could have purchased.

The post Simple Bedroom Bureau Makeover for Baby’s Nursery appeared first on Kristen Fitzpatrick Realtor.

1 | Break down and recycle moving boxes

Staring at cardboard boxes, full or empty, isn’t exactly the best way to make you feel cozy at home in your new apartment. More than likely, the sight of these boxes alone will only stress you out even more. Unpack and break down the boxes as soon as you can! Even if you’re not ready to fully unpack, give yourself some peace of mind and throw away the moving boxes.

2 | Deck the halls with fresh flowers

Anyone who has ever moved before knows how stressful the process can be. I find that being surrounded by fresh flowers can radiate a sense of calm. The first weekend we moved to our new apartment, I bought multiple bouquets of baby’s breath and placed them in vases and mason jars around each room. The flowers made me feel relaxed and happy to be at home.

3 | Set aside time to hang pictures, paintings, mirrors, wine racks etc. on the walls

One of the best ways to make your new apartment feel like home is to set aside an hour or two to start hanging some pictures on the wall! Our previous apartment was inside an old mill building and almost all of the walls were brick which made it very difficult to hang remotely anything on them. Although the apartment was rich in character, we were never able to add that special touch to make us truly feel at home.

4 | Bake something sweet – like your favorite cookies!

Who doesn’t love the smell of freshly baked cookies? A warm batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies always makes me feel at home.

5 | Make small changes that will have a BIG impact

Our new apartment is much smaller than our old one, so we have been making any small changes we can to utilize our new space more effectively. For example, there was an empty closet in the living room that had no door handle, no shelves and no coat rack. It seemed like a waste of space, but instead of leaving it alone, we decided to turn it around.

We purchased a coat rod and hung it inside the closet. To stop the door from popping open, we added a simple sliding lock to the the outside. Small, simple changes like this will help make a big impact on how you feel about your home.

6 | Treat yourself to something new

To give our living room a new look, I bought a few new patterned throw pillows from T.J. Maxx for the couch and mixed them in with our old pillows. I love the look of them together!

7 | Explore the town

This one isn’t so much about decorating your new place, but is still so important to making yourself feel at home! The first week or so living in our new apartment I felt somewhat lost and like I didn’t belong to this new town. We didn’t know where we would order our sushi from, buy our groceries or even where we would work out.  We started taking walks and unnecessary drives around the town just to help get our bearings and a sense of belonging.

8 | Surround yourself with familiarity

The night before we moved, we took a drive down to visit the new place. When we went inside, I felt like a total stranger and instantly panicked. What if we made the wrong choice? Why were we moving? Mike reassured me that once we moved our furniture in and hung our photos, the place would start to look more familiar, more like us.

What are some special things about your place that make you feel at home?

New to the blog? Here’s some other posts you might enjoy:

• 13 Budget-Friendly Updates to Modernize Your Home
• Dining Room Decor: From Spring to Summer
• Simple Bedroom Bureau Makeover

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The post 8 Easy Ways to Make Your Apartment Feel Like Home appeared first on Kristen Fitzpatrick Realtor.