I will be moving into a new condo soon, and I will be doing some renovations on it. The reason is because everything is old, damaged, and worn out. I will be changing all the floors, appliances, cabinets, and repainting the walls. I won't be able to hire any professionals for this job since all I can afford are the materials. I did a lot of reading online, but I still need a lot of advice. I think I can handle all the physical work, but where I'm stuck is the design part. There are just so many different colors, materials, and designs to choose from, and I am having difficulties picking a scheme that will look decent. So does anyone have any ideas on how to match colors and materials? Any general advice on home renovations would also be appreciated since I'm quite new to this.
So far I have decided on laminate floors for kitchen and dining room, carpet for living room and bedroom, and tile for bathroom. I have picked up some cheap tiles from craigslist already.
Biggest thing is switch out the stove. Fucking hate electric stoves; they're always a bitch to cook on. Go gas if possible (if not, induction is pretty good too).
In regards to style; pick up some interior design mags in your local store. Choose a style you like, and seem easy enough to replicate on a cheap budget, copy & paste in your room.
Get rid of all the brown and your house will look a lot better. It kinda hard to see how large every room is but a basic rule: white makes everything look bigger ^^
If you are buying, and looking to invest in your place, so that you may sell for profit later, there are 2 places in every house that give the best returns per $.
Bathrooms, and the Kitchen. (Its extremely hard to lose your money/investment when you spend it in these 2 rooms)
1. Paint. (Literally a new paintjob can bring generally 15% increase value on your place instantly). Try to stay with neutrals, definitely stay lighter. My current place which is a property flip/investment as well as my home, I went with black wood laminate floors (brings me to next item) throughout, with an extremely pale gray on the walls, with white baseboard/door trims. (dont ever suggest to go actually white paint on walls... will make your house feel like a hospital/prison... white shows every single possible dirty spot... but the lighter the paint, the more open/large the room will feel) 2. Flooring. Carpet is cheaper, hard floors are generally more desired. Personally i love wood laminate flooring, its a lot cheaper than wood floors, can be cheaper than really nice tile, and isnt too difficult to install. 3. Granite/similar countertops...always a worthy investment as long as you dont get too crazy with color choice. 4. Appliances : Stainless steel will always bring more money, but are more expensive... go with whatever fits your space. 5. Cabinets. Another solid investment, one of those things that homebuyers REALLY care about, as well as completely changes your kitchen's looks. 6. Window treatments. Blinds/shutters etc matter. dont get the cheap shitty window coverings, get one of the harder laminate blinds at the worst.
but ya.. those are my suggestions!
enjoy your place.
(also if you have popcorn ceilings... buy a scraper... every1 hates that shit)
On June 26 2013 01:36 MaestroSC wrote: If you are buying, and looking to invest in your place, so that you may sell for profit later, there are 2 places in every house that give the best returns per $.
Bathrooms, and the Kitchen. (Its extremely hard to lose your money/investment when you spend it in these 2 rooms)
1. Paint. (Literally a new paintjob can bring generally 15% increase value on your place instantly). Try to stay with neutrals, definitely stay lighter. My current place which is a property flip/investment as well as my home, I went with black wood laminate floors (brings me to next item) throughout, with an extremely pale gray on the walls, with white baseboard/door trims. (dont ever suggest to go actually white paint on walls... will make your house feel like a hospital/prison... white shows every single possible dirty spot... but the lighter the paint, the more open/large the room will feel) 2. Flooring. Carpet is cheaper, hard floors are generally more desired. Personally i love wood laminate flooring, its a lot cheaper than wood floors, can be cheaper than really nice tile, and isnt too difficult to install. 3. Granite/similar countertops...always a worthy investment as long as you dont get too crazy with color choice. 4. Appliances : Stainless steel will always bring more money, but are more expensive... go with whatever fits your space. 5. Cabinets. Another solid investment, one of those things that homebuyers REALLY care about, as well as completely changes your kitchen's looks. 6. Window treatments. Blinds/shutters etc matter. dont get the cheap shitty window coverings, get one of the harder laminate blinds at the worst.
but ya.. those are my suggestions!
enjoy your place.
(also if you have popcorn ceilings... buy a scraper... every1 hates that shit)
Ty for the tips!
Do you have any suggestions for the color of carpet and cabinets? Also for my ceilings, what do I do after scraping it off?
On June 25 2013 16:59 wei2coolman wrote: Biggest thing is switch out the stove. Fucking hate electric stoves; they're always a bitch to cook on. Go gas if possible (if not, induction is pretty good too).
In regards to style; pick up some interior design mags in your local store. Choose a style you like, and seem easy enough to replicate on a cheap budget, copy & paste in your room.
yessss this. electric is awful.
new counters would be nice, but that's a little bit more intensive than the other stuff youre talking about doing.
whatever you are doing, have a master plan for the whole thing that you finalize first. gl!
On June 25 2013 16:59 wei2coolman wrote: Biggest thing is switch out the stove. Fucking hate electric stoves; they're always a bitch to cook on. Go gas if possible (if not, induction is pretty good too).
In regards to style; pick up some interior design mags in your local store. Choose a style you like, and seem easy enough to replicate on a cheap budget, copy & paste in your room.
yessss this. electric is awful.
new counters would be nice, but that's a little bit more intensive than the other stuff youre talking about doing.
whatever you are doing, have a master plan for the whole thing that you finalize first. gl!
Do you have any good suggestions for countertops? I'm really liking black granite. I barely have any counters, so it will not be too expensive.
dotn really know interior design much but imo black is always very safe esp when paired with white
i'd figure out your cabinets too, and look into what kinda work replacing coutner tops is like. i think it is a tad harder than all the other stuff you mentioned doing
On June 26 2013 12:18 QuanticHawk wrote: dotn really know interior design much but imo black is always very safe esp when paired with white
i'd figure out your cabinets too, and look into what kinda work replacing coutner tops is like. i think it is a tad harder than all the other stuff you mentioned doing
black on black, if you get black counter tops and black cabinets with clear glass that would look pretty stylish and give a contemporary flaire to the kitchen
This is my kitchen. Black floors, white cabinets, black countertops
i have a VERY pale silver on my walls (looks white until u compare it to white) and i absolutely love it. I would never do white walls, but this looks white at night/ in dim lighting... but in the day u can see they are clearly silver..
Also, consider doing your ceiling white, and only painting the walls gray, makes the room seem larger. (i work/live in the construction world so wierd tips like these are common...especially since my dad was a professional painter before he quit cause he hated it)
when choosing your gray, don't go too dark or it will shrink the rooms, as well as make u feel claustrophobic/depressed lol.
when matching ur cabinets/floors try to have a sample of either...when u pick whichever u pick second.
IE if you know what cabinets u want... see if u can have a sample with you when you pick your floors, or vise versa.
On June 25 2013 16:59 wei2coolman wrote: Biggest thing is switch out the stove. Fucking hate electric stoves; they're always a bitch to cook on. Go gas if possible (if not, induction is pretty good too).
In regards to style; pick up some interior design mags in your local store. Choose a style you like, and seem easy enough to replicate on a cheap budget, copy & paste in your room.
yessss this. electric is awful.
new counters would be nice, but that's a little bit more intensive than the other stuff youre talking about doing.
whatever you are doing, have a master plan for the whole thing that you finalize first. gl!
Do you have any good suggestions for countertops? I'm really liking black granite. I barely have any counters, so it will not be too expensive.
Quartz is also a nice choice if you got the money for it. As far as cabinets are concerned; it's going to be expensive for a full remodel; or change. I think the best idea is maybe a repaint or restain. If you go stainless steel appliance you could paint cabinets a nice blue; with white walls. It'll give it a really nice modern look!
This is my kitchen. Black floors, white cabinets, black countertops
i have a VERY pale silver on my walls (looks white until u compare it to white) and i absolutely love it. I would never do white walls, but this looks white at night/ in dim lighting... but in the day u can see they are clearly silver..
Also, consider doing your ceiling white, and only painting the walls gray, makes the room seem larger. (i work/live in the construction world so wierd tips like these are common...especially since my dad was a professional painter before he quit cause he hated it)
when choosing your gray, don't go too dark or it will shrink the rooms, as well as make u feel claustrophobic/depressed lol.
when matching ur cabinets/floors try to have a sample of either...when u pick whichever u pick second.
IE if you know what cabinets u want... see if u can have a sample with you when you pick your floors, or vise versa.
GL sounds good
Can't say I'm a huge fan of black benchtops but this has been done quite well.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/pcdmumD.png)
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![[image loading]](http://www.interiorclip.com/interior-image/brick-kitchen-wall-tiles-design.jpg)
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