A recent survey from Trulia, a real estate listing company, found that 76 percent of Americans plan to remodel their homes — with bathrooms, kitchens and bedrooms among their highest priorities. Trulia surveyed 2,105 U.S. adults about desires to redesign their homes, and 1,567 of them said they planned to remodel or renovate. But here’s the catch: They don’t want to spend more than $8,879 to do so.
Remodeling and renovating your home can come at a hefty price — and one that’s contingent on the value of your home. In 2014, MONEY advised readers to spend on renovations in accordance with how much value the given space is for the home. A kitchen is worth about 10% to 15% of a home’s value, and the owner of a $300,000 home should be willing to spend between $30,000 to $45,000 to remodel it, MONEY advised.
But that’s a bit more than what Trulia’s survey participants want to spend. Here’s what experts told Trulia about how you can renovate your kitchen, bathroom or bedroom for under $10,000.
Renovating your kitchen
There are a few individual changes you can make to change the space entirely, experts said. Those include painting the cabinets, replacing their hardware or designing a new pantry storage space to minimize clutter and up the home’s resale price.
Replacing your countertops, however, may be the most noticeable solution.
“Nothing dates a kitchen more than an old countertop, and nothing updates a kitchen more than a fresh slab of marble or quartz,” Hannah Crowell, of Crowell & Co Interiors, told Trulia.
Renovating your bathroom
Design changes like the use of tile, the addition of storage or the replacement of your cabinets can change the whole look of your bathroom. Trulia also notes that additional storage can make the bathroom look more “streamlined,” according to Layne Brookshire of Ms. Placed Professional Organizing, a professional organization company.
But for Crowell, it’s all about the tiles. “The best place to put your money in the bathroom is hands-down on tile,” she told Trulia.
Renovating your bedroom
Lighting fixtures, a new rug, an accent wall or a better bed can be worthwhile and cost-effective changes to your bedroom, design experts told Trulia. A new rug or set of rugs can also cover up an unwanted carpet or tile design in the bedroom — saving you from having to replace the whole floor.
“Layering a new rug in a bedroom can distract the eye from undesirable carpet or tile flooring,” interior designer Becki Owens told Trulia.