Summer is a great time to enjoy the outdoors, time with family, and of course, home improvement projects. With the great weather and more vacation time, it’s no surprise that summer is the most popular time for fun home improvement projects. If you’re ready to enjoy your home more this summer, here are a few fun home improvement projects you can take on.
Backyard
If you live in a warmer climate, your backyard will likely be a space you’ll spend a lot of time this summer. If you’re taking on fun home improvement projects, your backyard space should be at the top of your list.
Pool
While this is a bigger more expensive project, it has the potential to yield a high return on investment and hours of fun for friends and family. If you already have a pool, spend some time cleaning it up and restoring any damaged areas. You might consider filling any cracks in the walkway around the pool, checking chlorine and pH levels, weekly cleaning, and any other care that is necessary.
If you are looking into adding a pool to your backyard, the first step is to find a reliable company that installs inground pools. A good company will be able to check out your area and talk with you about the best options for your specific space.
Besides the actual pool installation, you’ll need to think about what type of pool decking you want around your pool. Concrete, stone, and tile are a few of the most popular options. You’ll also want to consider safety measures like a fence around your pool. You can even buy an alarm that goes off when it registers that something enters the water. If you have younger children, you’ll need to teach them water safety.
With the right steps and safety measures, the addition of a pool to your backyard will easily be one of the most fun home improvement projects you take on this summer.
Fencing
While you may not think of fencing as one of the most fun home improvement projects, it’s definitely one of the most valuable. Fencing is important not only in your backyard but in your front yard as well. Especially if you have young children, pets, or live on a busy road, proper fencing can serve not only for aesthetic reasons but also for safety. If you have the right tools and materials, you may even be able to install your own fence. If not, there are plenty of local businesses that will work with you to make sure you have the right fencing for your area.
Landscaping
Landscaping is another great home improvement project to give your outdoor space a facelift this summer. Whether it’s just taking care of the lawn and any shrubbery or trees you have, or a total renovation, you’ll be glad you took the time to take care of your outdoor space for all the time you’ll spend in it.
One popular but simple way people work on their outdoor landscaping during the summer is by planting new flowers and bushes. If you already have plants in your backyard space, take the time to weed around them, trim them back, and even spread fertilizer to help them grow. If you’d like to add more greenery to your space, take a trip to your local hardware store or nursery to get some new additions. Make sure to talk with professionals before you purchase your plants to find out the right care tips to keep them healthy and happy in your yard.
If you’re ready to give your backyard a complete makeover, summer is a great time to work with a landscaping company. With longer days, there will be more daylight for them to work and potentially finish the job quicker. You can smooth out hilly areas to create a garden, add water features, plant grass where there is just dirt, and a lot more. Your backyard will be your favorite place to hangout in no time.
Seating Area
One of the easiest fun home improvement projects you can do in your backyard is to set up a seating area. With the right furniture and accessories, you can turn your back patio from a slab of concrete to a summer paradise. Add a few seating options like chairs or benches. An addition of a grill or fire pit will create a focal point. If you plant mint, lavender or citronella grass in pots around your seating area, you’ll have natural bug repellant.
The number one thing that will really make a difference for your seating area is an awning. There are quite a few options for different types of awnings that you can use to customize your space. A retractable awning is a great option if you want to layout in the sun but also like to have a shaded space every now and then. A fixed awning provides constant shade and protection from the weather. You can even get a portable awning to use over your patio area or bring out on the lawn.
Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most popular areas to renovate. It’s no surprise, as it’s one of the highest traffic areas in the home. Whether you’ve just moved into a new home and want to upgrade the kitchen, or have been living in your home for a while and are ready to take on a kitchen remodeling project, a kitchen upgrade is one of the most fun home improvement projects you’ll do this summer.
Countertops
One of the most common kitchen improvement projects is renovating or redoing the countertops. This surface needs to be durable and hold up to hot pots, sharp knives, and a lot of other kitchen-related action. Because of this, granite is one of the most popular countertop materials. It can match both a contemporary and classic looking kitchen and comes in a variety of colors and textures.
Besides granite countertops, some other popular materials are stainless steel, butcher-block, engineered quartz, and even concrete. As you are preparing to redo your countertops, you’ll have a plethora of options to match the theme of your kitchen and fit in your budget as well.
Cabinets
After kitchen countertops, cabinets are also a popular kitchen improvement project. Like countertops, you’ll have quite a few different options to choose from when redoing your kitchen cabinets.
One of the first options is to redo them all together. Maybe you want to use a different material or a different type of wood or maybe you want to configure them differently. When you are considering what type of new cabinetry to install, you may want to consider completely custom cabinets. With store-bought cabinet sets, you run the risk of not getting the exact sizing you need. Custom cabinetry allows you to have exactly what you need for your specific space.
If you’re not ready for entirely new cabinets, a great simple way to get a new look is with a coat of paint. Painting cabinets is a very popular way to change up the look of your kitchen without investing a lot of money or time into the renovation.
Flooring
The kitchen is one of the highest traffic areas in your home. As such, the flooring, if it hasn’t been redone recently, has likely taken quite a beating. New homeowners are 50% more likely to replace home flooring than the average homeowner. Whether you’re re-flooring your new house or giving your family home an upgrade, installing new floors is one of the more fun home improvement projects you’ll do this summer.
Often when a room is getting re-floored, you aren’t allowed to walk through that space. Summer is the perfect time to consider reflooring because you can take a short vacation and be out of the house while the project is being done. You’ll just want to make sure that you have a family member or friend checking in on the project while you’re away to ensure that all is going to plan.
If you’re re-flooring your kitchen, you’ll have to decide what material you’d like to use. The most popular and classic option is to go with hardwood floors. Hardwood floors, under the right care and conditions, can last a very long time and hold up well to everyday wear and tear. They also look great and fit with almost any kind of design aesthetic.
Some of the other more popular flooring materials for kitchens are vinyl, tile, and linoleum. Regardless of your style or budget, there are many great options to choose from when re-flooring your kitchen.
Bathroom
Bathroom renovations are by far the most popular and fun home improvement projects. A few small changes in a bathroom can go a long way to creating a new and better space. Bathroom renovations also tend to yield a very high return on investment so you’ll get more bang for your buck.
Flooring
Similar to kitchens, bathroom flooring can take quite a beating. The main difference is that bathroom flooring needs to be more water-resistant than kitchen flooring as it can often sit in humidity. This is why tile is the most popular flooring option for bathrooms. Tile is a generally long-lasting material that, as long as it’s sealed correctly, will hold up against humidity and pools of water. Just make sure that your tile of made of porcelain or is glazed. Tile made of a material like limestone is porous and will absorb water which could cause mildew and mold to grow.
If you are re-flooring your bathroom, you may also consider installing heated flooring. This will make those early morning wakeups for work not so bad with a toasty warm floor underfoot. You’ll even have a programmable thermostat that you can set up to start warming before you even get out of bed.
Shower/Bathtub
One of the more fun home improvement projects you can do in your bathroom is to replace your shower or bathtub. Besides the toilet, this is the most used appliance in a bathroom. A shower or bathtub that is not installed correctly can cause problems like water damage. Even showers or tubs that are installed correctly at first will get older and can crack or get other damage that will cause leaks. Look into replacing or redoing the shower or bathtub in your bathroom. It will yield a great return on investment and can have a huge impact on the overall look of your bathroom.
Living Room
The living room often gets overlooked when considering fun home improvement projects because simply changing furniture can make a big difference. There are however some great improvements that can have a big impact on your living room space.
Carpet
Depending on how much a living room is used, the carpet can take quite a beating and end up dirty and grungy looking. A simple home improvement project could even be to have carpet cleaning done on your living room space. This can give your space a quick facelift without spending too much money or time. Carpet cleaning can also make your carpet look newer as it will fluff up the fibers that may have been trodden down by high traffic.
Ventilation
If you or your family spends a lot of time in your living room, it’s important that there is good ventilation in the space, especially during the warmer months of summer. The start of summer is the perfect time to get your air conditioning unit checked. The last thing you want is to be stuck without cool air on a hot day.
If you don’t have air conditioning or your unit is broken, don’t wait to get an ac installation scheduled. As the summer goes on, technicians are sure to have their schedules fill up with appointments and you don’t want to have to wait to enjoy your living area.
In Conclusion
If you’re ready to give your home a facelift this summer, these fun home improvement projects are sure to do in the trick. And when you’re sitting in your new and improved space, you’ll be able to more fully enjoy yourself.