10 budget tips to redecorate your kitchen to help sell your house quickly

Posted on 9:15pm Monday 20th Aug 2018

It’s no secret — kitchens sell houses.

When you’re preparing to sell your home, it’s worthwhile spending time on your kitchen. Particularly, if you want a quick sale.

Don’t let the cost be a deterrent. Even though the price of a new kitchen is between £10,000 - £50,000 — you can still make yours look a million bucks without breaking the bank.

If you want to sell your house quickly, here are 10 simple tips to update your kitchen on a shoestring budget.

Photo by Mikael Cho

1. Declutter

Kitchens are notorious places for hoarding — let’s face it, you don’t need three vegetable peelers or multiple spatulas.

Get rid of duplicates, anything that is broken or damaged or you haven’t touched in the last 6 months. Also, pack away things like toasters and kettles prior to viewings to create more space on the workbench.

2. Be creative with storage

Once you’ve had a good declutter, think about your storage. Great ways to tidy away utensils and kitchen paraphernalia include placing dividers into drawers, adding small shelves, and hanging up pots and pans.

You can also recycle a couple of nice containers and use them as utensil storage. Or, if you want to create a lighter space, remove cabinet doors entirely and have open shelving. You can then display your best plates and bowls.

3. Paint

Don’t underestimate the magic of fresh paint. But if the idea of redecorating the whole kitchen doesn’t appeal, paint one feature wall instead. If your walls are already a light colour, for your accent wall pick a colour a few shades darker to really make an impact.

4. Makeover cabinets

New cabinets can be pricey. Why not try painting them instead. Depending on the colour of your worktop, go for light colours like yellow or green to create a neutral warmth.

5. Replace old handles or pulls

This is hands-down the easiest way to give your kitchen an update. It’s so simple and doesn’t have to you cost much. You’re selling your house, not your interior design tastes so go for something classic and neutral like brushed nickel.

6. Cover-up appliances

This is a particularly great option if you have tired or mismatched appliances. You can buy inexpensive panels for fridges and dishwashers. They come in lots of different colours including steel silver and chalkboard.

7. Update tired flooring

Remember, no matter how great your kitchen looks — an outdated stained floor will undo all your good work.

Don’t be put off the idea of replacing flooring yourself. It doesn’t have to require a professional.

A good budget option is vinyl flooring. It’s self-adhesive, quick and easy to fix-down and comes in lots of different styles.

8. Repair and replace anything broken

Things to check for include light bulbs, taps, drains, faucet, and traces of limescale and grease.

9. A new countertop

A tired worktop looks unclean and is off-putting to prospective buyers. A cheap option is vinyl or laminate. These are inexpensive, easy to install and you’ll be surprised how great they look.

10. Lighting

Lighting is a vital feature when selling your house. This is doubly important in the kitchen where good lighting can completely transform it. Replace old lighting fixtures with something more contemporary like a pendant light or track lighting.

11. Make it feel homely

The kitchen isn’t just a practical space, it’s also a social place to spend time with friends and family. Don’t hold back adding a few homely touches — just don’t go overboard. A few (thriving) plants on the windowsill or a fresh bunch of flowers on the counter will give it a personal touch. This will help buyers imagine themselves living there.

If you want to sell your home quickly, a kitchen makeover doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. With a little creativity, you can impress prospective buyers and get a quick sale. This means you can move into your new home even faster.

Get ready for guitars, gazebos and garden parties this summer

Posted on 8:50pm Monday 20th Aug 2018

Whenever it looks like the sun's going to be sticking around for a bit, we all start to wonder how we can make the most of the lovely clement weather before September rolls around again to ruin it.

Well – what if we were to tell you that you could have the perfect summer celebration without having to leave the comfort of your own home? It just happens that that's exactly what I am telling you – follow these simple tips to fill your garden with friends, food and live music, and you'll have forged yourselves some gloriously summery memories to keep the cold out, come the winter.

Bargain band

To set your garden party apart from the rest, you're going to want something more than food to entice your guests. Live music is fun, captivating and a lot easier to set up than you might think. Of course, you could go all out and hire a super-fancy string quartet, but that might seem excessive unless your party's being held on the peacock-strewn lawn of a mansion. You can't go far wrong with a solo acoustic guitarist or acoustic duo, even if you barely have space in your garden to swing a cat. Such acts are relatively inexpensive, take up little time and little space to set up, and will invariably have a couple of hours' worth of material – more than enough to see your party through.

Sufficient seating

It's important not to let anyone you've invited to share this sunny day with you feel left out – so make sure everyone has a chair! The floor might be a viable option for some, but even a nice think picnic blanket won't protect you from scratchy grass and invasive bugs. Everybody deserves to be comfortable and at a similar head height, so either go for matching chairs or benches set around a table, or choose ottoman-style seating which double up as extra tables for setting down dishes and back rests if anybody does end up braving the floor. Hiring extra seating isn't horrifically expensive, and it'll be worth it to make everyone feel included. For our festival themed wedfest we even hired some straw bales as seating from a local farmer!

You might like to set your seating up slightly apart from the live band, as this will give your guests the option of either going in for a closer look and a louder listen or having a sit and a chit-chat without being drowned out. It'll also make your garden party feel like more of an event if you have more than one focal point – the stage area and the food area will be competing for your guests' attention!

Photo by Wyatt Ryan

A little lighting

If your party's a hit, then people will want it to continue into the evening. That's all well and good, but it does mean you'll want some lighting to prevent any fallings over when it gets darker. You can make this into another spectacle – fairy lights are a very popular addition to gardens, and not only at Christmas time. You can decorate the fences and any trees you might have with these little bright lights, and can strategically place solar-powered lamps and insect-repellent tea lights around your seating area, to create an atmospheric, magical effect. Make sure you decorate your band area, too – the musicians will appreciate being able to see what they're doing if they're expected to play after sundown, and everyone else will be able to see them too.

Quick, quality cuisine

The food is going to be one of the focal points of your garden get-together, so you'll need to a) not disappoint and b) not stretch yourself. Barbecues are a perennially popular choice for summertime snacks – it's fun and interactive, simple to set up, and delicious. Cooking in plain sight saves you from being separated from the rest of the party, and also gives your guests the opportunity to step in should you be called away by another hosting duty. Us vegans can also have great BBQs with pea protein sausages, veggie burgers, grilled Portobello mushrooms, pulled jackfruit and vegetable kebabs

Alternatively, you might want to opt for something much lighter. Cold food, such as sandwiches, veg sticks and dips, will look super spread across your outside table, and lend themselves well to table decorations such as napkins, doilies and flower arrangements. Finger food in general is a nice informal way to eat – your guests can graze throughout the day, and you won't have stacks of plates to wash up at the end. It's also a good way of keeping you live bands' energy levels up.

Prepare for precipitation

In temperate climates, such as the one we have here in the UK, we've grown accustomed to the odd unannounced downpour, so it's almost second nature for most of us to have a backup plan. Nobody likes to be caught out in the rain, especially wearing floaty summer outfits and holding buffet food on paper plates, so it's time to get the gazebo out of the garage. There's quite a wide price range for gazebos, marquees, awnings and other such temporary shelters – at the time of writing, you could be looking at anything from £30 to £300 – but the emergency protection it'll offer you is priceless. It can be a good idea to set one up anyway to provide shade from the sun and then it’s all ready for any unexpected rainfall.

The food you can probably salvage by moving it into the kitchen, and your guests will probably be sensible enough to seek shelter for themselves once the heavens open – but this may not apply to your live band. They'll have a guitar strapped on, or be wedged behind their drum set – and they'll want to save their precious equipment. Rain and electronics famously don't get on, so it may be worth setting your live band up under a gazebo of their own – or at least give them speedy access to the house, and a hand to get their gear in.

Be nice to neighbours

Lastly, give your neighbours fair warning that they'll be more noise than usual coming from your garden. You'll find that most neighbours are agreeable if given enough notice and shown enough courtesy. Pop round a few days before your date to explain the situation, and give them an invitation, too (that way, there won't be anyone next door to complain!). If they politely decline, make sure you send a thank you note through their letterbox, and there shouldn't be any reason why you can't do all of this again. Just remember to end at a reasonable time and don’t keep them up all night – that’s never a good idea.

More fab event and garden party blog posts

Summer party ideas that make use of your garden

9 tips for the perfect garden party

Your checklist for a money saving diy backyard wedding

8 great entertainment ideas for your next party

Collaboration

Money making blogger interview with Lisa of The Beauty Type

Posted on 11:15am Monday 20th Aug 2018

Welcome to my Money Making Blogger interview series where I interview bloggers who are making money from their blogs!

Scroll down if you've been here before, or if it's your first time then read this intro first to understand why I'm doing this interview series.

I've been a full time blogger officially since May 2017. For one year before this I made a part time wage from my blog and worked a part time job. I started blogging in April 2013 and never even realised I could make a real living from my blog and thought it was just a hobby. So for the first three years I didn't make any money from my blog.

Before properly monetizing my blog I did have a few opportunities land in my inbox which I politely declined as I wasn't really sure what they were. Then I stumbled upon some blogger income reports and realised there was some real money to be made. I’ve never looked back and I started collaborating with brands and putting a value on my time and worth, instead of accepting unpaid collaborations. I now make a full time living from my blog and I want you to realise you can do this too, if you want to.

I get to write every day and make money by doing what I love. It’s amazing and still amazes me each day, even two years into making money from my website. It’s not without a lot of hard work though, so don’t be fooled into thinking you simply set up a website and voila, income starts rolling in. If only! I work 30-40 hours per week currently and my blog is my life!

In this series I am going to interview other bloggers who also make money from their blogs to hopefully inspire people to start a blog if they wish or to make that leap to monetizing content. I also find it so interesting to learn what other bloggers are up to and even us full time bloggers can learn from each other and inspire one another.

Hello, please introduce yourself and tell us all about your money making blog.

I'm Lisa, I'm a freelance magazine editor and lifestyle and beauty blogger at thebeautytype.com. I cover everything from home, interiors, food, travel, career, beauty products, hauls and my life!

How long have you been blogging for and when did you begin to monetize?

I've been blogging for over seven years and it's been in the last 2 years that I've made an addition to my income through blogging.

What's your monthly blog income like? (Pocket money, part time, full time or the figure)

I get a 'part time' wage into my income through blogging. It varies monthly but it tends to be about 20-30% of what I bring home every month.

How exactly do you make money from your blog and tell us more about your favourite method?

I get contacted through agencies who want to link build, review products, write about a brand or place a guest post. I prefer link building as its easier to adapt but happy to work on anything that fits my brand.

Were there any steps you took in the early days to prep your blog for making money?

I never set up to make money, it's just a nice perk after all these years. However, build your brand is the most vital part. No one wants to work with someone who's just in it for the money.

Has it been an easy process to make money from your blog? Why?

No not at all. It's over seven years of hard work to bring it to the standard it is today. I am all self-taught with no additional help.

How many hours per week do you work on your blog? Has this changed over time?

About ten hours a week now if not more but yeah it's changed over the last few years and in the last six months I've gone freelance so I've had more time to dedicate to it.

What are your aims for your blog in the future?

I would love to reach some higher numbers for my following and work with some of my favourite brands!

If someone is totally new to blogging, what should they concentrate on most to make money?

Not making money! Personally blogging isn't about the money. You should be doing it because you love writing and blogging not because you want money! Sorry to break it to you!

What are the drawbacks to running a money making blog?

Sometimes you might consider working with brands that don't fit your ethos or style and that can cause readers to disappear if you start writing about irrelevant things!