The 2018 Home Upgrades for New Homeowners

The best way to personalize your space and give it a fresh, polished vibe is to make upgrades-big or small-that let your personality shine.

The best way to personalize your space and give it a fresh, polished vibe is to make upgrades-big or small-that let your personality shine. Whether you're ready to undertake a major remodeling project or only have the budget for a few modern touches, these DIY renovation ideas are a great place to start.

Welcome 2018 with an updated home that's perfect for new beginnings and a lifetime of memories.

Make Your Kitchen Colorful

Gone is the popularity of a white, monochromatic kitchen. More homeowners are embracing bold accent colors on their countertops, backsplashes and cabinets, from vivid yellow and burnt orange to chic turquoise and dignified navy.

Another popular trend is juxtaposing the stainless steel appliances with warm, vibrant hues that make a space more inviting, while keeping that sleek look.

• Small budget: When repainting, choose a two-toned base. For example, "dark colors offset with lighter or brighter colors...offer visually entertaining and appealing levels of contrast," advise the contemporary design experts at Interior Zine.
• Big budget: Replace all appliances with stainless steel; then do the painting.

Upgrade Your Storage Space

Finding enough room to store seasonal decorations, filing papers, hardware tools, keepsake items, cleaning products and office supplies is a common struggle of homeownership. Luckily, there are a number of creative and resourceful hacks for increasing the amount of storage without reconfiguring your entire space.

• Small budget: You don't have to find room in your home for more storage-head to the garage first. Take advantage of the walls by hanging DIY peg boards and adjustable wall panels: "With the help of hooks, you have the freedom of hanging your things anywhere and any way you want: in the center, horizontally, vertically, at the bottom, or top," suggest garage experts. As you tackle inside storage, refer to 8 Space Savers for a Small Bedroom for inspiration.
• Big budget: Invest in new furniture pieces that double as decorative and functional, like an old chest that you can keep in the living room or a coffee table with a storage space below.

Give Your Walls More Texture

Textured walls is a fun way to infuse character into any room, whether you're into exposed brick, wooden shiplap, geometric molding or smooth tile. Walls are a blank canvas for experimentation, so harness your inner designer and play around with different materials or wallpapers that mimic the feel of those materials.

Note that you can combine more than one texture in the same room to create a particularly unique and artistic ambiance. For instance, a "grungy" or "rustic" wall could be adjacent to a "wavy design on the accent wall," says Kareen Liez, civil engineer and architecture enthusiast.

• Small budget: If you have unfinished drywall, use this to your advantage, with these ideas from Vintage Revivals or this idea from The Creativity in the Chaos.
• Big budget: Go in all the way with high quality wall paper that creates texture with patterns or invest in the laundry list of materials needed to create your own exposed brick wall, for example. If your budget is flexible, there are many ways to tackle this project.

Re-Do the Garage Flooring

The garage has become an extension of a home's living space that should be both aesthetic and functional. To take your garage to the next level, and turn it into a space you actually enjoy being in, start with the boring concrete floor-replace it with an epoxy coating.

This material is "noted for its durability and longevity," according to flooring professionals at Kwekel Epoxy Floors. They explain: "With epoxy, you'll enjoy protection against [mold] growth, as it offers a protective layer against moisture damage." Not to mention, epoxy is also stain resistant and the surface repels chemicals, so if something spills, it won't seep into your concrete.

• Small budget: Take the DIY route and lay the epoxy flooring yourself. Use this tutorial from Family Handy Man to navigate through the process.
• Big budget: Hire an epoxy company to handle the work, which can be done in one weekend.

Make the Space Your Own

A house is an expression of the people who live inside, so give your new home a splash of personality in the New Year. You'll fee great about the space and excited to show it off to your friends and family.

Guest post by Jessica Thiefels