When it comes to home improvement projects, most people want to go big and decide to revamp a room or entire sections of their home. While this gives the biggest results, sometimes you just don’t have the time and energy for a large-scale project.

This is where quick and easy projects with big impact come in. You can change the aesthetic of a room or piece of furniture through small changes and still get that brand-new feeling.

Keep reading for some inspiration from these easy 60-minute home improvement projects.

1. Change Cabinet Hardware

If you want to quickly give a room a facelift, the easiest thing to do is to update the hardware on your cabinets. Cabinet handles can look dated quite quickly if you don’t pick them for their longevity. Luckily, you can switch your handles out depending on the current trends, so it doesn’t matter too much!

Simply unscrew the handles on your cabinets, making sure you can still open them without the handle. See if your new handles can use the same holes as your old hardware. 

If you haven’t bought handles yet, it’s a good idea to take an old handle with you to the shop to make sure the holes line up. This way, you save some time and effort by reusing the old holes.

But if the handle holes don’t line up, it’s not the end of the world! You have a few options on how to fill the holes, depending on the material and finish of your cabinets.

If you have painted cabinets, you can fill the holes with wood putty and leave it to harden. Then just go over the putty with the same colour paint. For best results, you should blend and feather the paint around the old holes so that it isn’t obvious that something was covered. 

Then just make new holes for your new handles!

For natural wood cabinets, the best option is to make holes for the new handles and then save the wood shavings. Then you just mix the shavings with wood glue to create a paste and fill up the old holes. This ensures that the colour matches your cabinets perfectly. If it’s slightly uneven, you can just sand it down lightly.

Once the old holes are completely filled in, you can just install your new hardware and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

2. Stop the Squeaks

Most houses make some sounds that can be a bit annoying, but older homes are much more prone to squeaking than others. Luckily, this is an incredibly easy thing to fix!

If your doors or window hinges squeak, you can use some WD-40 to lubricate the hinges. It might take some trial and error to locate the exact spot that’s squeaking, but you can just open and close the door or window to see if you’ve fixed it.

Surprisingly to man, squeaky floors are also easily fixable! The squeaking occurs when shoes or furniture move over the floor, so you just need to sprinkle some talcum or baby powder over the surface. Make sure you sweep the powder into all the cracks and corners. 

It’s okay to leave the powder on the floor, as it will go away after a day or so. You can also lightly vacuum the excess up. This reduces the squeakiness of your floors and can be reapplied whenever you notice a new squeak.

3. New Taps

Changing a tap is a home improvement project you can tackle in half an hour. Most taps come with easy-to-follow instructions and might even include the tools you need to complete the job. If not, then you just need to follow these steps:

Start by turning off the water supply. You don’t want to end up soaked when you unscrew the tap! The shut-off valve is generally oval-shaped and can be located below the sink.

It’s still a good idea to place a small bucket underneath the pipes to catch any water droplets. If your pipes are in a cabinet, you can also lay down a piece of plastic to ensure the cabinet stays dry.

Once you’re sure nothing important will get wet, disconnect the supply lines using a standard wrench. Then remove the mounting nuts from the bottom of the old tap. This way you remove the old tap completely.

Now you can clean around the area where the old tap sat. Most likely, there might be some dirt or buildup – totally normal, since it’s difficult to clean there.

Now you can go ahead and install your new tap. The best way to do this is to wrap the threads of the new tap with seal tape and apply silicone sealant around the sink hole. Press the tap through the hole and make sure it’s straight, then wipe away any excess silicone.

From there, tighten the mounting nuts and reattach the supply lines. Slowly turn the water supply back on, checking for any drips or leaks. If there’s nothing, then you can open the supply fully.

If you’re planning on changing all of your taps, then it might be easier to hire a plumber. This way will be a lot faster, and you won’t have to lift a finger!

4. Other Small Projects

There are unlimited small changes you can make to your home that don’t take much time, equipment, or expertise. The goal of a home improvement project is to add value to your home, whether it boosts your property value or simply makes your home nicer to live in.

Here are a few examples of small projects you can attempt:

• Paint an accent wall
• R​​epair small cracks and dents throughout your home
• Update your plug sockets
• Remove water stains from wood

Easy Home Improvement Projects

You don’t have to spend hours and a ton of money on home improvement projects. Little things add up over time, so you can slowly revamp your home without stress or panic. The last thing you want to do is start upgrading your entire bathroom only to run out of steam and have a half-functioning space!

If you want to make big changes, but don’t know if you can manage it, hire one of our home improvement pros to help you out!