Budget Friendly and Fun Summer Home Improvement Projects You Can Do This Summer

In just a few short weeks it will officially be Summer!  Today on the blog, we’re sharing our picks for some of the most fun, budget friendly Summer home improvement projects you can do this Summer!  Improve your home’s curb appeal, curate beautiful outdoor spaces, and give your home the ultimate refresh with these creative ideas.  Plus, many of the home improvement projects on our list will save you time and money in the long run, and what’s not to love about saving a few extra dollars? 

Pressure wash and refinish your deck, patio, and repaint outdoor patio furniture. Pressure washing your patio, pavers, and deck can help remove mildew, mold, dirt, grime, and other build up.  It also removes old stain and sealant on wood, creating a clean slate for repainting and refinishing.  To pressure wash safely, you’ll want to use a 25º or 40º fan tip with moderate pressure of no more than 800 psi at no more than 12” above the wood.  After pressure washing, give the deck a good once over and remove any splintered wood, cracked or rotting boards, replace rusted fasteners, and consider sanding problem areas.  After the wood has been stripped and cleaned, you can apply a quality weather proof stain and clear coat or weather-safe outdoor friendly paint. If the material is something like a soft, porous wood you’ll also want to consider a wood conditioner before finishing.  For outdoor patio furniture, remove all cushions and wash them as directed, then choose a gentle soap and power wash as well; let furniture dry before repainting with exterior grade spray paint for the appropriate surface (plastic, wood, or metal specific.)

Reduce your lawn maintenance by adding custom gardens and landscaping.  Maintaining a bright green lawn full of perfectly curated turf can be rather costly on the waterbill as well as your time.  While some find large grassy areas to be visually appealing, they’re one of the least interesting and least environmentally friendly features of a property. Reducing your lawn by as little as 10-20% and installing a garden with native plants or even edible landscaping can significantly improve your home’s curb appeal and gives you the ability to curate plants, flowers, and shrubbery to ensure visual interest in every season!  If you’re looking for low-maintenance options, perennials, flowering trees, and evergreen shrubs will be a great choice. Planting seasonal annuals provide intermittent color while you wait for perennials to bloom.  Check your local area libraries or community centers like local colleges, botanical gardens, or municipal maintenance orgs for a list of Native Pollinator plants to help benefit local wildlife, insects, and birds. Similarly, replacing your lawn with a low-growing groundcover and evergreen plants that are cold hardy are another wonderful option.  Creating a wildflower lawn can also create a unique home feature that sets your property apart from the rest of typical suburbia. You’ll save time on mowing, weed whacking, and property maintenance as well as reducing your consumption of gas and electricity you would have spent while maintaining traditional grass.  Adding new gardens and plants can also have a positive increase in mental health benefits, physical health improvements, as well as an outlet for creativity!

Add exterior lighting and landscape lighting to gardens, walkways, and seating areas.  Solar lighting is an energy efficient method of increasing safety as well as curba appeal.  Outdoor lighting can highlight your home’s most distinguished features and architectural details.  It can also create focal points in your garden beds and landscaping, highlighting your beautiful gardening efforts.  Additionally, you can create a lot of charm and foster a truly inviting, cozy atmosphere by adding cafe lights, twinkle lights, or pathway lanterns to outdoor seating areas and patio spaces.  Plus, the fact that it’s solar charged to long-lasting batteries can mean lower electricity bills than using large spotlights or floodlights.

Set up a backyard games area for your family and friends.  Getting kids outdoors and away from screens can be a little bit of a struggle even on the best of days.  However, creating an inviting outdoor space that keeps them engaged, physically active, and encourages them to spend more time together is a great idea!  Installing basketball hoops in paved areas, adding a volleyball or badminton net to the lawn,  adding a bocce court, or crafting a cornhole board can be a game changer.  Having designated areas for games and sports can foster an inviting atmosphere  for kids and teens to participate, without needing too much encouragement from parents.  Giving kids their own seating area away from the main patio where adults hang out can also foster a sense of independence and confidence, and allows them to spend time with their friends in a safe space at home where you can still keep a mindful eye.  Grab some outdoor bins or outdoor cabinets that are easy to open so kids can stow play things like toys, sportsballs, rackets and bats, and even bicycles with easy access; not only will this help declutter your yard, but it encourages kids to make an independent choice to go outdoors without having to ask an adult for assistance.  Building or purchasing a storage shed can get garden tools and outdoor appliances out of the way and remove unsightly clutter as well as creating a more inviting and open space for free play and outdoor exercise.

Paint the front door and shutters, and consider refreshing the hardware.  Painting or re-siding your home can be very costly, but you can give your home’s exterior a much needed refresh with just a small can of paint or two.  Repainting your home’s front door with a bright, fun paint such as red, yellow, green, or even pink for a pop of color and an eye-catching feature.  Some social media home accounts are even suggesting the brilliant idea of painting seasonal designs on your front door, or refreshing it each quarter.  Choosing a slightly lighter or darker shade of paint in the same color family for your home’s shutters or trim can also create fresh visual interest.  You don’t need to change out your older, classic front door for a costly new one, instead, try simly changing outdated door and shutter hardware for newer, trendier options to craft a whole new look on a penny pincher’s budget.

Fix cracked concrete, fill cracks and seal the driveway, and replace broken paverstones or replace broken walkways with new pathways. Winter weather like snow and ice can wreak havoc on paved surfaces like cement and concrete, blacktop, and even paverstones or slate.  Choose a week with a weather forecast of clear skies and warm sunny weather and get to repairing and sealing those cracked surfaces.  Consider removing cracked or damaged paverstones and replacing them.  Add some visual appeal to your backyard as well as reducing your longterm maintenance tasks by replacing paved walkways with pea-gravel paths, mulched walkways, or swapping out faded pavers for colorful options.  Some home design accounts on social media also offer tutorials on how to create stenciled patios, stenciled paverstone walkways, and charming custom painted stone features along pathways.  No matter which option you choose, focusing on these small details around your home can all add up to big improvements and curb appeal!