Most of us have spent more time in our homes in recent months than ever before, so it comes as no surprise Brits are seeking to make home improvements, with Google searches for DIY once again on the increase during the latest lockdown.

For anyone thinking of sprucing up their home decor, one of the most common considerations is if it will add value to the property. Providing expert guidance, Hitachi Personal Finance has looked at the most effective home improvements you can make on a low budget, for less than £100.

Painting a room – £71

Nothing brightens up a room more than a fresh lick of paint and this is something that can easily be done yourself. Rather than paying for a professional decorator, why not invest in some brushes, rollers and have a bit of fun picking the colour you want for a room.

To cover the cost of a main room, such as a lounge, kitchen or bathroom, paint will cost around £71¹ and will give your living space a much fresher look. If you are someone who monitors internal décor trends, choosing the right colour at the right time could even add more than £1,400 in value to your home if you came to selling².

Kitchen spruce ups – £60

They often say the kitchen is the heart of the home, but a full-scale kitchen refurb is not always necessary, and can prove very costly. It can be easy and cheap to make just a couple of subtle changes to change the whole complexion of the room.

Adding or swapping a glass hob splash back can cost as little as £60³, whilst tiling a wall could be just what you need to reinvigorate your kitchen area. The cost depends on the type of tile and size of your kitchen, but the average kitchen tiling will set you back just £35 per square metre⁴.

New curtains and blinds – £50-£90

Old drapes in your window frames can make a room feel stale and dull, so replacing those with something more vibrant and colourful can really make a difference.

Providing you have had them installed previously, just replacing curtains or roll up blinds won’t cost as much as you think. Home interior retailers sell a range of good quality curtains for between £50-£90⁵ that can totally transform the feel of a room.

Decluttering – free

A really simple way to improve the feel of your entire home is organising and decluttering from top to bottom. Excess belongings are commonplace in a lot of households and can often be forgotten for long periods, leading to even the most spacious properties feeling cramped and messy.

Taking the time to go through each room, organising items to keep and collecting ones you want to recycle or donate to charity, will free up storage space that you can then make good use of. And, of course, this will cost you virtually nothing and if donating unused items to charity it will help others and the environment too.

Sprucing up your front door – £80

Make sure you don’t forget about the exterior of your home, as improvements on the outside can really add value to your property.

Sanding down and re-painting your front door will help alleviate any looks of tiredness from the outside and will certainly add kerb appeal. Although this sounds like a big job, the average cost of the paint and tools required to take this project on are attainable at just £80.⁶

Vincent Reboul, Managing Director at Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance, commented: “The start of the year is often a time of reflection, and this applies to our homes as well as our careers and personal lives. The lockdown means even more of us will be looking to take on home improvements in the coming months.

“Although a lot of DIY jobs can be quite large and costly projects, there are certainly tweaks and changes we can be making ourselves to have similar benefits without forking out huge sums of money.

“We hope this guide inspires homeowners looking to try their hand at a few upgrades to give their house a fresh feel for 2021.”