Easy DIY Home Improvement Projects Under $100
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Today I am sharing a LARGE list of idea for DIY home projects under $100!
When my husband and I first became home owners, we weren’t sure where to begin in terms of home improvements or adding comfort and value to our home. I’m happy to say that after 8 years and 2 homes, we’ve very thankfully learned a few things. And I’m here today to share them with you.
While I know there are actually endless things you can do to your home under $100, I’ve made a list of budget home improvement ideas that I believe had made true impact in our home. These will add beauty and value to your home without breaking the bank.
How to Improve your home for Less than $100
We have found that we really love to make a house our home over time. Slowly, intentionally, and sticking to our budget is what we’ve found to be the most rewarding and gives us the greatest “return.”
We are also updating our home with a house full of little ones, so we often space out our projects and try to stick with things that can be done in a weekend.
With that being said, I’ve compiled a list below of budget home projects under $100 that can be done within one weekend that we’ve done ourselves.
1. Hate your countertops? Paint them!
Hear me out on this. Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy.
We did this to our brown granite (yes, we painted over granite). Even to type it makes me cringe at myself, but I tried for years to love the brown and black and just couldn’t do it. I debated and debated doing this for months, and researched all the possibilities. I ended up deciding to do it because it’s our kitchen, and our home, and I wanted to LOVE the space I spend so much time in.
On the other side of the project, I’m not sure why I didn’t just do it as soon as we bought our home. This truly holds up great and touch-up is very minimal effort. It completely transformed our kitchen and how I feel being in it, and I would do it over and over again.
Here’s the post where I detail the process.
That post will even link you to a 2 year review of our countertops!
2. DIY/Makeover a dining table.
We found our table for FREE on Marketplace. We sanded it down and brought it back to life with a fresh coat of stain and some spray painted chairs (also from Marketplace) to match. This project was probably $50 altogether for us and makes a HUGE impact in our home.
You can see how we gave our table a makeover here.
EDITED: Since this project, I’ve actually done it AGAIN with another marketplace table. There’s no tutorial for this one, as I bought an oak table on marketplace for $100, sanded it down and put poly on it. So while it does fall within the $100 project list, this one is more of a unicorn. But definitely worth keeping an eye out for!
3. Give your front door a fresh coat of paint!
We painted over our white door with Tricorn Black. Easy, affordable, and brings a huge change. It feels like a brand new door! I believe this project only took one can of paint, so that makes this one extra affordable.
I actually read somewhere not too long ago that homes with black front doors sell at a higher price on the market. Not sure about the validity of it, but neat if it’s true!
4. Paint your garage door.
This is one of the many simple ways to update your exterior and make huge impact in your font yard. We painted our garage door Tricorn Black to match our front door. This cost-effective change went so far in terms of making the exterior of our home look complete.
Crazy to think what a couple cans of paint can do!
And now… next on my exterior dream list is…window boxes. 😉
5. Replace overhead lighting or ceiling fans.
Check your local Marketplace for these! I found our large wagon-wheel light on Marketplace for just $60. The light above our breakfast table was on sale for $90. So for around $150ish, we gave our home a major upgrade. Simple and budget-friendly.
You can find a chandelier similar to ours on amazon here.
Also, consider upgrading not only your chandeliers, but flush-mount lighting as well. It is a small change with big impact.
6. Frame out prominent doorway(s).
We framed out this doorway in our house for less than $100. The project was done in just a few hours and was a total game changer for this room…giving it instant charm and character. Would recommend this over and over!
See how we framed out our doorway here.
In terms of home projects under $100, this is one of the best we’ve done!
7. Build a custom mantle for your fireplace.
My husband built our fireplace mantle to fit the dimensions of the fireplace we built. I’ll link the tutorial below. However, you can find tutorials on how to build faux beams that are very affordable and pretty easy! We did this for both of our fireplaces and it transformed them.
You can find our fireplace/mantle tutorial here.
The mantle pictured below was built out of pine — we built a box to fit over the existing mantle — and stained with White Wash Pickling and Cordovan Brown exterior stain from Home Depot.
8. Add shelving in kitchen.
We removed an upper row of cabinets that blocked our view into our breakfast area. We tiled over the wall that was uncovered and then added floating shelves. We followed a version of Shanty2Chic’s floating shelf plan for these.
They are stained in White Wash Pickling, Special Walnut, and Weathered Oak.
See this stain combination here.
9. Replace old hardware.
We replaced our standard black knobs in our kitchen with these affordable amazon finds (linking below). Upgrading to new hardware is not to be underestimated! An inexpensive way to up your home’s value.
We’ve been using these new drawer pulls for several years now and they’ve held up BEAUTIFULLY. These are the knobs we purchased for lower cabinets.
10. Make outdoor planters out of old popcorn tins.
If you don’t own any old Christmas popcorn tins, you can most likely find them on Marketplace or your local thrift store. I put faux pine trees in them for Christmas. Drilled holes in the bottom and planted shrubs in them for the Spring/Summer.
To note, these will rust! Make sure to put something underneath to avoid staining on a concrete porch.
See my easy tutorial for this here.
11. Powerwash and stain wooden fence.
Here’s how we gave our wooden fence a makeover!
12. Organize your spice cabinet with Dollar Tree containers.
This is a very fun, incredibly budget friendly, and rewarding project for the organization lovers.
See our post on this project here.
13. Paint & replace hardware on an old dresser.
We used an old wooden dresser we had for our son’s nursery and gave it a face-lift by sanding it down and painting it in Chelsea Gray. We also replaced the hardware with something a little more modern. It’s simple, but I feel like this piece brings the whole room together.
See all the nursery plans here.
14. Hang a gallery wall.
If you are on a tight budget for this, you can actually use 8×10 frames from Dollar Tree for a beautiful gallery wall!
I have a blog post on our Dollar Tree Gallery wall here.
While still being budget-minded (just not quite as cheap as Dollar Tree), IKEA has some GREAT frame options.
15. Add potted plants to your front porch.
Small boxwoods are other container plants can be found at your local plant nursery or most hardware stores. I found ours at Home Depot for $10 a shrub.
Faux plants are also a great option for year round color.
See the full post on our Spring/Summer porch here!
16. Upgrade your outdoor garage light.
Adding a big, beautiful light above your garage to replace a standard one can make a HUGE impact. I couldn’t believe how much upgrading ours did for the look of our home. We found ours at Mernards for around $90.
Alternatively, you could purchase one identical from Amazon.
17. Replace your kitchen faucet.
We settled on the Kraus Oletto High Arc and it’s the best decision I’ve made for this little kitchen. I feel like it gives our kitchen such a custom look. We purchased it in the finish Antique Champagne Bronze.
Also, do not feel like you cannot mix gold with a stainless steel kitchen sink. This is a common fear amongst home owners, and I’m here to give you permission to mix metals to your heart’s content. Make your house your home!
18. Landscape around backyard patio.
We kept this budget by purchasing $10 shrubs and 48 cent pavers for edging from Home Depot.
19. Hang bistro lights on your patio or porch.
You don’t need a pergola or anything fancy for this! You could build some DIY String Light Planters.
These are the string lights we have and we love them! They’ve held up beautifully.
20. Paint your bedroom!
We recently painted our bedroom a moody green color, and it has never been so cozy and relaxing!
21. Paint your bathroom a bold color.
We did a reno free makeover on our downstairs powder room. While we did replace the vanity and light fixtures, the paint made the biggest difference! You could easily paint a small bathroom and replace a mirror for around $100 and make big impact.
See our full bathroom project here.
22. Make curtains out of drop cloths!
This project was honestly so easy and incredibly affordable. NO SEWING REQUIRED WHATSOEVER. Yes and amen. And rather than farmhouse, these just look like high-end curtains in our living room.
Read our drop cloth curtain tutorial here.
23. Convert an old china cabinet or hutch into a craft or kitchen cabinet.
We found an old china cabinet on Marketplace for a steal and gave it new life with a coat of paint and a fresh new look. I also replaced the hardware. With a little elbow grease, it’s now a lovely craft cabinet in our children’s play room. This is a great way to bring character and charm into your home without a big price tag.
Check your local garage sales, marketplace, thrift stores to find these for great prices!
See how I converted our cabinet here.
24. Makeover old bar stools for your kitchen.
I found our stools on Marketplace and gave them a makeover to fit our kitchen!
25. Paint kitchen cabinets.
We painted our cabinets pure white when we first moved in. I believe it was the first big project we did, and I’ve never once regretted it! It feels like brand new cabinets.
We used Behr Cabinet Enamel and it’s held up beautifully for around 5 years now!
26. Build a DIY Floating Firewood holder.
This project brought SO much cozy and practicality to our living room (especially in winter!) and only cost $40.
See how we built our firewood holder here.
27. Build an easy couch arm table.
This is an incredibly easy DIY that we managed in one afternoon and for less than $30!
See how we built our DIY couch arm table here.
I am forever updating this list as we work to make our house a home. Check back every now and then for new ideas 🙂
I hope this list of home projects under $100 inspires a project to bring beauty and value to your home without breaking the bank!
Until next time,
Thank you so much for sharing these update ideas! We are planning on listing our home soon & I wanted to get a better idea of some small improvement projects we could do beforehand. I am going to have my cabinets refinished next week to prepare. Thanks again for sharing!!!