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Having a home to call your own is a blessing. Especially in this day and age when downpayments and mortgages are through the roof. However, once you have your home, even if it’s older and mustier, you don’t have to break the bank to make it look good and feel great. 

The r/HomeImprovement online community shared some of their favorite tips on how people can upgrade their homes for $100 or less. We’ve collected some of their top pieces of advice to share with you. Make sure you’ve got a notepad ready, you might want to ‘borrow’ some of these ideas as you scroll down.

#1

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) I LOVE my soft-close toilet seats. The only problem is that now when I visit people who don't have them, I end up slamming a lot of toilet seats...but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

parasolfinish , amazon Report

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Lame Llama
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1 year ago

This comment has been deleted.

Lame Llama
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

THEY CHANGED THE STOCKPHOTO AFTER MY COMMENT. IT WAS A PINK SOFT TOWEL COVERED SEAT.

Miss Frankfurter
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don’t like these kinds of toilets. I have to wait before it closes before I flush the toilet. I just end up closing it myself.

featherytoad
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate mine. I always close the lid whether I go number one or two. The first time I used it, I stood there for 10 seconds (yes I counted) waiting for it to close fully so I could flush. After that, I just force it down.

Timbob
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And any little BOYS in the house would be eternally grateful !

Alex Smith
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same. It is the first thing I replaced when we got new toilets.

J. Norton
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Uhhhhhh, sorry, but no, no, no. So *unbelievably* unhygienic! Blech......😳

Cyber Returns
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel sorry for the OP when some one rushes to the toilet with explosive diarrhea and barely makes it but not without the brown cone of death leaving it's signature death blossom on the seat

Zedrapazia
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The photo isn't what OP was talking about either. Soft close means that the set goes down on its own slowly when you close it.

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#2

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Convert any shelf in the kitchen that's lower than your chest to a drawer. You'll want good ones, so you probably can't do more than one or two for $100. Start with the ones you use the most. I did that for my parents and it made such a big difference. My new kitchen won't have any shelves under the counter, only drawers.

Chrthiel , Max Rahubovskiy Report

#3

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Weather stripping around poorly insulated doors.

Echochrome3 , JulieAlexK Report

CNN reports that home affordability is in a pretty bad situation. The income of a typical American homebuyer rose from $88k in July 2022 to $107k in July 2023. Considering that the median income of someone living in the US is around $75k, this puts homeownership out of reach for many families. Especially those with kids.

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Or, to put it simply, if you’re rich(er), you’ll have a far easier time buying property because you have more flexibility. You can outcompete everyone else. “In a still-competitive housing market, more well-off home buyers were able to have their bids accepted by offering larger down payments and even by paying cash,” Jessica Lautz, the deputy chief economics and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors, said.

#4

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) This was a fun one - before and after: https://imgur.com/a/9VbpnCC Whole project cost around $80...the shelves were I think 2x10s, cut to fit. Gave em a good sanding and stain/poly. Pretty cheap, standard brackets. Also did a light white wash on the bricks (wet the bricks, paint on a 50/50 mixture of white paint/water, then lightly blot).

mrspetie , mrspetie Report

#5

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Well, I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but investing in a powerwasher made such a difference with our exteriors. Cleaning up stones, walls, siding etc. has a huge impact on optics!

bonesonstones , rick kloeppel Report

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#6

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) I just installed a slide-out trash can and recycling bin. My wife and I were debating it for a year and we finally got one. It's so nice to have the garbage and recycling hidden away, and as a bonus, now we can just pull out the bin and sweep crumbs directly into it from the counter!

MiniXP , lovinkat Report

The issue isn’t just big downpayments and mind-melting mortgages, however. There’s also a problem with home supply. The average age of a first-time home buyer in 2023 in the US is 35. That’s down from 36 a year ago, but higher than before. Meanwhile, average repeat home buyers this year are around 58 years of age.

According to CNN, families with young children are having a tougher time affording property. 70% of recent buyers didn’t have kids who were under 18 years old in the home. Compare that to way back in 1985 when only 42% of home buyers didn’t have kids under that age in the home. 

Another trend that we’re seeing is that remote workers are more willing to move to find affordable properties. 

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#7

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) LED shop lights for my garage. ~$20 a piece to replace the failing fluorescent fixtures. They were so cheap and easy to install, I doubled up on the number of light fixtures. Now you can see my garage from the ISS.

flying_trashcan , William Hook Report

#8

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Putting my dog bed under the stairs.
Moved into a new home and im fully renovating. We dont have as much room so we decided to put a false wall under the stairs, cut a square hole and use a gate as a door.
Cost me a bit of trim, some wood and some boarding, probably £50-£80. Yet saves me the massive space the dog crate took up!

https://imgur.com/gallery/zEOfTzb

B23vital , bugfatcatballs Report

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#9

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) A cat door to move the litter box to the basement

jvhatch , Justin Baeder Report

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When it comes to upgrading your home, learning some basic DIY skills is your best bet. There are plenty of free tutorials on the internet and on YouTube for whatever small project you have in mind. 

In some cases, however, your home might be in a bad state, and you may need a handyman’s help. That might up the cost of your upgrade, though. What you’re paying for is experience, speed, and the ability to be creative in complex situations. But in order to get someone who doesn’t cut corners, you should look at their previous work and check out recommends them. If they’re reliable, they’ll have a good reputation. And they might even give some tips on what else you can do at home by yourself.

#10

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Invest in a curved shower rod, especially if your shower is narrow. It's so nice not to have the shower curtain sticking to you when you're showering, and it really makes a difference in the overall amount of space you have to move around!

thereverend666 , Poolarity - Life Hacks Report

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#11

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) a bidet. I feel like I'm in the stone ages anywhere else.

alanbdee , Ben Stanfield Report

#12

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) When we moved in, we replaced all the 1980s gold door handles and all the outlets & light switches from beige to white. It upgraded every room of the house dramatically.

More recently, we added a Subway tile backsplash to the kitchen where there was none.

Wall mounts for TVs can make a huge difference of making a space look neater and tidier.

Also, I second the curved shower rods. And a shower head you love.

That's several favorites, but they were all favorites when we did them!

sydneyface , Jonathan Petersson Report

#13

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) I paid $100 to repaint my kitchen cabinets, and it was the best decision ever. It's simple, too — all you have to do is clean them, scuff them up with sandpaper, prime them, and paint with two coats

VORT3XXX , Mikhail Nilov Report

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#14

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Stationary vacuum! I got a Eye-Vac for a Christmas gift. It’s stupid how much I love it.

Hard floors throughout the house with two dogs, two cats and a toddler. I hated sweeping but love having swept floors... now I get so much joy from seeing that huge pile of gross get whooshed up into a nice little box that I only have to empty once a month. No more dustpans! It’s silly what a big difference it makes.

klodklodklod , Stephany B Report

#15

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) $20 showerhead to replace the dumb expensive rainfall one that was there. Best $20 I spent this decade.

Turd_of_Paradise , Pete Report

#16

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) I spent $7 on a wooden threshold, for a spot where my living room hardwood floor joins the sunroom parquet floor. Previously there was a big gap there and chippy parquet edges. It made such a big difference, that little strip of wood!

OrangeCosmos , u/huaraches_n_fries Report

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#17

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Refinished my ugly brass ceiling fans.(https://imgur.com/a/QgT35Ux). Took them all apart, got rid of the weird little points on the end of the blades, painted the metal with oil-rubbed bronze rustoleum, finished the blades with gel stain. Looks pretty good for under $20 (I already had the gel stain), and it changes the feel of the room.

CountingSatellites , CountingSatellites Report

#18

Timer switch for the bathroom fan. Before we’d either not run the fan long enough or keep it on all day. Now it shuts itself off.

pennyx2 Report

#19

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Some USB outlets

jonos7 , Brent Ozar Report

#20

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Have done so many little upgrades, but the ones I see every day that bring me joy are so trivial. I replaced the super cheap beige outlet and light switch covers in our kitchen with [ceramic/stone ones that almost perfectly match the backsplash](https://imgur.com/gallery/bqaAtb8). Made such a huge difference. Still blows my mind the people who built our house used some many builder grade and base price products.

beley , brandoneley Report

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#21

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Replace your regular lightbulbs with warm LEDs. I've had a lot of luck with both IKEA and Amazon Basic brand LEDs — just make sure you're checking their Kelvin value (which indicates color temperature). 2700K is generally considered a 'warm white,' and anything higher than that will make the room feel cold and unpleasant

Audaxls , Stephan Ridgw Report

#22

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Curtains, changed the look of the room in an instant.

Gidrel , judy dean Report

#23

I put one way mirror window film on a front west facing window for privacy and to keep reduce the amount of light entering in the afternoon. Totally worth it.

anon Report

#24

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Motion sensor light switch in the powder room. Never do that reach around in the dark again.

Darfoot , Brian and Rita Report

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#25

If you don't include the $70 spray gun I had to buy then [I paid ~$100 in material to repaint my kitchen cabinet](https://imgur.com/a/k1QAHQ2).

Edit: Wow went to bed and this blew up. Here are the steps that I did just in case you want to do the same

1. Clean/degrease all surfaces with TSP (SimpleGreen is also good)
2. Wood filler for anything you want to patch
3. Sand all surfaces with 120 grit to rough them up. Don't need to go crazy here, as long as the surface is scuff up, you're good.
4. Wipe all down with tack cloth to remove all particles, wet rag is acceptable here too
5. Prime 1 side of door, let them dry, prime the other side
6. Sand lightly with 220 grit where there's any imperfection or uneveness. Also more wood filler wherever I missed the first time
7. Tack cloth everything again
8. Paint 2 coats

V0RT3XXX Report

#26

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) 1. A Waste King Garbage disposal. If you have any other brand, you're suffering.
2. Move ceiling fans over to where you actually spend time in the room. Seriously this cost like $30 to move a ceiling fan from the middle of our bedroom to directly over the bed. What a huge difference.
3. Remote switches for said ceiling fans. So much easier than getting up to turn it up or down.
4. Soft-close cabinet hinges. Can be found on Amazon. Make your drawers and cabinets all soft close.

NotSure2505 , amazon. Report

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#27

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) By FAR my favorite home improvement projects in the past few years have been in the super cheap kitchen upgrades I did in 2017. For context, I live in a shanty, and pretty much everything in the house could be legitimately improved with duct tape and/or a blow torch.

* I installed corner brackets under my upper cabinets (to give them more of a folk Swedish look), and painted them a creamy gray color. The brackets cost $10 each (I used 4), and the paint was a custom mix from what I had around the house.

* I used automotive detail tape to put up a faux subway tile backsplash on the wall behind my stove. This involved painting the wall first with a wash of mottled gray paint (this would later only be visible as the grout), taping off the tile, and then painting the tile color (semi-gloss white) over the tape. Peel SLOWLY when it all dries. Voila, you have convincing basic subway tile with a narrow 1/8" dark gray grout line for $28. (Cost of tape and estimated cost of paint usage I already had on hand.)

* Hardware upgrade on the cabinets. I didn't know how much I would care about my drawer pulls until I installed some that I really loved. It's been two years, and I still feel happy every time I see them. The total investment in new pulls and handles for everything in the kitchen was about $100.

* This isn't just the kitchen, but applies to the whole house. PAINT. F*****g hell, paint. It can do so much to help an otherwise underwhelming space. Color is your friend.

* This requires shopping at HFH, or architectural salvage places, but antique or vintage doors can really add a lot of charm to a basic home. Almost every interior door in my home is an antique, and most have cool old windows, interesting molding detail, or remarkable hardware. None cost more than $20, and several were free to carry away from demolished structures.

ShieraBlackwood , Skylar Kang Report

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#28

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Replace your 'boob lights' with something better. I just replaced our ninth boob light to complete our whole downstairs! Man, did it make my '90s house feel so much more updated — it's ridiculous how transformative it can be

turnip_for_what_ , amazon Report

#29

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) We had these dingy old light switches and covers from the '50s all over our house. New materials would've cost a total of $600 — and I was not about to spend $600 on light switches. So, I opted to paint them all. I ended up spending one day and $30 on the materials, and they look so much better now!

chula198705 , Steve Johnson Report

#30

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) WiFi Thermostat... just a couple minutes ago my better half was cold. Take a guess who didn’t have to get up to get everyone cozy again!

panda527 , Aaron Paxson Report

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#31

I'm currently renting a home. Built back in the 1980's, it looks like the windows are original and poorly sealed.
$12 to purchase a window sealing kit, the ones with the plastic sheeting.
I sealed all the windows and the house now stays draft free and the heat now runs less.

anon Report

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#32

I'm going to add something that's not a specific thing, but in general, watch the specials and thrift stores like Habitat's ReStore. Sometimes a thing you've been thinking about will go on sale or suddenly show up and then you have to jump on it. But, you can get several hundred dollar upgrades for very little if you have the patience and ability to do this.

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#33

I had to replace the closer on my screen door. Instead of the usual kind, I installed a Ryobi Doorman. We liked it so much that I put one on the back door too. Holds the door closed, closes it gently, holds the door open if you open past 100 degrees or so, it's just so convenient.

BobTheOldFart Report

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#34

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) 1. WiFi plugs that work with Alexa. Being able to turn on lights with a timer or my voice is neat.

2. Curtains. You can get some really nice velvet curtains from ikea that looks great.

3. Brown glass bottles with nozzles instead of the plastic bottles that soap and shampoo comes in. It just looks fancier.

Cleodora , Smart Home Report

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#35

Painting paneling. What a transformation!

anon Report

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#36

1. WeMo outlet so I can control outlets with my phone or set timers (great for Christmas lights, night lights, and lamps that come on at dusk).
2. Painting [my front door](https://imgur.com/gallery/1effc9r)
3. Adding [peel & stick tiles around my fireplace surround](https://imgur.com/gallery/vRCRiEU) to update the look
3. Adding beadboard in my mud room

ohforfoxsakee Report

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#37

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Most of my small upgrades are already mentioned here, but I'll add one more: **wall mounting your flat-screen TVs**. The difference in how a properly wall-mounted TV with all the cables hidden looks vs. one just sitting on a shelf is incredible. We originally did it for safety reasons (having a toddler in the house) but I eventually ended up wall-mounting every TV in the house because it looked so good.

* [$24 tilting universal wall mounting bracket supporting TVs up to 65"](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012S4APK/)
* [Code compliant way to run cables through the wall for $49](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HIYAFR4)

It only takes about an hour to do and can be done with like 5 tools. All you need is a screwdriver, wrench, level (the bracket even includes a small level), jab saw and stud finder. Though a power screwdriver and cable fishing line will make things a bit faster.

peckrob , yair elgazar Report

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#38

I spent just about $100 to get a keyless lock that works with my home automation, and it's amazing. I pull into the parking spot in my condo, and bam, the doors unlock before I even get upstairs! Even when I end up using the keypad, it's easy to use and so worth never having to fumble with keys. It gives me so much peace of mind to know I can just lock it when I'm not home, too

UndeadArmy314 Report

#39

“What Has Been Your Favorite $100-Or-Less Upgrade You’ve Done To Your Home?” (30 Tips) Custom blinds. Look like a million bucks. Though it’s under $100 per window :)

jackalooz , Lenore Edman Report

#40

WiFi light switch for my porch lights. I never have to deal with it and they’re on from dusk to dawn whether I’m home or not. Love it!

mfr2vcb Report

#41

Dusk to dawn led light bulb for the front porch.

sleepytimegirl Report

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#42

Furnace humidifier. Sorry it's like $150.

Darfoot Report

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#43

We did a lot of <$100 projects when we first moved in, and continue doing them today. One of my favorites has been replacing the door handles/locks with modern brushed nickle finish ones. The old ones were gold and dated the house.

Also have been replacing light fixtures (interior and exterior) one at a time. Going along with that we breathed some new life into the front door area of the house by replacing the exterior light, repainted the wood framing the door, and installed new modern looking numbers and mailbox.

green12324 Report

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#44

Paint

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#45

Panasonic vent fan instead of the garbage Broan ones from the big box stores. Sooooo much quieter.



A new, fashionable/fun doormat for the front door.



Replaced the terrible and cheap light over the sink with a nicer mini pendant.



Put the bathroom vanity on post legs rather than it's platform-style base. Not like we removed the base and put in legs: we bought a new vanity, and found out the plinth base was optional, and we decided we wanted the vanity to look more like a piece of furniture, so we spent around $100 for legs we found online, stained them with the touch-up stain that came with the vanity. [https://i.imgur.com/yImoC4F.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/yImoC4F.jpg)

NecroJoe Report

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