Selena Maranjian is a financial expert who writes for the very popular website, The Motley Fool. She was asked the top 15 things that a person could do with $1,000 and we’re happy to see home improvements is on the list.
Here in the Metrowest area, home improvements don’t always require a huge budget. Maranjian offers several relatively affordable options for sprucing the place up: you could paint a few rooms or have new appliances installed. One suggestion that caught our eye was new porch furniture. Let’s talk about what you can do to improve your deck for under $1,000:
Porch Stairs: Porch stairs get a lot of wear, especially if you have children or pets. Over the course of time, stairs wear out. You may have noticed your porch stair boards sagging, warping or cracking. Maybe a board is missing entirely! When porch stairs aren’t at their best, they can become dangerous, particularly for anyone who has balance issues. If you have older family members or little ones that are just learning how to walk, having the porch stairs replaced makes good sense.
Deck Lighting: A simple and affordable upgrade that can greatly enhance the enjoyment of your deck is to have lighting added. Lighting can be built into deck features to provide low-level illumination – great to prevent trips and falls at night – or be deployed strategically to illuminate the most used part of your deck.
Railings and Banisters: A quick trick to modernize an other-wise serviceable deck is to have the existing railings and banisters swapped out for a more contemporary look. We’ve done this several times for clients who have told us their friends were sure they had had an entirely new deck put in when that was not the case – that’s how much of an impression this simple change can make.