If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a few photos of our house (here and here) showing some of the progress we’ve made since move-in day! Our house definitely fell in the “turn-key” category, but there were still a few changes we wanted to make right off the bat. There are literally only three things we’ve done (besides changing the locks–not very interesting :)), and while all of them were affordable and pretty easy, they’ve made a HUGE difference in how much our home feels like “us,” so I wanted to share them today!

1. Switching out light fixtures. We hated the light fixture in our dining nook (see it here), so we found a simple pendant light at Lowe’s for under $100 that’s a much better fit for our style. Dave installed it (with his dad’s guidance) in less than half an hour. Quick, cheap, relatively easy, and big impact? Checks across the board!

Dining table | Silver metal chairs

2. Painting the walls. This was our very first project, graciously tackled by Dave and his parents, and wow, what a difference that alone made! We painted every room but the guest bathroom, and used Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (color-matched to Sherwin Williams paint we purchased during a sale) everywhere but the nursery. It immediately brightened up the house and, in my opinion, made it look much more sophisticated and modern compared to the greens, blues, and taupes that were there before.

3. Switching out faucets. This project was Dave’s baby–he’s so proud of it! Our kitchen faucet when we moved in was basic and low, and given how often we cook (and, therefore, do dishes) at home, we wanted something a little more functional. It took Dave about an hour to replace the existing faucet with the Delta one we picked up, and while he thought it was a bit of a pain to install, it was so worth it to have a much easier to use (and better looking!) sink.

Even having only done three things to it, I don’t think a day goes by without one of us saying how much we love our house! We’re on a bit of a home project hiatus until the new year, but the next items on our list are hanging curtains and redoing the laundry area (I think we’re going to wallpaper it–I’m so excited!).

What changes in your home do you think have made the biggest difference? I’d be so interested to hear!