#DIYideas The TikTok Home Improvement Guide

With the cost of living crisis continuing to eat into our home improvements budget, many are resorting to upgrading their home themselves, with the hashtag #DIYideas boasting 3.2 billion views on TikTok.

With this in mind, experts at commercial estate agents, Savoy Stewart, were keen to find out the top 10 cheapest home improvements that could add the most value to your property, without the help of professionals!

Top 10  home improvements to add value to your home

Top 5 Tips in order of value adding

1. Tidy your garden

Costs: from £68

Potential value added: up to £58,000

Tools needed: Trowel, Gardening gloves, Grass seed, Lawn mower, Pruning shears, Garden shears, Garden fork

When looking at the home improvements that can give you the most bang for your buck, tending to your garden comes out on top. It’s been revealed that having a manicured garden could add up to 20% onto the value of your home, or even increase your potential asking price by up to £58,000. 

An easy way to tackle an unkempt garden is to first mow any overgrown grass that you have, and to trim any brushes that are needing to be tended to. You can then look to remove any weeds – dig these out manually with a trowel, making sure you remove roots to reduce the chances that they’ll grow back. If you have any patches of lawn where your grass is lacking, use a garden fork to prick the area and then use grass seed to eventually grow a luscious lawn. 

2. Clean your walls

Costs: from £5

Potential value added: up to £26,100

Tools needed: Wall erasers, Paint testers, Sponges, Washing up liquid

In second place we have wall cleaning. Deep cleaning your home can be a simple way to add up to £26,100 to your home’s value, according to the study. Simply use washing up liquid and sponges to clean any marks and scuffs off of your walls without removing your paint. Alternatively, wall erasers can be a great way to rid your walls of any marks. For marks that prove harder to remove – you can spot paint using either leftover paints from when you first painted the wall, or if you need to rebuy the shade you can grab a tester and save on getting litres worth of paint that you don’t need. 

3. Add strip lighting to your kitchen cabinets

Costs: £9

Potential value added: £10,000

Tools needed: Strip lighting

Improving your kitchen can reportedly add up to £10,000 onto your home’s value – but you don’t need to go for a full remodel to give your home an upgrade. Clever hacks such as adding strip lighting are a quick way to give your home a professional finish without breaking the bank. Simply buy your chosen strip lighting and measure out the amount you need to go underneath your cupboards. As strips are usually self-adhesive all you need to do is peel and stick to get the full effect of under cabinet lighting to add some spotlights to your kitchen worktops. 

4. Paint your kitchen cabinets

Costs: £18

Potential value added: £10,000
Tools needed: Cabinet paint, Paint brushes, Sandpaper, Screwdriver

Another easy way to update your kitchen is to repaint your cabinet doors. It costs as low as only £19 but could potentially add £10,000 to your home. The hashtag #paintingkitchencabinets has a huge 5.9 million views on TikTok as it seems many are loving this cheap hack. 

First, remove the handles from your  kitchen cabinets, and then unscrew the hinges so you can remove the doors. While resting the doors flat, clean them and remove any grease. You can then lightly sand them and wipe off any dust before painting them with your chosen colour.

5. Update your kitchen hardware

Costs: £34

Potential value added: £10,000

Tools needed: Handles Screwdriver, Wood putty, Putty knife, Drill, Screws

Updating your kitchen hardware is an easy way to give your home an updated, modern look. Start by unscrewing and removing your old handles. If your new handles will be going in a different place on your cabinet door, you can then use wood putty and a putty knife to fill any holes in the door that you don’t need anymore. When deciding where you want your new handles to sit, measure and mark this on the door with a pencil – hold up your handles to check this is where you really want them before you start drilling any holes. When determining how you want your handles to sit, think of your kitchen as a whole, rather than just one cabinet at a time. Once you’ve chosen your placement, you can go ahead and attach your new hardware!

Cheapest cost DIY tips 

Rank	Task	DIY Cost (£)	Potential Property Value Added (£)	Value Difference (£)
1	Freshen your grouting	£2.48	£5,000	£4997.52
2	Clean your walls	£5.48	£26,100	£26094.52
3	Upgrade your plug sockets	£8.60	£500	£491.40
4	Add strip lighting to cupboards	£8.99	£10,000	£9991.01
5	Fill wall cracks	£9.00	£2000	£1991
6	Wrap worktops	£12.81	£500	£487.19
7	Replace basin plugs	£13.37	£5,000	£4986.63
8	Paint kitchen cupboards	£18.29	£10,000	£9981.71
9	Update kitchen hardware	£34.44	£10,000	£9965.56
10	Peel and stick floor tiles	£33.27	£5,000	£4966.73

 *All data, including price figures, was collected on 30th August 2023, and are accurate as of then.