A cosmetic renovation is by far the cheapest, easiest and most effective way to instantly manufacture equity in a property.

The fact you can do a lot of the hard yakka yourself, whether it’s coordinating trades or some strategic DIY, means you save money and time compared to a lengthy structural renovation.

So here’s 5 weekend projects guaranteed to lift the value of your property – and lift your spirits once you see the transformation.

1. Break out the RENOVATION liquid gold

In my decades of renovating I’ve yet to find anything that beats the power of paint to completely overhaul the look of a property – and the bonus is that you don’t need the disruption of tradies or a big budget.  Just choose your palette carefully and get cracking with the rollers and paint brush. This renovation below relied largely on painting, inside and out, to achieve a $35,000 profit. So imagine what a weekend of intensive painting can do for your place.

2. USE SPECIALTY PAINTS TO update A KITCHEN OR BATHROOM

If you don’t believe the killer power of paint, you only have to look at the dozens of bathrooms and kitchens I’ve absolutely transformed in my years as TV renovator on The Living Room – with little more than  specialty paints and resurfacing products. These days you can revamp tiles, baths, bench tops, cabinets, appliances with products from companies like White Knight and Rust-Oleum… and you’ll be astounded at the difference you can make for just a few hundred dollars. This kitchen transformation was done in a weekend on a $1000 budget.

3. TRY THIS EASY FLOORING OPTION

So you thought it would take a month’s wages and weeks of inconvenience to lay new floors. What if I told it  takes days, not weeks, and hundreds, not thousands of dollars? Vinyl flooring is the magic bullet. You can just lay it straight over the top of any solid substrate, and these Gerflor planks from Bunnings are even waterproof, so you can extend them to the bathroom and kitchen. You simply peel off the backing and stick them down.

4. Make an entrance

Never underestimate the power of a fabulous facade. It’s those vital first impressions that either lure people in or send them running. Even just decluttering, tidying, cleaning, repairing and generally giving the front of your place some intensive TLC will achieve miracles.

A good going over with a high-pressure hose strips decades off most old  surfaces. And if you’ve got ugly, bare concrete paths or a driveway, then think about paving paint. You can tint it to any colour so it blends with your facade. New garden beds, updated letter box, some smart stainless steel house numerals, a few solar lights… it’s all those little touches that add up to a big impact. And don’t forget you can just paint the facade of a house instead of the whole exterior, as I’ve done below.

5. BUMP UP THE STORAGE

We all know you can never have enough storage, but sometimes that’s easier said than done. Maybe you simply don’t have the budget or space for a kitchen pantry or new wardrobes.  That’s when some well-placed shelving or one of the many modular wardrobe systems on the market come into their own.  The likes of Bunnings, Howard’s Storage World or IKEA have dozens of storage solutions.