It’s a Monday Rewind! Hawoohome has many archives, so from time to time, we’ll be sharing our favorites from posts past.  Enjoy!

More often than not, it’s the little things that really make the biggest impact in a home, because without them, we couldn’t ever really call a room ‘done!’. Think about it: You’re in the home stretch of, say, your half bath renovation. The toilet is plumbed, the floors are down and the vanity is in place. You’ve added a pretty new faucet and hung the mirror you’ve been eyeing for months – but! Until you caulk the baseboards, paint the trim and put every last switch plate cover done, your work isn’t able to shine.

Finishing details are my very favorite thing, not only because it means we’ve almost made it, but because they’re typically quick to complete, and is there anything more satisfying than crossing off three items – all at once! – on a to-do list? 

When it comes to those little things, the good news is that many of the ones we tackled are projects you can do right now and still get that high impact change in your home. In fact, some of them are things we still need to do to our own home, so I’ll consider this a reminder for us, too!

THING #1: SWAP ALL OUTLETS AND SWITCHES TO THE SAME STYLE.

When we started renovating the garden apartment, we had an assortment of switches throughout the apartment, not only in style, but also color. Almond, ivory and white outlets and switches filled the rooms, some rockers, some toggles. No matter what your style, pick one and run with it. I spent 10 minutes making a running tally of every electrical outlet and switch plate cover that needed to be changed, and we scooped them up at our next hardware store run.

Bonus: We added sliding dimmers in all the main areas, because you can never, ever have enough dimmers throughout your home. Mood lighting for days!

THING #2: REPLACE OLD INCANDESCENT AND CFL BULBS WITH LEDS FOR CLEANER LIGHT (AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY!).

Swap our your old incandescent and CFL bulbs for LED bulbs! Once you replace your old incandescents and CFLs, you likely won’t have to think about changing them for a long, long time (20+ years, or so they say!). LEDs also give off much a cleaner light, so rooms don’t feel so yellow in the evenings. These LEDs are dimmable, with a color temperature of 2200-2700K for a cozy, warm light. (Anything higher than that can end up looking slightly cold in the room; here’s an easy chart that explains the Kelvin scale you’ll see on every box of bulbs.tile | open shelving | ceiling light | sconce

THING #3: CLEAN YOUR VENT COVERS.

We added a whole bunch of (LED!) recessed lights to the garden unit and  had the ceilings painted a bright white, and when all was said and done, the existing vent covers were looking pretty gross. Some of them were even a bit rusty! We cleaned up the few that we could, but most of them weren’t salvageable. We measured our vent openings and bought new covers, and they were worth every, single penny. So fresh! So clean! In our own home, we also clean the ceilings around our vents, which are quick to attract dust and discolor the paint. A quick swipe with a damp cloth will have things feelings shiny and new.

THING #4: UPGRADE YOUR SHOWER HEAD.

I’m not typically a fan of stopgap measures, as I’d prefer to wait and spend the money until we’re ready to renovate. (I can drive Scott crazy with this!) But sometimes, a quick upgrade here and there is all you need to feel fancy until you can invest in larger renovations. Upgrading your shower head to something a bit more luxurious will make your mornings brighter. We  did the same before we renovated our master bath,and ohmigoodness, why oh why did we wait so long? Treat yourself.two flat bathroom

THING #5: UPDATE YOUR DOOR HARDWARE, AND TRY A NEW-TO-YOU FINISH.

We went on a new handle kick (both in he garden apartment and our own home!), and we’re always so impressed with how much of a difference it makes to the feel of a room. Our favorite finishes are matte black, oil rubbed bronze or antique brass, but if all your door handles are a standard steel finish, try opting for something new-to-you! Below, we used these Schlage glass knobs for a touch of vintage charm.

THING #6: GIVE YOUR DOORS AND TRIM A FRESH COAT OF PAINT.

Aah, paint. The most magical tool in our DIY arsenal, right? And when you throw in painted trim, too, well, this falls under the most tedious task on this list – but not without the biggest reward, we think.

our tree houseTHING #7: REPLACE YOUR KITCHEN CABINET HARDWARE WITH SOMETHING FUN!

Replacing your kitchen hardware – or adding hardware, if you have none – I’m telling you now, is going to change the entire look of your space. We chose these brass handles and adorable finger pulls, and although it was a splurge in the grand scheme of things, they also make that kitchen.

THING #8: ADD HOOKS IN A TIGHT SPACE TO CORRAL CLUTTER.

Both the entryway and back mudroom to the garden apartment are tight-ish spaces, and we noticed that our former tenants would (more often than not) toss their coats on a chair, making the area that much harder to squeeze through! We decided to nip that problem from the beginning, and we installed a handful of cast iron coat hooks (similar) in both areas. Of course this is a pretty obvious solution to the room where you’d hang your jacket, but hooks are an affordable, easy solution to get clutter off the floor – whether it’s to hang bags or baskets filled with toys/crafts.

What else would you add to this list? It’s little updates like these that can help you fall in love with your home all over again, and chances are, for better or for worse(!), they’ll encourage you to keep going!