Before becoming a Grande Prairie Realtor®, Helen Harder ran a successful home building company with her husband for over 20 years. This experience was invaluable as it gave Helen an eye for floor plans, design, and a homes possibility. When Helen walks into a home she doesn’t just see what it is, but also everything it could be!

Many people think that it’s time for a full house renovation when in fact their home might benefit from a few easy updates. If you have been sick of your house and considering a full renovation, here’s a few small things you can do instead:

1. Paint! Helen was a house painter for 15 years so she knows that paint is the most affordable big impact change for your space! Her tip? If you’re tackling the project yourself be sure to use painters tape so you don’t have bleed lines and drips everywhere!
2. Change out cabinet hardware. Just like in fashion, design styles come and go so if you think your cabinets are “dated”…wait a year 😂 in all honesty, simply changing out the cabinet hardware for something more trendy can have a huge impact on making dated cabinets look more fresh.
3. Lighting. Lights can date a home very quickly, but thankfully they are fairly easy to swap out! I recommend getting an electrician to help but they can freshen up an entire space for under $1000. 
4. Window treatments. Current design trends have curtains hung near the ceiling and wider than the windows to help the space feel large and modern. If your curtains and/or blinds are hung too low or too tight to the window it can make the space feel closed in and stale.
5. Furniture. In the 90’s and early 2000's everyone would go out and buy matching sets of furniture, today designers will have mismatched dressers and side tables or chairs and sofas that aren’t “a set” to add more character and dimension to a space. If your space is feeling a little stale consider this option! 

Or maybe you've tried that and it is time for a larger renovation. Helen has flipped a few properties so she understand that sometimes a full scale renovation is needed. With her past experience in the building industry and her work on her own properties she has found some amazing grande prairie companies that she loves working with when it comes to building and renovating! If you are looking for some recommendations, she'd love to help!