Home Improvements You Can Do Without The Southern Idaho Home and Garden Show

This year the pandemic continues to ruin our plans. I always look forward to the Southern Idaho Home and Garden Show happening in late February and early March. I usually walk away with some ideas of what I want to do, or wish I could do, to my house in the upcoming year. This year we are stuck coming up with ideas all by ourselves as the show has been cancelled. Stupid pandemic. Luckily we have information from previous years for ideas, products, and the people around town to make them a reality.

Last year, I noticed that more of the booths had products for home automation and smart home upgrades. I fought the smart home idea for a long time but I have recently become a fan of smart bulbs, switches, speakers, and security cameras. The cool thing about these new smart home products is that they can often be done without the help of a professional. Not everyone can do the wiring of a smart light switch or outdoor camera, and you really should call a professional if you plan on modifying your electrical. Yet pretty much anyone can change a light bulb to a smart bulb or set up a smart speaker and hub to help control all the new smart electronics available.

Some other simple changes you can make to your home, all by yourself, include:

• New handles on kitchen and bathroom cabinets. It really is amazing how much difference those little knobs can make.
• Rearrange your furniture. My wife has moved our couch three times over the past year to make it feel like our house is different.
• Change the trim in your house. This one can be pretty tricky depending on the shape of your house, but switching your baseboard trim to something different (going from rounded trim to larger squared trim) can make a big visual change.
• Change out your door hinges and knobs. If you're like me, you probably have a few golden hinges on doors that have been needing changed to brushed nickel or some other finish to match the rest of the house.
• Either add in new artwork to your walls or rearrange the pictures you have.
• Paint a wall in your house. You don't even have to do a whole room. I have a friend who painted one wall in their living room black, which sounded weird at first, but it looks amazing with the rest of the light grey walls.

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My favorite idea from the Southern Idaho Home and Garden Show is still my LED stove back-splash. Color-changing lights around your house can be a fun way to switch things up and for parties.