Tips for brightening your home on a budget

The arrival of spring means there are longer, sunnier days ahead. It’s also the time of year when many homeowners are looking for ways to brighten up or otherwise spruce up their home. But with rising prices across numerous industries, residents are understandably very budget-conscious these days. So, we spoke with local retailers and service providers for advice on how best to bring light to your home without breaking the bank.

When trying to brighten up a home, small elements like paint and lighting, including windows, can make a big difference.

“[One thing] that starts going into people’s minds is window coverings because we start getting that bright sun that we haven’t seen in a while,” said Thomas Pirko, manager at Bishops Carpet One in Ithaca. “And also, there’s a lot of options when it comes to window shading that you can get to help try and control some of that light to make your house more enjoyable as the sun starts changing its path.”

Bishops’ specialty, as the name implies, is flooring, which Pirko said can also bring some much-needed light to a room. He gave some insight on the popular colors and styles right now.

“This year’s color trends are kind of leaning towards a greyish green,” he said. “But what we see mostly is the lighter gray wood-looks. … They’re going with a wood-look floor that’s a lighter gray, not the traditional browns and beiges.”

If you want to focus on one room in particular, Cayuga Lumber’s Sue Stocum recommends the kitchen.

“Kitchens have been really big the last couple years,” she said. “We’ve been really busy. White shaker cabinets continue to be the most popular choice. Wood is gaining a little traction, but painted finishes seem to be definitely the most popular, solid surface countertops, whether that be quartz or granite or some other type of stone.”

Despite the name, Cayuga Lumber offers far more than just wood, with a wide variety of supplies and tools available to help with brightening up a home.

“Certainly, we do all types of kitchen and bath products,” Stocum said. “So, you could do a lot of sprucing up with just new hardware, maybe new countertops. Obviously, paint is a huge thing that can change a room pretty inexpensively. But then, we of course have building materials as well. So, you could do decks and siding. … We have just about anything you would need from top to bottom here.”

If you’re looking to take on a larger project with lots of cleaning out required, Elmore Enterprises in Ithaca offers a range of dumpster sizes to keep the mess contained.

“We do the larger roll-off dumpsters for clean-outs and construction, remodeling, if somebody’s cleaning out a home or a business or that kind of thing, just getting junk out of the way and getting it taken care of so it’s not in your way anymore,” said Suzi Munoz, marketing manager at Elmore.

While inside efforts can make a big difference, Munoz advises to not forget the outside of your home, too. Elmore has two sides to the business, one being the previously mentioned dumpster removal and the other being tree maintenance and removal services. Munoz said focusing on your trees can help to liven up the outside of a house or simply make room for outside projects like decks and patios.

“[You need] that space in your yard to do those kind of projects, so you would need to trim back or cut back shrubs or those kinds of things,” Munoz said. “And [focus on] cleaning up, making sure that your space is rid of all the leaves and debris and that kind of stuff that has accumulated over time. And then, just getting your tree ready for this beautiful weather that’s coming, thinking about mulching and watering so that they’ll flower really beautifully. And the pruning does come into that as well to make sure that … more life can be brought into the tree.”

And if you have a lot of sentimental value invested in a particular tree on your property, Elmore can safely move it to a different part of the property where it can continue to thrive but not block things like sunlight going into house windows.

“[Owner] Tony has done that several times,” Munoz said. “Because he is an arborist, he really knows the tree and how to move it. So, he can take some larger trees. And if it’s in the way of where you want to put a patio or where you’re going to do something in your yard, he is certified to do that and help you decide where it should go.”

As far as ways to stay within budget on these and other projects, Stocum has a few recommendations.

“Ways to save money on small or bigger projects, maybe in the kitchen and bath, which is what I focus on, [would be] not moving existing plumbing or electrical, kind of keeping the same layout but giving it a refresh,” she said. “We have several lines of cabinets, so we can hit multiple price points from good quality but inexpensive to custom and semi-customed lines, so we can find something to work within anybody’s budget.”

Pirko added that due to continuing challenges regarding supply chains, product availability is limited, and prices will likely keep climbing. As such, the best advice he can give is, simply, “don’t wait.”

“We’re not in the world we were three years ago where you can come look at the floor and then come back six or eight months from now and it’s still there and still at the same price or wait three or four months and hope that it comes on sale,” he said. “If you like something, I would order it sooner than later just because there’s just no way to know what’s going to be available and what the prices are going to be six months from now, unfortunately.”

To learn more about the products and services offered by these local businesses, visit Bishop’s at 363 Elmira Rd. in Ithaca or online at bishopscarpetone.com; Elmore online at elmoreenterprises.com; and Cayuga Lumber at 801 W. State St. in Ithaca or by phone at (607) 273-0245.

Jessica Wickham is the managing editor of Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to them at editorial@vizellamedia.com.