3rd house: Update a 90s home on a budget

Are you looking for some ideas to update a 90s home on a budget? The year is 2013 and we were moving to an outdated 1990s split level house. We had already lived in and renovated a bungalow complete with bullet holes and a dog fence and a pool liner filled with snakes. Our second house was a brand new bungalow, which honestly, I was a little bored living there. Our third house was a typical 1990s house – lots of orange oak. But it had a ton of living space, a beautiful in-ground pool, and was in a quiet neighborhood on a dead-end street. It was outdated, but with a few cosmetic upgrades we knew we could make it a beautiful home. Find out more about us and our real estate investing journey.

 

Why did we move?

We were so sure that our second house was our forever home. But with a career change for Tony, we decided to move further into the country to be closer to family and to have a slower pace of life. We decided to buy some land so that we could build our actual forever home, but in the mean time live in and renovate this 90s split level. The house felt very dark, dirty and outdated when we moved in, but we thought with a few renovations we could make it updated and beautiful. I was on maternity leave for a majority of the time while we updated our 90s house, so I had a little extra time to work on projects at home. I was never bored, and learned a lot about my own capabilities, and loved (almost) every minute!

How to update a 90s home

If you’re looking for inspiration on how to update a 90s home, you’ve come to the right place. On this page you’ll find a list of everything we completed in this 90s home update with before and after pictures, as well as links to the full blog posts.

Front hall

• Replace and paint closet doors
• Replace front door
• New front door handle
• Paint trim

Play room

• Replace patio door
• Replace laminate floor with hardwood
• Install trim
• Paint trim and walls
• Update fireplace
• Change light

 

 

Laundry room

• Stack washer and dryer
• Paint walls and trim
• Replace vanity, toilet, and light
• Add some shelves
• Tile backsplash

 

 

Basement family room

• Paint touch-ups

Basement spare room

• Patch and paint walls and trim

 

 

Basement bathroom

• Patch and paint walls and trim

Stairs

• Add newel post
• Sand, stain and polyurethane stairs
• Sand, stain and polyurethane handrail
• Paint spindles and risers
• Do final coat of paint on spindles and risers
• Add trim below treads

Living room/dining room

• Take down half wall
• Add light to living room
• Replace hardwood flooring
• Paint and install trim
• Paint windows

 

 

Kitchen

• Replace lights
• Paint walls, trim and windows, and cabinets

 

Master bedroom

• Refinish floors
• Install and paint trim
• Paint walls
• Replace and paint closet doors
• Fix light

First kid room

• Paint walls and trim
• Refinish floors

 

 Second kid room

• Repaint walls and trim
• Refinish floors

Upstairs hallway

• Change light
• Touch up wall paint
• Paint trim
• Replace bedroom doors

Main bathroom

• Nothing!

Exterior

• Paint front door and shutters
• Plant flowers in flower beds (front of house and around pool)
• Stain deck
• Replace chain link fence around pool with wood fence
• Stain fence
• Do stamped concrete around pool
• Fix shed (roof and siding)
• Buy and fix a hot tub

 

FOR MORE OF OUR HOUSE TOURS CHECK OUT THESE LINKS:

• 2nd house: New raised bungalow
• Flip house
• Third House: Outdated slit-level
• Fourth house: Owner builder bungalow
• Rental Property
• Cabin in the woods