With warm, sunny days and long evenings, June is an ideal time to take on a household project. Here are five easy, inexpensive ideas to add instant beauty and value to your home.

Ready to give your home a fresh new look? Pick a summer weekend, roll up your sleeves, and take on one of these simple, satisfying projects. If you’re better suited to playing creative director than contractor, enlist a local expert to help.

Switch Out Your Cabinetry Hardware

Hardware, otherwise known as the jewelry of the home, is one of the fastest and easiest ways to transform a space. Take a spin through Pinterest to find inspiration and view the latest trends, including warm brass, glamorous gold, and rustic industrial. Take a drawer pull or knob from your kitchen, bathroom, powder room, and mudroom cabinets and browse specialty hardware showrooms, home remodeling superstores, antique shops, and architectural salvage shops to find the perfect hardware for each room. As cabinetry hardware should be pleasing to the touch, make sure each piece is right-sized for everyone in your family.

Give Your Walls a Fresh Coat of Paint

If you’ve been craving a cool, all-white, Scandinavian-style bedroom, a beachy turquoise powder room, or an eye-catching orange front door, now’s a great time to get started, as warm, dry summer days are ideal for painting. Flip through the pages of the newest interior design books and magazines to get ideas. Bring photos of each space to your local paint store where the experts can help you select the right colors and finishes for your needs. If you can’t decide on a color, buy several small sample jars and paint a large square of each color on your walls and watch how the light affects the hue. Once you’ve selected the perfect color, invest in high-quality brushes and paint. While a gallon of paint may cost as much as a tank of gas, it lasts infinitely longer!

Illuminate Your Space

From sparkling chandeliers, to industrial-style pendants, and plantation-style ceiling lights with fans, lighting is one of the most dramatic ways to change the look and feel of a space. Pretend you’re a guest in your own home and look at each room (including the front entry) with fresh eyes. For a quick fix, clean and dust each fixture and replace burned-out light bulbs. If you’re ready to update your fixtures, take a photo of each room and measure the existing fixtures and the ceilings and walls. Visit a variety of home décor or furnishings stores and antique shops to compare styles and prices. If you’re handy, install the new light fixtures with dimmer switches for ambiance on-demand, otherwise enlist the help of a local electrician.

Update Your Backsplash

For an easy but impactful update to your kitchen, master bath, or butler’s pantry, consider replacing the backsplash with tile, mirror, or other materials. Browse Pinterest, Houzz, and Dering Hall to find images that reflect your aesthetic and the style of your home. Bring your phone or tablet with your saved images and photos of your space to local tile and home remodeling stores and ask the experts to help you find similar products that match your budget. If you’re short on time, hire a local tile expert to remove the old backsplash and install the new one. While you’re at it, consider replacing your outdated faucet with a stylish new fixture and adding new accessories to create a very Instagrammable vignette.

Give Your Windows a New Look

For a fresh, new outlook on your rooms, take down your draperies and send them to the dry cleaner. Give your shutters and blinds a thorough dusting and wipe with a non-toxic cleaner to remove smudges. To create more light in your kitchen or breakfast nook, consider replacing one or more blinds with clear glass shelving arranged with plants and pretty glassware. For increased savings on your cooling and heating costs, replace outdated window coverings with energy-efficient blinds, shades, and insulated draperies.