How to Refresh an Older Home without Overspending
Older homes have a certain charm and style that I’ve always found hard to replace. That sense of history and unique ambiance is a big part of their appeal. Still, there are moments when I want to refresh the space without overspending.
Even in a tight economy, with lingering inflationary pressures, I’ve found that it’s entirely possible to upgrade an older home affordably. It comes down to a smart mix of thrift, creative thinking, and practical choices. And yes, it’s very doable.
Owning a home also means building equity over time. When I first bought, that equity was minimal, but with every mortgage payment it gradually grew. Understanding home equity matters because it creates a clear, sensible path to upgrades, renovations, and remodeling.
In simple terms, equity is the difference between what the property is worth on the market and what’s still owed on the mortgage, and it can be a powerful tool when used thoughtfully.
Case Study: Veterans Are Using Cash Out Options for Home Renovations
The more equity you have, the more funding is available for pet projects. There is no uniform standard for lenders when it comes to issuing lines of credit to homeowners. For example, VA loans are mortgages to veterans, service members, and eligible family members. Once a veteran is approved for a mortgage and begins making payments, equity builds. The more repayments that are made, the faster a veteran can apply for a cash out refinance to refresh an older home.
It’s always important to conduct due diligence with any cash-out options, given the variety of lenders and products on the market. Granted, VA loan providers tend to have superior lending facilities by dint of partial government backing in the event of a default. This just makes it easier for lenders to write loans, and cash-out options are more accessible to recipients of these financial instruments.
Official Statistics on How Homeowners Use VA Loans:
- Overall VA Lending Picture in 2025: 528,340 VA-backed loans were issued, with an average loan amount of $390,100. This totaled just over $206.1 billion in loan volume.
- Purchase Loans Dominate: 323,833 of all loans (some 61% in total) were purchase loans, averaging $398,417 each and totaling roughly $129.0 billion. This amounted to 62.6% of all VA loan dollars.
- Refinance Activity: There were 119,457 IRRRL (streamline) loans, representing 22.61% of all loans. These loans averaged $390,746, for a total of about $46.7 billion in volume.
- Cash-Out Share of the Market: 85,050 loans were structured as cash-out refinances, accounting for 16.10% of all VA loans. Combined, these cash-out loans accounted for approximately $30.4 billion, or some 14.8% of all VA loan dollars.
- Average Size of Cash-Out Loans: The average VA cash-out refinance in this dataset was $357,524, slightly below the average VA loan overall. This suggests that many households are using cash-out refis for targeted equity access rather than maxing out available borrowing power. That means they are drawing down for specific bucket list items.
- Cash-out vs. Other Refis: If we search only refinance activity (IRRRL + cash-out), cash-out loans made up about 42% of all refi loans by count. This amounts to about 39% by total dollar volume. It’s clear that these Cash-out options play a significant role in how veteran households are reshaping their mortgage debt and accessing their home equity.
*All figures are sourced from the official VA Home Loans directory
Cost-Effective Solutions for All Homeowners
Antique homes were built in a different era, where quality workmanship was an important consideration. There’s a reason why concrete, bricks, and steel stood the test of time. Older constructions routinely involved back-breaking labor and expensive components. They were hands-on, time-consuming, and built to last.
Today, it’s all drywall and stucco, shingles, and instant construction. Back then, elaborate fireplaces, mantels, ceilings, roofs, and doorways were the norm. Think Victorian era, Cape, Dutch Holmes, colonial mansions, and old English-style abodes.
Granted, repairs and remodeling of decades-old constructions can take some doing. Often, fixtures and fittings need to be swapped out to accommodate modern-day systems. This is especially true of electrical components, plumbing, ceilings, and roofs.
Affordable Home Upgrades are Possible
However, cost-effective upgrades are certainly possible provided the right approach is adopted. Replacing old bathtubs and showers can be expensive, but resurfacing them is feasible. Vanities in bathrooms are also affordable and easily replaced at minimal cost.
When it comes to sprucing up the place, nothing says refresh better than a fresh coat of paint. It’s the sharpest way to make a bold statement. Often, homeowners undertake painting jobs on their own – it’s the perfect DIY project, provided you protect the surfaces that shouldn’t be painted.
In the same spirit, installing classic subway tiles has become another approachable upgrade many people tackle themselves. With careful measuring, proper surface prep, and a bit of patience, laying subway tile can dramatically update a kitchen or bathroom without the cost of professional installation, making it a natural next step for confident DIYers looking to go beyond paint.
Door handles, door knobs, frames, and moldings are often the features that give authenticity to older homes. Rather than replacing them, it may be worthwhile to restore them to their former glory. Brass and silver polish, varnish, or a fresh coat of paint works wonders in this regard.
Any rotted wood floors, panels, or frames ought to be replaced and repaired professionally. Depending on the extent of the damage, a floor or wood specialist may be required. Often, it’s a case of lightly sanding the damaged surfaces and varnishing to achieve a refreshed look.
Fixtures and Fittings in Older Homes
Faucets, plugs, drains, and connecting pipes are often antiquated in old homes. These tend to become blocked by calcified deposits and rust. Homeowners can easily replace a faulty faucet with a retro-style replacement to enjoy the maximum benefit from plumbing fixtures and fittings.
Installing a new kitchen faucet is one of the most manageable plumbing upgrades, often requiring only basic tools and a bit of attention to shutoff valves and connections. The same goes for aged toilets and cisterns, bidets, and sinks, where modern replacements improve water efficiency, reliability, and everyday comfort without the need for a full plumbing overhaul.
Kitchens, bathrooms, and decks are the focal points of homes. These are areas where people congregate and enjoy one another’s company. When refreshing a home, it’s always a good idea to focus on these areas, since they offer the highest ROI on renovations. Expect returns of 73% to 89% on investment in these areas of the home.
But it’s not always financial benefits that a home rejuvenation initiative seeks to achieve; it’s often utility value, a.k.a. a lifestyle benefit that the homeowner is seeking. With an old home, there’s enough character there to crank up the appreciation level. When old systems work well, it’s like a classic sports car being fine-tuned to perfection.