28 Home Upgrades I Wish I Did Sooner

We spend so much time at home. It makes sense to put a bit of effort into making sure your living space is as comfortable and functional and pleasant as possible. From small affordable upgrades to big ticket enhancements, here are 28 things that you can buy to improve your home today. By the way, links to everything you see here can be found in the description below and a pinned comment. Okay, let's get into it. Motorized blinds. When we bought the house that we live in now, most of the windows didn't have any coverings. And after some research, we realized that motorized blinds weren't that much more expensive than manual ones. I was surprised by this. Honestly, I thought that motorized blinds were unnecessary, maybe even gimmicky, but my wife thought they were a good idea and she was right. They're amazing. They reduce wear and tear because there's no strings, there's nothing to break, nothing for kids to play with. They make it easy to control shades that are behind furniture, like behind your sofa or bed. You can raise or lower multiple shades with one push of a button. These electric motors only need to be charged like once every six months. You can either get little solar panel chargers if you never want to think about it. I'm not saying that I would replace good working manual blinds with these, but if I was buying new window coverings anyway, I would definitely consider paying just a little bit more for the motorized variety. Blackout shades. Even if we didn't get electric shades, we were definitely going to get blackout window coverings, especially in the bedroom. It makes such a huge difference, especially during summer when the sun comes up early. If you combine blackout shades with a white noise machine, you're on your way to the best sleep of your life. King-size bed. If you have the space and the funds, I highly recommend getting a king-size bed. It feels so much bigger than a queen-size bed. It's like you and your bedmate each have your own little island. Sure, you can cuddle up in the middle if you want, but when you're ready for your own space, you know that there's a nice, cool patch waiting for you off to the side. And that's one of the biggest benefits of going king-size. It's so much cooler because you have a lot more space between bodies. Plus, if you have kids, they're going to think your king-size bed is a trampoline and it's a bit safer to jump on than a smaller bed. Quick sponsor break. Thank you to Narwhal for making this video possible. One of the most noticeable home upgrades for me lately has just been not thinking about cleaning the floor. And that's thanks to the Narwhal Flow 2, a robot vacuum that not only vacuums but also mops. And first up, I just like how this thing looks. The dock has this minimal design and a light bar that's pretty subtle, so it doesn't feel like a weird robot appliance that you have to hide in the corner somewhere. Kind of blends into the room. But the coolest part is the Flow Wash mopping system. Instead of just dragging a damp pad across the floor, the Flow 2 uses a rolling track mop that constantly applies fresh water while it cleans. It also uses 140 degree hot water washing. So it's actually scrubbing stains instead of just spreading them around. And you'll see it take care of things like coffee stains or spilled milk in just one pass. So don't cry over spilled milk. Another cool detail is the mop is constantly rinsed with fresh water as it rolls, so it stays clean while it's working. Like if you flip it over and wipe the mop with a fresh paper towel, you can see that the water is clear. It's not just pushing dirty water around. And the mop can actually extend outward to reach edges and corners, which is where most robot vacuums miss. So it ends up cleaning right along baseboards and around table legs instead of leaving a dirty strip. It can handle carpet too, including our thick shag area rug. Just look at it overlanding this high pile wool like a tiny futuristic Jeep Wrangler. The software is also impressive. Narwhal's ProMind system means that the vac doesn't just detect obstacles, it actually tries to recognize what they are. So instead of treating everything the same, it changes how it cleans depending on the object. Furniture legs, it cleans really close. Something more delicate like a charging cable or your cat's tail, it's going to give it some space. It can even recognize certain items and tag them in the app. You also get smart 3D mapping, pet mode, and an all-in-one docking station that handles most of the maintenance for you. So overall, this feels less like some random robot bumping around your house and more like an intelligent cleaning system that actually understands your living space. If you want to check out the Narwhal Flow 2 for yourself, I'll drop a link down below in the description. Thank you to Narwhal again for supporting the channel. Back to the video. Wireless bedside charger. I don't think wireless charging is necessary everywhere. Wire charging is still way faster. But there's one place where it makes sense, and that's the bedside table. You know, your nightstand. I know we're not supposed to have our phones in bed, blah, blah, blah. But I usually listen to like an audiobook or a podcast to help me fall asleep. Otherwise, it's just me and my memories and regrets. Anyway. The thing is, with a charging table, I often forget to plug my phone in because I fall asleep while I'm listening. And the cord likes to fall off the back of the nightstand, and it can be hard to find the cord in the dark. If I need my phone in the middle of the night looking at you, Reese, it can be hard to unplug it and plug it back in in the pitch black dark. So a MagSafe wireless charger just makes sense. I like this 2-in-1 charger from Native Union via Huckberry because I can charge my AirPods at the same time. So when I wake up, my phone and AirPods are both ready to go fully charged. Mini split air conditioning. So this is a big ticket item. It is not cheap, although it's way cheaper than like replacing your HVAC. Splits are small climate control units that are built into the wall permanently. So they're kind of somewhere in between like a window unit and central air. And they're great for cooling down a room or a part of the house that the HVAC doesn't reach. Or just for like cooling or heating a room without spending the money to cool or heat the whole house. We got one in the bedroom because I sleep way better when it's cold. You know, we don't want to blast the whole house every night. That's expensive. And we also don't want the kids rooms to be super cold. This was an expensive upgrade, but it was worth every penny to me. I have the mini split on a schedule. So at like 7, 8 o'clock, it starts cooling the bedroom all the way down to 65 degrees. And then it shuts off in the morning. I'm telling you, it's an absolute game changer, especially if you tend to run hot in bed. White noise machine. I use a white noise machine every night. It's just enough to drown out any ambient noise from the two larger streets within earshot of our house. Quick side note, people who drive loud cars or bikes, everyone hates you. You're not cool. You're like those bikers in that one episode of South Park. And if you're saying to yourself right now, I don't care what people think. I just like it. My advice is to get a hobby that doesn't annoy the hell out of everybody within a one-mile radius. You're selfish. Anyway, a white noise machine helps cover up that noise so you can fall asleep and stay asleep. In terms of affordable purchases that improve everyday quality of life, this is a no-brainer. But you have to get the right kind. Don't get an electric one that just loops an audio file. Once you realize it's a loop, it becomes a form of torture. You need a mechanical white noise machine with a fan inside it. This generates random white noise in real time, and it's so much better. It's kind of like having the air conditioning on in the background. I've always used an old dome machine, which still worked great. It's really simple. Snooze is also a good brand. It's even a bit more customizable than the dome. You have a bit more control over the volume and the tone of the noise. Either one is a good purchase, though. We have one in our main bedroom, we have them in the kids' room, we even take a little portable one when we travel. I'll link to my favorite one down below in the description. Showerheads. Showers with weak water pressure are like socks that slide down your calf. Disappointing. Oftentimes, it's just the showerhead that's the problem. And this is great, because compared to, like, hiring a plumber, getting a new showerhead is easy and cheap. I actually like really simple showerheads, not the kinds with, like, a million different spray options. I don't like the rainfall ones, they never have good pressure. Just a simple, powerful showerhead. So if you're not happy with the pressure in your shower, I would consider a new showerhead before more expensive and involved fixes. Soft-close toilet seats. Why do regular toilet seats even exist anymore? Don't manufacturers know that soft-close is available? The only downside to a soft-close toilet seat is that you get used to them, and then you end up slamming regular toilet seats. And then everyone wonders why you're so upset, and it's like, I'm upset because you don't have soft-close toilet seats in your house, Gary. That's why the best move is just to have soft-close throughout the house in every bathroom. Actually, one of our toilets still needs this upgrade, so do as I say, not as I do. A bidet. As a TP-loving American, I wasn't so sure about these so-called bum guns, but after trying one for myself, it's definitely something I can get behind. Or in front of. Not gonna lie, this thing was a pain in the butt to install. That's just because I have an old house with weird plumbing. Now when it comes to bidets, you basically have three options. A whole new toilet with a bidet system built in. This is the most expensive, but probably the coolest option. A bidet seat, which is not that expensive and very easy to install. Or a bidet attachment, which is the cheapest and probably easiest to install. I went with the seat because I needed a new one anyway. My old one had a hole in it. I'm here all bidet. I went with the Brondell EcoSeat S101. This is a Reddit favorite. It's a non-electric, cold-water-only bidet seat. It's simple to use. It feels solid. It's just as comfortable as the original seat that came with my toilet. I really didn't want something that needs to be plugged in. I don't even have an outlet near the toilet, and I don't really need a seat warmer or adjustable water temperature. I just wanted something that would get the job done without breaking the bank. This EcoSeat S101 checks all the boxes for just $90. Yes, there are cheaper ones on Amazon or your preferred Chinese flea market, but this seems like a pretty good deal to me. Why a bidet, you ask? Well, they're more sanitary and effective. They cut down on paper waste. Think about it. If you picked up some dog poop with your bare hands, you wouldn't just wipe it off with a napkin and call it a day. No. You would use water. So yeah, bidets. Bathroom storage tower. Okay, back to the bathroom for a moment. You may have noticed this sleek little storage tower next to my toilet. This is a really good storage solution for anybody that lives in an old house with a tiny bathroom. These old bathrooms just didn't come with built-in storage, and there's really no room for a standalone cabinet or rack, but this vertical storage tower fits nicely in any corner between the toilet and the wall. You can use it to store extra toilet paper rolls, your plunger, any of those bathroom necessities that need to be kept in the room but that you don't want to look at all the time. This one is from Yamazaki. It has a recessed top, so you can use it for small decor items like a plant or a candle. It has one internal shelf that's magnetized, so you can kind of slide it as high or low as you want. It's also on wheels. They don't work great on these tile floors with deep grout lines, but it does make it a little bit easier to turn it around. You can find cheaper versions of this on Amazon, but I'll link to this exact one below in the description. Keyless lock. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need any physical keys. You know, every lock would be digital and preferably automatic. Like if you got close to a door, it just unlocks. We're not quite there yet, but you can still replace locks with keyless versions. I haven't done this throughout the house, maybe one day, but we did replace our shed lock with a keypad. We use this shed a lot to store like bikes and yard equipment and toys, but I didn't like going in the house and finding the shed key every time I needed to open it. The keypad is so much more convenient. I would love to have this kind of lock on like the front and back doors too, but that's a bigger project. Maybe one day. A key lock box. Assuming you don't have electronic locks on your front door and you're still using metal keys, I think it makes sense to have a spare key somewhere on your property. Our house came with one of these installed on the front porch. It's just good to know that I'll never be locked out even if I forget my keys. Also, if needed, you can give somebody the code. Like if you're out of town and you want your neighbor to go check your DIY bidet installation to make sure it's not leaking. Or if a guest arrives early and you're not home yet. Dog sitter. Whatever. You can get the kinds that lock around a structure, like you'll see real estate agents using when they're showing a house. I kind of like this more permanent solution, it just feels a bit safer. We don't use this regularly, but it has saved me a couple times. Entryway storage. I know that newer houses have like mudrooms and foyers with plenty of storage built in, but our old 1950s rancher just opens up right to the living room. There's no hallway or built-ins. And I'll be honest with you, this area is always a bit of a mess. It's just a natural dumping grounds for things like bags and shoes and mail. To help with this, we added three things. And by we, I mean my wife and I put my name on it. One, this IKEA shoe cabinet. This is a shallow cabinet. It's just deep enough for shoes stored kind of vertically. And it's bolted into the wall. It comes in white, but my artsy wife added this cool wallpaper to make the unit look less IKEA. It also has a small drawer up top that becomes kind of a junk drawer. And then a surface that we can use for like valet trays to keep our keys and sunglasses in my wallet. Two, this pegboard. I think this one is from Etsy. And the cool thing is you can customize it with different hooks and pegs. So you can add different size shelves or you can just use hooks to hang things like backpacks and hats, which is what we do. Three, this bench. We actually got this from a local craftsman. It's the perfect size for this space. And it's nice to have something near the door that you can sit on to take your shoes off and put your shoes on. We also store like our house shoes and slippers underneath it. The coat hooks over the bench are also from Etsy. I got this a long time ago and I've brought it to all the different places that I've lived. We mostly use it for hats and sweaters and jackets. Taken together, these three things are a huge improvement over what we had. Sure the space still gets messy. Yes, I cleaned it up for this video. It doesn't always look this tidy, but it's much better than what we had. Overflow freezer. Our refrigerator isn't huge. It's pretty old. It's not as wide or deep as the ones that you're going to find in brand new construction. Our fridge is always pretty full. Same with the freezer. We don't have anywhere to put a fridge like a basement or a garage. So we decided to get this small overflow freezer instead. This is perfect for that extra box of Eggo waffles. God forbid you run out. Ice packs. Leftovers. You know, anything that you're not going to use for a while, but that you want to keep. It frees up just enough room in our main freezer and it just sits in the corner of the laundry room. So it doesn't take up too much space. I wasn't sure if we would use this, but in hindsight, excellent purchase. For some people, a fridge might make more sense or a fridge-freezer combo. Either way, these are easy to find. Super affordable. I'll link to this one below. Laundry room trash can. In the same room, we hung a small trash can over the washing machine and dryer. This one is from Ikea. It's tiny, but it's just for laundry room trash, like when you're cleaning out the lint filter on your dryer, or like when you're taking all those little pieces of dry tissue off your dry clothes because you forgot to empty your pockets. Dead bugs. You know what I mean. It just saves a trip to the kitchen when you have to throw things away while doing laundry, which we're always doing laundry. I'm sure newer houses with bigger laundry rooms maybe have a space for an actual trash can, but for us, this little hanging trash can is perfect. A high-quality dish rack. We all know those cheap plastic drying racks that get all gunky and move around when you try to use them. Those are fine for recreational dishwashers, but for power users, you're going to want something with a bit more horsepower. I'm talking commercial grade, like this Simple Human heavy-duty dish rack. I'm the go-to kitchen cleanup guy around this house, and with two young kids and a wife who likes to cook, I do a lot of dishes. I don't mind at all. It's actually pretty satisfying. I put on a podcast, and it becomes a zen-like experience. And this dish rack was a huge upgrade. Finally, there's enough space for a whole day's worth of bottles and utensils and cutting boards. When I empty the dishwasher, there's room for all the stuff that's still wet. Looking at you, Tupperware. My wife actually got this drying rack for me as a birthday present, which just goes to show how well she knows me. One of the best gifts I've ever received, 10 out of 10. Bread box. Staying in the kitchen for a moment. We're a bread-heavy family. Frozen waffles and pancakes, PB&Js, English muffins, tortillas. You'd think we were prepping for a marathon with all this carb-loading. We used to keep our various baked goods in a plastic bin on the counter. It's not the most tidy or usable solution. I recently upgraded to an actual bread box, this one from Yamazaki, which looks a lot better, and given the size and the front-loading layout, it's just easier to use. You don't have to dig through loaves of squishy sandwich bread to find that last slice of home-baked sourdough. What can I say? My mother-in-law spoils me. It also blends into the counter and the backsplash, creating some visual space, which is nice considering our relatively compact kitchen. It's very heavy, so it doesn't move around when you open or close it. And the lid is magnetized, so it closes with a satisfying... You could store other things in here, like if you're short on cabinet space. It's like the sink mat. It's just a small upgrade to something we use all the time. Anti-fatigue mat. I do a lot of dishes, like several hours a week. This is why God gave me small feet, so I can stand closer to the sink. And after standing there for 15 or 20 minutes at a time, I noticed that my feet start to hurt, and sometimes my lower back, too. Part of it is just being bent over the sink, but it's also because we have these hard tile floors. This squishy anti-fatigue mat has helped alleviate some of the discomfort. It's pretty thick. It feels good under my feet. And it has these beveled edges, so you won't trip over it. It doesn't slide around. It just stays right where you put it. It's not life-changing, but it's a noticeable upgrade to a situation that I'm always in. A dining bench. So our dining area is just off the kitchen. It's not a big room. To save space, we wanted to push our table up against the wall. And you can't really do this with chairs that need to be pulled out from the table. So we decided to get a dining bench. After a lot of research, we went with this upholstered bench. It was made to order from Interior Define. They have tons of fabrics to choose from. We actually ordered a bunch of swatches and kind of pinned them up to the wall to see what they would look like in various lighting scenarios. We ended up choosing a performance velvet in this russet kind of orange-y color. It handles crumbs and spills and sticky toddler hands surprisingly well. It's super comfortable to sit on. It's a huge upgrade from the wooden bench we were using before. And since it sits right up against the wall, that means that we can push the table farther away from the counter, farther from the kitchen, creating a wider passage between the rooms. This was a slightly pricey purchase, but I'm glad we bought it. I feel like we really upgraded the function and the form of the room at the same time. GFCI outlets. When we bought our old house, the inspector noted that the outlets were all old and should probably eventually be replaced. Given that we had a one-year-old and another bun in the oven, we decided to just get it done. So we ponied up and had all of the outlets replaced with the latest and greatest GFCI variety. I didn't even know these kinds of tamper-proof outlets existed. Like these new outlets, you can't get shocked by sticking your finger in them. Even if you put a metal object into one of the slots, you still won't get shocked. It's not that they're 100% safe, but they're way safer than the old ones. Now, we don't tell our kids that they're safe. We still treat them as if they're dangerous because we don't want to encourage our kids sticking forks into outlets in general. But it's nice to know that in our house, the outlets are modern and safe. They're also just better than a lot of the old outlets. Plugs stick into them better. They all have three prongs. This wasn't a cheap upgrade, but it was worth the money in my opinion. Modern light switches. Similarly, we swapped out all of our old mismatched light switches for modern ones that are all the same in every room. This is a pretty cheap upgrade, and it makes a difference because you interact with light switches all day every day. We went with the rocker-style switches throughout the house, and we made sure that any panels with multiple switches were in the right order. A small but noticeable improvement to everyday life. A fresh coat of paint and accent walls. A fresh coat of paint goes a long way, and this is true whether you buy a new house or an old one. Even if you're renting an apartment, a fresh coat of paint or an accent wall can really change the look and feel of your space. A lot of new houses are painted with this builder-grade white or gray paint, and some higher quality paint, even if you stick with white, will look a lot better. It's going to feel cleaner and brighter. But while you're at it, I recommend doing a couple of accent walls. It's really not much more expensive, it's just a couple extra pints of paint because you don't need much for one wall. And these just make your living space feel so much more customized and unique. We did accent walls in the dining area, in our bedroom, and also the kids' room, and I feel like the whole house just has so much more personality now. Look, our bedroom legit feels like a hotel room. I love going in there. So yeah, fresh paint and an accent wall. The right light bulbs. When we moved in, all of the overhead lighting in our house had these ultra bright white daylight bulbs. They felt kind of out of place in like the living room and the bedroom. It's fine during the day, but like in the evenings or when you're eating dinner, it's kind of weird to have these bright daylight bulbs. So I replaced most of them with slightly dimmer, warmer bulbs, and the whole vibe changed. I think there's a right type of bulb in terms of brightness and light quality for every room. Like in our bedroom, I put a super low wattage, extra warm bulb in the bedside lamp, and it produces a nice cozy feel. But then like in the kitchen, you might want bright daylight bulbs. My point is, I recommend putting a little bit of thought into what kind of light you want in each room and during different times of day. Swapping out light bulbs is a relatively easy and affordable way to upgrade the look and feel of your space. Nightlights. Speaking of lighting, here's an even easier and cheaper way to improve the vibe and the safety of your home. Buy a multi-pack of dim, light-sensing nightlights and put them in a few key places. I have one in each bathroom and one in the kitchen. The light only comes on when it's dark, and the sensor is very reliable, and it just creates this nice, soft glow. It's just enough to see where you're going without having to turn on the light. This is great for midnight snacks or trips to the bathroom, midnight snacks in the bathroom. Seriously, they're great, they're cheap, you should buy some. Houseplants. This one is fake. You can improve almost any room with a houseplant or three. Seriously, any room. I'm talking the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, closet. My go-to is the trusty Old Pothos. This is a fast-growing vine that can tolerate really any kind of light, and it's easy to propagate so you can buy one, and in a year you could have like 20 of them. Tiny succulents work well for smaller places, and they're very hard to kill. They require very little water. I like putting them on shelves. A larger leaf plant can add a dramatic touch to any corner, although these can be higher maintenance. If a plant's not doing well, just move it somewhere else. It might just need a different kind of light. But if you want your space to look and feel a bit more sophisticated, just add a plant. Floating shelves. Shelves are a great alternative to wall art, especially for those of us who live in smaller homes. You know, a picture on the wall is purely decorative, but if you put up a shelf, it can be decorative and functional. I like floating shelves. They're a bit harder to install, but they look better, they look more integrated with the actual structure of your home. What should you put on your shelves? Anything. Sometimes it makes sense to store stuff there that you use regularly, that you want within arm's reach. Or you can just display some of your favorite objects. I recommend choosing meaningful things, like gifts that people gave you, or souvenirs from different places. When in doubt, go to a local maker's market or hit up thrift stores to find something interesting. Try to avoid buying stuff from like Target or Ikea just to fill the space. Photo clothesline. Gallery walls are great, but putting one together can be an expensive and time-consuming process. They're also kind of permanent. Like once you frame a picture, you're probably not going to swap it out very often. A fun alternative is hanging a photo clothesline or two. You can use mini clothes pins to hang unframed pictures. You can get like a hundred of these printed, keep them in like a shoebox somewhere, and then just swap them out whenever you want to. Kind of takes the pressure off. Like you can just use whatever pictures from your phone. This was my wife's idea, of course, and it kind of became the centerpiece of like our living area. Whenever people come over, they always gravitate to this little gallery wall just to look at the photos. And we swap them out every couple months, so there's always something fresh. Kind of like the analog version of a digital picture frame. I'll link to these metal cables that we used in a pinned comment below. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to hit that like button, maybe share it with a friend, and subscribe for more content like this. Thank you for watching, and until next time.