Use Tax Refund to Refresh Your Interior

If you’re one of the lucky ones waiting to receive a nice-size tax refund this year, why not spend it on something nice for yourself, like repainting some of your favorite rooms?

Last year, nearly three-quarters of all taxpayers got refunds, with the average refund exceeding $2,800. That’s in line with recent history, so this year’s refunds should be in the same “neighborhood”.

How much painting you can do with your refund depends on a lot of things – the size of your check, of course, but also whether you use a professional painter or do the painting yourself.

The website HomeAdvisor estimates that it typically costs between $400 and $800 to have a contractor repaint a room. The most important variables are the size of the room, whether the walls are textured, and the amount of time the project will take – along with the big one, where in the country your home is located.

Do-it-yourselfers can repaint a room for far less, of course. Again, HomeAdvisor estimates that to cost between $200 and $300 per room, less than half what a pro would charge.

No matter who does the work, it’s clear that the average tax refund can finance quite a bit of interior painting. If you take a turnkey approach and give a contractor the go-ahead, you’ll likely be able to select three, four, or even more rooms to paint. If you’re an ambitious do-it-yourselfer, you could probably give a fresh, new look to your entire interior!

Assuming that you’ve earmarked some of your refund for other purposes, what’s the best way to use part of it on painting? Here are some ideas:

• give some new color to the space where you spend most of your time
• enhance the appearance of the room where most of your company gathers
• redo your entranceway, where visitors get the first impression of your home
• use this as an opportunity to undo the color “mistake” you made in the past
• and, if you decide to paint several rooms, focus on those that are adjacent to each other to better coordinate the overall look of your interior

No doubt tax time can be trying, but for the great majority of taxpayers, there’s a reward at the end of the day. So, treat it as such by treating yourself to some attractive new interior paint color!

from Paint Quality Institute Blog http://ift.tt/2p0Wf2k