Increasing the joy and value of your home is easier than you think. Follow these tips, and your home will be more enjoyable and worth more before you know it.
1. Paint
By far, painting your home gives the most dramatic results with minimal investment. It can be amazing what a fresh coat of paint over anything will do! I’m not just talking walls either, consider painting your bathroom vanity, kitchen cabinets, doors and trim, light fixtures, tables, and chairs, you get where I’m going with this?! Fresh paint, in modern colors, can go a LONG way towards updating the look of your entire home. Plus, the paint is cheap! On the larger projects, kitchen cabinets, home exterior, walls and trim, I definitely suggest hiring a professional. Otherwise, get out your best brushes and get to painting!
2. Flooring
When it comes to changing the look of a home, replacing flooring might be one of my absolute favorite things to do. First things first, replace or get rid of the carpet!! For me, the less carpet the better. Bring in the engineered hardwoods, the tiles, the vinyl planks, and of course real hardwood. Keep in mind, if you already have real hardwood floors they can more than likely be sanded down and refinished in a new stain and look brand NEW. Otherwise, if starting from scratch going with engineered and vinyl options are great for durability and water resistance. When replacing the worn-out carpet, choose a carpet with a subtle geometric pattern to it in a neutral color for a contemporary update. Again, go with a professional on these upgrades.
3. Lighting
This might be the most underrated upgrade you can do in your home. Lighting is everything! It can change the mood, the style, the way you function, I could keep going. The first thing to remember when changing out lighting, always choose LED bulbs in a warm tone whenever possible. Beware of the cool tones or daylight tones in LED bulbs, it can create a cold, sterile, almost hospital type feeling in the space. Next, when selecting new light fixtures, consider the size of the space and the height of the ceiling before purchasing a giant new chandelier for example. It might be beautiful online or in a big store but once it’s in your home the scale could be completely off. My final recommendation on lighting is to swap out the outdated polished brass fixtures for matte black or brushed bronze finishes for a modern vibe.
4. Update Kitchen
This is a no brainer right? The kitchen is by far the most used room in the home. The place to start in the kitchen is your layout, is it functional for your daily routine? Is it in good condition? Is it big enough for family gatherings or parties? If you answered no to any of these questions, then its time to start looking at rearranging the layout of your kitchen and replacing your cabinets. If your layout is functional and your cabinets are still in good working condition then you have the option to paint the cabinets and updating the hardware to achieve a huge upgrade. Next up is your countertops, quartz, and granite is the most durable in the solid stone countertops. Try a marble look quartz for a high-end look, or a sparkle white quartz for a contemporary upgrade. Whichever style countertop you go with, make sure there is enough contrast in color between your cabinets and your countertops for the biggest design impact. The backsplash is next, here is where you can add some personality to your kitchen. Patterns, contrasting colors, solid slabs, metallic grout, the options are endless! Lastly, update the appliances to energy star and either stainless steel or a more contemporary matte black. Not only will your cooking experience improve, but your food will actually stay fresher for longer in an updated refrigerator! Did you know an energy star dishwasher and garbage disposal can actually be quieter than an outdated version? Now when it comes to increasing your home’s value, according to HGTV “springing for a kitchen or bath remodel is a sure-fire investment, often returning more than 100 percent of the cost.” If you’re not planning on moving in the near future, spend your money remodeling the way you will enjoy most. Choose the finishes and appliances that make sense for your lifestyle and family.
5. Landscaping
Don’t judge a book by its cover right? Wrong. At least when it comes to real estate and your home’s value. The exterior and landscaping are the first thing you see when you drive up to your home. Picture this, you enter your driveway to see brown grass, weeds as tall as bushes, wilted flowers, empty dirt planter beds. The house looks like its abandoned. Now lets picture a well-landscaped home, green lush grass like a baseball field, not a weed in sight, beautiful colorful flowers, impeccable clean-cut shrubs, fresh pine straw and mulch in all planter beds. Needless to say driving into the second landscaping vision would bring much more joy than the first. For an added benefit, HGTV states that homeowners recoup 100% of any landscaping renovations done in your home. How’s that for motivation? It’s also assumed from an outsider that a home’s clean and tidy exterior will be similarly clean and tidy on the interior.
These 5 simple steps are just the beginning to increase your joy and home value, please comment down below if you would like to know even more ways to improve your home!
