Top 10 Home Improvement Tips you Should Know

Looking to upgrade your home this New Year? Then you are in the right place.

Lots of questions might be plaguing your mind like, is digging the backyard to convert into a pool ok? What marble will look good on your floor? And the list continues. Every once in a while a new product or gadget comes into the market that tempts even the most hardened homeowners into thinking about upgrading their homes.

If you have always secretly desired a sauna, a new sauna line that promises minimum fuss and maximum benefit might look seriously tempting to you. You might start daydreaming about installing it in your bathroom, and soaking in it! But then the reality might sink in, where you start worrying about the cost of the sauna, the upgrades/changes you might need to make in your plumbing, insulation and so on….

To help you make up your mind about whether or not you should implement those cherished Home Improvements this New Year, we have come up with ten home improvements tips for this year. These tips will help you decide on whether or not to implement the upgrades/changes and also how to do them with minimum fuss and within your budget.

10  Cleanup & Organize 

As the adage goes, 1st impression is the last impression. When someone walks into your home, they form a lasting impression of you and your place based on the site that greets them. A clean and well-organized home never fails to impress. So go in for a deep clean, either yourself or with the help of a helping hand in the form of some cleaning services. Look into the stuff you have been saving over the years, is there something useful in the pile or has it become a pile of junk? Do away with things that you haven’t used in 3 years; you are almost never likely to use them. Clean up those drapes and the turns of the tables. Although we clean our homes daily, there are nooks and crannies which get looked over. A deep clean will help you get down to all the leftover places, and the result will not only impress your guests but also leave you happy and fulfilled. It’s the cheapest way to make your home look fresher and brighter.

9  Increase the visual square footage of your home 

The value of your house is exponentially proportional to its size. But apart from the square footage, the value also depends upon the visual size of the house. You can work on this. Make every room in your home appear larger than it is. This can be done by adopting a simple and smart trick. Replace the heavy furniture or drapes in your rooms with something light and more illuminating. The more the light enters the room, the livelier and larger it appears! Add reflecting mirrors and surfaces into the room. This creates a visual of space being larger than it is. It is a trick often used in the hospitality industry, where appearance is the key.

8  Switch to energy efficient products 

A lot of us tend to overlook our fixtures while concentrating on the furniture! This oversight can impact the total look and feel of your home. Old (Not vintage), dirty or poorly maintained fixtures take away from the look of your home. An easy and cheaper way to upgrade the look of your home is to redo your fixtures. Replace old fixtures with more modern alternatives. Go in for Energy-efficient fans and Switchover to mood lights! They will not only look cool but also reduce your energy bills. As opposed to doing major changes/upgrades, redoing the fixtures will cost you lesser. Switching to new technology will save you money, make your home more environment-friendly too. This will up your home’s resale value too. So, this is a worthwhile home improvement to invest in.

7  Work on your lawn 

Not every home has the privilege of having a lawn but if you are one of the lucky ones, spend some extra bucks and hire a professional to do up your lawn. Don’t be fooled into thinking that upgrading a lawn is cheap or simple. Lawns can be real money drainer if not done well. So hire a professional and get your lawn spruced up. A well-kept lawn not only impresses your guests but also acts as eye candy for the residents of your home. It makes your home looks more inviting, warm and definitely ups its value.

6  Rework your washroom and your kitchen 

Washrooms and kitchens are usually the most overlooked areas of every house. However, these are the two most essential rooms for every home. A house can do without a drawing room, a dining room, and even a bedroom; but it cannot do without a washroom and a kitchen! So get working on improving your essential rooms. No need to get into the hype of doing all the surfaces in granite, marble and so on. Even small changes can easily spruce up the look of your essential rooms while keeping stuff within your budget. Create some innovative storage in using old boxes and pipes. Redecorate your mirrors. Add some decals to your tiles. Get a new curtain for your shower area. Get a deep cleaning of your kitchen done by a professional. Kitchen accumulates lots of grease and grime in spite of your daily cleaning.

5  Regular maintenance and repairs keep your property up to date 

Don’t you have a budget for a big upgrade? Don’t fret; do the small repairs and maintenances. They are far more essential than any major upgrade, and mark it they will make your home look well-kept and smarter than before. Many small items like repairing a leaking pipe, cleaning the caulking, shinning up old taps keep getting looked over during the course of our daily lives. Take up these small items on priority and get them done. Rest assured they will immensely improve the look and feel of your home at no major cost to you. Also, your home will be in better shape, decreasing the chances of you getting in some major trouble like a burst pipe or locked taps in future.

4  Enhance the curb appeal 

The value of your house widely depends upon the curb appeal. Try taking advice from your neighbors about the looks of your house. If you are planning to sell your house in the future, you need to make sure that it looks structurally strong and attractive at first glance. Make a list and try eliminating the negative characteristics of your house, be it shabby paint or any other thing. Work on these things. Click a black and white photograph of your house. This will show you all the cracks and their intensity.  Do not forget to work on the side views. Many times in the process of making the front of our house look attractive we forget to enhance the other sides. Try making the first impression of your house impressive and memorable.

3  Work with a pro 

Once you have finalized a major upgrade or change, make sure to hire a professional to do it for you. Professionals know their work, so they are likely to do it in the best manner and with minimum damages. Major upgrades should not be done without professional help, or you might end up in a mess. Look around for contractor, designers and other professionals who are awesome and know their job. You can take recommendations from friends, check for the complaints against the professionals, find out about the licenses and permits that are required, ask for the contractors previous works and have a look at it. Hiring a well trained and experienced professional might seem expensive, but he/she will deliver their money’s worth with a superior quality finished product and minimum damages and resulting expenses.

2  Use Money efficiently 

Many home projects often require you to spend a great deal of money. The correct and intelligent way of investing money in your home is to make sure that you are adding to its value. Projects like remodeling a garage into a play area for your kids will hold personal appeal, but they won’t add to the value of your home. Whereas redoing your flooring with hardwood, will not only add to the look of your home but also add to its value. So when trying to decide whether or not to do an upgrade, do consider its value addition factor. Major upgrades require substantial funds. If you are short of funds, forget the upgrades for a while until you can afford it. Never go in for a home loan to do fancy upgrades. Unless an upgrade is essential to improve your living condition, it does not warrant a home loan.

1  Decorate your walls 

Most of us are guilty of leaving our walls bare. Add charm and a fresh appeal to your home by redoing your walls. Repainting the entire house might seem like an uphill task, so start small. Do up a wall in one room. Get your entire family involved and everybody can do hand painting on the wall! It will not only make the space more personal but be a wonderful bonding opportunity for the entire family. Add some framed photos and mementos to make your walls look more interesting. Frame up and hand those old artworks. They will not only give you an opportunity to flaunt your talent but also become a good talking point to entertain your guests.

So that’s our top ten tips for home improvement for the current year trend. Got a home improvement project in mind? Evaluate it on the value factor, check your budget and then get set go!

Author’s Bio:

Jon works for Acron Garage Doors Ltd – Garage Doors Maidstone. Helping clients in complex situations is what he loves most about his job. If not working, Jon can be found behind any new romantic novel. He also loves to blog about his experiences & challenges he faces at work.