5 Rewarding Home Improvement Projects for Your Home
Investing in the home you currently own is done with maintenance and home improvement. By taking good care of the house, you maintain its original value. With the right projects, you can make improvements that increase the value of your home over time. Right now is the perfect time to build on the value of your home while also choosing renovations that will make the house more delightful and functional to live in today.
Not all home renovations are equally delightful - or likely to improve the on-paper value of your home. We will explore the top home improvements that provide both a marked improvement in your home life experience and top the charts on ROI (return on investment) for adding value to your home.
How Renovation ROI Works
When making home improvements, it's important to balance both joy and value. Most home improvements add between 40% to 70% of what you put in back to your home value. Therefore, a $10,000 renovation would add between $4,000 and $7,000 to your home's market value. The best ROI renovations are low-cost surface renovations that update a shabby feature to an attractive asset.
The best way to re-invest in your home is to choose renovations that make you happy and increase your quality of life in the house now, while also adding 50% or more of the invested value back into the home's market price.
1) Sprucing Up Curb Appeal
Want to increase your home's beauty and value for a modest investment? You can never go wrong with focusing on curb appeal. This is how welcoming, beautiful, and/or interesting your home looks from the street and on the walk-up. It will shape how the home appears in photos, and a striking curb appeal improvement can increase your entire market value.
Curb appeal starts with landscaping. Cultivate your front lawn and front walk to be inviting and eye-catching at the same time. A little creativity can go a long way. Next, address your porch and front door. You might repaint your door a striking color, spruce up the porch , or brighten the whole space with outdoor sconce lights to create that welcome-home glow.
Are you considering repainting the siding? Use a photo design tool or AR app to visualize a new color scheme.
2) Minor Bathroom Renovations
Did you know that the standard renovation with the best ROI is a small bathroom? If you've been dreaming of redoing the downstairs powder room or making minor changes to the master bath, now is your chance. A minor or small bathroom renovation potentially offers quite high ROI in the 60% to 80% range.
The small scale limits your scope and spend to renovate what matters. New flooring, backsplashes, and toilets are all good choices. Have the tub bleached and re-caulked. Repaint and fit new handles on the cabinets. You might choose to install a built-in shelf or replace a rusting medicine cabinet. Many people choose to update the bathroom lighting, replacing the previous vanity lights for something better. A protected light above the shower is especially appreciated, as this area is almost always cast into shadow by the shower curtain.
3) Kitchen Improvements
Kitchen renovations span from among the best ROI improvements to the worst. It all depends on how and where you choose to renovate. This is because a few small improvements can go a long way, but it is all too easy to go overboard rebuilding the space without adding a great deal of additional value. The best ROI on a kitchen renovation comes from surface and functional improvements that make the kitchen fit a modern, appealing style and directly increase the enjoyability of cooking in the kitchen.
Consider repainting your cabinets and updating your handle and drawer-pull design. A new backsplash can reframe the entire context of your kitchen design while updated appliances are always good - provided the previous appliances were old and dated.
To improve your cooking experience, add lighting to the underside of your upper cabinets and recessed lighting in the ceiling. To add style and value, artistic pendant and sculpture chandelier lights above the island or central service point in the kitchen.
4) Finish an Attic or Basement space.
Take space that already exists in your home and transform it into an extra bedroom, suite, or family den. A converted attic can become a delightful bedroom space rich in personality and style. A finished basement can become a guest suite, a family rumpus room, or even your personal workshop for hobbies and crafts. Not only do you get an extra space in your home, but you can list that extra room to increase market value later.
Finishing a space requires insulation, drywall, flooring, and possibly a drop ceiling. However, once it's finished, you will have an entire additional room or suite to enjoy.
5) Cultivate the Deck or Patio into Outdoor Living Space
The outdoor living trend takes the comfort of the family living room or dining room and rebuilds that concept on your deck instead. If you don't have a deck or patio, consider having one built. If you do have a deck, look for ways to improve, making the space more beautiful, functional, and welcoming as an outdoor extension of your home life.
Brighten up the space with sconce lights on the house or even lanterns on the deck railing posts. Have the deck stained and sealed to improve its appearance and comfort. Choose your patio furniture carefully and create a welcoming outdoor experience.
Here at Urban Ambiance, we know that home improvements are on the rise, and nothing breathes new light into a residential space like new lighting designs. From decorative and sculpture lighting to functional recessed lighting and outdoor walls sconces, you'll find everything you need with Urban Ambiance. Contact us today or explore our online selection to find the best lighting for your home renovation projects this year. Not sure where to get started? Explore our lighting by style and visualize each room with a different, stylish new light fixture.
