Value Added Home Renovations between $500 – $1000
If you are planning to sell your home in the near future, one key element to a successful home renovation is to consider which updates and upgrades will provide an effective return on investment. Although major renovations will often involve contractors or professionals, the best way to keep cost low is to invest some of your own time. There are many do-it-yourself projects that almost any home owner can perform to give your home a dramatic facelift within a $500 to $1,000 price range. You may even learn something new along the way! Here’s part one of two blogs with tips on value added home renovations under $1,000.
Front Door First
Curb appeal… it’s the first and foremost important selling feature of a home and can either draw potential buyers in or turn them away. Aside from maintaining neat and tidy exterior finishes or having a pretty flower garden, the front door can stand as a statement to the ambiance inside your home. For new builds or older homes, the front door is typically plain with a small window. Create a statement by replacing the front door with one that has more intricate detailing, updated hardware, and larger decorative glass inserts. If you’re planning to sell, be sure to select a colour that compliments the exterior colour scheme of your home and has some impact, while still remaining classic. A larger glass insert will also draw more natural light into the foyer of your home, creating a bright and warm atmosphere. Numerous door styles are available at your local home renovation store, saving you a trip to a pricey professional window and door shop. Be sure to measure twice to ensure you are picking a proper door size to fit the existing frame. Once you have your door picked and purchased, it’s as simple as popping the old door off its hinges, replacing with the new door and transferring old or installing any new locking mechanism hardware. A little effort with a high impact delivers around a 101% return on investment and is a definite DIY no-brainer!
Hire a Cleaner
One of the more stressful aspects of selling a home is getting and keeping your home impossibly clean – easier said than done when you have a busy household. Doing a deep cleaning can be a big job, even if you’ve done a fairly good job of keeping your home clean, but the payoff is significant. Home sellers with children and pets have additional cleaning tasks to tackle like finger prints on walls, marker, crayons, and accidents and paw prints. You may want to consider hiring professionals just for walls, floors and upholstery. Many standard vacuums or home grade carpet cleaning systems only remove surface dirt and stains but aren’t able to tackle tough, set-in stains. Homes with carpet flooring and upholstered furniture could benefit greatly from a professional, deep cleaning which steams out, not only unsightly spots and marks, but any dust mites and allergens that can be lurking deep within. The exterior of your home is just as important when it comes to cleaning as dirt, pollens, fungi and mold can build up on walkways, decks, fences and even the foundation of your home. Professional grade carpet cleaning and power washing appliances can be rented from various home stores if you wish to tackle the job yourself.
Increase Square Footage
While you can’t add square footage to your home in big ways (i.e. finishing a basement or loft), there are many ways you can do so by using wasted space or create the illusion of a brighter and more open interior. When selling a home, creating an open and spacious interior provides potential buyers a vision of how they can utilize the space or how they can live comfortably even in a smaller scale home.
The simplest and most economical way to make a space look bigger is to lighten-up and de-clutter. Re-painting in a lighter, more airy colour palette can instantly open up the interior. Placing mirrors in strategic locations throughout your home can reflect open walkways and natural light, and so give the illusion of a larger space. Replace any bulky, heavy drapes with a lighter material in neutral, light tones, or consider retractable blinds. Declutter your space by packing up knick-knacks, decorative figurines, children’s toys and random objects laying around that just waste space. Even too many beautiful things in a room can be overkill – you want to create a focal point in your room, you can do so by giving a special piece some space around it.
Edit your furniture by removing additional pieces that may be functional but don’t allow room to breathe. In realistic terms, if you’re having to navigate the room like a corn maze, it’s time to remove some pieces in order to facilitate more open space and flow. Get creative with storage solutions that will minimize bulky clutter. Closet storage systems are a key element to maximizing the use of space. Furniture that doubles for storage such as ottomans, benches, under sofa or bed drawer systems are perfect for hiding items that you want access to on a regular basis but still want to keep out of sight.
You can create extra square footage in cost-effective ways by converting spaces under stairs or into usable space such as an office or organized, beautiful storage.
Check out our blogs with practical suggestions on how to make the most of small spaces: https://www.faristeam.ca/life-hacks-big-ideas-small-spaces/, https://www.faristeam.ca/maximizing-your-living-space/.