Whether you want to spice up your living space or plan to sell it, adding a little bit of pizzazz is never a bad thing. A stylish home means that you put a lot of effort and thought into your nest, which is certain to reflect positively on your family and friends coming over to visit, as well as raise its value on the market. And, in case you want to pass your home on, it might encourage the new homeowner to, first, actually buy the place, and, second, to keep improving it. Here are some quick and economical ideas to get you started.
Exterior
Living in a house rather than an apartment adds another dimension to your home. A finely-groomed turf of grass and a few flower patches will bring about a feeling of freshness in your visitors, as well as a sense that the house is well cared for. In case you’re selling, a few tweaks to the exterior will leave a good first impression, making the sale a lot easier.
Patio
One of the most popular home improvement projects is building a patio. Patio prices can vary greatly, but the average comes to about $2000, with an average ROI of about 55%. But, no matter the ROI ratio, a patio will be a fine addition to your backyard and will open a lot of options for further improvements, such as adding a fireplace, garden table and chairs, and, in some very high-profile cases, an outdoor BBQ.
General Exterior
Aside from the patio, your home can do with some hose and paint roller love. Just one round with a power washer will revitalize the paint and make your house look as good as when it was first painted. Then, paint over some of the more worn out patches to even out the exterior, and add a bit of paint or a coat of lacquer to your front door for that extra dose of vigour.
Garden
Patios are all well and good on their own, but combining them with a small well-looked-after garden will put a delightful touch of style to your home. A fine grass turf, few rose bushes and a bench will do marvellous things for your abode’s market value, not to mention it will provide a refreshing place for some R&R on a warm summer afternoon. Also, consider an automatic irrigation system to keep your garden looking fresh and lively.
Interior
For those living in apartments or have their house exterior squared away, here are some ideas for sprucing up the inside of your home. A clean, well-organized, minimalistic style is quite popular among contemporary buyers and homeowners, so you can get quite creative with relatively little effort and money.
Living Room
The hub of any house is the living room. Here is where you’ll make the best impression, and here is where you add the most value. The best thing to do here is to declutter the living space. Consider removing any excess objects, and identify the centrepiece of the room – the TV, the mantelpiece, the dining table – and group the objects around that particular area. This way, the rest of the room will give off a feel of spaciousness even if you don’t have much room to work with.
A fresh coat of paint will also be refreshing, just make sure to use mellow colours that won’t draw much attention from the rest of the room. Put down a rug in such a way to encompass the furniture, as this will bring all these elements together in a neat fashion, and provide the necessary feel of warmth and hominess a living room needs. Finally, consider refurbishing your windows by changing window sills and adding some curtains or even some elegant custom roman blinds.
Kitchen
As the second most used room in your home, it’s always a good idea revamping your kitchen space in order to add some more style and value to your home. Here you can use some quick and easy tricks like changing the colour of your upper cabinetry to break the monotony or introduce some recessed lighting for that extra smart look. Finally, do something different with your counters – tile counters are quite popular nowadays, as they look clean, neat and aren’t too expensive to install.
Attic
Quite a few homes have attics that serve no purpose other than to store old clothes, board games nobody plays and boxes of old photos. If you’re short on space, creating a loft room out of your attic is very appealing to new buyers, and there’s a wide range of options you can apply here, such as creating extra bedrooms, bathrooms, studies or even rec rooms.
Conclusion
As you’ve seen, there are quite a few ways you can add value to your home that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. However, there are more suggestions out there, and you can always expand your pool of ideas. In the end, it’s all about finding your own style, and we hope these suggestions will spur you in the right direction.