Home Improvements

A couple of months I moved house and like with every house I’ve lived in, you start to think about what you can do to make improvements to the property.  I tend to break these down into priorities, what needs doing first, what’s a long term improvement that will add value and what’s a quick cheap fix for short term improvements (whilst we save to make the more costly improvements).

Decorating

Decorating is the most obvious budget home improvement you can do to make your new house feel like yours.  You can put your own stamp on it.  This is a good (generally cheap) way to improve a home quickly and whilst it likely isn’t to add value to your home when the time comes and you choose to sell your home, nicely decorated rooms are one of the first impressions your potential buyer is going to see.  That being said, if you’re not looking to sell anytime soon then decorate your rooms your way, if you want black walls and pink ceilings then do it!  When it comes to sell, then maybe tone the colours to a more neutral palate 🙂

Replace or Renovate

When it comes to choosing to replace or renovate things, this is likely to come down to budget, restrictions on the property (i.e listed building) and what can actually be renovated instead of replaced.  Windows are good example, whilst in an older property, you may wish to try and renovate the windows and keep the original frames whilst perhaps replacing the panes.  In some cases you may be completely restricted in our you approach this and this would be down to planning and what you can and can’t do.  But where you have a newer build, fitting replacement windows is a much easier task.  Replacing windows not only improved the efficiency of the property, helping to keep the heat in, they can also had value to your property when the time comes to sell.  Buyers will see this as a much bigger advantage and one less thing they will need to do in the future, therefore saving them money.

Add Square Footage

One of the things that is likely to be a sure fire way to add value to your property is adding square footage.  This can be done with a full blown house extension to create the extra rooms, but can be costly, making sure you build to the area and market value of the properties is key into making sure you don’t put too much money into an extension which doesn’t then add as much value when it comes to resell.  Another option is to add a conservatory or external glass extension, this is a much cheaper solution whilst adding needed square footage.  Gone are the days when conservatories are cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, now conservatories are insulated and designed as such to be an all year round room that you can enjoy.

Improve the Garden

You don’t need to be green fingered to have a nice garden, you can create a low maintenance space that you can enjoy.  Extending your living space into your garden is a perfect way to improve your home and creating an outdoor entertainment space.  I love the idea of having the same tiles in your house and garden, creating a seamless space with bifold doors.  Adding a canopy or awning with a heater will also mean you can enjoy this space in the colder months.

So whilst you can make quick low cost fixes to your property, don’t forget about the long term investment putting your money into improving the property can bring to you when it comes to selling.