After a number of years in a home, many people decide that they’re going to try to stay there for the rest of their lives, and will renovate just to make their home more comfortable and attractive. For many though, home improvements are all about bumping up the value of the property for a sale. If you’re in the latter group, you may be wondering which kinds of renovation are the most worthwhile. Here are a few that tend to generate the best returns…

Roofing

The roof of your home is one of the most important aspects of it as a property. If you install a completely new roof or make some extensive repairs, you’ll see an immediate rise in value. An existing roof you can refinish is perfect, as it obviously costs less to restore than to replace, and will be more likely to garner a return on your investment than a completely new roof. If you know the roof on your house has seen better days, it’s time to start looking for some good roofing companies.

Fixtures

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Over time, various rooms in a home can begin to look dated and worn-out. It may surprise you, but a large part of this is down to old, raggedy fixtures. By replacing the fixtures in your home, along with some other small tweaks like the cabinets and faucets of the kitchen, you’ll immediately be able to bump up the asking price on your home when you come to sell.

The Bathroom

The kitchen may be the heart of the home, but the bathrooms are a close second in terms of what’s important for valuation. If it’s practical for you to add a three-piece bathroom to a home that only has one other full bathroom, the market value will rise dramatically. While it’s a big mistake to sacrifice a lot of bedroom space for a bathroom, it’s usually a smart move to sneak another bathroom into any dead space in your home. Some families have even been able to install a three-piece bathroom in the space under their stairs, usually only measuring around 44 inches corner to corner. As a final tip, try getting a glass shower to make the room seem more spacious.

Income Suites

[Photo courtesy of Holland And Green Architectural Design/flickr.com]

These aren’t exactly common in most suburban homes, but income suites are one of the best ways to pile on value to your home. Build one of these somewhere in the property, and you’ll be amazed at how much the estimated value of your home can rise. Whether this is through a loft conversion, an outside room, a renovated garage, or any other area, income suites are very hot at the moment. This is because buyers will be able to use it to cover a portion of their mortgage payments, ensuring the home they buy will be cash flow positive. Real wealth that can supplement your income is a pretty attractive feature, don’t you think?

If you were unsure of what to priorities in your home renovations, hopefully these tips have pointed you towards a highly profitable improvement project.

Want your home to look beautiful, but don’t have the funds to hire professional decorators? No need to fear, there’s plenty you can do yourself without breaking the bank! Here are a few points to bear in mind if you’re new to decorating and want to have a go.

Colours and Theme

Before diving in with your decorating, spend some time beforehand on the planning stages. This helps to keep everything looking cohesive, and you will get the best result at the end. Scour blogs and Pinterest for rooms you like the look of, picking out different colours, design features and other elements that catch your attention. Have an idea of the kind of colours and the overall look you want to achieve at the end, this saves you purchasing things that don’t look right and wasting your money. Opting for all neutral walls is your best bet if you are unsure. They will make the room look light, bright and airy and you can bring in colour with home accessories. Paint ceilings and woodwork such as skirting boards and doors in a brilliant white for a super fresh and clean look.

[Photo courtesy of ATBO/pexels.com]

Painting

It’s always advisable to try out a few paint samples on the walls before investing in a big tin. The colour of the walls underneath and the light in the room will affect how it looks once it’s dry so don’t just take a chance. Once you’ve chosen a colour to get a few samples in different shades and paint them onto the wall so you can see which looks best. Start by ‘cutting in’ which is going around all of the edges of the room neatly with a paintbrush, and do the rest with a roller which is quick, easy and gives a smooth finish. Be sure to cover your flooring with old sheets or painters dust sheets to protect it, take your time and do a second or even a third coat if it needs it. Be sure to let each layer fully dry before moving onto the next.

Wallpaper

Adding some wallpaper to the feature wall in your room is a good way to bring in personality, and is good for those who are new to decorating since it’s a smaller area than a whole room. If you’ve never wallpapered before watch a tutorial online first. Follow the techniques carefully, and ideally have another pair of hands to help you. If you’re unsure, you could use repositionable wallpaper, that way if you make a mistake it’s easy to correct. And if you’re renting it’s easy to remove at the end of your tenancy. If you’ve painted the other walls in a light, neutral colour the wallpaper is where you can be a bit bolder. You could go for a bright or bold colour, a statement design or just keep it subtle if that’s more your style.

Do you do much decorating yourself at home, or do you usually call in the professionals?

Coming around to the decision to give your home a makeover is an easy one.

Of course, the reasons in the pro column are long and substantial. Who doesn’t want their home to look better? Give everything a refresh; change things around so that it all feels like new again? Perhaps your eye has been caught by a new decorating trend, and you can’t wait to try it out for yourself. Or perhaps you’re just the kind of person who tends to need a project.

You find yourself imagining the changed decor; the fresh paint; the new levels of comfort that you can explore. Then, with a screech of brakes, your mind remembers all the reasons you shouldn’t do it.

Sometimes, though, you just have to seize the moment and go for it. If there’s something you want to change about your home, then it’s time to banish the concerns to one side. I’m going to go through all of the usual objections and show why they’re not anything that should stand in your way. Just call me your home decor and renovation enabler!

“I can’t afford it.”

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Of course, this one is pretty difficult to argue on the surface of it. If you don’t have the money, then what can you do? You can’t magic it up from thin air and progress on developing a money tree is still limited, so you’ll just have to wait until you can afford it.

The best option in this scenario is to look at a way to change something up without breaking the bank. Rather than a full-scale kitchen remodel, for example, why not go for a facelift? You could change the cupboard doors rather than fitting entirely new cupboards.

The same philosophy applies throughout the house. Craving a new bed to snuggle down into? Maybe that’s outside the budget, but memory foam mattress toppers can give a boost of comfort without the same price tag. Does the carpet really need replacing, or will a deep clean and brush be enough to bring it back up to standard?

“I don’t have the time.”

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Realistically, you probably don’t have the time for most things you do. We get it; life is busy, it’s stressful, and you’re struggling to do the basics. Why should you make your workload easier?

Because you don’t have the time! It’s that simple; the same thing arguing against the scenario is the thing that makes it a necessity. Unless you have a huge chunk of holiday time coming up that you know you can dedicate to DIY, where is it going to come from? You’re going to have to fit it in somewhere. There’s no time like the present, or so the old saying goes.

Putting something off to some fantastical period when you’re going to magically have “more time” isn’t going to work. You can break it down into chunks. Do a little as often as you possibly can to make it less draining.

“It’s a lot of disruption.”

Yes, of course, it is. You have to shop, make decisions, then implement them. Depending on the scale of your project, that might involve a builder being involved or transferring items into new furniture. It will be disruptive – but it’s always going to be. It’s the same as the point about time. Unless you can foresee sometime in the future when you will be able to do these things unencumbered, there’s no point holding back.

“It’s a lot of mess.”

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Even the most basic things do cause a mess, but so does life. I’m going to imagine your house tends to require cleaning anyway. So, given the potential end result, what’s the harm in a little extra?

“It’s not a good time.”

There’s a chance this is a legitimate concern and I don’t discount that. If you’re particularly busy, going through a stressful situation or have health concerns – you’re right. It’s probably not a good time and you should wait until it’s more something you can cope with. There’s also seasonal considerations; it’s little use deciding to renovate the garden in winter, for example.

[Photo courtesy of Unsplash/pixabay.com]

Only you can know if the problem is just where you’re at in your life – you know if this is a genuine reason or not. Often, this argument might be masking a concern about one of the above, so check your thinking to see if that’s the case. If it is, then see if there’s something you can do about progress. If not, and it really is a bad time, consider yourself un-enabled for now!

Updating your home can seem like a huge job to take on. You may think it will involve a lot of DIY projects and decoration. In fact updating your home can be quite a simple and budget-friendly thing to do. If your home doesn’t require any work and you are happy with the decoration, then it’s all just in the finer details. So if you want to update your home without the need to decorate then here is a quick guide for each of the main rooms in your home.

Kitchen

More often than not the kitchen is the hub of the home. It needs to have the right balance between each functionality. It’s a place to cook in, to relax in and dine. There are quite a few different things you can do to update your kitchen without decorating. Perhaps incorporating a new colour scheme would be a great place to start. You could add a vase of fresh flowers in your chosen colour. Update some of the things on your counter shelf life storage pots. Perhaps adding some shelves to a wall so you can put a few pictures on there or some inspirational messages. Adding a touch of colour to this room is all it will take to give it a new lease of life.

Bathroom

The bathroom is often the trickiest room to spruce up. Without adding a new bathroom suite what can you possibly do? There is quite a bit you can do in fairness. Firstly, much like the kitchen, you could incorporate a bit of colour or a theme to the bathroom. Adding new touches like luxury towels, a new toothbrush holder and cup. Perhaps a fancy soap dispenser. Also, as much as we clean our bathrooms, giving it a once-over with a steam cleaner could just be all it takes to make that bath sparkling once more.

[Photo courtesy of Maureen Didde/flickr.com]

Living space

You could add quite a bit to your living spaces. Personal touches like photo frames with new pictures in could be a great place to start. You could also consider a new rug in a different colour. Adding a new colour will give the impression of a freshly decorated room without the need to do any hard work. Alternatively, by changing some of the lighting you could give off a whole new vibe to the room. Adding a few more lamps or candles could create a different ambiance.

Bedroom

Finally, the bedroom. A place to relax and reflect on the day. Changing this room is a lot easier than you would think. It doesn’t require an expensive purchase like changing your bed. But just by changing the bed linen it could make the room look brand new. You could incorporate a new colour scheme in here to. Perhaps add some candles to give it a more romantic feel. Or by adding some different lighting. Things like fairy lights draped over the head of the bed can make the room feel pretty and styled.

I hope this simple guide give you some inspiration to update your home.

What is it that we actually want from our homes? Should they be stark, hygienic areas for hosting a range of valuable antiques, or should they be somewhere you can unwind after a long day at work?

I think they should be the latter. We all need a space that we can relax and our environment can have a large impact on our mood. So here are some ideas for making your home that little bit cosier.

Make Your Entrance Inviting

The entrance is the first thing you’ll see but this typically tends to be a neglected area in the home. Why? People tend to concentrate on the main rooms in the house, but they forget that the tone is set as soon as you walk in. When guests arrive often they’re not treated to a livable space, but somewhere rather shabby and boring.

Having bright and welcoming colours in the entrance hall can really help. As can soft, colourful mats. Pot plants in the hallways can also work a treat for brightening any entrance hall if you have space. Don’t just go for green either. Pick a colour that really complements the style of the room. If it is characterised by light tones, for example, choose a pink or a lavender to add a bit of contrast.

Cut Through Draughty Spaces

[Photo courtesy of Harry Zilber/wikipedia.org]

Each room in your house is a big cavity. And because of the necessities of construction, these are square. But squares do not make your home feel more cosy. You want to find ways to make sure that the eye is drawn through the space. When you enter a room, have a big painting on the opposite wall. This can help.

Also, it can help if your furniture is themed, but not matching. Having different colours, textures and patterns throughout the room can break it up and make it less formal. Just make sure that the different textures work together in a pleasing way.

Finally, don’t try to eliminate space in the centre of the room. This can actually enhance the room’s appeal, rather than make it look stark.

Mix Formal With Informal Furniture

It’s really nice to have a sofa or two for settling down in the evening, as well as a nice coffee table. But you can also mix things up with a foam bag chair. These are great for reading or for people who like to fidget, rather than just settings on their bums. Check out Fombag.com if you want to know more about foam bag chairs.

Eliminate Harsh Lines

Jagged, straight lines can really dull the cosiness of a room. Long straight lines give the room a formal look. It’s hard to escape the idea that you’re at an airport or in some other public space. You certainly don’t feel like you’re somewhere private where you can relax.

Eliminating straight lines is easy. You can introduce things like round rugs and tables. And put decorative lamps in ugly, harsh corners. For more ideas on how to make your home cosier, check out realsimple.com.

When you’re unhappy with your home, the correct course of action is often unclear. Is selling your home and buying a new one the way to go? It seems a little extreme. But there are many people out there who would tell you that renovating your property would be even riskier. So what do you do?

We’ll explore the options and methods in this article. If you’re currently struggling with this problem, we hope this helps drive you towards a decision.

Why are you unhappy with your home?

The first thing you should do is identify the problem you have. Without knowing specific reasons you’re not happy with your property, you will struggle to come up with decent solutions. Do you not have enough space? Do you have too much space? Do you not like the layout? Is there a weird smell? Do you hate your neighbours?

Whatever the reasons, you need to note them down. Otherwise, you may find that whatever action you take may not have solved the issue you had in the first place. Oh, and if the reason is that you hate your neighbours, you may find this article disappointing. We have no hints for neighbour disposal to offer you.

Have an extreme clean-out

All that clutter is giving you an inaccurate image of your home. A messy environment always looks smaller than it actually is. Having piles of clothes and boxes and miscellaneous items will make you feel cramped. So you need to pull up your sleeves and have an extreme clean-out!

[Image courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio/pexels.com]

The aim here is to make your home look as bare-bones as possible. Imagine for a moment that you really are going to sell it. What would you do? You would make that home look as attractive as possible in order to get a good price and land a sale fast. You need to revert it back to a very basic state, one filled with potential.

Tour your home

Cleaned your home? Good. Now you need to go through every room in the house and assess it. Ideally, you would assess your home over the course of a year. This way you know exactly what happens in each room when there are external changes. These changes will include light, temperature and noise. They also include all the different types of weather

This will really help you get your finger on what might be bothering you. By re-evaluating your living spaces, you may find that you only need to make simple changes. Maybe you just need to rearrange the furniture. Or maybe you need new blinds to adapt to light changes. But maybe you’ll find that you still feel a bit cramped in these rooms. Maybe making extensive changes will be the right way to go. In any case, this clean-and-tour method will have helped you make your decision.

Photo from Flickr

Visit open houses

So, you’ve made up your mind. Either you’re renovating or you’re selling. Here’s a great idea: visit open homes. That may seem like something you’d only do if you’re looking to buy a new property. Not so.

By visiting a new and open property, you can get a good idea of what a professional renovation looks and feels like. The most effective way of going about this, if possible, is to visit open homes in your neighbourhood. This is because the houses here may be very similar. This will allow you to see what upgrades have done to homes that are similar in layout to your own.

It is, of course, also an excellent way of scoping out property you want to buy when you sell your home. If you’re not sure, or are definitely just looking at renovation, we recommend keeping it to open houses. Arranging a private visit to a property will just waste the time of the estate agent!

The blueprint

If you have the blueprints to your home, then there are other possibilities open to you. You can take blueprints to renovation and building stores and ask them for advice. If the store is particularly modern, they may even be able to give you a digital rendering of what your renovated rooms could look like.

If you don’t have the blueprints for your home to hand, there will be ways to get them. Local councils are usually able to help. Previous owners of the property may also have them, or any building company that have worked on your home in the past.

Selling versus renovation: getting assistance

Selling can often seem like the easier way to deal with the whole thing. Getting the money for your current home and simply buying a brand new one is definitely an attractive solution.

Do remember that you’re not alone if you are thinking about renovating. Contractors or remodelers can give you practical tips. Websites like R.H. Homes are replete with suggestions and inspirational articles and guides.

Consider your commitments, career and social life

Moving home, of course, comes with its own unique stresses. If you move to a new home, there’s a chance you’ll have to change career, or that your child has to go to a new school. Your commute will change, as will your social life. If you’re heavily involved in your local community, then moving will take its toll on you and that community.  One of the main reasons people choose to renovate is so that they can avoid the need to move from their home permanently.

Considering the costs

Buying a new home seems like the most expensive solution, right? Well, not necessarily. Remember that the cost of buying a new home will be offset significantly by the money you make from the sale of your current home. It also depends on how you go about the purchase. Say you pay in instalments for a new home. You could actually end up paying less monthly than you would for extensive renovations.

What you need to get is a cost estimate for renovation.  A contractor or remodeler can provide this. You may be looking at something small, or you could be looking at a waller-devastating structural change to your layout. And if the renovations are complex and require you to live somewhere else for a while, there’s that cost to consider too

So what do I do?

We can’t tell you that! If you research all of your options carefully, you should be able to come to the right answer in no time. Weigh the risks and benefits. Remember that the purpose of this is to increase the quality and enjoyment of your life. Best of luck to you!

Most people are unaware of the relationship of a clean and comfortable bedroom to the quality of their sleep. What they give importance is their living room where they receive their guests. They spend three-fourth of their lives in their bedroom either to relax, watch television, read a book or sleep.

The bedroom is your comfort zone when you are depressed or when you spend intimate moments with your spouse. With numerous activities that you are doing in your room, you have to learn some bedroom ideas to make it your perfect hideaway.

Visualize what you want for your bedroom.

Before you can lay-out the plan for your room, close your eyes and spend a few minutes visualizing what improvements you would want for your room. Get a pen and paper and try sketching your plan.

Configure the Bedroom Size.

If you know how exactly your bedroom size is, it will be easy for you to put your furnishings and furniture inside. You don’t need a big bed if you sleep alone in a small room. Avoid putting a lot of furnishings that you don’t actually need because they can distract your normal movement.

Make use of empty space.

Built-in cabinets can save space in your room. You can look for cabinet designs that will fit to the exact size of your room. Cabinets minimize the clutter and maximize space.

Adorn the walls with mirrors.

Mirrors can fill the empty space in a huge bedroom. They make the room appear bigger and they are good room accessories because they are easy to clean. Just ignore the possibility that they can invite some entities into your room.

Install high ceilings for proper ventilation.

An ideal bedroom should have high ceilings to allow the air to circulate. The sun is getting hotter and the high temperature can trigger respiratory diseases. It is important to call your home improvement service provider to renovate the room before the summer months set in.

Bedrooms come in different types such as transitional, contemporary, modern, conventional, eclectic and romantic. Whatever you want for your room, always prioritize comfort and functionality before starting the bedroom remodeling.

When you are raising a family it can be a challenge to create and maintain a beautiful home, especially when you work outside of the house. You may fondly recall the days before children and the fun of planning for your first child and decorating the nursery. It was a delight to plan and shop for baby blankets and bedding and to take the time to select each and every item with care and consideration. When shopping becomes a chore and it’s more of a grab and go situation the concept of home décor often takes a back seat to the practical realities of daily life.

Maybe you need a new shower curtain and rod but the prospect of shopping for shower curtains, hooks and rods is simply too much to fathom – when every minute of the day is filled then it’s time to stop running around and start shopping online. You can shop from home any time of the day or night without regard to conventional retail store hours and without the hassle of packing the kids in the car, fighting traffic and hunting down a parking space. Park yourself in a comfortable chair and let your fingers do the walking.

You will soon find that there are some innovative family-friendly ways to upgrade your bathroom, starting with a curved shower curtain rod. By installing one you will create more elbow room in the tub and make it easier to bathe children and pets. Skip the hassle of shower hooks and select a hook-less shower curtain – that’s one less thing you need to worry about, especially if you chose one with a built-in liner. If you don’t already have a handheld shower head in your bathroom you don’t know what you are missing – they are amazing.