Furniture

With the housing boom well and truly over and house prices on the slide, it’s more important than ever that any home improvements you make will help add value to your property.
But with so many potential home improvement projects, how do you know which to undertake first?

Below we have outlined the top ten ways to increase your home’s value:

1. Enhance the first impression

The simplest rule to follow when beginning home improvement is to consider what can be seen from the outside, and work on those things first. The first impression is one of the primary determining factors for potential buyers. While not a large factor in appraising home value, appearance is paramount in terms of saleability.
So how do you go about improving the first impression of your home? Start by reducing clutter, painting your home’s exterior, replacing shabby looking exterior doors and improving the landscaping – all things you could do yourself without investing a fortune!

2. Increase the Square Footage

The size and living space of a home is one of the key factors in both appraised value and the resale price a home will fetch when listed for sale.
If you have an unfinished basement or other space in your home that can be converted into finished living space, start there. Finishing a basement or converting a loft into additional living space is far less expensive than a room addition.

3. Update Bathrooms

If your home has out of date bathrooms, then updating them is likely to be a good investment to increase the resale value. Most buyers are attracted to a home with modern, spacious and up to date bathrooms.

4. Remodel the Kitchen

As with bathrooms, updating an older kitchen can often times increase the resale value of a home. You can cut costs by refinishing cabinets, installing new appliances, countertops and flooring and improving the lighting in your kitchen.
If you want to go that little bit further you could invest in a bespoke handmade kitchen or perhaps just some handmade kitchen units to add that touch of quality. Bespoke kitchens are custom made from scratch which means they can be specifically tailored to the available space, whilst also providing exceptional build quality and standard of finish.

5. Add Storage Space

Buyers today want plenty of room to store things, so anything you can do to increase the amount of space and functional storage capacity of your home will help add resale value and is often less expensive than major renovations, repairs or room addition projects.

6. Invest in a Garage

If your home does not have a garage, adding one can be another good investment to increase resale value; especially if you live in a northern location with a cold climate. For warmer climates, the return on investment may be less significant than other home improvement projects.

7. Replace the Roof and Other Major Components

If your home has an ageing roof, boiler, or electrical system then you almost have no choice but to replace them.
Not replacing major components will lead to future maintenance costs for the new owner and this will be taken into account. For instance, if you have a leaky roof, it could lead to damp problems and other interior damage.
Secondly, when you do come to sell your home, these things will either need to be put right prior to the sale or they will need to be deducted from the final sale price in order to entice buyers.

8. Paint and Redecorate the Interior

Be sure to use neutral colours when repainting your home’s interior. Remember that interior decoration is very personal and future owners may not like any bright shades you may have used, or the prospect of struggling to paint over them.
If you do decorate your home with bright paint, be prepared to paint over it with neutral colours prior to putting the property up for sale.

9. Add Outdoor Living Space

As with adding a garage, the return on investment for adding outdoor living space such as a screened porch, deck or patio is largely dependent on geography.
If you live in an area where people tend to spend a lot of time outdoors, then this can be a very good investment and is generally less costly than adding interior living space.
In the UK, additional outdoor space tends to recoup more money in the South than the North.

10. Replace Siding and/or Windows

Replacing windows can be another high-return investment. If your home has unsightly windows, or windows made from wood or aluminum, then replacing them with modern double glazed windows will increase both the exterior appeal and energy efficiency of your home.

Installing a new kitchen could be one of the most significant home improvement projects you’ll ever do in terms of increasing the sale value of your house and how it improves your quality of life. Choosing the correct materials and furnishings will help you to create a beautiful room that you can enjoy and that can more than pay for itself when you come to sell your home. If you plan carefully you could utilise the space in your kitchen more efficiently leaving you more room to manoeuvre.

There are many ways you can utilize the available space in your kitchen but prior to outlining any creative space savers we must first define what utilizing available space really means. When it comes to a kitchen people want three things as far as space goes and they are cupboard space, counter space, and floor space. If you can find ways to efficiently maximize these three space issues in your kitchen then you are more than halfway home to creating a kitchen that is functional to you and a value add to your home. One way you can more effectively utilise the space available is to have a bespoke kitchen made to your exact specifications. Although more expensive than prefabricated kitchens, handmade wood kitchens incorporating handmade kitchen units will allow you to make better use of the available floorspace, rather than buying a best-fit flatpack alternative that may not work as well.

Cupboard space incorporates all of the dry food, crockery and equipment storage on the upper and lower levels of your kitchen units. The deeper your kitchen cupboards are the more storage you will have but you need to ensure that you leave enough space for electrical appliances. Small appliances such as a microwave and electric tin openers can be mounted to the larger cupboards to help free up counter space but fridges and dishwashers will need a significant space between the cupboards. Lazy Susan’s or spinning corner cupboards can be a useful space saver in smaller kitchens.

A good expanse of counter space is essential to any kitchen, particularly if you plan on preparing large meals on a regular basis. Corner counter space is very helpful and do not be afraid to run counters all along the wall all the way from the refrigerator to the oven. You may also want to consider making your counters just an inch or two deeper. It does not infringe too much on the floor space and that inch or two can make a huge difference.

Floorspace within a kitchen is very important due to the amount of moving around you are likely to do. There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to prepare a large meal in a cramped kitchen. Kitchen islands are a popular feature in many farm house and contemporary kitchens because of the additional storage and counter space they provide. However, if you don’t have significant floor space available islands are best avoided because they will make your kitchen feel claustrophobic. A small portable island could be a good alternative as they can be put well out of the way when not in use. Once you have addressed the space issues in your kitchen adding value becomes a matter of attending to details. A marble counter top may be more expensive up front but it can add so much more value to your home.

Prior to selling your home you may want to get new appliances for the kitchen and include them in the selling price of the home. New high quality appliances add not only to the value of your home but also to the positive perception your home gives to a potential buyer. Instead of linoleum for your floor you may want to invest in a decorative but functional floor. For example, a tiled floor using a high quality tile would add a lot of value to your kitchen. Adding space and value to your kitchen is a project that may take a while but when it is done you will be very glad you went to the extra expense and took the extra time to make sure you did the project right.

A handmade or “bespoke” kitchen is one in which the cabinets and accessories are measured and created to fit your kitchen. The furniture within this type of kitchen tends to be unique and designed according to the homeowner’s tastes and specifications. While these kitchens might take a bit longer to complete and require more personalized attention on the homeowner’s part, they offer many advantages for people who do not want to compromise their unique style or the skimp on the quality of their kitchen furnishings.

Advantages
Given that each part of bespoke kitchens are specifically tailored to the customer’s kitchen dimensions, they are an excellent option for rooms that have odd dimensions, uneven walls and inconvenient windows. Handmade wood kitchens could be the only solution for homeowners who want to retain the existing layout of their kitchen space, but who are unable to find a standard off-the-shelf kitchen to fit.

Bespoke kitchens offer a way for homeowners to truly have a one-of-a-kind room. Since most people spend a great part of their time in the kitchen cooking or entertaining, it is important to have a room that suits your style as well as accommodates the way you want to use the room. The use of custom handmade kitchen units and furnishings can make your kitchen appear more warm and inviting than a room with prefabricated cabinetry.

Considerations
Since handmade kitchens are so customized, consumers should be aware that they might take a bit longer to finish than flatpack ones. Hand-crafted items often take more time to construct than those made in factories. Also, bespoke kitchens are major investments so it is wise to make sure you choose cabinetry and kitchen furnishings with classic styling. Homeowners who choose a trendy bespoke kitchen might regret their choices when the furnishings are no longer in style.

Warning
Be sure to know exactly what you are buying. You must ensure that the bespoke kitchen you commission is 100% custom. Some manufacturers will offer a product that they call a ‘bespoke kitchen’, but that is actually part customized and still uses prefabricated units as the framework. A genuine bespoke kitchen isn’t limited to a catalog of existing designs made by any specific company. The kitchen maker you use to help you create your kitchen should be able to furnish you with accessories made by a variety of manufacturers, and units that are hand built from the ground up.