Home improvements aren’t always about aesthetics. While it’s nice to replace outdated and worn out paint and fixtures, little improvements can also increase your home’s value, especially if you choose the right ones. In this guide, you’ll learn about a few of the best ways to improve how your home looks, how it functions, and how much it’s worth without spending a ton of money.
Replace Your Lighting Fixtures
This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but the right lighting can totally transform a room by adding ambience, warmth, or a bright, cheery feel.You may, for example, find that under-cabinet lighting is very helpful when you are cooking, especially if you love to cook and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Swapping overhead bathroom lights out for wall-mounted fixtures with higher wattage bulbs to make your room feel larger.
Installing a dimmer switch will give you the option to create mood lighting based on the occasion; make it darker or brighter for any occasion. Dimmer switches are great for the kitchen, dining area, living room, and even the bedroom.
No matter what you do, make sure you are using energy-efficient bulbs and fixtures in each room. A good LED bulb may seem expensive at $7, but can last up to 23 years and reduce your home energy consumption. Switching to energy-efficient lighting and appliances can also bump the overall value of your home by 1 to 3 percent.
Refinish Your Cabinets
Brand-new kitchen cabinets can cost thousands of dollars. The cost to refinish them yourself is limited to the cost to buy the paint, supplies, and maybe some new handle fixtures and hinge hardware.
Finishing your cabinets yourself? You can often handle it for around $200, give or take, depending on the size of your kitchen. Just changing the stain or paint color can make it look like you remodeled your entire kitchen – without the $12,000 – $21,000+ pricetag. That’s a big (and cheap) bonus if you need aesthetics in place because you’re selling.
Bathroom Upgrades
You definitely don’t need to rip out your entire bathroom to make it look better. Sand away your current paint job and repaint your walls and ceiling using mold-resistant materials. Throw down a new piece of linoleum or floor tile, grab a new tub rug, replace your toilet seat and lid, and swap out your current cabinet handles and light fixtures. You’ll end up spending a few hundred dollars on new fixtures and paint instead of up to $10,000 or more on a total bathroom renovation. Best of all, you’ll certainly make this often-small space feel more open and modernized.
These three small home improvements pay off big, but it isn’t always just about pure money. Sometimes, it’s also about keeping up appearances, too. While they don’t cost a ton, they’ll definitely add value to your home if you’re selling now or want to sell your home sometime in the future. A few small tweaks here and there, spaced out over time, lend to both form and function. Be creative and enjoy the process!
