
Making improvements to your home can help you protect your property’s value, and it’s also an important way to make the most of your living space. Changes in aesthetics and decor give your home more visual appeal, but the improvements that you prioritize should offer more than just looks alone. Here are some simple but effective ways that you can enhance your home to make it more functional.
1. Add Living Space
An addition is a fantastic way to improve a house that has everything going for it except the square footage that you’d ideally like to have. By adding more space to your home, you can make way for a home office or an area to devote to a hobby. Likewise, you may find more living space to be a much-needed home improvement if your household composition grows.
When you’re adding to your home, consider what type of space would suit your goals best. If you’d like to make your home feel larger and more open, Florida rooms with an indoor-outdoor aesthetic may be a good option. If you’d like calm and quiet to get work done in an area that’s tucked away from the rest of your household, waterproofing and refinishing your basement could be a good route.
However you choose to go about an addition, it is imperative that you go through the right channels with permitting. Work with a builder who has experience with additions and is knowledgeable about your area’s applicable building code.
2. Remodel Your Bathroom
Having a newly renovated bathroom is a huge plus in any home. When a bathroom hasn’t had any updates in decades, its fixtures and cabinets are bound to look outdated. Furthermore, an older bathroom will probably look worse for wear even when you work hard to keep it clean. In some cases, cleaning bathroom dinge that has been accumulating over years just isn’t possible no matter how much elbow grease you put into it. Regrouting or retiling is the most effective way to conquer permanent mildew in an area of your home that you want to look immaculate.
If you have a bathtub that you never really use because you prefer showering, get rid of your old tub instead of glazing or retrofitting. A walk-in shower is a much more practical option for a lot of people. It’s safer to get in and out of, so it’s a great feature for people with any type of mobility impairment or age-related concerns about balance. Also, a walk-in shower is perfect for pet owners with large dogs who are less than enthusiastic about bathtime. If you have to do battle to bathe a big dog on a regular basis, making the process easier would be a welcome relief.
A bathroom renovation is a good opportunity to install low-flow fixtures. They’ll enable you to use less water when you take a shower, run the faucet, and flush the toilet.
3. Replace Drafty Old Windows
Windows that are continually drafty are almost definitely starting to fail and need replacement. If it’s one or two windows in your home, it’s possible that you just need to do a couple of repairs. However, if your home’s windows are decades old and you have problems with most of them, replacement is a wise investment.
Installing energy-efficient windows will maximize the efficacy of your home’s HVAC system. Even if you have a new HVAC system that performs perfectly, it will struggle to reach your temperature settings if your home can’t retain heated or cooled air. Thick materials and tight seals will make your home better protected against the temperatures outdoors.
In addition to protecting your house from the elements, another benefit of replacing your windows is that it can make the inside of your home quieter. High-quality impact-resistant windows can reduce the audibility of street noise substantially. Making your home quieter will make it feel more private while creating a calmer and more secluded type of atmosphere.
Renovation projects can feel a little daunting to homeowners, but the process doesn’t have to be stressful. Thorough due diligence in the planning phase and working with excellent service providers can help you get great results.