9 Small Home Improvements with Big Impact

If, however, you can’t afford to upgrade to wood, new carpeting is still a major selling point. And just like with painting walls, a good neutral color is best. “One of the things that tends to date a home and potentially turn off buyers is the floor plan,” says Bill Golden, House & Home Improvement an independent real estate agent with RE/Max Metro Atlanta City side. “Today’s buyers all want an open concept floor plan, where the kitchen is open to a family room.” Knocking out a wall or two to accomplish this is usually doable, depending on the structure.

• It may be easy for you to ignore your home’s exterior when you spend most of your time inside, but it’s the first and sometimes only impression that others get of your house.
• Therefore, it’s a super sturdy design option for any of your outdoor spaces.
• Likewise, if you aren’t able to utilize your kitchen fully due to layout, space or other concerns, you won’t be maximizing the space.
• Saving money on labor will allow you to choose more beautiful flooring than you could otherwise afford.

Find information about energy efficient modification loans or incentives in your state. Look for help with repairing or making improvements to your home. Lisa Marie Conklin is a Baltimore-based writer who writes regularly about pets and home improvement for Reader’s Digest. Her work has also been published in The Healthy, HealthiNation, The Family Handyman, Taste of Home, and Realtor.com., among other outlets.

Most experts agree you should never touch your retirement savings except in case of emergency. Tapping into your retirement to fund a home project not only deprives your retirement fund of the money, but it also costs you in lost interest. That money that could be benefiting from compound interest, so be very thoughtful about pulling any money from your retirement accounts, and avoid doing so if you can. If you have the ability to pay for your project with cash up front, you’ll be able to avoid financing costs and debt accumulation.

Install ceiling fans

Our newest list of home improvements that add value takes these recent trends into account and incorporates specific product suggestions, updated for 2022. If you’re looking for a “safe” color, gray has been trending in recent years, Norris says. Painting is the lowest cost improvement with the highest rate of return, so it’s not surprising that 36% of home sellers choose to do it, according to Skylar Olsen, Zillow’s Director of Economic Research.

Also don’t feel like you need to choose expensive chalk paint to get the style you need, you can always use cheaper paint and then use a chalk paint recipe to make your own. When renovation addictslook for a home to buy, they see it as a world of possibilities. ” Home improvement projects fill in the gap between your current house and your dream house. For many people in this category, the older a home is and the more “character” it has, the better. They HAVE to see what’s behind every door and under every piece of carpet (because what if it’s hard wood floors?).