Home upgrades are always a great way to give your home a fresh new look and feel. They can introduce new functionality, make your home look newer, and improve your quality of life. While major remodeling can sometimes be expensive and time-consuming, making smaller upgrades can be much more cost-efficient. Consider these 8 home upgrades that can help breathe new life into your home.
1. Update your lighting
Replacing your existing lighting for something newer can make a huge difference in your home. They can reduce your electric bill, make your space look better, and potentially reduce heat-related risks that are common with old-fashioned light bulbs.
LED lights
Replacing generic light bulbs with LED lights can improve the feeling and appearance of your home, inside and out. Switching from an incandescent to a high-quality LED light bulb will create a noticeable difference in your home lighting. This enhanced ambient lighting can give your home a more polished appearance instantly. Additionally, LED bulbs are more energy efficient and last longer than regular bulbs.
Recessed fixtures
Recessed lighting is an excellent home upgrade that can improve the look of a room in many ways, and can also make your space more efficient and functional. Recessed lighting fixtures in your ceiling will help provide soft, uniform lighting throughout any room. These fixtures can also be outfitted with a dimming feature, giving you even more control over the indoor lighting levels.
2. Replace or refinish flooring
Years of use can fill your beautiful hardwood floors with dents, scratches, and other signs of wear. Restoring your flooring to its former glory can help improve the look of your interior. There are two options you can take when updating your flooring, one is to completely replace your hardwoods, and the other is to have them refinished. While replacing your floors can be more expensive, it offers an unbeatable look and greater longevity.
If you choose to go the route of refinishing, you’ll save some money and still have your floors looking great. A good refinishing job followed up by routine maintenance can provide you with a beautiful floor for years to come. If you are thinking about replacing or finishing your floors, call in a professional to help with the project so you can avoid any DIY flooring mistakes.
3. Add new cabinetry
New cabinets are an excellent home upgrade whether you live in a condo in Miami or a mansion in Atlanta. If your existing cabinets are dated or don’t quite match the design of your home, this is the perfect opportunity to have new ones installed, or your old ones refaced. Updating your cabinets is a great way to spruce up your kitchen or give it a whole new look.
If you intend to sell your home in the future, new cabinets can also increase your home value. Since the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home, it can make an especially great impression on prospective buyers.
4. Apply new paint
A fresh coat of paint is one of the easiest ways to upgrade your home. Whether you have a new design idea, or you simply want to make a room shine like it used to, new paint is the way to go. Opt for neutral colors on walls, trim, and baseboards. Colors such as light grey, cream, and other soft neutrals are ideal. If you have children and their rooms are all shades of bright green, blue, and pink consider painting those to match the rest of your home. Having this neutral base will make your home easy to design and give it that updated sophisticated look. Consider hiring a professional to help with this project. Painting can be difficult and hiring a professional will ensure it looks great when it’s finished.
5. Upgrade your bathroom with mini-renovations
There are countless affordable bathroom renovation ideas that can make your bathroom feel new. While a major remodel can cost tens of thousands, small renovations to your bathroom can make all of the difference without the added costs. Simple bathroom upgrades such as replacing your flooring or tile, installing a new faucet, painting, purchasing a new bathroom vanity, or refreshing bathroom cabinets with new hardware can give your bathroom a completely upgraded look.
6. Organize and clean
Home organization is a great way to make your living areas less cluttered and open up your space. After you’ve been living in your home for an extended period of time, your belongings will begin to add up and overtake areas they shouldn’t be. Go room by room and get rid of things you no longer use and add organizational storage to give those items you do use a proper home. Hiring a professional organizer or declutter can make this process much easier and more efficient.
An old-fashioned deep cleaning is also one of the best home upgrades you can make. It’s ideal to have your home deep cleaned by a professional at least once a month, but if you haven’t had your home deep cleaned in a while it’s a must. Dirt, stains, and dust aren’t just eyesores, after all. Dust buildup can become noticeable to the point it reduces air quality in your home. Having all surfaces wiped down, getting underneath the couch, around the frames, and making your home shine is worthwhile – your home will look better and you’ll feel better living in it.
7. Replace outdated window treatments
If your window treatments are outdated, dirty, or old, consider replacing them as an easy home upgrade. Window treatments play an important role in the design of a room by adding softness to the hard edges of the room, managing light control, and much more. Window treatments can hide many problems a room may have, or emphasize the focal points. They can also block out an unattractive view or make up for a lack of privacy. There are so many stylish options when it comes to window treatments, find what works best for your space.
Completing upgrades on your home every few years is great for keeping your home’s resale value high, as well as keeping your home looking its best. These upgrades can be simple and inexpensive and make all the difference in the look and feel of your home.
This post first appeared on Redfin.com. To see the original, click here.