Beautify your biggest investment

By Rate on 9/15/2017

5 quick improvements to instantly spruce up your home

Even if you’re not planning to move anytime soon, a weekend devoted to home improvement is a weekend well spent. Ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work? Here are 5 projects that can instantly beautify your home while providing a serious return on investment down the road.

Open spaces are happy places

Most older homes are compartmentalized into little rooms – the living room, separate dining room, kitchen, and family room. Times have changed and most people like to roam free and hang out without barriers. If you can have a contractor open the space between your rooms, your house will live larger, feel airier and cause spontaneous family dance parties…at least we can dream.

Let the sun shine in

Want to instantly update your home? Get rid of the heavy drapes. Modern homeowners crave light but not that artificial blue light; natural light. The trend is toward energy-efficient lighting that dims and responds to your smartphone. With today’s LED bulbs, creating a well-lit home is as easy as replacing those energy draining incandescent bulbs.

Go for Greige

If you’re on Pinterest, you already know about Greige, the hottest paint color on the market. It’s a combination of gray and beige, Greige. If you haven’t painted your home in a while, this trendy color will add subtle refinement while also signaling that you know what’s going on in the interior design world.

Focus on the floors

Nothing commands attention like beautifully finished hardwood floors. If your house is covered in wall-to-wall carpeting, you might want to consider upgrading to hardwood, or a faux wood flooring. There are so many options to choose from – laminate flooring that looks like wood is the most cost effective and easy to install. The latest innovation is stone or porcelain tile that looks like hardwood but wears like a hard surface. Of course for the comfy cozy feeling of wood, nothing beats old-fashioned thick planks of wood that are custom cut, sanded and polyurethaned. Perfection!

There’s no kitsch in kitchen

You may have collected a hundred ceramic, porcelain or metal roosters to decorate the space above your cabinets, but maybe it’s time to de-clutter. Tchotchkes are nice in moderation. For an instant update, try a curated approach. Keep the items you love, those that you simply can’t live without, then gift the rest to your friends, adult children, or a shelter for women.