Green Real Estate Appraiser

How to add “value”to you home in a long weekend

Posted on April 14, 2016 | Leave a comment

kitchen

With labor one of the biggest costs of any renovation, there are some big savings for those willing to tackle some of their own more strategic projects around the house.

Armed with a paintbrush, drill and plenty of stamina, you can achieve amazing transformations in a relatively short time. If you’re prepared to put in some hard yards this long weekend, here are five cosmetic improvements that will really add value to your home.

Firstly, painting should be your first consideration and virtually everyone is capable of this cosmetic improvement. Just be meticulous with your preparation and always use good-quality paint and equipment. In 25-plus years of renovating, I’ve never found anything as powerful as paint for achieving miracle transformations in really tight time frames. Opt for a neutral palette that won’t date, especially if you’re renovating with buyers or renters in mind.

The next focus should be a facelift for your kitchen or bathroom. Be warned; if your kitchen and bathroom need complete replacing, that’s certainly no weekend project. However, if they’re structurally in good condition but just cosmetically the wrong colour, or dated, then some of the specialty paints on the market will produce miraculous results.

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A room-by-room guide to remodeling for profit

Posted on April 13, 2016 | Leave a comment

“The bathroom is the most heavily criticized room in the house, yet often the smallest and costliest, and therefore the most neglected,” says Wesley Spencer, architect and director of Rara House.

“There are endless worries associated with an un-renovated bathroom. Are there plumbing issues? Is there rotting? Will the floor heights match after removal of the original fittings? These are the type of issues a new home owner would not be prepared to face if they are already mortgaged to the nines and require registered building professionals.”

A complete bathroom renovation can be between $15,000 and $50,000 depending on the room size and quality of finishes selected. However, as the bathroom encompasses several elements, renovations can be tailored to suit a vendor’s budget.

For a luxury property, Soderstrom suggests installing a combined wall-hung vanity unit and hand basin (costing between $1500 and $2500) and a new shower screen (between $1500 and $2000 for a 10mm frameless corner shower base screen).

“A large mirror or even a mirror on an opposing wall instead of tiles can make a small-to-medium-size bathroom feel so much bigger and brighter,” Soderstrom says.

For a high-end $40,000 to $50,000 bathroom renovation, Shrimpton estimates a minimum return of $80,000 to $100,000.

For a more restricted budget, modestly updating the tapware and storage space is a simple way to modernize the bathroom.

“Don’t go overboard with the fixtures … Not everybody needs a built in toilet brush holder and even if they did, having all these items built in takes the fun out of deciding where to put things,” Spencer says.

“People need an element of exploration and excitement when inspecting a home … don’t deprive them of that by dictating every small aspect at no benefit to you.”

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Ways to Brighten up a dark space

Posted on April 11, 2016 | Leave a comment

lights

A better way to choose the right bulb is to look for the color temperature (measured in Kelvin), says David Weeks, founder of David Weeks Studio. The lower the number, the warmer, more yellow the light is. To create an inviting atmosphere, bulbs that fall within the 2600K to 2700K range are ideal, Weeks says. Most incandescent lightbulbs produce light in this color-temperature range. Specialty studios — including Urban Chandy — are also starting to offer even warmer options at around 2200K. These bulbs mimic the candlelight glow of old-fashioned Edison, or filament, bulbs (which are typically lower in color temperature than incandescent bulbs are). Brush, who makes vintage-inspired chandeliers with recycled materials, says — “2200K is the magic number for LEDs that we’ve determined gives the same fireside glow as traditional incandescent bulbs.”

To light some of the darkest parts of your home, consider LED strip lights, says Sheila Schmitz, editor of Houzz, a leading platform for home remodeling and design. The flexible strips with adhesive backs can subtly illuminate challenging areas. “You can light up just the floor area, which can be a light suck,” Schmitz says. Houzz users have incorporated LED strip lights in the toe-kick area under bathroom counters, in living-room entertainment displays and bookshelves and underneath cabinets in the kitchen. (Stringing twinkle lights around windows, over your bed or around doors is another easy and energy-efficient way to add extra illumination that’s easy on the eyes, Schmitz says.)

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

How to add “value”to you home in a long weekend

A room-by-room guide to remodeling for profit

Ways to Brighten up a dark space

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