Five
Modest, Cheap Remodeling Projects to Revitalize Your
Home
 With
the real estate market slowing, less showy remodeling
projects will make the most sense. A recent Parade article
explores five ways to give your home a new look for
less money.
Homeowners will spend $238 billion on
remodeling projects this year, according to the National
Association of Home Builders. With a slower real estate
market, homeowners will be advised to spend their money
wisely, choosing smaller projects that make a bigger
splash, according to a recent Parade magazine article.
The following five ideas will serve you well while you
live in your home and when you go to sell it.
1. Beautify the Backsplash. A
relatively low-cost, low-key renovation project that
makes a big difference is overhauling the backsplash
in your kitchen. A new backsplash can make an outdated
kitchen up-to-date, especially with some of the new
materials available, such as stainless steel, ceramic,
glass and tumbled marble, which costs up to $30 a square
foot. Although this project isn’t for the beginner
remodeler, it is relatively easy with a DIY book and
tile-cutting tools. If you don’t feel comfortable
doing it yourself, hire a professional.
2. Overhaul the Outdoors. Outdoor “rooms”
are becoming increasingly popular in real estate today.
They help you increase your living space and provide
fun, unique ways to entertain. If you already have a
deck or a patio, consider turning part of it into an
open-air kitchen, a feature that is especially hot today.
Simply add a high-quality barbecue grill and a small
refrigerator, and the rest of your outdoor room can
be a simple work area of untreated wood that you can
build and paint yourself. Another bonus is that this
addition won’t increase your property taxes if
you live in an area where a home’s square footage
is used to assess tax levels. This improvement can cost
you as little as few hundred dollars for a counter area
next to your grill.
3. Add Life to Your Lighting. Lighting is often overlooked
when homeowners are considering features that can be
changes to enhance their home’s value or feel.
Lighting is fairly inexpensive to change, but can add
depth and dimension, as well as improve atmosphere.
One idea to try is to add a dimmer switch in your living
room – a change that costs as little as $10 and
can make watching DVDs feel like you’re sitting
at a movie theatre. Other lighting upgrades include
installing track lighting or recessed incandescent or
halogen bulbs. You can install a dimmer switch with
a screwdriver and electrical tape, but you will probably
need to hire an electrician to install recessed lighting.
4. Get Some Glass. You may be at a loss for what to
change in your bathroom without just demolishing the
whole thing. A glass shower door may be just the change
you need. Replacing your shower curtain with a glass
door will make the room look bigger and more open. They
do require more frequent cleaning, but the change to
the feel of your bathroom is worth it. You can buy an
in-frame door for about $500 or spend up to and beyond
$1,000 for a custom-cut frameless door. With either
choice, you will want to get it professionally installed.
5. Cut the Clutter in the Closet. One improvement that
is little-seen but most often appreciated is customizing
your closet. Home storage is a $3 billion-a-year industry,
and any homeowner understands the importance of organizing
their possessions. An organized, storage-rich closet
is a big selling point for any buyer. One option to
consider is taking square footage from your bathroom
or bedroom to make your closet larger. A less costly
alternative is to purchase a customized system to organize
your clothes, shoes and other closet clutter. Two-tiered
hanging rods, show display racks and wire mesh drawers
are all innovative solutions for maximizing space. You
can also enlist the services of a professional closet-organizing
company, or just purchase a do-it-yourself closet organization
kit. The latter can cost approximately $100, while a
service can cost around $1,000.
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