Are you sick of the way your home looks and ready for a change? Are you considering a home remodel or an interior redesign? It’s important to know what areas of your house to pinpoint and what you should be keeping in mind with your redesign. Of course, everyone has slightly different needs and preferences — for example, a family who hosts a good number of guests (family, friends, etc.,) but has limited space might be interested in getting a sleeper sofa to provide extra room. A cramped kitchen or one that doesn’t make sense in terms of storage or utility might be a top priority for someone who cooks a great deal, but less important for those who don’t cook too often. If you’re thinking about remodeling with intent to sell down the line, kitchen and bathroom remodels should be high on the list — these can net you the best return on investment, and it seems like pretty much everyone focuses in on how kitchens and bathrooms look when buying a home.
What Should I Keep In Mind When Remodeling?
If you have limited funds, choosing where to remodel can be an important step. The national Association of Home Builders conducted surveys which showed that bathrooms and kitchens were the top requested home remodel project requested by customers, which shows that people are really focusing in on these aspects. Almost 80% of requested renovations are for bathrooms and almost 70% are for kitchen remodels. Given that even a minor kitchen remodel can net a return on investment of almost 83%. that’s not too surprising. However, statistics show a surprising 35% of remodeling jobs are total home remodels, and in a survey conducted by Houzz, around 60% said they wanted to remodel the master bedroom.
According to Houzz, over half of homeowners renovated their homes in 2014, as the real estate market went up and the economic downturn improved. Again, if you’re remodeling with intent to resell, it makes no sense to throw money into the remodeling when the real estate market is bad.
What About Furniture and Furnishings?
If you’re not interested (or don’t have the capital) to do a big remodel, even just updating furniture and interior furnishings can go a long way. Furniture store sales account for a little over $98 billion and by 2019, the global market is estimated to get to $695 billion.
Furniture is the third most expensive thing a person will use as an investment (a house and a car being the first and second most expensive things. Got an old sofa? Consider replacing it with a more updated and comfortable model. Sofas have an average lifespan of seven to fifteen years. Got flooring that needs to be replaced? If you had hardwood floors originally, consider updating those and buffing them back to perfection. If you had linoleum or other types of flooring, consider getting hardwood floors! Half of future home buyers are willing to put out a bit more for a home that has hardwood floors!
Even something as simple as updating curtains, rugs, and repainting the interior of your home can go a long way towards freshening up your home’s look.
What Should I Keep In Mind When Thinking About Interior Decorating?
Crazily enough, almost half of Americans haven’t spruced up their home decor in the last five years and nine percent haven’t done it in over 10 years! If you’re thinking about updating, keep in mind the “rule of threes” and put it to good use with your home decorating! The rule says that odd numbers of objects are more likely to catch someone’s eye (and are more interesting) than even numbers of things!
Many older households who are planning on “aging in place” often change the interior of their home to reflect this as well. Think about your needs and what will age well — despite children coming in and out or other major changes — and decorate accordingly!
A home remodel can often feel like an ambitious task, but if you target certain areas and are savvy about what you choose to make an updating priority, you can have good results quickly!