Home Improvements – Where to Save and Where to Splurge

Choosing how, where, and when to renovate or build additions on your home can be a difficult and worrying decision to make, as you want to maximize the amount of value and aesthetic beauty to your home while minimizing the costs. There are, however, specific places where you can and cannot afford to cut your budget. So if you’re thinking of putting your home under the knife, then here are some tips and ideas on how to save, where you can splurge, and what will make your home a better place to live in.

What matters most to you?

The best way to decide on where you want to splurge is by choosing what parts of your home mean the most to you, and what you’re trying to achieve by improving your house. There are a large variety of reasons to renovate your house, but most fall under a few categories: increase resale value; improve the general layout; update old infrastructure or styles; utilize technology; create a more ecologically innovative household. The decisions you make when renovating will depend on which one of these categories you fall under.

Where to focus your renovations

While your home improvements might provide a return on your investment over time, the main motivation should usually be to create a house that you would better enjoy living in. With this in mind it is important to decide what parts of your house are most important to you.

Kitchen: For those whose family spend a lot of time in the kitchen or who consider themselves a gourmet or a hobby cook, retrofitting your kitchen to make it more state-of-the-art and open to seating will turn the room into a hub of family life.

Bathroom: Thinking about the different uses of the bathrooms in your house is a great way to fit them for a redesign. If you have a toilet that is frequently used by family and guests than it might be worth considering changing it into an eco-friendly system. For en-suites you would want to create a more intimate and relaxing atmosphere with luxurious amenities.

Yard: One of the simplest ways to increase the beauty of your home is by renovating the yard or garden by laying down new turf to create a more verdant and lush look. This is a brilliant way to refresh your garden, and you can find great deals on new turf at stores like Tesco, Or why not install a new patio area? A patio is a great addition to any household, as you can entertain guests there and family members can lounge and dine al fresco on sunny days.

Appliances and electronics: Similar to when you’re deciding what room or area of your house to work on, when it comes to appliances it is best to invest in those that you’re likely to use the most. For electronics, the best places to update are common areas, which can be fitted with wireless internet, sound systems and TV fixtures.

Whatever you decide on for your home renovations, be sure you’re putting your money in the right place, so you can enjoy those improvements long term.

Image by Cynthia Crane used under the Creative Commons license. 

 

Author Bio: Julie Haymar is a retired interior decorator and a regular contributor to home improvement blogs. She currently lives in London with her husband and daughter.