When owning a home, you want something visually pleasing and functional to meet your daily needs and goals for the space. Sometimes, your home may need a few updates here and there to keep up with your current needs. However, remodeling or renovating your home is typically a costly endeavor. But there is no need to give up; you may achieve your home design goals by making the most of your renovation budget. In this article, we listed a few strategies you can implement to stretch your renovation budget and make the most out of it. But first, let us look at some of the telltale signs that you need a home renovation.
Five Telltale Signs You Should Consider A Home Renovation
When done right, renovations can make your home more functional and want to raise its value. Every home, over time, gets bland and acquires defects. It may have fit your personality and lifestyle when it was newly built or purchased, but now you find yourself wishing for more space or thinking of better ways to improve your use. Updating your home may keep it functional and appealing while averting future expensive difficulties. Here are five signs telling you you are ready to renovate your current space.
You Want To Expand Your Usable Space
Having enough space to use and store your things is one of the top reasons people want to start a renovation project. Whether you are trying to accommodate an expanding family, a new home office, some additional storage, or an enlarged kitchen for hectic mornings, it is important to take a step back and evaluate which areas of your home need to be improved. Every dollar invested in remodeling your home will benefit you by giving you more space and making navigating your home much easier. There are wonderful reasons to upgrade your property, but your comfort and satisfaction should be considered first and foremost.
Add Value To Your Home
A renovation can increase your home’s value in the long run. If selling your property is the primary goal of renovations, many design factors and your decisions should consider this. For example, choosing neutral colors for a timeless look, making improvements that increase value, and addressing any cosmetic or functional flaws will assist in making your home appealing to potential purchasers. A house in good working order is worth more than one with structural, plumbing, electrical, or safety problems.
Avoid The Pressure Of Purchasing A New Home
Finding a new place to live can be time-consuming and expensive. It can be a waste of time, money, and effort haunting for an ideal home when your current one still has the potential to be improved. For example, an older house may look outmoded and give you the impression that it would be simpler to start over somewhere new. However, working with an expert builder can help you get the most out of your home. Renovating your house and adding extra, useful space can help you rediscover your affection for it.
Improve your Home’s Efficiency
Some improvements you may want to make are energy-efficient features that can lower energy and utility expenses in the long run. Yes, it may seem like an intimidating investment, but your quality of life will be improved if you can minimize, improve, or save energy in your home. Your home is where you spend most of your life, so making it as cozy and functional as possible is important. Some of the main advantages of an energy-efficient home are:
- Reduce Energy Costs
- Enhance Operational Performance
- Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Add A Personal Touch To The Space
Your current home’s aesthetics may not suit your style like it did the past few years. Starting a home renovation project means updating your space and adding a personal touch to the design, reflecting your needs and goals. Making the ideal space for you, your tastes, and your way of life is the goal of home renovation.
Strategies to Make The Most Out Of Your Renovation Budget
No matter why you are looking to renovate your home, creating a well-thought-out plan on what you want your result to look like is critical. It allows you to upgrade your home and elevate it with a fresh design that makes it appear brand new. A well-planned renovation can transform a room by focusing on the necessary repairs and ensuring the structure is still sturdy. You will need a workable plan considering your needs, schedules, and budgets. You can prioritize regions that require significant attention and work with your custom home builder on how to proceed with the renovation. In this section, we listed a few tips and tricks on how to get the best value for your hard-earned investment.
Evaluate Your Priorities
If you want to keep your project within budget, then the first thing that you should do is to list your needs (non-negotiables) and wants (nice-to-haves). Your family’s necessities should come first, followed by a list of your wants. Selecting a few rooms in your home that you want to spend the most money on is a good concept when trying to stretch a renovation budget, followed by reducing your expenditure on other, less significant rooms. Rank them according to importance and go over your budget to see which ones you can fit for this project. This discipline helps your builder grasp your priorities and goals by clarifying them. Builders with extensive experience and various projects can then draw on their past experiences to offer suggestions for cost-effective solutions that have been tried and true.
Make A Plan
By now, you probably already know that having a well-thought-out and organized plan can ensure your project’s success. Creating a plan specifying the project’s scope, budget, and timelines reduces the need for any change orders requiring additional budget. Yes, some changes of heart may be necessary, but the key is to reduce them to an absolute minimum. You can stay on track if you take the time upfront to ensure that the plans you begin with are the ones you work toward and end with.
Combine Projects
The more areas you can refurbish simultaneously, the better. Yes, it might seem like an intimidating investment, but every remodel comes with its fees and permits necessary to complete the project. When you combine projects, you can reduce the preliminaries as your contractor can work on many things simultaneously.
Work With Your Builder
To Do Value Engineering A qualified contractor should be able to value-engineer some elements if they appear out of reach financially. You can communicate with your builder and get their valuable insights on reducing expenses. Utilizing the expertise and experience of the team you have hired is essential.
Finalize Your Design Selections Before The Project’s Start
Finalizing the design components of a project can be stressful and draining. As a result, you frequently put off making these choices until after you’ve begun your home improvement. This strategy may not be good for your wallet. Finalizing your plan, materials, and other details allows you to create a more accurate budget that covers all of them.
Consider Replacing Only The Cabinet Fronts
A custom cabinet is one of the cost drivers of a home renovation. Consider your cabinets carefully and evaluate if you can only replace the cabinet fronts if the original framework is intact and the cabinets are still in good shape.
Skip Marble Countertops
Skip the marble countertops as another cost-saving strategy for your kitchen or bathroom. Marble is expensive and needs constant upkeep and repair in the long run. However, choosing quartz could make your remodeling budget go a lot further.
Use Engineered Wood
Engineered wood is a terrific method to acquire the appearance of oak, maple, or cherry hardwood floors at a cheaper cost and with more longevity. Engineered wood does not require staining or sanding because it is made of plywood laminated to a thin hardwood veneer.
Only Invest in Pricey Hardware For Exposed Areas
Spend money on hardware that can be easily seen, like main doors or kitchen cabinetry. Pick less expensive hardware for concealed spaces, like your laundry room or rooms with many knobs or pulls. Make hardware decisions based on how the area will be used.
Consider Plain Designs For Tiling Works
With tile designs, getting carried away with many gorgeous choices is simple. However, remember that adding different tile colors or patterns, such as herringbone, makes a tile installation more challenging, time-consuming, and expensive. Consider using plain designs and check with your custom home builder how to elevate your home renovations’ overall design with other elements.
Only Fix Something If It Is Broken
Even though it may be tempting to purchase a full kitchen that does not suit your preferences, if the cabinets are strong, giving them a fresh coat of paint and new hardware will be far more cost-effective than spending much money on brand-new furnishings. If your bathroom fixtures are still functional and meet your needs, you may consider investing your budget into areas that need it.
