Improvement in aesthetics isn’t the only goal you should have in mind when remodeling your living room. You also need to prepare for good home resale value when the time comes.
Here are some living room upgrades that are guaranteed to bring in a windfall of profit in your investment:
Start with expanding your space
This project has been an ongoing trend even before the pandemic began — to bring more space to a home’s living areas through open floor plans. This means bringing down some non-load-bearing walls to create a seamless flow in your home.
But if you’re not ready to go full-on open floor, an alternate idea would be to have a broken plan. Instead of full walls coming down, you create some niches of privacy with half-walls, glass partitions, dividers, pillars, or even bookcases.
Go for window upgrades
If you want your living room to be more conducive to relaxing and bonding with the rest of the family, then let natural light in. A good way to do so is by changing your windows with ones that allow the entry of more natural light.
Your old, drafty windows may have also been cutting into your electricity consumption so replacing them with newer, more weather-tight ones can be cost-efficient. You have lesser draft coming in to interfere with your HVAC’s performance, leading to lower energy consumption and bigger savings in your electric bill. Investing in this window upgrade can get you returns of up to 75% of its original cost.
Do minor projects, not upscale upheavals
Spending big-time for your living room flooring or adding quirky fixtures like a wall-to-wall display of your Chinese ceramic plate collection may not add up to resale expectations. Some flooring materials like marble or solid wood may rank high in terms of aesthetics but are quite high maintenance. Also, personal collections may not cater to everyone and could be too costly to install and maintain.
On the other hand, investing in budget-friendly items and fixtures — especially those involved in creating the illusion of more space — can bring you savings and even higher returns upon resale. You can:
- Paint your ceiling white
- Cover your floor with a large area rug that gives only up to 20 inches of bare floor space between the rug and the walls.
- Have storage built/bought that almost touches the wall.
- Place a statement piece that will draw the eye to it.
- Mount shelves so high that they almost touch the ceiling.
Do a DIY main door paint job
Here’s an easy and budget-friendly way on how to increase home value with minimum effort: dabbing your home’s front door with a fresh coat of paint. Not only does it up the ante on your home’s curb appeal but, since most main doors immediately lead to the living room, this living space also gets an instant makeover.
A favorite front door color that can fetch over $6,000 in ROI is black, according to a Zillow report. However, there are other good choices for front door colors in case black doesn’t call out to you.
Contact us for more tips on the latest home design trends that will bring great returns on your investment. And for expert guidance in your home search in any of the lovely communities in Los Angeles County, you can count on me — local agent Kathy Seuylemezian — to give you that gentle push in the right direction. Call 818.949.5205 or send me an email at kathy(at)imuragent(dotted)com.