With the new fresh spring season in full gear, this is a time when many people find themselves bored with their homes. Most people decide to rid their homes of old decorations and create a fresh, new atmosphere for the new season. Whether it be a simple remodel to your home — such as changing paint colors in a room or re-arranging the furniture — or doing a full scale remodel, making changes to your home is a great way to freshen up a space and give your home a new feel. While it is important to remodel after your own personal taste (after all your home is where you live so you should love what it appearance it has), there are a few remodeling “faux pas” according to the experts. (MONEY Magazine) spoke with designers, as well as various other remodeling experts, and found out a few tips (a couple which may surprise you!) for remodeling that you will definitely want to follow this spring as you are revamping your home!
“1. Being a slave to fashion
The more up-to-the-minute your project is today, the more out-of-date it will seem in five or 10 years.
Skip trends such as glass tiles, wire-hung track lighting, and vessel sinks (the kind that sit on the counter-top like a salad bowl), says Schultz.
Instead, go with classic choices that match the house’s original style.
For a bathroom in a 1920s colonial, for example, that might mean a white pedestal sink and subway-tile wainscoting, but those choices wouldn’t look so timeless in a 1980s contemporary.
You can find retailers specializing in period products at traditional-building.com.
2. Skimping on the design
The payoff you’ll get on a redo will diminish if the project isn’t well thought out, says Omaha appraiser John Bredemeyer, spokesman for the Appraisal Institute, a standards-setting organization.
If you’re building an addition or moving interior walls, it’s worth spending $1,000 to $3,000 to hire an architect (to draw a plan, not project-manage).
True, many contractors and showroom salespeople/designers can provide plans, but they don’t have an architect’s specialized training.
3. Over investing in the kitchen
Yes, great kitchens sell houses.
But there’s a limit to what you can recoup for granite counter-tops and commercial-grade appliances. Because the kitchen generally represents 5% to 15% of a home’s value, limit your kitchen renovation budget to that range — and do the work only if your kitchen is in really bad shape, says Bredemeyer. (Estimate your home’s value at zillow.com.)
4. Counting on a big pay-back for going green
Greater energy efficiency alone rarely justifies a pricey project.
Take windows. Window companies may tell you that replacing old ones ($300 to $1,200 each) will knock 50% off your energy bills. But windows really account for only about 15% of a house’s heat loss, says Jerry Thatcher of Energy Diagnostics, a green-building certifier in Valparaiso, Ind., so you’d save just $50 to $175 a year.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t go ahead with new windows. As long as they match your home’s style, new windows will add value. They’ll open and shut easier, tilt in for cleaning, and reduce draftiness — they just won’t pay for themselves too.”
Remodeling your home whether it is a big or small project should be fun and exciting! Make sure you take time to think about exactly what you are trying to achieve from the changes you will make to your home before you start the project. Having an exact vision of what you want will help make the project run smoother and take less time. Be sure to take these tips into consideration as you begin thinking and planning for your new spring revamping of your home; happy remodeling!
(full MONEY-Magazine article: http://goo.gl/CucKe)
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