Increasing the Value of Your Home: 5 Tips Designers Use

You don't need to spend a fortune to give your home that luxury feel that suggests it's more expensive than it really is. Simple, tasteful touches can add value to your home both figuratively, in the eyes of visitors, and literally when it comes time to sell. 

Prior to putting your home on the market you will need to obtain a house valuation to determine the current value of your property. So, before you book a home valuation, try implementing a few of these helpful tips. 

1. First Impressions Count, Fix the Exterior

You might not sell your house before the buyer walks through the front door, but you can certainly lose the sale. So, take an objective look at your exterior and decide how much you can invest in that all-important curb appeal. 

Simple landscaping work can add as much as 10% to the value of your home, while poor landscaping can reduce the final value by as much as 30%

When you've finished the yard work, it's time to break out the paint. According to research by Zillow, a black front door can boost your home's price by $6,449. At the same time, a well-executed exterior paint job can add 2-5% to the sale price.

Simply pressure washing the frontage and removing any signs of mold, mildew and grime can add significant value, too, according the National Association of Realtors, and help sell your property faster. 

2. Antique Furniture Adds a Touch of Class

Furniture doesn't have to match anymore, and there's a lot to be said for combining classic pieces that you can find at garage sales and thrift stores, or you can even upcycle discarded pieces. Another person's trash can be your treasure. 

Look for pieces with character that fit the style of your home, and today's experts recommend you don't use one species of wood but mix and match different tones to add depth and warmth to your space. 

Treat the wood like colors and use collections of 2-3 throughout the house, with white oak and birch pairing well with rich mahogany.

3. Put a New Light on Your Home

New lighting can instantly change a home's mood and increase its perceived value for just a few dollars. Replace old fixtures with energy-efficient LED bulbs that can help the average home save up to $225 a year on electricity bills, and consider under-cabinet lighting in darker kitchens and living rooms to bathe the room in a warm glow.

Once you start with lighting, you can add wall sconces and uplights, or relatively cheap LED ceiling lights, to totally change the mood of your home and add instant value. Homes with recessed lighting get more views on the listing and sell for 1.5% above the list price. 

You can go further with accent lights and chandeliers, which are freely available on Amazon and not as expensive as you might think. It is important to match your lighting to your home's character and make it work for you.

4. Wood Beats Carpet, Every Time

A study by Realtor.com found that 90% of buyers prefer hardwood floors or laminate. If you're crunching the numbers, a Zillow survey found that homes with hardwood floors sell for 2.5% more on average. 

This can be expensive if you go for the full reclaimed wood floor from a master craftsman. But the good news is that laminate flooring is getting better all the time. It's a cost-effective alternative that is almost as good as the real thing when selling your home. 

5. Crown Mouldling and Trim Change the Vibe

Subtle architectural details like crown molding, chair rails, and wainscoting can impact your home's value, and you can install them surprisingly cheaply. 

Homes & Garden revealed that high-end homes with architectural moulding sell for substantially more than similar homes without these features. A National Association of Realtors report claimed that 90% of real estate professionals thought crown moulding and upgraded baseboards were among the most effective upgrades before selling a house.

There's an expensive way to install these finishing touches, but you can also install pre-painted MDF moulding to save money and peel-and-stick kits to save on professional installation. 

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