Finish the basement, update the bathroom, paint the living room: when you’re renovating your home for sale or for overall appeal, the list of renovation possibilities seems obvious and endless. What about the less-obvious renovations? These surprising renovation choices can boost your home value and your overall enjoyment of your home. 

1. Make Living Spaces More Flexible 

According to Consumer Reports, “an open floor plan with flexible living space was second only to an updated kitchen on millennials’ list of most desired features” in a home. Watching all of those home shows about tiny homes has made its mark. Millennials want to see living spaces that are easy to modify. They’re also comfortable with nontraditional living spaces, such as a converted attic or a finished basement. Turning smaller rooms into wider spaces and converting those unfinished areas of the home into living space can add value to your home because it adds functionality. 

New homebuyers also like flexible spaces that can turn into an extra bedroom, a space for a relative or roommate, or a child’s play space. Bring this flexibility to the outdoors as well.  Consider adding patio awnings to create comfortable outdoor spaces for relaxing or entertaining.

2. Make Space For New Living Arrangements 

Real estate can be expensive, and new homebuyers try to cut costs by living with others. Whether those others are the inlaws or renters in a suite, adding independent living spaces to the home can boost your property value. However, this suite doesn’t need to look like a converted basement. Depending on your local zoning rules, your suite could be: 

• A garage that’s been retrofitted into a room.  
• An attic or area above the garage.
• A tiny house or other accessory building in the garden. 
• A wing of the house that is now separated by a wall and turned into an independent living space. 

Even if you don’t have a basement, you can renovate the house to make it friendly to new living arrangements.

3. Make Life Easier 

You want your chores to be easier and your life to be simple. What better way to do this than to create a home space that’s simpler as well? These projects make life just a little easier for future home buyers: 

• Reduce carpeting, since it needs to be cleaned regularly. 
• Add LED lights that rarely need to be replaced.
• Remove china cabinets and other fussy furniture. 
• Reduce high maintenance outdoor features, such as pools, and replace them with an easy care deck.
• Add a laundry chute or a laundry space on the main floor, so you don’t need to walk up and down stairs. 
• Change your gutters to seamless gutters and add a gutter cover system so you can avoid the chore of cleaning them.
• Simplify the landscaping maintenance; add hardscaping elements. 
• Add a central A/C unit so no one needs to move the A/C from place to place.

4. Add Smart Home Features 

While it can be expensive to replace new home technologies on a regular basis, if you’re selling your home, these features can add value. Prospective homeowners are intrigued and excited by smart home features, including: 

• Smart thermostats that change according to your daily habits. According to CBC News, “Nest claims it can lower an owner’s heating and cooling bills by up to 20 percent.”
• Wireless lighting systems, so that you don’t need to come home to a dark house.
• Home safety systems that you can monitor on your phone, giving you a sense of what’s going on even when you’re away, either through sensors or cameras.

5. Cater to Baby Boomers 

You might be a Boomer yourself, and even if you’re not, you know that this large group is aging and downsizing. While some Boomers will choose to downsize into apartments, others will stay in their homes. However, those homes need to be friendly to those who are aging. Consider the following:

• Place the master bedroom on the main floor. 
• Add adaptations in the bathrooms, such as walk-in showers and higher toilets. 
• Garden areas that are raised, such as window boxes.
• Exterior pathways that are smooth or gently-sloped, and without tripping hazards.

As you cater to Boomers, think about how you can adapt your home to single-floor living.  

At Harry Helmet, we’re committed to the future of your home. If you’re trying to renovate for your family’s future or to increase the value of your home, we can help.

Contact us and learn about our seamless gutters and gutter cover products. Schedule a free estimate  today.

Written by Del Thebaud