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Ways to Improve Your Home’s Value on a Budget

Story by Lisa Marie Blair

Do you love where you live because the location is perfect, and your neighbors are amazing, but – it needs to be updated? If so, you may want to improve your current property instead of moving. Not only can you fall back in love with your home, but you can also improve its value. Consider these budget-friendly tips from three homeowners who each tackled different rooms; kitchen, bathroom, and living room.

Kitchens are the most popular and expensive rooms to remodel. The upside is, that you will recoup remodeling costs and create actual equity, thereby making it a wise investment. This homeowner was able to save quite a bit of money by keeping the same kitchen layout and utilizing other cost-effective ideas. KITCHEN UPDATES:

• Kept original oak cupboards and cabinet bases • Bought new cherry door and drawer fronts • Replaced crown molding with cherry wood to match door and drawer fronts • Picked out stain color for the new door and drawer fronts • Had cupboards and cabinet bases stained to match the cherry wood doors (a little tricky, as bases and cupboards, were stained on different woods, but it can be done) • Kept island base, but picked out a different stain than the perimeter, replaced only the door and drawer fronts with cherry wood • Purchased new door and drawer hardware • Had new quartz countertops installed • Kept the original backsplash • Added new appliances

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before A real estate agent can make your home buying or selling process run smoothly. Two tight-knit agents can provide you with high-quality, beneficial services that can bring real value to your transaction.

Dawn, with a 20 year interior design career, will use her expertise and knowledge to stage your home prior to the sale. Expert staging gives the homeowner the opportunity to realize the most money from their investment! Buyer? Taking Dawn along to shop for a new home is way more fun when you have a designer dreaming of the potential with you!

Jenny, an expert in marketing with both television and print marketing experience will skillfully market your property. Knowing how to tell the unique story of your home while getting the most eyes on your listing is key to a quick and successful transaction!

Contact us today to hear more about how this process works!

Dawn Bures, Realtor & Interior Designer 605.491.1370 Jenny Hefty, Realtor & Marketer 605.351.4599

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Bathrooms are the second most popular room to renovate and can also be quite costly. You can expect a great return on investment for the updates you make in this room, thereby boosting your home’s resale value. This homeowner saved a lot of money by keeping all of the original tiles on the walls and floor.

BATHROOM UPDATES:

• Removed old vanity, upper cabinets, mirror, and lighting • Painted walls and trim white • Installed custom black floating vanity • Added new sink, faucet, and cabinet hardware • Installed new quartz countertop • Updated new wall-to-wall mirror • Purchased new vanity light and sconces

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Living rooms are likely where you spend the majority of your down time so making it a place you want to be in is paramount. This creative homeowner wanted to brighten up their dark living room and fireplace. The best way to save money is to DIY (do it yourself) and that is exactly what this homeowner did.

LIVING ROOM UPDATES:

• Painted walls white • Painted the cabinets beside the fireplace white • “German Schmear” the fireplace (DIY supplies and steps below)

SUPPLIES • A large bucket of joint compound - 4.5 gallons ($20) • Drywall joint knife - large and small to get in smaller spaces ($15) • Sanding blocks ($15) • Spray polyurethane ($10)

HOW • Clean the fireplace.

• Apply the joint compound with a joint knife - make sure to press into joints very firmly so it fills, and you don’t get air holes.

• Don’t worry about knife marks or ‘extra’ compound such as on the corners-you will sand this down - better to have too much than not enough.

• Allow drying for 24-48 hours. • Sand by hand - sand some bricks more than others to get a random appearance, if you sand too much you can always add joint compound. Make this work to your taste. You can use an orbital sander to go faster, but the homeowner’s hand sanded because they wanted more control over the sanding and less mess overall in the house.

• Dust - using a dustpan brush - you will need to dust the entire surrounding area - this is a bit messy until you mask off your project. The homeowner thought it was easier to clean it up than to tape plastic sheeting, but did suggest that plastic sheeting would help to reduce the mess the joint compound dust makes.

• Spray with polyurethane to seal

Renovating these rooms added considerable value and appeal to all three homes. These homeowners saved money by not completely gutting the entire room and starting from scratch. Keep these strategies in mind when adhering to your budget during your next home renovation. n

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