Clever Design Upgrades to Help Sell Your Home

As a real estate professional, I am fortunate to tour incredible homes every day.  In my search, my goal is to find a home that ‘speaks’ to the buyer, and one that really grabs their attention.  But what is it about a home that catches a buyer’s eye? Why is it when two homes are comparable to one another, buyers go with the one that just “feels right”? Sometimes the difference is so small, they don’t consciously notice. I find that it comes down to the little touches that can give a home a major edge in the market.  Once again, my Mom was correct, paying attention to details make the difference.

In fact, here are five clever design upgrades which can provide your home with that indefinable feeling that it’s of higher quality than the competition:

1. Light switch plate upgrades. Homeowners always overlook their own dirty, chipped, or cheap-looking switch plates. If you spend a few bucks to swap out switch plates, any room in the house will seem a tiny bit fresher. Better yet: In the bathroom and kitchen, match the color of your new switch plates to the tile. Look at the accent color in the bathroom or the backsplash in the kitchen for inspiration.  If you want to take it one more step, Hobby Lobby has a fantastic selection of these types of accessories that can spruce up the look in your home.

2. Dimmers on major rooms. Bright lights are great for showing off a home, but there’s a little sense of luxury when the overhead lights in living, dining, family, and master bedrooms are on dimmer switches. This addition is easier than you may think.  In fact, Home Depot has a Youtube video that takes you step-by-step on how to add a dimmer switch.  For fixtures controlled by one switch, get single pole dimmers. For those controlled by two, you’ll need 3-way dimmers.

3. Tasteful crown molding. For rooms without crown molding, adding this touch can really make a plain room feel high-quality. Entryways and master bedrooms are good choices if you have a limited budget, but if you want to go all out, include the other bedrooms as well. The key is adding molding which doesn’t seem ostentatious or inappropriate given the size and existing decor in the room.  Better Homes and Gardens has a great tutorial on How To Transform a Room with Crown Molding.

4. Custom home address plaque. For between $50 and $100, you can have an address plaque created with the home’s number and the street name spelled out. Look online for inspiration and a design which fits your home. This is a killer upgrade and many homeowners overlook it when they’re trying to add curb appeal to their house.

5. New cabinet and drawer hardware. It’s astonishing how much modern drawer handles can work towards rejuvenating tired or outdated storage. At a minimum, concentrate on the kitchen, but if you want to go all out, look for options to upgrade the bathroom as well.  If time is on your side, shop around, there are several online options as well as local retail stores.  The Family Handman has a very informative article on how to install the hardware.  I put this tip as the fifth on the list, but I might argue that it could be the number one way to add an inexpensive design upgrade to your home.

You might not be able to quantify the exact return these clever upgrades will net you, but you can bet they will help your home stand out from sellers who won’t take the time to make some simple changes.  Again, like Mom said, success is in the details!

When you are ready to sell, contact The Plane Team at (928) 830-6976.