Spring is naturally a time to freshen up and renew your home. While some homeowners are content to clean, many of us are looking for a way to make noticeable changes. That could mean it's time for a full renovation, but for anyone seeking the biggest impact short of a major renovation, we might have the trick for you. Four home industry experts will draw our attention to areas that, with simple changes, can transform your entire space in a matter of days and weeks rather than months.
Painting and Such
Steven Tucker, owner of Painting & Such, has 31 years of experience in painting and home renovation, and he says adding some color and changing things up a bit can make a big impact in your home.
“If everything is the same color, there really isn’t anything to perk you up,” says Steven. “Adding an accent wall in the living room changes the whole atmosphere. You don’t have to paint the whole room. You just change one wall, and it transforms everything.” According to Steven, adding color to a living room wall, the cabinets in the kitchen, or to bathrooms “adds life and joy to the home.”
Another simple modification with a big impact is to transform your ceilings. Steven explains, “If you have popcorn ceilings, it’s great to scrape them and put a smooth or knockdown finish on them. If it’s a high ceiling, smooth might work better, but knockdown is what I prefer on the 8 foot ceilings.” This seemingly small change helps to bring more light into your home. Thousands of little raised surfaces on a ceiling, such as the popcorn style, actually create thousands of little shadows. When you remove them, light is able to wash through your space.
Combine these two simple suggestions, and your rooms will be rejuvenated with a fresh lift!
Garage Experts
Have you considered that your garage may be the first impression visitors get of your home? Sam Hicks, owner of Garage Experts, says, “Nowadays, the way houses are built, visitors come through the garage. So, for most people, that's the first thing they see.”
With that in mind, a garage update may be in order. “We install epoxy flooring and custom storage, solutions that transform a garage into a usable space instead of it being just a place where you park your car and store stuff,” explains Sam.
The easy-to-clean epoxy floors come in 140 standard colors, or a custom color combination can be made specifically for the client. Sports fans can even coordinate their favorite team’s colors and logo into the floor!
When it comes to organizing items, assess what you have in the garage now to determine the best storage solutions. Storage options include overhead racks that can be mounted to the ceiling, wire shelving on the walls to hang large items like bicycles, and cabinets to provide completely enclosed storage, keeping stored items out of sight.
“We also have a slat-wall system that looks really nice and has a ton of different hooks, baskets, and attachments to go on it,” says Sam. The system is perfect for organizing everything from golf clubs and yard tools to kids’ toys. The goal is to get things off the floor and allow it to be usable space.
In the end, a garage upgrade adds value to the home because the garage becomes more of an entrance and an outdoor living space for entertaining.
Total time for a garage renovation is 2-6 weeks depending on schedule availability, but once work begins, it is completed within 3-4 days. Garage Experts offers free estimates and a lifetime warranty on their work.
Looper Cabinet Company
“The kitchen is the hub of the home, where everyone seems to congregate,” says Deanne Looper, co-ownerof Looper Cabinet Company. “So, updating the kitchen will definitely help with the atmosphere of the home, make an old home feel new again, and will help with the resale of a home.”
You can start by adding an island to the kitchen. “Big islands are a hot thing right now,” says Deanne. “People want an open floor concept with a large island for people to sit at. I’m seeing white kitchens with a beautiful aqua colored or sea glass island that gives a little pop a color. In ten years when you’re tired of that color, it’s just an island, so you can repaint it a different color if you want.”
If you’re interested in completely replacing your kitchen cabinets, which can take 8-10 weeks, Deanne suggests hiring a local licensed contractor to oversee the work. Consider asking Deanne about going with 3D Laminate/Rigid Thermofoil (RTF) Door and Drawer Fronts if you’d like cabinets that are low maintenance with easy access to items. She says, “they are really easy to maintain, and you don’t have to worry about them chipping like painted cabinets.”
Another option is to keep existing cabinets but make them easier to use by converting bottom cabinets to pull out drawers. Looper cabinets are custom style, frameless cabinets, which make them easy to update. Deanne says, “If you have a pair of doors on the bottom that become hard to reach, they can clip off the doors, build custom drawer boxes and roll them into the cabinets – which is a really nice thing about using a local, custom cabinet maker.” Updating existing cabinets can usually be done in 2-3 weeks.
Choosing any of these kitchen renovation options will bring new life to your home.
Dalzell Design Landscape
To add value and non-traditional living space to your home, consider installing an outdoor living space.
Will Dalzell, owner of Dalzell Design Landscape, says, “I guess you can say that we bring the indoors out by providing entertaining space outdoors where people can create memories with their families and friends.”
“This can be done through creating a small patio area with a pergola or a prayer garden,” says Will. “It can also be a bigger project like a garage addition with an outdoor living space attached to it, an outdoor fireplace or kitchen, or a pool house.”
“Right now,” adds Will, “we’re doing a lot of quaint fire pit areas surrounded by stone or pavers. They are simple and give you a lot of bang for your buck.”
In the South, outdoor living spaces can be used year-round. Will says, “With the fully enclosed outdoor living spaces, people can use them no matter what the weather, especially if they are equipped with fans, misters, or mosquito control.“
And Will ensures that your outdoor living space is sustainable. “It has to be outside in the elements," he explains, "so it has to be built well enough so that in a couple of years, it looks as good as it did the day we put it in.”
Will can also design a master plan for your yard and bring it to life at your pace. A small project can take just a couple of weeks to complete, while bigger projects can take 6 months or more. Regardless of time, Dalzell Design Landscape can walk you through each step, helping you give your home the lift that it needs!
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