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Home::Home Accessories
5 Luxuries to Add to Your Home When You Remodel
Author : TC Thorn
These days, more and more homeowners are choosing to renovate
their homes. In part, they're doing it as an investment, to add
value to their property, but they're also doing it to add
comfort and convenience for themselves and their families. If
you are thinking about remodeling for the same reason, you may
be wondering what renovations will add the most to your home in
value and sheer pleasure. And of course, for most homeowners,
cost is a concern, so you may have to pick and choose. What is
going to give you the most bang for your buck? What is going to
attract potential home buyers when the time comes to sell your
home?
Let's look at a few of the top renovations people are adding
that won't necessarily break the bank but will add value to your
home and your everyday living:
1. Radiant Floor Heating
For bedrooms and living areas, carpets are out and hardwood
floors are in. In bathrooms, old tiles from decades past are
being ripped out and replaced with beautiful materials like
slate and laminates made to look like expensive stones or
hardwoods. Those kinds of surfaces tend to be cold, though, so
more and more homeowners are installing radiant floor heating
along with their new floors. Not only does it make the floor a
pleasure to walk on with bare feet, radiant heating is more
efficient than forced air heat, so it can save you money in the
long run.
2. Luxury Showers
Big, jetted bathtubs are out; luxury showers are in. This is
because homeowners are realizing they don't take baths nearly as
often as they take showers. Why not have a bit of luxury every
day? People are expanding their shower cubicles and turning them
into steam rooms as well as adding multiple massaging
showerheads to work out their aches and pains.
3. Central Vacuum Systems
Guys, if you're trying to sell your wives on a home remodel,
this may be the addition that does it (and I'm sure there are
men out there who can appreciate a system that makes cleaning
easier too). Central vacuums replace portable vacuum cleaners.
You install inlets around the house at convenient locations and
just move the central vacuum hose from inlet to inlet. In the
kitchen, you can add an automatic dustpan and simply sweep
debris into a wall vent. All the dirt is sucked into the innards
of the house and collected in a bin in the garage (or wherever
you choose). The convenience of these systems has appeal;
central vacuums can add $2,000 or more to the value of your home.
4. Home Theater
If your family enjoys watching television and movies, a
projection system with comfy home theater seating replete with
cup holders can give you a fun place to relax. Buyers are
starting to look for home theaters when they shop for homes too.
Basements are popular places to add these rooms, but if you
don't have one, you can get a projector for the living room that
disappears into the ceiling when not in use.
5. Gas Fireplace
While most people like the idea of a crackling wood fire in the
hearth, few of us actually bother to light one on a regular
basis. Who enjoys going through the hassle of buying and
dragging in wood, then starting a fire that has to be monitored
until the last embers burn out? Any gas fireplace owner will
tell you what a convenient luxury it is. Simply flip the switch
and you get instant heat as well as the ambiance of a fire. If
you live in a warm climate, where the weather is nice most of
the year, try an outdoor gas fire pit--it will give your guests
a cozy place to gather when you entertain outdoors.
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