By Tom Kraeutler | The Money Pit – Wed, Jun 5, 2013 7:03 PM EDT
- Yahoo! Homes/Thinkstock - Painting walls with a neutral shade or even a pale, soothing blue or green will contribute to the perceived scale and serenity of the space.
MORE AT Money Pit
A few cheap bathroom renovations can
actually help you sell your home. When potential buyers stroll through
a home, they're looking for the features and amenities that best match
their lifestyle. Every choice you've made impacts a buyer's interest,
and you can get closer to the reality of a sale with a simple, one-step
bath renovation.
"Bathrooms are one area where home buyers make decisions because it
will be one of the most used rooms in the house," says industry expert
Nora DePalma of O'Reilly/DePalma. "Make them look bright, absolutely
spotless, and loaded with storage options. Your home will sell faster and at a better price."
These bathroom renovations are
low-cost, where a little DIY savvy can go a long way toward making your
home appeal to a wide range of shoppers. Here are five cheap ways to
transform a bath without breaking your pre-sale budget.
1. Introduce a neutral palette: When you're showing a home for sale, one of the main priorities is to present a neutral but appealing space in which potential buyers can envision their own day-to-day lives. So even if you love bold color or a wallpaper print in your bathroom, tone it down for the sake of the sale. Painting walls with a neutral shade or even a pale, soothing blue or green will contribute to the perceived scale and serenity of the space. Freshen the entry door, cabinetry and trim with a crisp white for a clean look and renewed focus on the room's built-in details.
[Planning to renovate your bathroom? Click to find the right contractor now.]
2. Use your WaterSense: If your toilet is more than 15 years old, upgrade in both performance and water efficiency by installing WaterSense-labeled fixtures. Switching in a new water-saving faucet allows you to re-accessorize the room, and reduce water flow by at least 30 percent without a downgrade in performance. Smarter showerheads provide spa-style amenities while using under 2.0 gallons of water per minute. And high-efficiency toilets (HETs) are now the norm in up-to-date, resource-conscious homes, saving the owner over 4,000 gallons of water per year. "Save money in many areas that provide rebates for high-efficiency plumbing products," says Jeannette Long of American Standard, which hosts a rebate locator.
1. Introduce a neutral palette: When you're showing a home for sale, one of the main priorities is to present a neutral but appealing space in which potential buyers can envision their own day-to-day lives. So even if you love bold color or a wallpaper print in your bathroom, tone it down for the sake of the sale. Painting walls with a neutral shade or even a pale, soothing blue or green will contribute to the perceived scale and serenity of the space. Freshen the entry door, cabinetry and trim with a crisp white for a clean look and renewed focus on the room's built-in details.
[Planning to renovate your bathroom? Click to find the right contractor now.]
2. Use your WaterSense: If your toilet is more than 15 years old, upgrade in both performance and water efficiency by installing WaterSense-labeled fixtures. Switching in a new water-saving faucet allows you to re-accessorize the room, and reduce water flow by at least 30 percent without a downgrade in performance. Smarter showerheads provide spa-style amenities while using under 2.0 gallons of water per minute. And high-efficiency toilets (HETs) are now the norm in up-to-date, resource-conscious homes, saving the owner over 4,000 gallons of water per year. "Save money in many areas that provide rebates for high-efficiency plumbing products," says Jeannette Long of American Standard, which hosts a rebate locator.
If you make any or all of these green upgrades to your bath,
highlight them in home listings and open house collateral so that
shoppers know they're looking at lower utility bills as well as new
fixtures.
3. Let there be (better) light: Illuminate the best features of a bathroom and add convenience by amping up the lighting scheme. Just replacing a few fixtures with energy efficient, eye-catching styles, you'll transform the space and reduce energy bills. When choosing bathroom lighting, focus on fixtures that provide task lighting at the vanity and over the shower or tub, overhead lighting for general illumination, and accent lighting to define architectural features. Also make the most of any opportunities for natural lighting: Skylights and glass-block windows will let the sunshine in but still provide privacy.
Improve ventilation with ultra-quiet, energy-efficient fans. Homebuyers will appreciate …4. Improve ventilation: Prevent
moisture buildup and the mold, mildew and finish damage that tend to
follow by upgrading your bathroom's ventilation. Depending on the
current state of the ventilation system, this project can range from the
DIY ease of installing a few components to all-new venting and
electrical connections. Whatever the case, adequate ventilation is
critical to air quality, structural integrity and overall comfort of a
bathroom, and buyers will appreciate this important update.
The ventilation specialists at Broan-NuTone have solutions for any
system redo, all with sleek looks, quiet fan operation and optimum
efficiency. "We make an upgrade kit for builder-grade-model fans, which
will actually quiet the fan down by about 50 percent and increase the
performance of it by 20 percent," says Karen Collins of Broan-NuTone.
"The kit also includes a new grille, and you can make these changes in
under five minutes."3. Let there be (better) light: Illuminate the best features of a bathroom and add convenience by amping up the lighting scheme. Just replacing a few fixtures with energy efficient, eye-catching styles, you'll transform the space and reduce energy bills. When choosing bathroom lighting, focus on fixtures that provide task lighting at the vanity and over the shower or tub, overhead lighting for general illumination, and accent lighting to define architectural features. Also make the most of any opportunities for natural lighting: Skylights and glass-block windows will let the sunshine in but still provide privacy.
Improve ventilation with ultra-quiet, energy-efficient fans. Homebuyers will appreciate …4. Improve ventilation: Prevent
moisture buildup and the mold, mildew and finish damage that tend to
follow by upgrading your bathroom's ventilation. Depending on the
current state of the ventilation system, this project can range from the
DIY ease of installing a few components to all-new venting and
electrical connections. Whatever the case, adequate ventilation is
critical to air quality, structural integrity and overall comfort of a
bathroom, and buyers will appreciate this important update.[Click to find the right contractor for your bathroom renovations now.]
If you're in the market for a complete unit replacement, check out Broan-NuTone's selection
of super-quiet, Energy Star-qualified ventilation fans. They cost less
than a dollar a year in energy to run, and are available with integrated
lighting as well as humidity sensors that save you the trouble of
switching the fan on when it's needed and off when it's not.
Lumber Liquidators' Tranquility resilient vinyl flooring in 2mm Kane County oak is 99 cents a square foot.5. Replace flooring: Transform
a bath from the ground up by installing a new floor. The small
footprint of most bathrooms makes this an affordable improvement, and
new flooring options combine moisture resistance with the look of
favorite finishes. Lumber Liquidators' line of Tranquility resilient flooring offers
a great range of natural wood looks and textures made from a
water-resistant, easy-to-clean vinyl material. In a peel-and-stick plank
format, it's simple to install over existing flooring and backed by a
25-year warranty. Tranquility flooring is also a sustainable choice for
your bathroom upgrade, as it's produced with recycled raw material.
Lumber Liquidators' Tranquility resilient vinyl flooring in 2mm Kane County oak is 99 cents a square foot.5. Replace flooring: Transform
a bath from the ground up by installing a new floor. The small
footprint of most bathrooms makes this an affordable improvement, and
new flooring options combine moisture resistance with the look of
favorite finishes. Lumber Liquidators' line of Tranquility resilient flooring offers
a great range of natural wood looks and textures made from a
water-resistant, easy-to-clean vinyl material. In a peel-and-stick plank
format, it's simple to install over existing flooring and backed by a
25-year warranty. Tranquility flooring is also a sustainable choice for
your bathroom upgrade, as it's produced with recycled raw material.
If you're updating a powder room, other flooring options like natural hardwood are possibilities. But for a full bath,
stick with materials that will stand up to everyday use and humidity.
"Anywhere you have a full shower or tub, you want to avoid a wood, a
bamboo or even a laminate, simply because of the moisture," advises
Lumber Liquidators' John Jakob.
You don't have to spend a fortune. Take on a few cheap bathroom renovations that will deliver the greatest return on your investment, and sell your home faster.
No comments:
Post a Comment