Bring Home the Gold: Winning Home Improvement Ideas

As the summer olympics draw to a close, we at leafguard can’t help but think in terms of bringing home the gold. And while our gutters are already gold medal worthy, we want you to win in all phases of home ownership. Here are some medal-winning home improvement ideas that will add the most value to your home.

Bronze Medal Winner – Curb Appeal

There is no way around the first impression. Whether you’re looking to sell your home or not, cleaning up the place and giving your home that fresh new look is a win-win. Here are a few ideas from low cost to serious investment that will improve the value of your home.

$ – Give it a good power washing.

Rent or buy yourself a power washer and get to work. Make sure that you don’t overdo it and wash the paint off your house, but take the time and clean your walkway, foundation, deck and anything else you can think of.

$$ – Paint the front door

Another way to add some curb appeal is to update the front door. Give it the smack of color that your home needs. Whether you go out and purchase a new door or simply find a color and paint it yourself, heads will turn.

$$$ – Replace roof

This is a big home improvement task, but nothing will increase the value of your home more. A newly shingled roof will pay for itself, especially if you plan to put your home on the market. It’s not a DIY job, but if you look at it as an investment and start to crunch the numbers, you may want to get a few estimates if your roof hasn’t been reshingled in a decade, or so.

Image via rooftoproofing.com

Silver Medal Winner – Updated Bathroom

Coming in a close second in our home improvement olympics is the bathroom. The bathroom is often overlooked for new house hunters, but growing families are all too aware of its importance. A newly updated bathroom can draw oohs and aahs for guests and potential buyers, so here are a few ideas, big ($$$) and small ($).

$ – Caulking the tub or re-grouting the tile.

A few cheap and cost effective way to give your bathroom a quick make over is to redo the caulk around your tub and toilet and regrout the tile. Make a trip to your local hardware store or megastore and tell them what you need. Then get to work.

$$ – New bathroom fixtures

Go a step further and replace all of the faucets and fixtures in your bathroom. New fixtures can be installed rather quickly and will give your bathroom the modern update that it may need. Here is a quick video via Home Depot

$$$ – New flooring

So, you’ve already replaced fixtures, re-grouted the tiles and want to take that extra step to increase the value of your home. Well, the nice thing about redoing your bathroom is that it can be done on the cheap, for the most part. Not to say that replacing the floor is inexpensive, but you can find great deals on laminate flooring. Plus, it’s pretty easy to do it yourself.

Image via cpcudesignation.com

Gold Medal Winner!! – Kitchen Upgrade

If there is any room in home that deserves a shiny gold medal, it’s the kitchen. It’s the heartbeat of most homes and the room that attracts any would-be buyer to pull the trigger.

$ – Add color (paint and/or add new rugs/drapes).

The cheapest and easiest way to add value to any room is to give it a new coat of paint. Your kitchen is the room that everyone notices. If the walls are the color you want, maybe you can add some color by finding new drapes or rugs.

$$ – Add backsplash tile

A very effective way to add to the look of your kitchen is to add a backsplash. Bonus: it makes the kitchen that much easier to clean.

$$$ – Upgrade appliances with energy efficient

This is another tough one to pull the trigger on, but nothing adds value to your home more than energy efficient appliances. They not only upgrade the appearance of your kitchen but will save you money in the long run.