As we head into the holiday season, you might be looking into home improvements that add a little luxury and a lot of value.
This is a good time to consider improvements, especially if you might be moving or selling in the next year, as the real estate market is very active.
In fact, home ownership in Texas just hit an all-time high, with Austin among the highest, based on the latest news from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Read on for our tips and ideas on how to add a few luxurious touches to your home with flooring while bringing a good return on investment.
Deep Clean Your Floors for Max Impact
One of the easiest ways to add value is to make your floors look like new or as close to new as possible. A little DIY sweat equity or the help of an outside service will have your floors looking like they were just installed.
Tile and grout can be cleaned and resealed for an update, while carpet can be steam cleaned for a new look.
Have hardwood floors? Consider refinishing them if they look worn or scratched. They can also be stained to match color trends or your preferred color.
Enhance Your Space with Area Rugs and Floor Runners
A beautiful area rug with rich tones can transform your space and make it feel more expensive. Area rugs help define furniture groupings and add pops of color if you have a neutral palette or, conversely, add a neutral background for furniture with deep tones.
Floor runners are another good solution for areas like hallways and staircases. They enrich your space with color and texture, while protecting floors from heavy traffic.
Heighten Your Decor with Rich Accents
Leather, marble, gold, crystal, wood – from decorative items to lamps, mirrors and art, these items can all add little touches of luxury with their high-end materials. Keep an eye out for areas that can use such an accent to create a luxurious, yet cozy space.
Modernize Bathrooms
To increase home value, updated kitchens and bathrooms top the list. Bathrooms are the easier of the two and simply updating the floor and repainting walls can bring a big bang for your buck. Consider replacing tile floors or using another waterproof option: vinyl.
Vinyl is available in both tiles and planks and can look like expensive stone tiles or high-end hardwood. Either will add aesthetic appeal to a modern bathroom.
Update to Hardwood Flooring or an Alternative
To update flooring throughout your home, consider hardwood. It’s universal and never goes out of style. It’s also the most luxurious choice with the highest return on investment or ROI.
Hardwood flooring can boost your home’s value by up to 2.5%, according to Realtor.com. That’s because the ROI on installing hardwood is 70% to 80%. It can be costly though, with a cost ranging from $4 to $13 per square foot.
If using hardwood in the entire home isn’t within the budget, there are a couple of alternatives. One is using engineered hardwood, which has a few layers of wood topped by a layer of high-quality hardwood. This makes it not only more affordable, but also more durable, since it’s less likely to expand and contract than solid hardwood.
Another alternative is to install hardwood in the main areas, like the living room, dining room and hallways, and use carpet or an alternative in bedrooms and other rooms.
Another Option: Wood-Look Vinyl Planks
Luxury vinyl planks are both beautiful and durable. They’re designed to mimic the look of expensive hardwoods, are water resistant and are easier to clean. While the ROI for luxury vinyl isn’t as high as hardwood, it’s still a good option and a very popular choice, with an average cost of $1 to $5 a square foot.
Keep your home price point in mind
Keep in mind that your home’s price point will affect how much of a return you’ll get on any flooring choices. Hardwood, engineered wood, stone tile or luxury vinyl are expected in higher value homes. Less expensive choices like laminate, vinyl, tile, and carpet are normal for median or less expensive homes in our area.
In other words, the flooring you choose should align with your home’s value. If you install marble floors in a median range home, for example, it would be considered an over-improvement and you won’t get as much of a return on the money you spent.
We hope these tips will help you add luxury in your own home while increasing value.
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