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A bathroom can be among the top selling points in a home. In fact, upgrading your bathroom prior to listing the home for sale may enable you to sell it at a higher price point. Here are some ways you can improve your bathroom and get the highest possible return on your investment:

Add More Storage
There are many items that you want or need to keep in a bathroom at any given time. For instance, you’ll likely want to keep extra rolls of toilet paper handy or have extra hand towels available. You’ll also want to keep your toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant in the bathroom. By adding a closet, a larger vanity or extra drawers underneath your current vanity, you provide plenty of space for multiple people to share the bathroom peacefully.

Add a Touch of Luxury
Buyers will have a harder time not putting an offer on a home when it has a luxurious feel to it. Adding a whirlpool tub to the bathroom will make a buyer feel as if he or she were about to buy a spa instead of a residential property. Working with companies can make it possible to make your bathroom luxurious yet affordable at the same time.

Put in New Tile
Replacing your current floor in favor of a tile one can improve the look and feel of the entire space. In fact, a remodeling contractor can add a heated floor that is ideal for those cold winter days or those chilly spring mornings. It can make it easier to face the prospect of walking to the shower or sink without the need to find your socks and slippers first.

Add an Additional Sink
If you have to share the bathroom with your spouse or kids, it’s important to have multiple sinks. This allows both parents to get ready for work at once or both kids to get ready for school at the same time. It also allows people to keep their respective area of the vanity as clean or as messy as they want without infringing on others.

Even if you don’t have a large remodeling budget, you can still make your bathroom look and feel like one of the best rooms in the house. When upgraded properly, this space can be the centerpiece of the home and help attract eager buyers willing to pay top dollar for it.

Source: Hannah Whittenly/RISMedias Housecall

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Small spaces have their own charm and challenges, but every home–regardless of size–can benefit from visually adding space. Thankfully, there are a few key tricks to making your rooms look bigger that are easy to implement.

Scale Down
This may be obvious, but a massive couch will swallow a small room. If your room is small, or you would simply like to maximize your empty space, opt for smaller furniture and even smaller art. Keep everything appropriate for the scale of the room.

Use Vertical Space
Keep your floor uncluttered by using vertical space instead. Opt against horizontal storage options like large trunks or long dressers. Strategically staged tall bookcases and tall dressers can serve to house items without compromising your floor space

Go for Minimalist Style
Too many items in a small room looks cluttered, even if its organized. Lean towards a minimalist aesthetic to ensure that you are not visually cramping your space.

Bring in the Light
A well-lit room feels airy and spacious even if its small. Avoid light-blocking curtains and blinds whenever possible and try to keep the room bright. For the evenings, add track lighting, recessed lighting or more lamps to keep the space looking roomy and inviting.

Go for Sleek Furniture
Clunky and bulky furniture of the past should be avoided in a small space. Instead, seek out the sleek look of mid-century modern furniture. This style works very well in a small space because its elongating lines elevate the room and the furniture itself takes up less square footage.

Keep Your Color Scheme Minimal
Bright and dazzling colors have their place, but that may not be in your small room. Light, softer hues work better to keep a room looking spacious and airy and a monochromatic color scheme keeps your space from looking too visually stimulating and cluttered.

Preventing a cluttered and claustrophobic feel should be the goal in any sized room. And while adding extra square footage may be a task for your next renovation project, there are easy ways you can make your room look bigger in the meantime.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If you own a house, you probably know that its important to keep your gutters clean. Its a dirty, difficult and time-consuming task that many homeowners put off, but not cleaning gutters can lead to serious problems that can be expensive to repair.

Possible Structural Damage to Your House
When gutters get clogged with wet leaves and other debris, water cant flow through them the way its supposed to, so it flows over the sides of the gutters and rains down to the ground. Water that collects near the foundation can soften the soil and damage the foundation. If the foundation gets wet and the temperature drops enough for it to freeze, the foundation can heave, crack and shift, which can weaken the structural integrity of the entire house.

Water that collects near the foundation can leak into the basement, where it can damage the walls and cause mold that can threaten your familys health. Water can also get into a crawlspace and damage the piers that support the house.

In the winter, water that cant flow down through the gutters can freeze and form ice dams. Large amounts of ice can accumulate along the gutters and roof and weigh down the gutters, and water can leak into the house. The weight of ice and debris can also cause the gutters to come loose from the house.

If water collects in clogged gutters, the moisture can damage the wood soffits and fascia. If wood on the outside of the attic rots, it can provide entry points for squirrels, raccoons and other animals. Water can also damage roofing shingles, the roof deck and insulation. Wet debris in gutters can allow algae and moss to grow and damage the roof. Water that gets behind siding or window frames can cause damage and mold that may be hard to detect.

Wet leaves and other debris in gutters can attract insects. They can get into the house through gaps or cracks and some, such as termites, can cause major structural damage.

Potential Problems With Your Yard and Driveway
Water pouring down from gutters can damage flowers, bushes and trees below by washing away the topsoil that holds the roots in place. Water can also wash away mulch in a garden.

If water runs over the sides of the gutters and lands on the driveway or sidewalk and freezes, it can create a slippery surface that can cause falls and potentially serious injuries. Water can also run under the driveway and cause holes and cracks to form. The driveway can even shift, which can damage cars, and the uneven surface can create a tripping hazard.

Dont Skip Gutter Cleaning
Cleaning your gutters is an unpleasant but necessary task. If you dont have the time to do it yourself, arent physically up to the task, or just dont want to, hire a gutter cleaning company. Also consider installing gutter guards to reduce the amount of debris in your gutters and the frequency of cleanings.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Houses traditionally had a kitchen where food was prepared and a separate dining room where family members would gather to share meals. Home designs have changed over the years, and nowadays many houses have a kitchen with space where family members can sit to eat.

Whats Important to Your Family?
Eat-in kitchens are typically designed for small or average-sized families. Theyre convenient since everyone has easy access to food and dishes near the eating area. This can be particularly important when parents and kids are rushing to eat breakfast so they can get to work and school on time.

Dining rooms are typically used for larger or more formal gatherings. Depending on the age and layout of a particular house, a dining room may have seating for anywhere from six people to a dozen or more. If you have a large family or frequently have guests over for dinner, a separate dining room may be a necessity.

Although a dining room is typically located close to the kitchen, it can still be a hassle to carry food and dishes back and forth when serving a large group. On the other hand, some people find it hard to enjoy a meal when they can see dirty pots and pans and feel as though they must finish their meal quickly to clean up. Eating in a separate dining room can therefore be more relaxing.

Sometimes people buy a home with a space that is intended to serve as a dining room, but they choose not to use it that way. If you would rather use a room as a home office or for some other purpose, thats fine. Just make sure that everyone is clear about the rooms intended function, so it doesnt wind up filled with toys or junk mail.

Thinking About Remodeling?
If you already own a home and youre thinking about renovating, consider how you eat meals, the number of people who are typically present, how much space you have and the advantages and disadvantages of your current arrangement. If you would like more space or would prefer not to have to look at a mess while eating, or if you plan to expand your family in the future, it might make sense to remodel your home to create a separate dining room.

Which House Design is Right for Your Family?
If youre looking for a new home, think about how your family members usually eat meals. If you prefer to keep things simple and have a relatively small family, an eat-in kitchen may work fine. On the other hand, if you have a large family or like to entertain, you might appreciate having a separate dining room, even if you only used it occasionally. Discuss the pros and cons of each with your family and your real estate agent.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Have you found yourself falling out of love with the home you once adored? You aren’t alone. Take millennial homeowners, for example. A recent Bankrate poll found that 63 percent of this vital demographic regret purchasing their current home. That’s an alarming number, but one that accurately shows how easy it is to fall out of love with a home.

Luckily, there are more options other than just cutting your losses and selling your house. By renovating the space, you can make the changes required to better fit your lifestyle. Here are five renovations that will make your home feel new again:

Install a Walk-In Shower
Replacing your old shower or tub with a walk-in shower adds an attractive spa element to your home. Go one step further and add an S-shaped bench, which will make the space feel even more like a spa. Walk-in showers are great for aging people, as well, because it’s easy to navigate the entrance to the shower. Additionally, you’ll also have no glass door that needs to constantly be cleaned.

Install Laundry Chutes
There’s no doubt that it’s a pain hauling laundry up and down the stairs every time laundry day rolls around. While carrying heavy laundry baskets down to the laundry room isn’t an enjoyable hobby, adding laundry chutes in the master bedroom, kids’ bedrooms and/or select closets will allow you to cut down on messy piles of laundry, as well as annoying trips up and down the stairs.

Build a She Shed
Is there extra room on your property that’s being underutilized? If so, a she shed is a wonderful way to utilize the space. She sheds can be built relatively inexpensively and used in various ways, from a place for a guest to stay during a visit to a sanctuary where you can escape when you need some alone time.

Make Room for a Second Dishwasher
By clearing space for a second dishwasher, you’ll likely lose some cabinet space; however, the convenience of being able to load one dishwasher while the other is working its way through the cleaning cycle will ultimately save you much-needed time. If your kitchen space is already limited, this may not be a viable option, but there are some brands that make double drawer dishwashers that can save you some time without taking up extra space.

Add a Kitchen Island
By adding a kitchen island, you’ll give yourself bonus counter space and seating. Consider adding an additional sink, mini fridge or even a wine bar to the space, as well. You can even build a wine rack on one end of the island so that you can store a variety of wines without losing space.

With these five renovation projects, you’ll find yourself falling in love again with your home. Additionally, you could add value to your home for when the time comes to sell!

Source: AnnaBeth Rouse/RISMedias Housecall

Published with permission from RISMedia.