5 Living Room Remodels Worth the Cost
You will adore having a remodeled living room. It doesn’t matter if it’s a large-scale project or only a do-it-yourself thing. You’ll love it even more when it’s time to sell your home. Living room projects have a high return on investment (ROI). Here are a few living room remodel ideas that are sure to pay off upon resale.
1. Expand Your Living Room
Traditional living rooms are tight and compact. This is supposed to help conserve energy. Homebuyers, however, are expecting larger living rooms due to the open floor plan movement and today’s need for more space.
Is there a room adjoining the living room that you would be willing to sacrifice? If so, you can remove an interior wall that is non-load-bearing. It is a messy job, but it’s not really all that complicated. A motivated homeowner could do it without help.
A good alternative to an open floorplan is a broken floorplan. This plan provides small niches of privacy and still gives you an overall sense of openness.
2. Replace or Refresh Your Front Entry Door
Is your living room is at the front of your house? If so, a home remodel project that can do double duty is installing a new entry door. Or, you can simply freshen up your current door for the same effect. Not only will this add a new sparkle to your living room, but it will also change up your home’s curb appeal.
A new entry door, according to Remodeling magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report, has a higher ROI than almost every other home project. It has a return of over 91%.
3. Let in the Light with New Windows
You need to remember that a living room is for living. The best way to get that feel is with natural light coming through the windows. Check to see if your current living room windows look or feel:
- Tired
- Drafty
- Lacking light transmittal
You can give the windows a second chance by replacing them with new windows. New windows have a return of about 70-75% of their original cost.
4. Choose the Perfect Color Palette
Color is important in all of your home but especially in the living room. Your living room will get plenty of face time, whether it’s used for:
- Hanging out
- Watching movies
- Reading
- Sipping wine
Its color scheme needs to be perfect since it will be getting so much attention.
Interior painting is a no-brainer ROI project. You are sure to have great returns since the cost of tools and materials is so low. Try to choose a living room color palette that will appeal to most buyers. Some well-liked colors include:
- White
- Gray
- Beige
- Other neutrals
You can try a bolder palette to capture the attention of would-be buyers with colors like:
- Brown
- Gold
- Earthy orange
Believe it or not, blue is also a neutral color. Deep blue gives a sense of tradition. Lighter blues tend to feel more like a breezy, carefree day at the beach.
5. Create Faux Extra Space
It doesn’t matter if you have bumped out a wall to make your living room larger. You will still want to give the illusion of more space. Here are a couple of ways to do this on the cheap:
- Ceiling: Make the ceiling white to avoid a claustrophobic feeling
- Area Rug: Aim for only 10-20 inches of bare floor between the rug and the walls
- Shelves: Place shelves high, close to the ceiling, to help pull the eye upward
- Storage: Build storage units that hug close to the wall since removing clutter makes a room feel larger
- Statement Piece: A large, colorful, or showy statement piece can make a room feel larger
To learn more about renovation projects in your living room and other areas of your home that are worth the cost, give us a call. We are here to help you with all your home buying, selling, and living needs.