When homeowners enjoy the current location of their home, but wish to add more features or make changes to reflect their styles and preferences, often times they take the home remodeling route. This involves building on additions to the home or tearing down and rebuilding specific areas of a home, such as a kitchen or bathroom, in order to have its layout better suit the homeowner’s taste. There are a couple of trends that are starting to become more prevalent in the home remodeling field; trends that homeowners might start paying more attention to and start making a part of their own homes in the near future.
The environment is becoming more of a focus in terms of traditional energy usage and the carbon footprint that homeowners are putting off. Many of these same homeowners are now seeing the potential value in what is called green remodeling; the process of replacing or rebuilding certain parts of the home in order to make them more eco-friendly. If these renovations are able to reduce traditional energy usage, they can sometimes pay for themselves after a few years. Likewise, they can also increase the value of your home to potential buyers who prefer homes with built-in green functionality as opposed to those that don’t have it.
Another type of remodeling that is beginning to pick up steam is called age in place remodeling. This aims to remodel an existing home so that an older adult — one who might otherwise make a move into an assisted living facility — can continue living in their own home. Projects like replacing a tub with a walk-in shower, or installing wheelchair ramps in the place of stairs can fall under the category of age in place remodeling. These types of renovations are also useful if you have a living situation where older extended family members share a home with you.
And, of course, no discussion about remodeling projects is complete without mentioning bathroom and kitchen renovation projects. These projects have always been fairly popular, and they continue to grow. Kitchen projects like new countertop installations, or projects that make the floorplan more open can help add to your kitchen’s look or make it feel less cramped. Bathroom projects can be taken a number of different directions; you could change out the type of bath or shower, expand the area of your bathroom, or even add features to make it more of a spa environment than a traditional bathroom. The sky’s the limit.
Keep these remodeling projects in mind the next time you’re thinking about renovating your home. Not only will they add to your quality of living, they can also increase your home’s value to potential buyers in the future.
