Five ways to add value to your home in 2022

Update your home with new kitchen cabinets for a fresh look

Spring is here, and for many people it brings with it a desire to make positive changes in your life. And, if you have been thinking about either moving to a new home or improving your current home, spring can be a good time to start making this happen. The better weather and lighter evenings can help us to feel more energetic, and ready to tackle major domestic projects with renewed enthusiasm.

Whether you plan to stay in your current home for a while, or are looking to move, it makes sense to improve your current property as much as you can. If you stay there, you get the benefit of a better home. And if you move, your improvements are likely to attract more interest from potential buyers, and possibly even add value to your home.

But where do you start? In most homes, there is so much that either needs doing or that could possibly be done, it can be difficult to prioritise what to do first. 

So in this article we give you five home improvement suggestions that will not only make your home a nicer place, but also add value to your home if you decide to sell it.

Create a good first impression

Whether it’s to enjoy coming home after a long hard day, be proud to welcome guests, or give your home kerb appeal for potential buyers, creating a good first impression is a must.

And the good news is that it doesn’t have to be difficult, time-consuming or expensive. Here are three easy ways to add wow factor to your first impression:

• Clear the area outside the front of your home from rubbish, clutter, weeds or overgrown foliage. Make it easy to get to you and ensure everything looks as attractive as it can.
• Clean your front door and front windows, and add a coat of paint if needed. Spend time shining or replacing any brassware, then add hanging baskets, window boxes and plant pots outside for a lovely splash of colour.
• Add a coat or two of paint to your hall. This will make your home look fresher and brighter, even if you just stick to the same colour. Or you might decide to go for a complete change. But this will really transform the welcome your home gives.

Make the most of your outside space

You will make life easier for yourself – and your home more appealing to buyers – if you can create an outside parking space. So if you have a front garden area, you might want to consider converting all or part of this to hardstanding for a car. According to Direct Line, this could potentially add as much as 13% to the value of your home.

It is worth checking with your local council before you start just to see if you need planning permission to do this. Most homes don’t, particularly if you are not on a major road, but there may be local regulations about dropping the kerb.

The other area on which to focus is your garden. You don’t have to spend a small fortune getting it landscaped, but make sure it is tidy and free of rubbish and clutter. Clean and repair patios, fences and decking. Any small enhancements you can make such as adding garden lighting, a BBQ or firepit, and additional seating will make it all look better and offer more flexibility for outdoor living.

Improve your kitchen

As we have seen particularly over the last couple of years, the kitchen is very much the heart of the home. So it makes sense to do as much as you can to improve it, both for your own enjoyment and convenience, and to add value if you do decide to sell.

One quick and easy way to do this is to simply get new kitchen cabinets or even just replace your kitchen cabinet doors if the carcasses are sound. You can also add new work surfaces and splashbacks if needed. Combined with a coat of paint, or perhaps a little extra tiling, these measures could completely transform the look and feel of your kitchen within a couple of days.

You may even be able to make use of any dead space in your kitchen by installing a kitchen island and/or extra seating, as shown in the image below which features our Segreto kitchen cabinet doors in kombu green and Halifax natural oak. An island like this could provide more flexibility in your kitchen for family living, socialising and entertaining.

Overhaul your bathroom

As well as your kitchen, it’s also well worth seeing what you can do to improve your bathroom. And again, this doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

Many DIY Homefit customers have used new kitchen cabinets or kitchen cabinet doors in their bathroom. It can be an easy way to create more storage space and also give your bathroom a more contemporary look.

The images below are from two such customers. On the left you can see the use of custom made acrylic doors installed either side of shower. Remember that DIY Homefit can make kitchen cabinet doors to your bespoke measurements. On the right you can see a bathroom with kitchen cabinet doors used as the surround for the toilet and basin.

Greenify your home

Another increasingly important way to add value to your home is to do all you can to greenify it. This means finding ways to use less energy and reduce your carbon footprint. 

Our recent article How to use less energy in your kitchen has some really helpful tips about reducing energy consumption on a day to day basis. Well worth a read!

But there are also several structural things that you can consider doing to greenify your home. These include:

• Loft and wall insulation;
• Sealing up leaks, particularly around doors and windows;
• Solar panels;
• Smart meters;
• Programmable timers for heating and hot water;
• Electric car charging point.

Adding measures like the above to your home can save you money as well as being good for the planet. And are likely to appeal to discerning buyers when it comes to selling your home in future.

So, if you are looking for ideas as to how to improve your home in 2022, whether for you and your family or to bring it to market, we hope that this article has helped.

Check back in again with us soon for more home and lifestyle tips from DIY Homefit.