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4 Ways Remodeling Can Help You Enjoy Your Home More

Your home is more than just the space where you keep your stuff, eat, and sleep. It’s the place where you can be yourself, where you rest and refuel after a busy day, and where your family and friends can gather. It holds your memories. Making houses into homes that people love and want to spend time in–that’s the goal of BOLT remodeling. Remodeling your Virginia, Maryland, or DC home can help you enjoy it more every day.

Number One: Remodeling can make your home a better support system for your life.

With all the changes that have come about in the last few years, our homes have needed to evolve as well. Current studies show that 66% of American employees work remotely at least part of the time. And those numbers are only expected to grow. While it may have been necessary at the beginning of the pandemic to work from the kitchen table, now might be the time to add a home office. Whether you change an existing space into an office or build on an addition, a home office can help you separate your work from the rest of your life. You can close the door at the end of the day and enjoy the few-steps-commute to the rest of your home.


Other great ideas to help your home support your life include

  • adding a home gym. People with a dedicated workout space are more likely to stick to a workout program than those with gym memberships–there’s no commute, no waiting for equipment, and plenty of privacy.

  • setting up a school room. If your kids are schooling part- or full-time from home, or even if they just need a space to do their homework each day, remodeling part of your home to include a school room with space for desks, bookshelves, and school supplies can make homework and schoolwork battles a thing of the past.

  • upgrading your home systems to smart appliances that help you run your home with ease. Consider kitchen appliances like touch-screen refrigerators that allow you to order groceries and digital air fryers that make cooking a healthy dinner as easy as heating up leftovers. Or energy-efficient thermostats that help you control your home’s temperature and save money. Save time with combo washer/dryers or automatic vacuums.

Number Two: Remodeling can raise your Joy Score.

While most people think of remodeling in terms of the ROI (return on investment) a specific job can give the homeowner, there’s another way to measure the benefits of remodeling that’s even more important: the Joy Score. In 2017, the National Association of Realtors began to study which renovations bring the most satisfaction and joy to homeowners, making them want to spend more time at home. Each project receives a score from one to ten. The renovations that have the highest Joy Score are

Interior

  • Remodeling the kitchen, with a score of 10

  • Upgrading closets, with a score of 10

  • Renovating the bathroom, with a score of 9.6

  • Painting the interior (whole house) with a score of 9.5

  • Pet-related remodeling (like installing a fence, adding a doggy door, or installing laminate flooring), with a score of 9.3

  • Adding a home office, upgrading insulation, installing new hardwood flooring, and converting a basement or attic into living space rates highly as well.

Exterior

  • Painting exterior siding, with a score of 9.8

  • Installing new vinyl windows, with a score of 9.6

  • Replacing the front door (with steel or fiberglass), with a score of 9.5

  • Replacing the roof, with a score of 9.2

  • Changing out the garage doors, with a score of 9


If these particular renovations aren’t what your home needs, it’s worth considering which other projects will raise your Joy Score and make you love your home even more.

Number Three: Remodeling can meet your family’s changing needs.

As your family grows–whether by adding a new baby, kids getting older, or elderly parents moving in–your home may need to change to accommodate it. You may want to consider adding on a bedroom for a nursery, or because kids who were sharing a room could now use their own space. With the cost of rent skyrocketing, it may be helpful to convert your basement into an apartment so your college student can live for free and still gain a sense of independence. You may need to convert your home into a more accessible space so your elderly parent can move around more easily and enjoy living with your family. Or you may know that you want to stay in your home forever and so want to make changes that will help you age in place. The following remodels can ease your family’s growing pains:

  • Building on a bedroom

  • Converting the attic or basement into an apartment

  • Widening doorways and lowering counters to make them wheelchair accessible

  • Remodeling a bathroom to accommodate those with limited mobility or to function better for teens

  • Widening a driveway so there is space for more vehicles

  • Adding a dining room that can hold a bigger table

  • Remodeling a kitchen to accommodate more cooks or to be able to offer a gathering space

Number Four: Remodeling can make your home your oasis.

No matter our situation, we all want our homes to feel like an oasis, a calm, peaceful, and enjoyable space where we can spend time with family and friends and retreat from the world. Remodeling your home is the perfect way to make the place you live now into the place you want to stay forever.

Outdoor Living

Make your backyard your favorite place to hang out by having an outdoor kitchen installed. The sky is the limit when it comes to customizing your outdoor kitchen and making it the perfect place to entertain. Consider adding a fire pit or a covered porch in your backyard, and having it professionally landscaped. You’ll never want to leave.

Hobbies

If you, like many of us, began pandemic hobbies that have carried on, indulge in the perfect set-up for your new skills. Remodel your kitchen with a huge island to roll out your bread and a smart oven that adds humidity to your sourdough loaves. Build a potting shed in the backyard to store your gardening tools, or a greenhouse so you can grow plants all winter. Turn your basement into a movie theater, an art room, or a wine cellar. Whatever you enjoy–make your home support it.

Retreat

Your bedroom should be the most comfortable and relaxing part of your home. Maybe it’s time to remodel it and make it the best it can be, with a fireplace, a redesigned closet, or coffered and trey ceilings. Or maybe it’s your master bathroom that needs some love. By installing a new soaker tub, a gorgeous tile shower, a new vanity with a beautiful mirror, and luxury flooring, you can make your bathroom feel like a spa at the end of a long day.


Your home should be the place you love to be, and remodeling it can raise your enjoyment of it as it functions better for you, supports your lifestyle and your family, and feels like a restful haven.  Remodeling your Virginia, Maryland, or DC kitchen, bathroom, basement, or outdoor living space is an emotional investment in your home and life and will increase your daily happiness. Contact us today–we’d love to help you enjoy your home to the fullest.