Home Improvements
Home Improvement - It's Whatever You Make It This Spring
There’s just something about that pesky itch that always accompanies a case of spring fever that causes homeowners to want to clean up, spruce up, even renovate or remodel. In case you haven’t checked the calendar lately, spring is upon us. It’s time to begin thinking about what you’re going to do to get rid of the old and bring in some new. In the pages that follow, Georgia Mountain Laurel magazine provides you with some inspiration to help jump-start your project. Big or small, simply cosmetic or structural, pocket-change tab or mortgage size, the scope of the project is less important than the fact that you’re making some changes. Home improvement is subject to your definition of the word. So go for it!
If you’ve been thinking about building new, there’s no better time than now, when building costs are down, interest rates are, well… very interesting and contractors have time to deal with your project.
Or perhaps you’re less ambitious but equally determined to give your existing home a fresh new look, here are some things to consider as you make plans.
Home Décor
Instead of the eclectic clutter style of decorating that has been in vogue for the last few years, the national economic downturn has caused many people to simplify and de-clutter their lives. The trend has spilled over into how they decorate the places they call home. The sleek, sophisticated but comfortable style known as “soft contemporary” will be a key look for 2010. The pendulum has swung toward using just one or two eye-catching accents, major decorating specialists say. These “punctuation-mark pieces,” featuring hand-worked techniques that give a custom look may include special materials such as mother-of-pearl, flame mahogany or stainless steel.
Furniture
When it comes to selecting furniture, style as always, is a key element. Add to that the awareness of our diminishing environment and you will find the items that you see and buy being built using natural-fiber fabrics, recycled metals and sustainable woods.
According to the American Home Furnishings Alliance, red will be the trendiest accent color for furniture. Home offices will continue to boom as growing numbers of Americans work from their residences. The furniture industry is responding to the niche market with a number of special lines designed to make a functional office setting blend with a traditional home décor.
Landscaping
When you say the word “garden” this year, you’re going to have to be certain to clarify whether you’re talking about a patch of vegetables or a sleek and manicured lawn and ornamental plantings. Again, thanks to the economy and an increasing awareness of the benefits derived from eating home-grown foods, tomato plants and pea vines and even stalks of corn are finding places among the azaleas and the roses.
If you’re talking strictly about the landscape of your home, perennial plants that last longer than annuals and need less care are a strong trend. Most favored plants to enhance your home’s exterior include gold mound duranta, a shrub with acid-green foliage and perennial bulbine, which sports spikes of yellow blooms.
New Home Construction
Say “good-bye, McMansion.” It appears the era of the extravagant square footage simply because you can is a thing of the past. Instead, it’s back to the basics, but don’t let the term fool you. Basic doesn’t have to be miniscule or blah. Instead, emphasis is on making square footage work double duty. And more homeowners are becoming green-conscious, making energy efficiency an important component of the project.
About the only area where owners are willing to truly splurge is in the master suite. Outdoors, other popular features include fireplaces or fire pits or even summer kitchens which are used on a regular basis to keep heat out of the main house.
Remodeling
The trend toward making minor improvements to home exteriors is already proving to be very popular in 2010 and probably into 2011. And for good reason; it gives homeowners the biggest bang for their bucks, allows them to enjoy a refurbished outside and places them in an excellentposition to offering their homes for sale as the economy continues to rebuild.
In terms of costs recouped, eight out of the top 10 home improvement projects were exterior upgrades that cost less than $14,000.00 according to Realtors Report’s annual Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report.
Two interior projects were attic-bedroom additions and minor kitchen remodels. The least profitable remodeling projects in terms of resale were home-office remodels and sunroom additions. Neither of these is likely to be a highly sought-after improvement, at least for the next few years.
Whether your project is to build that dream home or to remove that nightmare décor that the previous owner passed onto you at closing, along with the front door key, now is the time to take the first step. Do you need a make-over on your existing yard and plantings, or will that new house require a landscape installation from scratch? Whatever your project, inside or out, check out the pages in this issue of Georgia Mountain Laurel magazine. We have informational articles to help you plan and make decisions. Advertisers who sell the supplies and elements you need to make your home job a reality have ads to guide you their way.
Take advantage of this resource and scratch that pesky fix-up itch. You, and your family, will be so glad you did.
by John Shivers