Add value and increase space – five suggestions for 2022
Whether you are seeking to add value or looking to increase living space, you may well be starting mull over potential changes to your home for next year.
Here are five suggestions for projects that could tick both boxes at the same time.
- Think about an attic conversion
Embarking upon a loft conversion can certainly be a costly project but as long as it is overseen by a professional and meets all necessary standards and regulations there is no reason why it should add value to your home. As with any improvement work, added value will be subject to other considerations, such as supply and demand for properties like yours and the location of your home. A former loft can make a great office space, leisure room and bedroom, potentially with en-suite bathroom. An extra bedroom can add as much as 15 per cent to the value of your home, especially if access is easy and the room is generous.
- Create open-plan space
Many homeowners now seek open-plan (or broken-plan) living, where they can spend time cooking, relaxing and dining with other family members, as well as entertaining. We seem to have a taste for fewer but larger spaces. If you can, therefore, open a pokey kitchen up into the dining room next door to create a modern kitchen, dining and living space, or a sitting room up into a formal dining room that rarely gets used then this could certainly make your home a more appealing purchase to many would-be buyers.
- Consider an extension
When space is tight, extending a home by a very small amount can make a considerable difference. Carrying out a side return extension on a town or city house, for example, can transform an indoor living space. Not only can the extra metre or two enhance your kitchen dining room or living space but it can give you the opportunity to let more light in and possibly have an easier flow on to the garden. Again, overall, this makes the whole property more desirable.
- Create indoor-outdoor living
As well as open-plan living, lots of people these days want indoor-outdoor living. Find out how easy it would be to add French windows or patio or bi-folding doors to one of your ground-floor rooms. These not only serve to pull the outside in but also make the inside feel much larger, especially when open during the summer months. The cost of installing doors like this varies greatly, but the overall impact of the change could boost the possible asking price of your home.
- Convert the garage
This project is one to consider carefully. If you live in an area where on-road parking is plentiful and easy – or if you have a driveway – converting your garage into another room might well add value to your home. Some people use their former garage space to extend out from the main house to create a much large kitchen dining room or sitting room. Others transform their garage into a self-contained annexe, bedroom suite or office. Any of these can be beneficial – just ensure you retain flexibility of use so the next person can enjoy the additional space in a manner to suit their own lifestyle.