For many of us, our home is our personal getaway from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. After a long day at work or running around with the kids, our home is the place to unwind and feel a sense of serenity. Have you ever wondered how you can maximize your home's style and comfort so that you can feel like you're returning to a personal haven when you step foot through the door? Keep reading to learn about seven easy steps to make your home a personalized cozy paradise for you, family and friends.

1) Don’t Forget The Candles 

Buying a scented candle and personalizing it to the time of year is the easiest and cheapest way to make your home a cozy atmosphere. Change the scent depending on the season, something nice and floral in the Spring, a uplifting fruity smell for the Summer, pumpkin spice in the Fall, and you can't go wrong with pine or cinnamon in the Winter months. Place them all around your home to add a calming scent to each room and create a sense of warmth within your home. Candles are the perfect way to achieve the right amount of ambient, and romantic lighting around your home.

2) Throw Blankets are Your Best Friend 

Nothing is more comforting and relaxing than snuggling up with your favorite throw blanket on the couch. If you don’t have any, go out and find a few nice quality, fluffy or furry  large blankets and throw them along the top edge or across the armrest of your living room couch. When shopping, keep in mind what type of look you want the blanket to achieve. Do you want it to blend with the existing color pallet of the room, or do you want it to act as a big and bold pop of color? This adds texture to your space along with creating a welcoming and relaxing atmosphere for both you and your guests.  Not to mention they will keep you warm and extra cozy on those cold Vermont winter nights. 

3) Personalize Your Fireplace Mantel

Decorating and personalizing your mantel is a way to further make your zen living space represent you! Sometimes people can really over think it, but it's very simple to make a stylish and eye pleasing mantel that has the perfect balance. There is an easy algorithm in order to achieve this. 1) Start with a large painting, unique mirror or sculpture to act as a center anchor point. 2) Add something organic like a plant or flowers in order to add a touch of tranquility. 3) Stay with a consistent color pallet that is already present in the room. 4) Add a grouping of like trinkets and small art pieces at the corners, these can be crystals, vases, books or other smaller objects that you are attracted to.

4) Pillows on Pillows on Pillows 

Adding throw pillows is a fun and easy way to add comfort, charm, texture and a little bit of seasonal style to your living room! Have some fun with it! Purchase pillows for each staple holiday to make things a little bit more festive, look for interesting patterns that seem to attract you, or pops of color depending on the season, get some faux fur pillows to add texture and a little extra softness to a regular couch when you lay into it. Throw pillows are the ultimate way to sink back into the couch, to feel like you're being hugged by cozy goodness.

5) Set The Mood With The Proper Lighting

Setting a mood is all about lighting. When you want your home to be welcoming and upbeat it's best to have bright and constant lighting within your home, but when you are trying to create a different, more relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, warm lighting is your best friend. Your candles can help create this look. Place them around your home or even in your fireplace if you can’t build a fire. Twinkle lights are also a good opinion for a unique and equally eye catching and pleasing look. A warmer light can also calm the mind down, and it’s a good idea to set your light to a warmer tone when you're trying to relax or leading up to the hours before bed.

 

6) Bring The Green of The Outdoors Inside 

Plants are a way to add some of Mother Earth's undeniable beauty into your home. There are so many different plants to choose from depending on what you're looking for. Do you have a shelf in a room, get a plant that hangs down over the lower levels of the shelf, hang them from the window, place them on windowsills or get a large fern to locate in a corner. You can also add some of your personality to your plants or even flowers by placing them in a unique vase that adds a little character to your room. If you're a person that likes the outdoors this is a perfect trick for you! 

7) Sprinkle Your Personally in With Art

Try not to have blank walls when designing your home. This creates a cold feeling, and unwelcoming space for both you and your guests. Pick 3-10 large prints, canvases, or even select and print some of your favorite family photos on a focal wall within your home. Try to stay within the same theme and color pallet so there isn't any clashing, make sure these pieces of art speak to you and represent yourself. These works of art will be some of the most important aspects that you place in your home, so make sure you love the theme you choose. 

Whether you are considering putting your house on the market next spring or even further down the road, there are a litany of home improvement projects that you can complete entirely on your own to add value to your home. If you have a little free time, and you are ready to roll up your sleeves and apply a little elbow grease, you will be surprised by how dramatically you can boost your asking price. A well-informed homeowner will also keep a record of all the updates and improvements they make over the course of their ownership, and will be aware of projects that can provide the best return on investment. Usually, sellers can expect a return for home improvement projects at around 64% assuming the home is sold within a year of the projects being completed.

The most obvious and easiest project to begin elevating the value of your home is to start decluttering. Clearing junk and erroneous materials out of your home can add nearly $2,000 to your home’s value in addition to making it exceedingly easier to begin showing your home. In most cases, decluttering shouldn’t cost more than $300, and can bring in a ROI of up to 568%. Deep cleaning and decluttering are the cheapest and easiest ways to keep your home looking it’s best while simultaneously making your life and the prospect of selling your house easier. Decluttering and getting your home in order room by room will also help decrease your stress level in an often anxiety ridden process.

Another cost-effective project home improvement is paint, a fresh coat of paint can go a long way. Freshly painted walls look clean and updated, which translates to value in the eyes of prospective buyers. Stick to neutral colors to appeal to the greatest number of people. A fresh coat of paint is a quick project that will get things in order, and will also bring a 1%-2% increase in your property value. Painting projects don’t need to end at interior walls either, consider sanding and staining or painting your kitchen cabinets. This project can be time consuming, as it is often advised to take the cabinets off before sanding or repainting, but it is a terrific opportunity to transform the look and feel of a kitchen or bath.

Kitchens are the part of the home that gets the greatest return when updated. While it is often a more expensive undertaking, updating kitchen appliances like the dishwasher, microwave and stove (preferably stainless steel) can increase the value of your home immensely. A full kitchen remodel typically only yields a ROI around fifty cents on the dollar. Essentially, a deep clean, a fresh coat of paint, and installing a new faucet and cabinetry pulls will go a long way towards making your kitchen more desirable in the eyes of prospective buyers. Even though kitchens are the first place sellers consider spending their investment dollars, other projects bring a higher return and improve the look of your home as a whole.

Major home renovations can be risky investments, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make small upgrades to key spaces like your kitchen and baths to impress buyers. If you have long craved the elegance of natural stone in your home, consider a new granite bathroom vanity top, which is an affordable way to get it. You can complete this type of bathroom makeover with a new faucet and mirror for less than $500. Another quick project that can give your bathroom a refresh is to update outdated and boring fixtures. This proves true for the entirety of your home as well, every fixture in your home should have a cohesive style. Replace all the knobs, pulls, switch plates, and light fixture with the same type of material. Brushed nickel is timeless and clean and will help create a desirable style for a broad range of buyers.

Lighting can also make a noticeable difference in older bathrooms. A long row of round bulbs over the mirror will completely brighten up and change the aesthetic of an antiquated bath. Living in the same house for decades, you might be used to replacing lights with the same replacement bulbs you have used since you initially moved in. However, lightbulb technology has come a long way towards being more efficient. If you replace your fixture bulbs with LEDs across your entire house, inside and out, that can be a huge selling point that you can highlight in your listing description when it comes time to sell. Energy efficient upgrades like using LED bulbs or installing Energy Star certified windows can boost a home’s value by 1-3%. You can also brighten up your house without breaking the bank by cleaning skylights and removing outdated curtains that may be blocking natural light.

Homebuyers typically prefer hardwood flooring options over wall-to-wall carpeting. While the idea of removing carpets and refinishing wood floors on your own may seem daunting, this task can be done on a budget with the proper tools and know-how. Be prepared to spend a fair amount of time removing the existing carpet or other floor materials in addition to time preparing the space and installing new flooring. New wood floors or even high-quality vinyl or tile can deliver a significant return on investment and help your home sell faster.

If you’re getting serious about selling your home and want to get the most bang for your buck in regards to home improvement projects, the best thing you can do is talk to a real estate agent and ask them to do a walkthrough of your house. They will have a meticulous eye and be able to point out any areas that need to be addressed before you list. Agents are trained to look at the little details in your home that buyers will notice and comment on. This is the best method to direct your dollars and time towards projects that will pay dividends and make your house sell quicker without wasting any time or effort.

Homeowner Associations are essentially a governing structure for a planned community. Often representing a development of single-family homes, condominiums, or townhouses. Similar to a landlord or property manager, an HOA operates as an entity that maintains the community by taking care of certain features in exchange for a monthly or annual fee. In 2018, ¼ of the U.S. population lived under some type of community association, spread among over 347,000 associations nationwide. Homeowners Associations govern 33% of homes in the Northeast. Although every association is fundamentally different, living in an HOA community comes with many benefits as well as many conditions and stipulations that residents can find relatively burdensome. HOAs can be efficient and professional or can mismanage the community and misspend money. The simple fact is that there are advantages and disadvantages that come with every homeowner association.

HOA costs vary, one cost frequently included in the fees they collect are utilities. The association often take responsibility for basic water and gas as well as city services such as sewer, trash, and recycling, effectively cutting down on the number of bills their residents have to pay each month. The most obvious draw of some HOAs fees is that they include amenities like swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, playgrounds and gyms in their communities – Which are entirely maintained and serviced by the community association. Although the scope of amenities will add to the overall association fees, on average, each dollar and dues buys $1.19 in benefits.

Association Fees are mandatory and can get expensive, depending on the community and what the fees include. On average, associations incur $2,800 in fees, annually. Most monthly assessments are about $100 to $300, in addition to maintenance and upkeep, these fees pay for employees who work for the HOA, as well as money for a reserve fund, typically for unexpected expenses and emergencies. HOA fees are an additional cost on top of a resident’s mortgage, property tax, and homeowner insurance, and members are required to pay, even if they don’t use all of the amenities. HOA fees can affect a prospective homeowner’s budget to buy a house in an HOA  community and can ultimately lessen their buying power.

One of the most common benefits provided by HOAs is that they handle a majority of the exterior upkeep in the community, ensuring residents don’t have to worry about mowing their lawn or doing landscaping. They also can take responsibility for trash pickup, snow removal, as well as cleaning and painting exteriors. Common spaces also usually fall under the umbrella of the Homeowners Association; repairing roads, roofs, walls and building components (particularly in a condominium complex.) Needless to say, the more services offered by the association, the higher the fee, services can even include heating and air conditioning systems, electrical systems, plumbing, and security systems can be handled exclusively by the HOA.

Generally, an HOA establishes rules to ensure the neighborhood looks clean and presentable – these rules often come in the form of strict guidelines regarding anything from how tall residents grass can grow to restricting the palate of paint colors residents are allowed to paint the exterior of their houses in. This limited personalization ties into the idea of following a HOAs rules, and can help with the overall property values. These rules also ensure that one or two rogue properties don’t weigh down the value of other properties due to an unpleasant exterior (single-family homes under HOAs sell for 4% more on average than similar homes outside of HOAs). However, residents also regularly cite restrictions on exterior home improvements as one of the worst aspects of living in a community association.

Some homeowner’s associations host social gatherings like block parties, community yard sales, cookouts, and pool parties. Once a member of the association, residents will have the opportunity to become active within the association or even be elected to serve on the HOA board, and have a chance to become better acquainted with their neighbors. HOAs also provide resources for conflict resolution between residents, whether it is over a neighbor playing music too loud, dogs barking at all hours of the night, or parking disputes. Residents can talk to their HOA about their grievances, and the association or management company will take it from there.

An issue that association members commonly face is stringent rules and penalties for running afoul of particular rules. HOAs can have meticulous guidelines, particularly in regards to home exteriors. For example, some of the infractions that could cause a fee to be issued are; a garbage can in view of the public or a neighbor, unkempt conditions like mildew or peeling paint, leaving sports equipment or bicycles out after certain hours, and having a dirty driveway or sidewalk. If residents don’t pay fines, they run the risk of the HOA placing a lien on their property or even losing their home to foreclosure. In many cases, joining a homeowner’s association is agreeing to forfeit some freedoms. In a community governed by the HOA, residents have to follow all the established rules, even if they think they are ridiculous.

Homeowner’s associations have a lot to offer, especially in regards to amenities and community upkeep, but they often come with expensive fees and strict stipulations. One of the best things prospective home buyers can do when looking at properties in a HOA’s declaration or master deed. The more research buyers can do when considering a HOA community, the better prepared they will be if they do become an association member. It is also of the upmost importance that potential residents review their budget, lifestyle and personal preference. While having access to a pool or golf course might be appealing, remembering to keep trash cans out of sight or their driveway immaculate might be something many people don’t want to add to their to-do list.