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Whether you want to sell your house or just freshen up your home, summer is here and it’s the perfect time to make those improvements. However, you want to make sure that you have a plan and can get the best return for your investment. Remodeling a home is a quite daunting task but often making smaller improvements/replacements will generate a higher return and drastically change the appearance of your house.  Make sure to look up and familiarize yourself with current market trends before you start.  Listed below are some easy home improvement ideas that won’t break the bank!

• Reinvigorate Your Curb Appeal!
  • Paint or replace your garage door and front door. These will have a big impact on making the house standout but can also be done in just one weekend.
  • Replace exterior hardware like door handles and house numbers.
  • Make sure the yard looks neat and landscaped
    • Plant some native plants so you won’t have to worry about watering them or lots of maintenance.
• Swap out old single pane windows
  • Swapping your windows out for dual paned ones will not only make your house look fresh but will also help lower heating and cooling costs!
• Create living space outdoors
  • Decks are both fun and functional! They are also a great selling feature for any home.
• Replace your kitchen appliances
  • Nice new appliances look great and will often be more energy efficient allowing you to save a little on your electric bill!
• Swap out old flooring
  • New carpet is always a great selling feature
  • For tiled surface you can elect to paint it rather than replacing it. Ask at your local hardware store about what type of paint would work great for your tile.
• Upgrade your bathroom
  • Not ready for a major overhaul? Replace the faucets, light fixtures, towel bars and mirror.
• Add built in storage
  • Don’t forget all your nooks and crannies, these are excellent places to add more storage.
  • Revamp closets with new shelves and places to hang items
  • Add workbenches and built in storage to basements and garages – you’ll have room to work on your projects and places to keep your extra materials
• Repaint!
  • An inexpensive and cheap way to drastically change the feel of a space
  • Use Behr’s color of the year, In the Moment – a cool, calming blue hue, to create a relaxing feel in bedrooms.  It goes great with crisp whites and neutral color palates.
  • Don’t forget the outside of your house, even if you’re not ready or able to afford fully repainting the house repaint the trim and shutters.  It will revive the house and help up its curb appeal.

While it may seem intimidating to take on the tasks above to help refresh your home break it down into smaller tasks.  Each weekend can be for a different task and before you know it everything will be done!

This Sunday, June 10, 2018 from 1:00-3:00 PM, Geri Reilly Real Estate is hosting an Open House! Join us in Fairfax. Stop by to say "hi" and take a look around!

We look forward to seeing you there!

5 Buck Hollow Road, Fairfax, VT

Don't miss out on this charming 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath farmhouse with exposed beams & timber frame, wide board pine floors throughout, country kitchen opens to dining room, spacious living room with lots of light, built in hutch & hearth, 1st floor den, 4 bedrooms all with character & charm, 3 season porch perfect for entertaining,expanded deck & stone patio. private country yard with Green Mountain views, enjoy the stone walls, perennials & tree house. 2 car detached garage with finished bonus room and 3/4 bath, with private deck great for guests, studio or possibly Air B&B, convenient location, walk to Fairfax Village and easy commute to Burlington, Smugglers Notch or Saint Albans.

 MLS# 4698530 / $279,900

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Warm and sunny weather is finally here! Windows and doors can finally be opened and fresh air can revive the inside of your house once again! However, some houses may still have multi-sensory gaps, meaning the house is beautiful but… it smells like Fido.  These gaps can be a range of things, such as smell, but also issues like the house being too hot or cold or too noisy.  Smell can be a major detractor for some especially with allergy season in full swing.  The potential buyer or house guest may be sneezing outside because of the pollen but inside it’s the cat or tobacco smoke.  Ask a friend or your agent to walk in from the outside and give an honest review of the smell.  You often will be desensitized to what your house smells like, you’re there all the time! 

The first step to solving this odor issue is to find the source and work to eliminate it, don’t just cover it up. Old carpeting is often the biggest culprit.  Carpet can hold on to pet and tobacco smells, as well as, dust, dander and mold spores.  The ideal way to solve this would be to replace the carpeting with either new carpet or a less odor friendly surface like hardwood.  However, you don’t always have the time or budget to pursue these options.  Professional cleaning services can also get quite expensive.  One good do-it-yourself option is to mix mild detergent (think translucent laundry or dish soap) with water (about a capful per gallon) and use that to wash the carpet. When finished go over the area with a damp towel to neutralize odor.  Having fresh air circulating will also help, try having windows on opposite walls open to really get the air moving inside!  Remember to replace any HEPA filters you have in your air conditioning system.

Once all of the hard work is out of the way all that’s left is to make your house smell more inviting.  A few tips are listed below:

• There is the ever-classic choice of throwing a batch of cookies in the oven to fill your house with a sweet aroma.  Pre-made cookie dough can be kept on hand so all you’ll have to do is put them in the oven!  This can be done just before a showing or your guests arrive.
• Have fresh flowers on the dining room table or in the living room.  They will both look and smell great, though it is best to stick to the classic options (think roses or lilies for example)
• Lemon oil or wax can create a lasting scent of freshness
• Along the same lines as the previous tip, don’t throw away your old lemon or orange peels.  Boiling fruit peels, spices or herbs in water is an excellent, and easy, way to create a calming and inviting atmosphere.  Just boil the water and let the peels sit for a few minutes, add water every half hour or so.  You can also mix in other soothing scents by using oils such as sandalwood, lavender, tea tree or eucalyptus.

With these tips your house will feel like a spa in no time!