5 Home Improvement Projects That Are Worth the Investment

We all experience moments when we look at our homes and believe that it’s time to do a bit of renovating. But then we look into our bank accounts and realize that all of the changes that we desire to make are not exactly within our budget.

If you can relate to this kind of dilemma and you’re wondering which home improvement projects are actually worth the investment, we’ve got a list of five that are fairly affordable and will also raise the property value of your home at the same time:

Start with the outside first. If you want to make a really good first impression, you’re going to need to boost up the exterior of your home. That could be by doing anything from repainting your house to adding some outdoor shutters to hiring a professional landscaper. If you can only choose a couple of things right now, we recommend repaving your driveway, getting a new mailbox and planting a couple of more trees.

Paint the inside. Nothing says “new” like a fresh coat of paint. And while there used to be a time when interior decorators recommended that you opt for a white or neutral palate, these days variations of blues, greens and yellows are wonderful colors to go with as well.

Make your bathroom “green”. By that, we don’t mean paint it green (although that’s can provide a nice aesthetic effect). We mean make some eco-friendly upgrades that can help you to conserve water. Two things that you can add that you can get for less than $300 (total) is a low-flow showerhead and a low-flow toilet. Another wise additional is an exhaust fan (it helps to keep humidity out of the air).

Get some new appliances. Is it time to replace your refrigerator or stove? If so, look for one that has an Energy Star label on it. Although the price tag might be a bit higher than you might like, the good news is that by putting one of these appliances into your home, you can save as much as 30-40 percent on your annual energy costs. Speaking of ways to save energy, you might also want to look at a water heater sizing guide that features some eco-friendly water heaters too. Some websites that feature them include GE Appliances, Tankless King and Lowe’s.

Add some windows. Out of all of the recommendations that we just made, getting some new windows is probably the most expensive one; however, the benefits that come with having some double-pane windows are pretty awesome. That’s because they provide your house with the extra insulation that you need to keep the rooms within your home at a comfortable temperature year round. Being that this kind of renovation can easily run you several thousand dollars, if you’d like to improve your windows but for a lot less money, you can also have them professionally tinted. This also keeps the sun’s rays for making your house warmer, plus it offers extra protection because the tint allows you to see out of the windows while preventing strangers from looking in. For more information on where to get your windows tinted, contact one of your local home improvement stores.