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Your home is not only your refuge from the outside world, it’s also likely your biggest investment. Crossing your fingers and hoping your home’s value increases over time may seem like a safe bet in today’s market, but adding in these quick and easy tips can play a big part in increasing the value of your home.

1. An easy way to get started is to hire a professional. Hiring an interior design consultant to spend some time with you could pay some huge dividends. Make sure you take detailed notes, and then you can tackle each suggestion as your budget allows. If you’re selling your home, your real estate agent may offer this service as well or even provide a home staging service.
2. Landscaping can also be a quick, affordable way to add value to your home. A study by HomeGain states that landscaping improvements have a 215 per cent increase in ROI. Strategically-planted trees can also reduce energy costs, but be sure not to overdo the planting with an abundance of annual blooms. Overly lush greenery can turn off many buyers as they foresee a summer season of maintenance work and high water bills.
3. Clearing clutter will visually increase your home’s square footage. According to DIY Network, “The key is to make each room in your house feel larger. Replace heavy closed draperies with vertical blinds or shutters to let light in — a sunny room feels larger and more open. Also, try adding a single large mirror to a room to visually double the space. Finally, clear the clutter. The more clutter, furniture and plain old stuff you have in a room, the more cramped it will feel. For less than $400, add an attractive shelving unit to an underused space and store your clutter out of sight.”
4. Kitchens and bathrooms are obvious choices, but these upgrades can come up at a huge cost. There are some lower-cost fixes that can give your home a boost, according to HGTV, like painting a faux-wood finish onto your cabinets, adding a coloured tile backsplash, or incorporating a rolling island. Recommended for the bathroom are faucet upgrades, wall-mounted rather than overhead lighting, and cleaning the accumulation of grout out of your tile work.
5. “Smart” home automation is gaining in popularity, so future-proof your home with that in mind. There’s no way of knowing what the next innovation will be, but thinking about ways to allow for automated control of items such as climate control, lighting, entertainment systems and other appliances will continue to become important. Making wiring changes can be a big improvement, and according to Lifehack, “When upgrading wiring, think of where you want to have access to internet, Ethernet, cable or other wiring in your home and how that may change in the future. Then wire your home accordingly. During the wiring process, it’s a smart idea to run an extra conduit to accommodate future wiring needs as technology evolves – making your home even more future-proof than ever.”
6. Don’t forget paint! The ROI of a new paint job is an oft-cited element in most home improvement circles. Use neutral colours to avoid putting off any potential buyers, and elements such as your kitchen cabinets can also be considered. Also, take an extra look at your front door – it’s the focal point of your home from the outside. If you’re not an expert painter, consider hiring a professional. All of that hard work can be for nothing even if minor imperfections are evident.