The squeaky door frame. The sticky lockset. The slightly frayed and tired looking bath towels.
While big ticket home repairs and upgrades — the kitchen renovation or addition, a new deck and patio revamp — take center stage, don’t discount the worth of small home and property upgrades for you and your home’s value.
It’s the dog days of summer. Maybe now is the time to give your home a boost.
John Gemmi, owner of Gemmi Construction Inc., in Buckingham Township, said taking a casual survey of your property by walking around and really looking at items can jump-start routine maintenance. For projects you may not have the skill or time to complete, call in a professional.
“Getting on (contractor and home repair) schedules now means you can get small tasks done before the holidays,” Gemmi said.
Invest in locks and entry hardware for big dividends when freshening up your home.
“Smart locks seem to be taking our area by storm. You don’t need keys for access, and that’s a pretty easy upgrade,” Gemmi said.
Smart and programmable locks offer security and convenience, especially if you have help with kids during after school hours or have pet-sitting services or plant care when you’re away.
“You can give each visitor to your home a specific code so you’ll know when the pet sitter is coming and going, for example,” he explained.
Other features include package alerts when you receive items delivered to your door for prompt retrieval or for when you need to alert a neighbor to pick them up for you.
Adding a smart doorbell or simple home security camera to monitor the front entryway is another value-added asset with a relatively inexpensive upgrade.
Smart doorbell or security systems can be a good package security, too, Gemmi said.
Comfort height or “right height” toilets are an easy upgrade homeowners can often tackle themselves.
According to The Spruce (thespruce.com), standard toilets are about 3 inches shorter than a comfort-height toilet.
For families with small children and those living in the home, a standard-height toilet makes sense, the website said. Taller folks and those in the household who are aging may have issues using the fixture, making a comfort-height toilet ideal.
“A lot of people are starting to like the bidet toilet seats on higher-seated toilets, too. These are better for those with mobility issues, and they’re more universal design. They’re a reasonable upgrade you can easily do,” Gemmi said.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, universal design in home products and environments means home and building features are usable by the greatest number of people possible.
Smart LED and regular light bulbs have more features than their conventional peers.
“With smart bulbs you can connect lighting to your home smart device to give you more control over your lighting. This option makes it easy to replicate the look of an occupied home, even when you are traveling,” Gemmi said.
Smart features are also available with newer exterior lighting and can be connected to home security systems, he said.
Gemmi recommends sticking with a common brand for home smart tech so apps can be synced and streamlined.
Sometimes changing things you already have can make a big difference in the look and feel of your home environment.
Leigh Nunno, a Realtor at Keller Williams Real Estate in Doylestown, recommends regular attention to these tasks, such as targeting a room at a time, and maybe a new room each month.
This purposed cleanup, de-clutter and reduction of belongings can bring a breath of fresh air to a home.
“At the end of the day, less is more and a very clean look is what makes us feel good,” Nunno said.
There’s value in seeing your home in a fresh way — and through someone else’s eyes.
“Sometimes it just takes a fresh set of eyes (in our homes) because we can’t break free of how we’ve always done things — and view things,” Nunno said.
She said many home-selling clients will “ooh” and “aah” after a professional home stager’s work is completed prior to a home listing.
Don’t think home stagers are only available for pre-sales work. For a fresh take, many offer services anytime.
“I’ve heard clients say more often than not, once the home has gone through professional staging, they decide they now love their house,” Nunno said. “Sometimes it’s reimagining the furniture, the way our stager will go through a home to make the rooms look their best,” she said.
Reimagining furniture placement — taking it away from lining the walls, repositioning it on an angle, playing around with what you already have, and moving items to different rooms — all make a visual difference.
Nunno said stagers can work with what you already have or help you refresh rooms with a few new items. The impact can be as small — or large — as you’re willing to commit to and pay for.
“You can make a huge impact just using what you have and layering in a few things from big box stores that offer great prices,” she said.
If your towels — or bed linens — have seen better days, think about new ones. Don’t discard the older items just yet.
Nunno said many regional Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and other humane organizations are happy for older towels and sheet donations.
Contact your local SPCA or humane organization before making towel and bedding donations for specifics before dropping off items.
“Even a simple refresh in the bathroom of all new white towels is a simple luxury” and a fresh, easy change, she said.
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