Smart upgrades for your home

Kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms are typically the rooms in any home that get the most use, which could also be why homeowners, when surveyed, consistently cite those rooms as the ones they most want to renovate.

Here are five smart improvements to make in the following rooms: kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and game rooms.

Add natural light. Most rooms in the home look better and are more functional in natural light, and more daylight can help reduce the need for artificial light. Daylight stimulates the body to produce Vitamin D and boosts brain levels of serotonin, which is thought to be associated with positive moods.

Adding skylights is a practical, cost-effective and attractive way to bring more natural light into virtually any room.

In kitchens, Energy Star-qualified fresh air skylights increase natural light and ventilation without requiring any loss of wall space you could better use for cabinetry. In bathrooms, they provide the perfect combination of privacy and healthful natural light and ventilation.

Add organization/storage.

Clutter and chaos not only make a room function less efficiently, it can impact your mood as well. Adding organization and storage to rooms where clutter typically collects — such as bedrooms, living rooms and game rooms — is an easy, cost-effective way to improve the function of the room and how you feel about spending time in it.

Improve ventilation. Airflow is critical to the health of your home and everyone who lives in it. Ventilation in kitchens and bathrooms carries away excess moisture that can cause mold and mildew, and creates a fresher, more healthful environment by exhausting stale indoor air.

Bathrooms should be equipped with exhaust fans, and kitchen hoods should vent to the exterior of your home whenever possible.

Replace older, inefficient fixtures and appliances. Fixtures and appliances are key elements of kitchens and bathrooms. Older ones not only look dated and shabby, they can cost you money because they use more electricity and water than newer, more efficient models.

Replacing old faucets, shower heads, dishwashers and washing machines with newer models that use less water can reduce your water bill and give kitchens and bathrooms a whole new look. Energy Star-qualified appliances such as stoves, clothes dryers, refrigerators and washers also use less electricity than older appliances, so you can also lower your energy bills.

Freshen the foundations. Ever y room benefits from a good foundation, and that doesn’t just mean sturdy flooring. Wall color, flooring materials and trim are fundamental elements in any room. Simply repainting walls and woodwork can completely change the way any room looks. Replacing worn carpeting or dated tiles, or refinishing a hardwood floor are also great ways to improve the foundations of any room.

This article is courtesy of Brandpoint.