Category - Home Renovations

Home Renovations • Shop the Room!

How a Kitchen Renovation can Increase the Value of your Home

by Josie

When it comes to selling your home, there is a number of things you can do to up its value and boost your profit. From overhauling your living space to repurposing your outdoor area, home renovations can add tens of thousands to your final asking price. As the heart of the home, your kitchen can transform your property and wow potential buyers. Read on to find out how a kitchen renovation can increase the value of your home today. 

Add Space 

Space is a key consideration for homeowners and often one of the first things a buyer will look for when viewing your property. A kitchen renovation can improve the flow of your home and provide you with space you didn’t even know you had. By knocking down bulky or built-in storage, you can free up space for soft furnishings or wall décor. This can leave the buyer free to repurpose that space as they please and can immediately repurpose a small kitchen into a multi-functional cooking and entertainment hub. Building a conservatory or a side-return extension from your existing dining space is another great way to improve the layout of your kitchen.

Update Old Furniture and Appliances 

As you grow old, your home grows old with you. While kitchen furniture and appliances may be built to last, they can start to age and look outdated and weathered. By giving your kitchen a modern makeover, you reduce the need for a potential buyer to carry out an extensive overhaul down the line. Opting for familiar, trusted brands also reassures the buyer that their new kitchen is fit for purpose. A kitchen renovation, however, does not need to leave you out of pocket. Be creative with your transformation and only replace what is absolutely necessary. An entire home renovation can also be completed in manageable chunks. It may be worth tackling it room by room and breaking it down as you go.  

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Choose Energy-Saving Options 

Energy efficiency is a growing concern for millions of homeowners all over the world. By installing energy-saving appliances, you can not only cut down on energy bills but make a positive contribution to the environment. Energy-rated appliances can significantly increase your resell value. A potential buyer may me more likely to make an offer is a kitchen is move-in ready. Lighting is another important consideration for homeowners. By replacing old lighting with bright, energy-saving alternatives, you can transform an old, dark kitchen into a bright, inviting space where the whole family will want to congregate.

When it comes to listing your home in today’s property market, you need all the help you can get. An entire home renovation may increase your chances of a sale, but it can cost you an arm and a leg. By focusing on one room, you can divert the buyer’s attention and increase your chances of making a sale. By following these tips, you could boost your home’s value and walk away with a substantial profit. 

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Home Renovations • Shop the Room!

Is Composite Decking Better Than Timber Decking?

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by Josie

When it comes to choosing the right decking for your garden, it’s important that you weigh up all the options. You’ve probably heard a lot of myths about both composite and timber decking, so today we’re going to set the record straight! When you compare these two types of decking side by side, you can see exactly how they perform.

Timber Decking

Timber decking has always been a popular choice for gardens, its simple design and charming real-wood appearance makes it a perfect addition to every garden. It certainly does have its benefits. It’s readily available from most hardware stores, comes in a range of different colours and textures and can easily be stained to match a new garden design later down the line.

That being said, there are also some major drawbacks to timber decking that aren’t always obvious when you make your purchase. One of the main drawbacks to timber decking is the amount of maintenance it requires. Because wood is a natural material, it can be easily be damaged by harsh weather and the sun’s rays. To tackle this, you need to sand, stain and seal it at least once a year!

If you forget to treat your timber decking (it happens), you do run the risk of your boards fading and eventually splintering as they take on water. In worst case scenarios, you may have to completely replace large sections of your deck to return it to its former glory, which is time consuming and costly. So, how does composite decking fare in comparison?

Composite Decking

Arriving on the market a little later than timber decking, composite decking has been growing in popularity for the last few decades. It’s not as widely available as timber decking, but there are a number of high-quality composite decking suppliers on the UK market.

Composite decking is a hybrid between traditional timber and plastic decking. It’s made using wood fibres that are bonded using a polymer resin, so the resulting deck boards have a lot of unique properties that timber decking simple doesn’t have.

Firstly, composite decking requires very little maintenance, in fact you’ll never need to sand, stain or seal it! The low-maintenance qualities of composite decking make it ideal for busy family gardens where free time is precious. You’ll spend less time treating your deck boards, and more time enjoying your garden. The surface of composite decking is completely sealed, meaning you don’t have to worry about water ingress. This dramatically reduces the chances of your boards splitting & means they dry much quicker after rain showers.

Are there any drawbacks to composite decking? Well, some would say that composite decking doesn’t have the same ‘real-wood’ effect as timber, and while that certainly is the case with cheap composite deck boards, there are some really great composite decking manufacturers who have emulated the appearance of real wood perfectly.

So, to answer the question – is composite decking better than timber decking? The answer is yes, in most cases, composite decking is a better choice. It looks just as good as real wood but requires a fraction of the maintenance!

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