Top Four Home Improvement Uses for Your Tax Refund

After a while, aspects of every home, from the bathroom to the kitchen, need updating and refining. Some of these home improvements and renovation projects may require a significant budget, while others could be a smaller project more along the lines of maintenance.

As a homeowner, one option is putting aside money each year to save up for those big projects. Another is using your yearly tax return to knock out a few maintenance-driven projects that will extend the life of the home.

Putting Tax Return Back Into Your Home

Every year, nearly eight out of ten U.S. tax filers get a federal tax refund, averaging $2,800 per refund. This amount may not seem like enough for large home renovations, but why not invest your refund into quick home fixes to increase the potential value of your home? These improvements will be a total home refresh while adding value.

You take pride in the appearance of your home. It’s a reflection of you, your family and your personality. Increasing and maintaining the value of your home will protect your significant investment, plus add continued safety and comfort.

How can you use a tax refund to add value to your home?

1. Cosmetic Home Improvements

Who says luxury upgrades have to break the bank? Furniture updates and paint colors are improvements that can go along way. So can hardware on all items throughout a home.

 

• Furniture and décor: If your furniture and home décor feel bland or outdated, look for designer styles at reasonable prices. Add an area rug to match your color scheme or new pillows to brighten up that couch. Maybe all you need to do is remove two to three pieces of furniture from each room. Having less furniture will make the rooms appear bigger, suiting the needs of potential buyers if you’re planning to sell, but also gives you a new take on an old space for a new year.

 

• Paint: A fresh coat of paint livens up any room. Changing the color, adding a pattern or deciding on an accent wall produces immediate results all the while boosting the home’s interior and increasing the real estate value of your home.

 

• Crown molding: Adding trim along the ceiling or beadboard in a hallway or dining room can also easily elevate the look and feel of a room.

 

• Lighting: Find new, more modern and updated lighting fixtures. You already have the electric system needed to install the fixture, so find what you love and on your budget, and voila! A lighting design that changes the aesthetic feel and mood to your place that can be cost-effective too.

 

• Appliances: Consider the new when it comes to your kitchen appliances — when one appliance does not match the others, it stands out. Does this mean you need to update all your appliances if one is a mismatched color or finish? Not necessarily, but a kitchen or a room is most appealing when it matches in style. If you are in the market to sell, matching appliances add to the aesthetic value and staging of your home, ultimately convincing the buyer to buy at the listed price.

 

• Handles and pulls: Doorknobs, drawer and cabinet-door handles are often overlooked, but they can make a subtle impact on doors and furniture alike. Interior hardware may be mismatched, worn, broken or outdated, after moving to the bottom of your to-do list for the last few years. Updating this hardware will bring a huge dose of style to your home.

 

Designed and styled to transform ordinary rooms into unique showplaces, Premium Hardware offers luxury hardware that matches themes, décor and personality with the rest of the house — high-end items that are innovative, durable and high quality at exceptional value for security and peace of mind.

Updating what buyers can readily see will help achieve higher offers. Adding a fresh coat of paint and updating furniture, appliances and lighting can influence the polished presentation of your home and give it a sense of newness. Regardless if you are trying to sell or not, your home’s internal appearance is a big part of daily life, so brightening your space can have a big effect.
But what if you already improved the cosmetic aspects of your home? What other upgrades are beneficial?

 

2. Door and Window Security Upgrades

 

Boosting residential security doesn’t have to be a big budget project. Over 2 million burglaries occurred in 2010. Your home’s safety should be a top priority — which makes door and window security upgrades an important and affordable update.

 

What do you need to do to maximize protection? Make sure to:

• Add locks to windows
• Purchase a security system
• Light up the landscape
• Install a security system and signs
• Secure the doors

A few simple measures will significantly deter a possible thief from targeting your home. Choose a lockset designed with security features, such as a multipoint locking system with options to fit their security and aesthetic preferences. These locksets provide high strength-heavy gauge construction, superior corrosion protection, easy installation and most importantly, greater reliability and durability.

Some locking systems provide maximum home security with a look that also ties in with your style and matches other hardware throughout your home. With multiple types to choose from, each is easy to use and cost-effective. For example, a high-security lock consisting of three locking points, plus a kick proof and anti-jemmy lockset, could be a good choice for your front door.

 

If the front or back door is inaccessible, first-floor windows are the next target. Are the window locks operable? Are they weak or can they be easily broken? It would be wise to use your tax refund to improve the security of your home’s windows if the locks look worn or could be better reinforced.

 

Always make sure your window locks are heavy-duty, properly installed and in good working condition. You will need to contact a skilled company to guide you in choosing the correct look and type of lock. Premium Hardware not only offers many styles and types for your preference, but our employees are an integral part of the designing stage with unparalleled knowledge on home safety. Our extensive selection of products will meet your needs at various price points because we design many of our products in-house, providing superior detail with security.

 

Besides updating the security of the windows and doors, curb appeal and landscaping could be an opportunity to put value into your home.

3. Curb Appeal and Easy Landscaping

Give the exterior of your home a fresh, manicured look by updating the paint on the front door and shutters, tending to the garden beds, adding outdoor lighting and power washing the dirt and grime away from the driveway and siding of your home. This will give others a positive first impression and will give you a strong sense of pride as well.

Landscaping on a budget or based on your tax refund is easier than you think. You can have a stylish and beautiful space by redoing your landscape. There are many ways to make outdoor renovations last for years to come so you do not have to spend hundreds of dollars on maintenance. Those renovations include:

• Planting native species
• Choosing perennial plants
• Investing in a young tree
• Seeding or adding sod to your lawn
• Replacing your lawn with rocks and pebbles

Just like the interior, these touches will give your home a total refresh to match your personality and style.

The exterior paint job makes an immediate visual impact. Before adding any fresh coats of paint, pressure-clean the entire exterior to remove dirt and old, loose debris. If you have vinyl siding, pressure-washing can make a big difference without even needing to paint.

Need a quick fix and don’t don’t need to repaint the entire exterior? Clean just the front door and shutters. Choose the best paint color that matches your style and will give your home the ultimate curb appeal, and paint just these trim pieces. Keep in mind this is the first impression anyone will receive when noticing your home.

This also pertains to the back of the home as well. Refreshing your deck or patio and updating the paint or stain color will add life and personality to the exterior. A deck is an extension of the rest of your home. It’s a place to enjoy family time, entertain guests and just relax.

If you are using your tax refund and your deck structure is in great shape, a paint refresh is all you need. Pressure clean the dirt and grime for a fresh start. Stain on a deck will only last a few years. Paint will last longer, and it comes with many color options. Not only will it hide the flaws and imperfections of the deck, but you can choose a color that matches with the style and personality of your home.

With a fresh deck, upgrades to the sliding glass door for functionality and style will tie the exterior upgrades altogether. Is your door in perfect condition? How about the hardware? Does it still match your new renovations?

Premium hardware provides an extensive selection of luxury sliding door handles featuring Rockwell multipoint locking systems. These features improve the security, stability and overall appearance.

Still have leftover refund money and not sure what else to upgrade? Don’t forget about the bathrooms in your home.

4. Bathroom Upgrades

The bathroom is one of the most heavily trafficked areas of your home, so it’s important to keep it updated. If building the spa bathroom of your dreams it out of reach, keeping the old bathroom footprint and adding a few luxurious touches, like a new shower door or sink faucet, will make a huge impact on a tax-refund budget.

 

• Shower: Upgrading the overall shower can be a quick, inexpensive fix. Is the tub in good shape? Don’t want to spend a lot of money purchasing a new one? Consider getting your tub glazed. Change some of your showers main features, such as the shower doors or curtain. The final product will have a crisp, uniformed look to enhance the rest of the bathroom.
• Color: Add a strong splash of color. This works best with all white tile, but that isn’t a requirement! Paint a main focal wall and add relatable colored accents to tie the scheme together. Pair with a fun patterned rug for an easy look that you can do in a day.
• Cabinets: Another main focal point of the bathroom is the sink and other cabinetry. Adding molding and furniture-style details will give your cabinets a dramatic update. Molding doesn’t match your style? Painting the cabinets to give them a new, fresh look will be just as dramatic and effective.
• Flooring: One of the best ways to add a new energy to your home while increasing its value is updating your bathroom floor. Depending on the size of your bathroom, a floor renovation could be doable. Choose a material that is easy to clean and can withstand daily use. Vinyl is highly used because it is water resistant, durable, inexpensive and relatively easy to install on your own.
• Hardware: Give your bathroom a designer touch by matching the accessories with hardware. Staying with the same metal finish creates a cohesive look. Mixing metals can also work, and showcases a more eclectic style. These small details will say big things about your bathroom style.

To keep a cohesive look, work on upgrading:

 

• The sink faucet
• Outlets
• The trim of the mirror
• Cabinet handles/knobs
• Light fixtures
• Showerhead, towel bar, shower door handles and knobs

 

Adding artwork, floating shelves, vases of flowers and candles. This will tie in all of the design elements of your bathroom, making it look cohesive and whole.

Regardless if you receive a large tax refund or not, it’s beneficial to put time and money into your home when you can. Keeping things updated and maintained adds value when it comes time to sell, and gives you a happier, well-maintained home to enjoy every day.

Contact Premium Hardware to Get Started on Your Home’s Hardware Upgrades

Appearance is one of the most important aspects of home renovations. The little details add up to make your house feel like home. Hardware is an affordable upgrade to contribute to your overall ambiance and give it a new feel.

Small but powerful home improvements will keep everything up-to-date, stylish and will contribute to the longevity to help resell.

Let Premium Hardware be your source of luxury and premium door and window hardware. Quick delivery, a great selection and premium products with outstanding customer service are what we’re all about. Browse our selection of hardware and security locks that will best fit your style, and let us help you today.