It’s no secret that over the last few years, the real estate market has been on the up and up. Home prices have been steadily increasing, and more people are buying and selling property than ever before. While this is all good news for those who already own a home, it can also lead to some common home improvement mistakes, including the ones below.
1. Painting The Front Door A Bright Colour To Make It Stand Out From The Rest Of The House
While a new paint job can make your house look great, it might not be the best idea to paint the front door a bright or unusual colour. Sure, you may get a few compliments from friends and neighbors on how nice it looks, but what about the people who will only see it once? If someone is looking at buying your house from the curb or driving by, you don’t want them turning their nose up at it because they don’t like the colour.
2. Replacing All Light Bulbs With LED Lights For Energy Efficiency And Lower Power Bills
While LED lights may be better for the environment and your wallet, replacing all of your light bulbs with them might not be the best idea. For example, your household uses more compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) than incandescent lighting because CFL bulbs last longer and save money on power bills. You need to do the math to see whether switching all of them over would be beneficial.
3. Installing A New Mailbox That Matches Your Home’s Exterior Design
You may think that a metal or stone mailbox would give your house an upscale look, but those types of mailboxes are more expensive and harder to install than the standard plastic variety. While you may want to make a good first impression when someone pulls up, driveways and streets can be damaged by the weight of heavy metal or stone mailboxes. The same thing goes for an engraved address sign that you attach to the house.
4. Adding An Outdoor Rug To Create More Space For Relaxing Outside
While an outdoor rug can add much needed space for when you’re sitting outside, it can also be a nightmare to clean. If the weather is nice and you want to spend time outdoors, add in some comfortable chairs rather than an oversized rug that will collect rainwater and become slippery when wet.
5. Painting Over Dirty Walls With A Fresh Coat Of Paint
If your house looks dingy and needs a fresh coat of paint, go ahead and give it a new colour. However, if the walls are dirty or grimy, you need to wash them first before painting over them. If you don’t, the dirt will make the paint look uneven and cause it to peel off after a few years.
The best way to make sure you avoid common mistakes is by doing careful research before starting each project. If you really want your home improvement projects to be successful, learn all that you can about them before taking out any tools or paintbrushes. Who knows, you may have to get one of those rainwater underground drainage system for sale to prevent imminent flooding problems.
If you’re like most people, you’re probably guilty of at least one home improvement mistake. Maybe you didn’t seal your grout properly and now it’s stained, or maybe you didn’t do your research before starting a DIY project and it ended up costing you more money in the long run. Whatever the case may be, avoid making the abovementioned mistakes and improve your home today!