7 home renovation tips for 2018

Written by 
Bill Tsouvalas
Bill Tsouvalas is the managing director and a key company spokesperson at Savvy. As a personal finance expert, he often shares his insights on a range of topics, being featured on leading news outlets including News Corp publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, Fairfax Media publications such as the Australian Financial Review, the Seven Network and more. Bill has over 15 years of experience working in the finance industry and founded Savvy in 2010 with a vision to provide affordable and accessible finance options to all Australians. He has built Savvy from a small asset finance brokerage into a financial comparison website which now attracts close to 2 million Aussies per year and was included in the BRW’s Fast 100 in 2015 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. He’s passionate about helping Australians make financially savvy decisions and reviews content across the brand to ensure its accuracy. You can follow Bill on LinkedIn.
Our authors
, updated on November 25th, 2021       

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Every now and again a home will need a lick of new paint or some internal change of scenery to make it feel more like a home than a museum of worn out things. You can use your home loan to help you stay ahead with renovations that will increase the value of your home with these seven tips.

1. Cork your floors for a unique look

Using cork floor tiling is the way to go. This is perfect especially if you have a house that has levels. It will give your floor a natural feel and bringing out a modern chic to it. Cork floor tiling is soft to walk on and comes with sound proof benefits. If you have children, then it will be perfect to block out those alarming sounds of giant rats scurrying across the floor whenever they are playing.

2. Getting out of the closet

Who doesn’t love having closet space? 2018 will see the move towards more walk in and built in closets that provide a spacious feel to your home. You can also invest in smart storage furniture that comes in various shapes, sizes and colour that add to your home.

3. Play with texture

If you are not an avid fan of painting walls because of the effort it takes and the fumes, then you can play with texture. You can expose a segment of your wall to reveal a rugged brick or wood that will give it a rustic feel. The trick is to research how this is done before you have a home that looks like it has been in a war. You can further cut down the cost of bringing your wall to life by adding velvet furnishing or woven accent pieces that are visually appealing.

4. Make your bathroom the spa to be

The bathroom is a place where you get to be by yourself and relax. Turn it into a spa by playing with your lighting to give it an air of ambiance. Choose lighting that compliments the features in your bathroom.

However, keep in mind that you want to keep it simple and that it allows adequate visibility. Renovating your bathroom can increase your homes ROI BY 98%.

5. Melt your home into stone

Stone features are making a come back to give your home more of a natural feel. A stone sink in a charcoal colour utters sophistication, sleek and natural. It also means that there will be no strange discolouration that you get from normal white sinks over time. Quartz has become a popular alternative because it is cheaper, lost longer and easy to use.

6. Shelving glory

Instead of having the random scattering of books around the house that make your home look disorderly, you can look to creating a shelve that acts as a creative feature to your home. Let the books do all the talking in colour coded format with the shelving remaining relatively neutral in colour. If you are a major fan of figurines you can also add these to your shelve as a statement piece for the living room.

7. Convert your home into a smart home

Having a smart home doesn’t have to be expensive, just strategic. You can invest in smart home technologies that give you more control of the lighting, heating and cooling systems. Some of these can be done through your phone.

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