Top Ten Home Improvements to Make You Happier at Home

By:  Kareen Kinzli Larsen, Realtor, RE/MAX Alliance

All too often, the focus of home improvements is to increase the value of your home. In a global pandemic, our homes have become our workplace, our space for entertainment, and our refuge.

Home improvements should improve your everyday life experience and bring you comfort and joy. These are my favorite small upgrades that make your life easier and more enjoyable, adding value to you, the homeowner.

1. Outdoor Living Space.  Having a comfortable place for your family to gather outside is invaluable.   Whether it is investing in a larger deck, a fire pit, an outdoor umbrella, or a new set of patio furniture, an inviting outdoor living area automatically expands your square footage by providing additional space to spend time.
2. Shower Wand. Those with kids or pets should not be without a proper shower wand attachment.  It makes giving kids a bath, washing the dog, or simply cleaning your shower a breeze.
3. Garage Vacuum. A permanently mounted vacuum will turn your garage into the free vacuum station at the car wash.  Vacuuming out your car will no longer involve an extra errand.
4. Instant Hot Water. Tea drinkers listen up.  This is your one must-have.  A small tank can be installed under your kitchen sink to provide hot water for your tea instantly.
5. Beverage Fridge. This needs no explanation.  Whether in your garage, basement, or kitchen, there is not a human alive that doesn’t appreciate a cold beverage of any variety.
6. Heated Bathroom Floors. It may be the middle of summer, but in a few months, this will be the one improvement you can’t live without.  If you are planning on re-tiling your master, keep this improvement in mind.
7. Solid Surface Countertops & Undermount Sink. These not only add beauty to your kitchen, but they also make cleanup a breeze and allow you to wipe countertop messes straight into the sink.
8. Water Softener. Once you install a water softener, you can never go back.  Water tastes better, your clothes get cleaner, your hair and skin feel amazing after a shower, and your plumbing fixtures will have no hard water residue.
9. Tankless Water Heater. Never take a cold shower again.  Endless hot water brings endless joy.  Tankless water heaters can last 5-10 years longer and can be more efficient than conventional storage-tank water heaters.
10. Whole House Fan. Ideal for Colorado cool evenings when the outdoor temperature is lower than your indoor temperature.  A whole house fan will run just a few minutes while instantly reducing the temperature in your home.  They use one-tenth the energy of an air conditioning unit.  A whole house fan is great by itself or, if used in conjunction with air conditioner, it will lower overall cooling costs.