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Market Talk: Remodeling Means Clean Finishes

Think simple when redesigning

BY June 21, 2016

When sprucing up a home for resale, it’s important to keep up with trending styles to appeal to the general buyer’s taste. And simplified designs are what’s in, experts say. 

“The thing buyers are looking for is a clean finish,” says Jamie Gates, a real estate agent with Royal Shell Real Estate who serves Lee County.

“As people’s lives become busier and more complicated, they want to have a very restful and calming space to live in,” Gates adds. “When you have a cleaner, more streamlined environment in your home—which can come from cabinetry, hardware, paint choices and lighting fixtures—it can contribute to an overall relaxed feel.”

Swapping ornate details for simple accents can increase a home’s value 10 to 50 percent, Gates says, depending on location and square footage.

Easy updates can include bright, white LED light fixtures, glossy cabinetry, neutral paint choices and uniform flooring to make the home appear larger and more open.

Lauren Taranto, also an agent with Royal Shell Real Estate and who serves Collier County, suggests bleached oak wood flooring often reminiscent in European designs. As for popular wall hues? “Gray is the new beige,” she says. Adding a hint of chartreuse green to furniture can bring out the surrounding outdoor landscape, and avoiding heavy drapes helps brighten a space further, she adds.

But remodeled interiors mean nothing if a house lacks curb appeal, Gates and Taranto say.

“People overlook the exterior of their homes so often, and it’s so important to make it appealing from the outside or else people won’t want to come inside,” Gates says.

Flowers in contrasting colors like white and pink at the entrance of a home can make a huge difference, Taranto says. And a new front door can result in a longer-lasting impression.

“They always say: Change your front door because it gives a whole different feel to the home,” Taranto says, recommending a high-impact variety with glass windows to invite in natural light.

Before embarking on any major remodeling project, though, Taranto says to check that a builder can work within certain time constraints. “It’s very important before you do a remodel that you’ve got a plan of action and timeframe,” she says. “Timing is pretty key.”

 

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