Maximizing Your Home Renovation Budget for Every Room

If your home is in need of a little TLC, a renovation, big or small, may be just what you need! When you open yourself up to the idea of a home renovation, you’re ultimately opening up your home to the limitless possibilities a renovation can bring: spacious or more efficient bathrooms, functional living space, thoughtful kitchen design and more!

As you begin to prioritize projects for your upcoming home renovation, it’s important to consider behind-the-scenes home renovation financing. At Great Midwest Bank, we’re focused on providing stress-free home renovation loans to our customers and offering helpful tips along the way.

Our knowledgeable loan officers have assisted with a number of home renovations in recent years (sorry, we won’t swing a hammer!), and based on those we thought we’d share a few tips on how to design the flow and feel of the rooms in your home to maximize your budget.

[Guide to Financing Your Home Renovations]

Living Room: Sit Down and Stay Awhile

The living room is often the central part of any home, making it an excellent home renovation hotspot. If the living room isn’t already the central part of your home, there are home renovations that will allow it to become a main attraction.

By widening the entrance and opening up the living room to other parts of the home, the room and your home will feel larger and more connected to the rest of the house. The improved layout and flow will allow guests to feel more comfortable, and daily functions will become more efficient.

If the Living Room is the Heart of the Home, the Kitchen is the Stomach 

Your home’s kitchen is where the magic happens, whether that be great cooking, great conversation or both! As the kitchen continues to evolve into a main living space, choosing the right home renovations will help with functionality and resale.

Architectural Digest suggests designing your new kitchen in the form of a triangle, with the sink, refrigerator and stove/oven making up its points. According to the article, “The segments of the triangle represent traffic flow within a kitchen, ideally creating a rotational movement between the tasks of cooking (stove), chopping/peeling (sink), and storage (refrigerator).”

If you’re looking to create maximum efficiency as a result of your home renovation, the rest of the kitchen layout should work around that triangle. For added convenience, consider placing the dishwasher directly to the right of the sink, as most people (i.e. potential buyers) are right-handed.

Not every home renovation needs to be drastic, though, and little changes can make a big difference when it comes to the feel of your kitchen. Updating cabinets, drawer hardware, backsplashes and light fixtures will create a fresh look for your new kitchen.  With the advent of new storage solutions, maximizing use of your current space can make a big difference in the way you use the kitchen.

[Small Remodeling Tips that Pay Big Returns]

Bedroom Renovations: Sweet Dreams are Made of These

Bedrooms are often regarded as a place of solace – a safe haven after a hard day. As a result, renovating a bedroom or bedrooms in your home can have an immense impact on your daily life and attitude.

Try to avoid setting up bedrooms off of main living areas such as the living room or dining room. Isolated bedrooms will reduce noise and increase privacy.

The master bedroom is a huge selling point in a home. If you are renovating the master bedroom, consider adding more square footage to or spending money to organize the closet or updating the master bathroom rather than expanding the square footage of the bedroom itself.

According to Jane Klein, ASID, of Jane Klein Interiors in Milwaukee, “A great master suite really makes a potential buyer able to imagine living there. It makes them want to live their lives in that home.”

Bedroom renovations could be as simple as adding more storage options, updating light fixtures and curtains or painting walls a neutral color so the rooms can easily be transformed for various uses such as a kid’s bedroom, a guest bedroom, or even an office.

Bathrooms: Lather, Rinse, Renovate

Bathrooms, while perhaps not the focal point within a home, are an important space when it comes to functionality and efficiency. The size and placement of storage and sinks can set up your bathroom for success. Allowing enough room for two people to move about freely at the same time will create a stress-free, clutter-free environment.

According to HGTV, you can save money in your home renovation budget by keeping plumbing where it is, replacing tile with alternatives such as beadboard, and adding a pop of color to make the space look larger.

Air Out Your Dirty Laundry

“What’s funny about laundry rooms is that we’re in them a lot, yet we approach these spaces as an afterthought,” designer AJ Margulis says. Treat your laundry room as a priority during your home renovation or construction project. It’s an integral part of most homes, and yet, as Margulis said, is often considered low-priority.

During your laundry room renovation, there are several factors to consider: How do you want the space to function? Who does the laundry? How often? Are you hanging laundry (indoors or out)? What family activities affect your laundry? Though first-floor laundry has become popular, do you want your guests to see it? Every family is different, but resale should also be considered when locating the laundry room.

Within the laundry room, organization should be prioritized. In order for the space to feel fresh and clutter-free, plenty of shelf and storage space is necessary. Open-faced shelves, baskets and storage bins can assist in maintaining a pristine laundry room once your home renovation is complete.

In addition, clever folding stations that come down from the wall create larger areas and over-the-door storage racks or a retractable indoor clothesline create more space without taking up precious real estate.

Enjoy The Great Outdoors Outside Your Door

More and more homeowners are investing in their own backyard by renovating their outdoor living space to be unique and appealing. In Wisconsin, when the months spent outside are so precious, outdoor spaces become increasingly important when it comes to enjoying the seasons.

Create increased accessibility by placing your renovated outdoor living space near a door, and collect bonus points if that door is near the kitchen for maximum efficiency when entertaining guests! An open layout creates a nice flow from the house to the yard and beyond. Choose light-weight furniture that fits comfortably within the renovated outdoor space and can easily be arranged to accommodate any occasion.

These simple considerations can help you maximize your budget during your home renovation. We’re here to help you finance your Renovation Journey and can refer you to local qualified contractors that can provide even more insight to your renovation project.

Call one of our loan officers or visit your nearest Great Midwest Bank branch today and get the renovation conversation started!