10 Popular Upgrade Ideas For A New Home Build
Posted Friday, May 6th, 2022 | 3,617 views
The moment you move into your new build, you may start considering ways you can add upgrades to your home. Here is a list of popular indoor and outdoor upgrade ideas for when you move into your new build home including planting a garden, adding a deck and planting trees.
#1. Plan for Landscaping
Make planning for landscaping your first priority. Almost before you do anything in your backyard and in the front, you’re better off planning your future landscaping set up.
Planning for landscaping before you do any exterior upgrades will save you a lot of headaches and some money too. For instance, if you plan on installing a backyard shed, or planting a garden or even installing a brick pathway, you’ll have a better idea of how much sod you’ll need to buy and so forth.
If you live with a partner, sit together for a few days and go over the outside of your home and make note of everything you want and how you want everything to look.
This type of planning will enable you to have everything look and function the way you want it to and save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
Some major landscaping projects will include installing pathways, outhouses, plant and bush gardens, decks, fences and even a pool. Once you’ve figured out the major landscaping projects you want to get done over the months and years, you can start figuring out the minor and major upgrades you’ll need and have a better understanding of how and when it all can be done.
#2 Have a Fence Installed
Make sure one of the first upgrades you add to your home is a new fence. In many cases, a fence building company will stop by your street and give you and your neighbours a quote on installing your side of the fence. By the end of the week everyone on your side of the street will have a fenced off yard.
Having your fence installed lets you properly plan for outdoor upgrades and sets the boundaries for everything you can do. Once your fence is installed you can much more easily plan for installing outdoor lighting, planting gardens and trees, installing your shed, your deck and your pool.
#3 Install Automatic Sprinklers
If you love having a lush green lawn in the summer, installing timed automatic sprinklers is the way to go. Not only are they extremely convenient but they save a ton of time watering your lawn.
Automatic sprinklers can be set to water your lawn and gardens at the best times too. Gardens and lawns tend to grow better and strong when watered at night which is a great time to program them to start.
Auto sprinklers are easy to install and don’t take any technical expertise. They lower your maintenance costs, and you don’t have to lug around a long hose or keep an eye on how much water your lawn is getting. The sprinklers do it all for you—while you’re at home or away.
#4 Upgrade Your Lighting Throughout
There’s all sorts of lighting options you can take advantage of in your new home build. Lighting companies always come up with interesting new ideas and concepts that can compliment any home. You can stick with exploring traditional lighting options or take advantage of some of the interesting concepts like adding lighting in your cupboards, under them, or even under your beds
To find some of the best ideas, first start with a plan to upgrade the lighting in one room or set of rooms (like the bedrooms) at a time. Room like the kitchen or living rooms can be planned individually but sets of rooms like bathrooms and bedrooms can be done at the same time if you’re planning on using lighting themes.
#5 Start Thinking About a New Deck
Once you’ve settled into your new home, you can start thinking about installing a new deck. A nicely built deck will compliment the aesthetics of your backyard and give you and your family years of enjoyment. Not only will everyone have a comfortable place to lounge or eat while enjoying the outdoors, but with a deck you will also reduce the amount of backyard work you have to do.
Once you’ve decided to install a deck and have figured out your budget go online and explore all the options available to you. There are tons of styles of decks including decks that wrap around the house, multistep decks, completely detached decks and a slew of other options.
You can search hundreds of creative deck ideas and present your preferences to your trusty carpenter or deck company. A intelligently designed backyard deck will increase the value of your home and retain that value for at least 10 to 15 years.
#6 Get a Stylish Patio Set
Any beautiful deck is usually equipped with a beautiful patio set. This type of upgrade wouldn’t be considered a monetary investment but patio sets do make a backyard look comfortable and inviting.
If your idea is to make your backyard look great to your guests, a patio set is one of the first places to start and can be considered it’s own separate room when your choosing your set and the furnishings that can go with it.
#7 Install Interior Window Shutters
Everyone knows shutters are more functional and more attractive than regular blinds. Adding interior shutters to your windows is one of the most effective ways of improving the look, feel and comfort of your home. There are literally hundreds of styles and types to choose from that will take the aesthetics of your rooms and windows to a whole new level.
Some of the more popular styles of shutters include California shutters, wooden plantation shutters and even simple normal or faux wood shutters. Their main benefits are that they are permanently attached to the window frame, they’re neat, tidy and are easy to clean.
Shutters make any room look fancy and sophisticated, and they provide a bright and spacious feel with an ability to make any room look its very best.
#8 Create a Convenient Lawn Care Program
If you don’t want to hire a professional gardener, you can create a simple lawn care program yourself. Setting up a program to care for your lawn and garden will help it maintain its healthy vibrant look and grow strong each new year.
You can search the internet for a convenient lawn care program that works for you or you can get some ideas and create one yourself. Some of the general options would include:
- Setting up a fertilizer schedule. Its not good to add too much fertilizer to your lawn or to do it more than a few times a year but it does make your lawn healthy when applied at appropriate intervals.
- If you have weeds you can apply safe weed control to your lawn on a regular basis. You can also apply weed control to your lawn and garden before weeds start growing. This will save you time and keep your lawn looking clean and fresh all summer.
- As mentioned earlier in this article, set up an automatic lawn irrigation system so your lawn can get the water and moisture it needs on a regular basis and without you having to worry about it. With automatic sprinklers you can set it and forget it.
- Set up a weekly lawn trimming and grass mowing program. Trimming your lawn-edges keeps your lawn looking clean and sharp. Trimming is best done once a week to maintain a clean look and should be done at the same time you cut your lawn.
#9 Install Crown Molding & Stylish Baseboards
Home upgrades of any kind are incomplete until decorative crown molding has been installed. Crown molding is one of the best and easiest ways to add depth and character to any area of your home. It can be added to virtually any room of your home and if styled right, and it can increase the value of your home and retain that value until you decide to sell.
In the crown molding industry there are hundreds, if not thousands of styles to choose from and there’s a style for almost every house theme out there.
After you’ve selected the style and type of crown molding you want, you’ll probably decide on matching baseboards that can be installed throughout. Like molding, there are hundreds of styles to choose from so make sure the style you choose closely matches and compliments your crown molding too.
You may find that some parts of your house would be complimented with stylish wall trim too! Explore your options!
#10 Add New Shelving Throughout Your Home
There are various rooms that will always look better once new functional and stylish shelving is installed. The rooms that benefit the most are the kitchen, bathrooms, the living room, laundry room and the garage.
The goal is to install shelving that looks good, adds functionality and is stylish enough to stand the test of time. You don’t want to install shelving that you’d have to replace in five years. Instead, you want shelving that looks like it was built with the home and was specifically designed for it.
Readers note: you can select and install shelving yourself but this is one area where you may want to consider hiring a professional interior designer and shelving company to help you make the right choices.
Bonus: Upgrade Your Air Vent Grills & Switch Plates
After the crown molding and baseboards are upgraded, and the new shelving is installed, and the window shutters are in place and your lighting has been upgraded, it’s a good time to upgrade the vent grills and your plug and switch plates.
This is a rather affordable upgrade that can be done for as little as a few hundred dollars and completed within a few hours.
To really create a positive impact on the look of your home, make sure the grills and plates you install match the decor of the rest of your upgrades. Any colour or style mismatches will throw off the look of your whole home.
Have You Just Moved Into Your New House?
If you’ve just moved into a new house, read these important things to do after moving in that will help you get properly settled before you decide to do any upgrades!
