In today’s economy and housing market, many people are choosing not to sell their home, but to fix up their existing home instead. This way they can enjoy the property they currently own and when the market rebounds, the time and effort they put in will make their homes more saleable.
One of the largest mistakes a homeowner can make is to not hire a professional to aid in their renovation project, whether it is landscaping, interior design, or remodeling. One can usually see the difference in the finished project when a professional is designing the job.
Starting with outdoor space, a landscape professional can enhance the first impression of your home. In many instances it could be moving old overgrown plantings from the front to the rear yard, or adding to your existing plantings to give a welcome look to your property. In the rear yard, cleaning up and adding new plantings can make the home look younger and more saleable. Adding landscape lighting will both enhance the value to the property, as well as increase the “living space” of the home, as homeowners will enjoy their backyards more often.
Fixing up the interior should be guided by a certified interior designer. Working with color, texture, and light, a designer can give a home a more “comfortable” feeling, and can make spaces appear to be larger. They will work with you to create a home that reflects your personal taste. Their expertise knowledge, expertise, and guidance can help prevent costly mistakes, and can also eliminate features that would be a negative to future prospective buyers.
One aspect of interior design that is rarely discussed is that of interior lighting. If lighting is important to you, be sure to work with a Certified Lighting Designer with lots of lighting experience. It takes years of experience to understand how to use both direct and indirect lighting. Ask about color temperature. Light temperature refers to the color quality that different bulbs produce. Light fixtures and the quality of light they produce have a direct and dramatic impact on the rest of the room. The lighting of items in a room is important, and lighting can make or break a design. Not all light bulbs create light tones and colors equally. This can affect how your furniture and other things look when they are lit at night. A Certified Lighting Designer should be involved with all of your lighting within your project.
Many homeowners, when renovating a bathroom or kitchen, leave it up to their contractor help design their living space and lighting. One should let them make suggestions based on the available space, bur the final plans and layout should be done by a certified specialist.
As a certified lighting designer, I have seen hundreds of floor plans laid out by Architects, interior designers, and kitchen and bath showrooms that have fixture placement that would have shadows, and using builder’s fixtures that waste energy.
One of the additional benefits of upgrading and remodeling now is that you get to enjoy the beauty of your “new home” and will not be rushed to sell until the housing market recovers.
Written by Philip Finkelstein.
Philip is a Lighting One certified lighting designer,
and owner of Illuminations in Rockville Centre, NY
for the past 30 years.
One of the largest mistakes a homeowner can make is to not hire a professional to aid in their renovation project, whether it is landscaping, interior design, or remodeling. One can usually see the difference in the finished project when a professional is designing the job.
Starting with outdoor space, a landscape professional can enhance the first impression of your home. In many instances it could be moving old overgrown plantings from the front to the rear yard, or adding to your existing plantings to give a welcome look to your property. In the rear yard, cleaning up and adding new plantings can make the home look younger and more saleable. Adding landscape lighting will both enhance the value to the property, as well as increase the “living space” of the home, as homeowners will enjoy their backyards more often.
Fixing up the interior should be guided by a certified interior designer. Working with color, texture, and light, a designer can give a home a more “comfortable” feeling, and can make spaces appear to be larger. They will work with you to create a home that reflects your personal taste. Their expertise knowledge, expertise, and guidance can help prevent costly mistakes, and can also eliminate features that would be a negative to future prospective buyers.
One aspect of interior design that is rarely discussed is that of interior lighting. If lighting is important to you, be sure to work with a Certified Lighting Designer with lots of lighting experience. It takes years of experience to understand how to use both direct and indirect lighting. Ask about color temperature. Light temperature refers to the color quality that different bulbs produce. Light fixtures and the quality of light they produce have a direct and dramatic impact on the rest of the room. The lighting of items in a room is important, and lighting can make or break a design. Not all light bulbs create light tones and colors equally. This can affect how your furniture and other things look when they are lit at night. A Certified Lighting Designer should be involved with all of your lighting within your project.
Many homeowners, when renovating a bathroom or kitchen, leave it up to their contractor help design their living space and lighting. One should let them make suggestions based on the available space, bur the final plans and layout should be done by a certified specialist.
As a certified lighting designer, I have seen hundreds of floor plans laid out by Architects, interior designers, and kitchen and bath showrooms that have fixture placement that would have shadows, and using builder’s fixtures that waste energy.
One of the additional benefits of upgrading and remodeling now is that you get to enjoy the beauty of your “new home” and will not be rushed to sell until the housing market recovers.
Written by Philip Finkelstein.
Philip is a Lighting One certified lighting designer,
and owner of Illuminations in Rockville Centre, NY
for the past 30 years.
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