5 Improvements that will give your home luxe appeal
Do you ever find yourself daydreaming about living in a home that’s kitted out with so many mod cons that it feels more like a hotel? Indulgent upgrades needn’t be reserved for penthouse apartments or the super rich. Developments in technology have brought down the cost of improvements that were previously only the reserve of celebs, so you might be able to afford a little luxe living of your own.
Here are a few ideas for seriously lavish additions to your home…
1) A wet room
Forget all the faff of climbing over the bath to take a shower or even opening a shower door, a wet room takes the concept of a walk in shower to the next level, giving you that in-home spa feeling. While converting your bathroom into a wet room complete with floor incline could cost up to £10,000, you can fit a wet room for as little as £4,000. Wet rooms tend to be quite labour intensive projects as damp and waterproofing the full space is complicated but once in place they can really add the wow factor in compact apartments in particular. However, if you’re a water baby who loves baths, this may not be the home improvement for you. Wet rooms don’t tend to be very popular as conversions in family bathrooms but can make fabulous en suites.
2) A terrace or balcony
A room with a view can add tens of thousands on to a the price of a property, if you’re lucky enough to be in the perfect position to soak up the local countryside or perhaps a sea view, could you fit a balcony to your property? You may find you need to fit a porch or an extension to do so but having a ready made viewing deck for nature’s finest can really help a property sell. Not an option? You can still enjoy the outdoors with your own terrace, fitting bi-fold doors through to your garden can provide you with quick access to an outdoor entertaining area complete with hot tub and barbecue. The floor to ceiling doors will allow more light into your property too, imitating the look and feel of the moveable walls you see on the likes of Grand Designs but without the intimidating price tag.
3) Home cinema
You can fit out your own home cinema complete with soundproofing and top of the range projectors for less than £10,000 these days according to this article from the MailOnline but that does still seem a little steep for the privilege of munching your popcorn without other cinema goings spoiling the best bits with chatting or PDAs. Truth be told, there’s a lot to be said for creating a home cinema area that concentrates on comfort and good lighting – a blackout blind a premium quality adjustable chair and a top of the range TV will go along way to creating a home cinema experience that allows you to enjoy your favourite films free from riff raff of your local cinema.
4) Underfloor heating
Winter is an especially hard time for our tootsies, who creep uncertainly out of bed only to be greeted by cold, unwelcoming floors! Underfloor heating is one of life’s luxuries that can actually help you save money in older homes as it could help you reduce your energy bill. The Romans first championed the upgrade back with their hypocaust heating and the purveyors of feasts and wine clearly knew a thing or two about enjoying themselves. Underfloor heating can cost up to £100 per square metre and isn’t suitable for installation in all homes but it could be just the thing to provide the extra comfort you crave.
5) Swimming pool
A swimming pool is a serious project and one that’s realistically going to be more of an investment in your health and wellbeing than your property. When you’re splashing out tens of thousands pounds for a pool and adding to that maintenance and energy costs that amount to around £10-£15 per according the Swimming Pool and Allied Trades Association, you’ll want to be adding a pre-work swim to your daily routine. Indoor pools do tend to add more value to a property than those outdoors, which can be out of use during winter months. If you’re a serious swimmer and feel like a pool is your perfect property upgrade you could try and keep costs down by fitting solar panels to lower the expense of your energy bills.
If you were to make one luxury addition to your property, what would it be and why?
