Modest.
Affordable. Starter. There is no shortage of words we use to describe a
home that cost less than the average in an area. But no matter how
“low-priced” your home is or was compared with others’, chances are good
that you are spending a good chunk of your hard-earned dollars on it.
Think about it: almost no one looks at their monthly mortgage statement
and says “Wow - it’s just so cheap!!”
Every owner deserves to
come home to a place that is beautiful, comfortable and suitable for the
activities that are a part of their life - without going into debt to
do it. And even if you haven’t yet become a dyed-in-the-wool homeowner,
understanding the champagne-style creature comforts that can be
inexpensively added onto a home after closing can provide powerful
inspiration for sticking to your beer budget.
Here are a few of those little, affordable luxuries (with links to pics and inspiration throughout!):
1. Automation.
For your home to automatically anticipate your preferences and living
habits, and conduct itself accordingly, is a serious luxury that no
longer requires a serious investment. Easily programmable thermostats
and smart home systems are now available at very low prices. Check out
the
Nest “Learning” Thermostat
for one of the most simple-to-use, inexpensive alternatives around.
Created by the man who designed the iPod, it “learns” the temperatures
you prefer without any complicated programming process, it can detect
when no ones home and change the temperature accordingly and it is even
remote controllable via wi-fi and mobile app.
In some areas, home cable companies are now bundling
temperature
automation and smart home features like remote-controlled lighting,
temperatures and security systems and even smoke and carbon monoxide
monitors right into the same online dashboard you use to pay your bill
or order a movie on-demand. Word of mouth raves from users of these
sorts of systems often include delight at money saved on overall more
efficient use of electricity, time saved coming home to check that doors
are locked and other little daily assists beyond the expected
convenience.
These next-gen automations are able to be had in the
$200 or less range, up front, though the size of your home and number
of devices you require can send costs upward. Look for whether your
automation system has a mobile app that allows you to control your home
from your smartphone - many do, and it’s a major plus. Shop around, read
reviews and make sure you understand any monthly subscription fees,
before you buy.
2. Nature’s Niceties. Visiting
my grandmother recently, I was reminded that there is nothing quite so
luxurious as craving a piece of fruit or a particular meal and being
able to walk right into your backyard and grab the fixings for it -
cost-free, and chemical free. This doesn’t even factor in the beauty of a
kitchen garden right outside your window, or the healthfulness of
gardening as a habit.
The range of cost for landscaping and
creating what many now call outdoor rooms is vast. But there are also
dozens of inexpensive projects that can level-up your own home’s nature
factor:
- installing raised vegetable beds in your backyard
- hanging a vertical garden on your kitchen wall
- putting in window boxes or outdoor seating
- installing a bird bath or planting a new tree.
Lush, green anything is a luxury that can cost very little to enjoy for years on end.
3. Delicious Details.
Customizing, sprucing and even adding little details to your home can
make a tract home feel custom, a condo feel personalized and can even
take a home with character and imbue it with your character. These
little projects can also be bizarrely high in the
aesthetic impact and feeling of polish they add to a home vis-a-vis the
relatively low investment of time and money they require.
Walk through your place and see where you can add, improve or tweak the details - consider projects like:
- Adding crown moldings or baseboards
- Adding interior or exterior shutters
- Painting moldings, baseboards, mantles and door trims a contrasting color to the surrounding areas
- Replacing doors and lighting fixtures (I just replaced the pendant
lighting fixture over my own kitchen table and have to say, it looks
like a new room!)
- Replacing dated faucets, sinks, toilets and hardware - even recessed lighting soffits and door handles
- Painting exterior eaves, doors, trims and fences.
4. Solar. A recent survey by
Sunrun
revealed that over 40% of Americans believe a solar system cost more
than $20,000. And get this: eight out of 10 homeowners said they would
install a solar system at home if cost wasn’t a factor. Solar is not
for everyone, and not even for every home, but in states with sunny, hot
summers and energy bills to boot, installing a solar system can create
the double luxury of allowing you to run your home on renewable energy
and reduce your energy costs in one fell swoop.
Truth is, in some
states, cost isn’t a factor. There’s a new generation of companies -
solar power service providers - who will pay for a solar system, install
it on your home for little or nothing, and pay for its maintenance. In
turn, you pay them for the power you use, at a rate that is generally
lower than what you were paying the utility.
These arrangements
are not available everywhere, but if you’ve always thought you’d go
solar if you could afford it, it’s certainly worth investigating whether
you can find a solar service provider in your neck of the woods.
5. Built-ins (or faux ones).
Built-ins like desks, book shelves, closet systems and even kitchen
recycling centers feel particularly luxurious because they offer a
polished approach to efficient use of the space you have, and often
eliminate the need for bulky pieces of furniture. When you initiate the
installation of built-ins, though, they have the added luxury of being
customized to the way you want to use your home, the activities you
prefer to do in a given room and even the gear you have to use to do it!
If you’re handy, DIY-interested or even have a good local
handyperson or carpenter contact, you might be surprised to realize how
affordable it can be to build a desk or closet organizer into your
existing space.
If you haven’t a handy bone in your body, or
you’d prefer to keep the space flexible, you should get up to speed on
all the off-the-shelf built-in alternatives that are on the market, like
a kitchen nook dining set in lieu of a built-in banquette. Think
creatively: placing a day bed under a window with a bookcase on each end
is
a fantastic alternative
to building a window seat between built-in shelves. You might even be
able to score the built-in alternatives on Craigslist or Freecycle, then
have it painted or reupholstered, to get a luxe, custom look at a very
low price.
6. Dedicated spaces.
Like custom built-ins, dedicating a space to a particular favorite
activity is a special luxury, even if your home is not otherwise
especially luxurious. Why not let every member of the family
custom-tailor a corner of your home to whatever they love to do, or
spend a lot of time doing? The idea here is to simply dedicate a space
to an activity, painting it, installing the appropriate furniture and
carving out a place for all the supplies that are involved in that
activity. At my house, I just painted the office in bright colors that
researchers have found to boost creativity, installing new project
tables and bookshelves to facilitate the organization and stand-up work
style I prefer. My friend AG has turned one bedroom into a room for her
menagerie of pets - dogs and birds alike!
At your house, this could include:
- carving out a mudroom with storage racks for your family’s sports equipment
- doubling-down on kitchen area entertaining by putting up a pot rack and adding extra seating and serving spaces
- turning a corner of your great room into a screened meditation spot or homework area for the kids
- creating a 2-, 3- or 4-person office space out of your dining room,
so every member of the family has a place for all their study, work and
bill-paying tasks.
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- Reposted by asktara@trulia
