How to make it better

Published 03rd Oct 2007

Why waste money moving? Follow our top 20 tips for improving your home
Jayne Dowle

AS IF the panic about Northern Rock, interest rates and rising prices wasn’t enough, a report by the Halifax indicates that it costs an average of £4,700 to move house in England and Wales – and a thumping £12,700 in London. This includes surveys, stamp duty, legal and estate agency fees. No wonder so many of us are choosing to stay put. So how can you make the most of where you live? From building an extension to reorganising your bookshelves, here are 20 ideas to inspire:

1 Kerb appeal
The latest thing to transform cracked concrete and weed-infested tarmac drives is epoxy-resin bonded gravel, a permanent, hard-wearing surface that goes onto your existing drive and comes in a variety of colours and finishes. Expect to pay between £35-45 per sq m (inc VAT), according to the installation company Drive-Cote.

2 Wooden cladding
Exterior cladding has stunning effects on 1960s and 1970s estate properties. Cladding (red cedar is popular), is a “must-have” material for architects and is crossing into the domestic market. Get advice from the Timber Research and Development Association helpdesk on 01494 569601, or visit www.trada.co.uk .

3 Use your rooms
Are your rooms being put to the best purpose? Get a friend to come and tell you what they would do with the layout of your house if it were theirs. “Whether it is making a nursery from a storeroom or a spare bedroom in the garden shed, this can be an easy design solution,” says the designer Sir Terence Conran.

4 Multi-generational living
This is the next big thing, predicts David Birkbeck, the chief executive of Design for Homes, which champions good building design. “Architects are designing houses with several doors at different levels, so grown-up children can come in late without disturbing their parents,” he says. Could french doors be installed in a downstairs room? Could sleeping accommodation be split into two floors, adults on one and children on the other?

5 Extend your space
When choosing a major project, go for the one that adds the most space, advises the Halifax, as this will add the most value. Its top three recommendations are a new extension, loft conversion or kitchen. However: “Poorly executed home improvements can detract from the value of your property,” says Patrick Sawdon, a valuer at the Halifax.

6 Do you really need the garage?
If it adjoins the house, you might knock through to make a playroom or office, adding french windows and an extra storey. Jayne Stephenson, 37, lives in a modern townhouse in West Green, South Yorkshire, and is subdividing her garage to create a study: “The front half is for storage, and the back half, which has a door to the hall, will be a study for my partner, freeing up the house from his computer equipment,” she says.

7 Windows are good
Double-aspect windows transform a room. Internal walls can be demolished (if they are weight-bearing, get in a structural engineer via the Institution of Structural Engineers on 020-7235 4535, www.istructe.org ) to make a through-space that allows light to flood in from opposite ends. Other options include keeping the division but installing a large window or replacing a wall with glass bricks. This can have impressive results in a narrow hallway.

8 The kitchen
Make it work: to free up space, consider moving the “utilities” (washing machine, dryer, freezer) into a purpose-built shed in the garden. Be aware of the security and insurance implications.

9 The loft
Win extra storage in your loft with floorboards and a drop-down loft ladder. Prices start from about £500, including fitting.

10 Bring in natural light
Velux windows are a classic choice (www.velux.co.uk ). More ambitious is a lantern light in the roof. Contact Architect Your Home on 0800 8498505 or www.architect-yourhome.com .

11 Fix the minor problems
Sort out rattling windows, blocked drainpipes, leaking pipes and overgrown trees before they become major problems. Buy The Reader’s Digest DIY Manual, £19.99, and look for the Trustmark logo (www.trustmark.org.uk ) for government and industry-recognised tradesmen.

12 Is your home energy-efficient?
Making it so will save you money on fuel bills, and will make it easier to sell when the time comes: a high rating on an energy performance certificate (EPC) will be popular with buyers. See the Energy Saving Trust’s web-site, www.energysavingtrust.org.uk , for advice and check with your local council at www.direct.gov.uk for possible grants for home insulation.

13 A spot of paint
Wash your white paintwork, sandpaper and fill cracks with woodfiller (Polyfilla do a good range). On wood, try Dulux One Coat: around £8 for 750ml. On radiators, Hammerite will retain its colour longer than ordinary paint.

14 Go for magnolia
A recent survey of estate agents claimed that your home can be devalued by an average of £1,392 because of garish decorating. The biggest turn-off is a red or orange interior, said the survey, conducted for Privilege Insurance. Seven out of ten agents agreed that magnolia was the best colour to optimise value, but only 37 per cent of homes are painted this shade. If yours has turned into a patchwork of clashing colour schemes, cover it all with tones of cream and off-white. You will be rewarded with a calming backdrop, which can be easily touched up should you put it on the market.

15 Carpet treatment
There comes a time when no amount of cleaning can make your carpet look good again. If the floorboards are good, rip it up and put down a rug for a quick fix. But what else to replace it with? “The most popular carpet is a mix of 80 per cent wool, 20 per cent nylon, usually in beige tones,” says Dennis Flower, Editor of Carpet and Flooring Review.

“Striped patterns are also being sold, especially for stair runners.” He adds that sales of laminate flooring are in decline, especially at the cheaper end. Top laminate brands include QuickStep and Kährs, with light oak selling best.

16 The bathroom
Improve your storage here. Put a fitted cupboard under the sink and towel racks over the door. Replace linen baskets with laundry bags on hooks, and put shelves on the wall above the lavatory.

17 Shelve it
Put storage on the wall, not the floor. Check out Ikea’s Billy bookshelves, from £20, and the Besta system, which has lots of options for media storage, including shelves strong enough to hold hardware and a CD rack for £99.

18 Cut out the cables
A tangle of electrical cables will get on your nerves, and can be dangerous. Ask a qualified electrician to install extra electrical sockets close to where they are required, and get cable tidies – long plastic tubes that cover unsightly wires. Maplins do 1.5m lengths for £2.49

19 Clear the clutter
Live like you are selling your house. Clear out clutter and sort out overstuffed cupboards, pack away dust-attracting nicknacks, don’t leave washing around, and make sure the house is tidy when you leave it. Keeping your home looking great makes it a nicer place to live, and presenting it for sale will be much easier.

20 And finally . . . instead of uplifting your mind, piles of books drag you down. Arrange your books by their colour: you could form a spectrum from white to yellow to orange through red, purple and blue to black. An added benefit and side-effect is that intellectual purists will shudder.

Source: ' Times Online '

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