Home Improvements That Raise Your Home's Value

Many people want to improve the value of their home, regardless of whether they are planning to put it on the market or they just want to enjoy it themselves for a while.

Since not all home improvements will add value to the property it is wise to make the most of any improvements you do make so that they not only look good, but increase the value as well.

By taking full advantage of the information in this piece, you'll be able to make your home improvements count and get your home sold for more money than you ever could have expected, while also making your home comfortable and efficient. 

The Heart of the Home

The kitchen is oftentimes considered to be the heart of the home which makes it a popular choice for a first project when the renovations begin.  As a matter of fact, when you renovate your kitchen, you should be able to get back around 60 to 80 percent of the cost of your renovation project. Another advantage of kitchen remodeling is that you may also save money on the energy bills as remodeling leads to more efficient home energy conservation.


The kitchen design must fall into place with the design of the entire home, otherwise, your choice could be a poor one.  For instance, if your house is designed in a classic motif, you should not consider a kitchen design that has a modern look because it will conflict with the rest of your house. In case, you are not sure about the changes to be made for remodeling, you may start with built-in appliances. You can use an interior designer to figure out ways to create more space.

Extra Bathrooms

If you only have one bathroom in your home, the installation of a second one is definitely going to pay dividends. It too reaps high financial rewards to the tune of 80%-100% increase on investment.

One of the hardest decisions to make is where you can take space from that could become a bathroom. Start by considering rooms that are virtually unused, like an extra bedroom or closet. This could work very well home but a better idea might be to use space underneath your stairs. You really do not need a lot of space, a minimum of 18 square feet is all that is really needed to install a usable bathroom.  That is, however, a minimum and likely too small to add much value to your home.

Transform an Old Room

Transforming a basic room into something more useful is an easy way to increase the value of your home. Some people make the mistake of adding on to their home to boost the square footage of the house.  This can be a very costly project, and not easy to recoup the amount of money that you're spending, which is after all part of the reason that you are doing this. Building an extension is often too risky and costly.

Why not just redesign an area in the home to turn it into something different? This can give your home value a significant boost without forcing you to go into debt. An unused basement is like a blank canvas; it can become a bedroom or rec room. Another often forgotten space is the garage which is perfect for an apartment, bringing the added benefit of potential rental income. As you can see, this is the type of project that can add real value to your home.

Before you start the transformation process, consider exactly what kind of room a potential buyer may be most interested in, such as an at-home office, laundry room, or an extra bedroom. Something that is highly versatile can boost your home value even more.

Flexible Solar Panels: Power Anything Anywhere

The United States is the third largest solar power industry behind China and Japan. The value of the solar power industry is $100 billion.

Flexible solar panels are a great way to power your portable gear. The panels are a new and welcome addition to the maturing use of solar power technology.

Flexible solar panels use the same concepts as stiff panels. Flexible panels have proven to be lightweight, cost-effective and will deliver a good deal of electric you can use to charge quite a few of your portable devices.

The panels go anywhere you go to keep the energy flowing.

They are also tough enough to become integrated into the actual design of  portable products and can produce hours of use from the sun's rays.  Flexible solar panels also give you a way to charge batteries or run electricity to a tent while camping. Flexible panels come with a solution to the most basic need of humans, i.e. mobility.

Now you can easily go biking, hiking, boating, or camping with no worries about powering your equipment.  A very common utilization of these kinds of flexible panels is to power a portable battery charger that can be used to make electrical power for cellular phones and mobile computers.

These products normally are made up of a flex panel which is unrolled or unfolded to catch a good quantity of sun energy. When not in use, the solar panel may be folded back to a small package, which makes a really portable alternative.

This solar battery charger enables you to charge the batteries on the device it’s attached to, or may also charge an internal set of batteries for future use.

The solar panels are an innovative solution for campers and marine travelers where sufficient storage space is greatly lacking. At less than 2 pounds each, these panels come in a variety of sizes and wattage use. The flex panels are amazing for sailboats. Check out this video on how they can velcro right to your boat's Bimini top. Cool!


There are several types of apparel which use the flexible systems within their design. 

By building these kinds of panels in to a hat or backpack it is possible to take advantage of the electric power the sun supplies while you wear these items. You may use the green energy they furnish to charge a cellular telephone or other mobile or portable device in your pocket as you spend time outdoors.

There are numerous book bag, back-pack, and camera case models that really include things like flexible solar panels on their top flap and a pocket to carry the device the flexible solar panel is charging.

This type of product lets you take advantage of the 100% free electricity sunshine supplies, which can run a lot of portable devices for hours. These panels are also being employed in many different types of outdoor lighting products.

The panels are put in a sunny area during the day and used to charge a battery. That electric battery can then power a set of garden or pathway lights during the night when using the free electric power stored during the day.

Even while flexible solar panels show impressive promise their use is generally restricted to powering small devices directly.

If you're looking for solutions to harness solar energy to provide power to your home, boat, RV, or cabin, Take a long look at the flexible solar panels.

Extra Tall Bar Stools are Increasing in Popularity

When you are choosing a bar stool it has been said that the most important factor to take into consideration is height. There are people who might consider this as the most important factor.

If you think about it, height is definitely the most important consideration because without the right height no one will be able to get comfortable on your bar stool.

In recent years more and more new home builders are opting for higher counter tops because of the sense of extra space. With these counter tops becoming more popular we see an increasing need for extra tall bar stools.

When choosing an bar stool you will need to consider an often overlooked factor and that is center of gravity. With people who have young children extra tall bar stools pose a problem because they will topple over easier than their shorter counterparts.

When shopping for a stool you will use the distance from the ground to the top of the actual seat as your measurement rather than to the top of the seats back. This measurement is used for a good reason. The human population is made up many body types.

 A bar stool is designed to leave between 8 to 12 inches from the seat to the underside of the counter.

This is the height that has been agreed upon which allows for as many body types as possible to sit comfortably. You can see then that height is important because if you get it wrong your guests or customers will be very uncomfortable.

What other factors should you consider? 

A good place to start shopping is in your home. There are more variety and styles online than will find in the brick and mortar shops.

Consider the uses you are going to put your bar stools to. Indoors or out, heavy or light traffic are things you should be thinking about. Get something specifically made for outdoor environments if that's where you're going to situate them.

High traffic areas will require scotch guarded fabric or wooden seats to keep your furniture looking good despite frequent use. Metal bar stools are increasingly popular and come in all metal or a hybrid of wood and metal which can produce a striking effect. They can also be perfect for indoors and out and can be moved around accordingly, providing they are not too heavy.

You're probably starting to think that choosing a bar stool is a complicated process. Take your time; work out what height you need first, then choose the style and you'll be sure to get something just right.

Comfortable furniture is a big part of enjoying life. If you would like more ideas on choosing what's best for you and your home - check out the author's website at...Paul's Home Improvement Blog