Cost-Efficient Upgrades to Choose When Building a Home

Without a doubt, building a house is an exciting experience, full of options. When you choose to build a home, instead of buying one that someone has already lived in, you have a clean palette with many choices that are otherwise known as upgrades. Of course, just as the word “upgrade” sounds, those enhancements come with a price tag.

When you’re on a budget and trying to select upgrades during the build process, it helps to think about functionality and return on investment, even if you are building your “forever home.”

Here are a few new-home upgrades that won’t steer you wrong:

Kitchen Upgrades – More and more, much of a family’s time is spent in the kitchen. Not only is the kitchen the place where meals are prepared and often eaten; but, the kitchen is also a hub for social activity. So, it absolutely pays to spend on upgrades in the kitchen. Countertops, cabinets and appliances are three very popular kitchen upgrades.

If you ever intend to sell your home, future buyers may pay close attention to cabinets and appliances. What might they be looking for? Energy-efficient appliances and high-end cabinets, like the kind that extend to the ceiling or have premium hinges and soft-close doors. When you’re selecting appliances during your build process, consider splurging on a quiet dishwasher or microwave drawer. 

Flooring Upgrades – Tile, vinyl, hardwood, carpet… oh, the options! During the home-building process, you may see so many flooring options that they begin to blur together! But, when it comes to choosing what kind of floors to put in your home, experts suggest splurging a little on hardwood flooring and upgraded carpeting.

Year after year, it seems that buyers never tire of seeing hardwood floors. So, if you can afford to put hardwood floors in your kitchen and main living areas, you may be doing yourself a favor down the road if you ever intend to sell. When it comes to carpeting, you can increase your home’s value by selecting upgraded carpet textures and carpet pads. Finally, in colder temperatures, radiant heat flooring is an excellent upgrade choice.  

Lighting Upgrades – When you’re building a home, you can’t go wrong with adding more lighting. Additional bathroom and kitchen lighting is always a draw and can be accomplished by adding windows or under cabinet lighting. If you’re not keen on a bright space all of the time, dimmer switches are an excellent upgrade that will give you control over your lighting situation. If you can afford skylights, they are a beautiful way to increase the light in your home also.

Storage Upgrades – “This home has too much storage” is not a phrase that has ever been said about any home… ever. You can never go wrong by upgrading the closets in a new construction. Of course, closet size is a consideration, but organization is also a key feature. There are many great organization systems that can add storage options to even a small space.

Personal Upgrades – Finally, despite what the experts say about which upgrades may add value to your new home, remember… it is your new home. What upgrades are valuable to you? If granite is something that you’ve always wanted, include it on your upgrade list. If it is cathedral ceilings or crown molding that you crave, make sure you include them.

When you’re going through the home building process, keep in mind that this is your custom home. So, upgrades that will give you a higher return on investment are always a good idea, but so are upgrades that will increase your satisfaction with your new home.