5 Lighting Upgrades To Increase Your Home’s Value
Builder-spec lighting gets the job done, and for that reason alone homeowners tend to leave it in place for many years. However, oftentimes this means that homes are equipped with the ubiquitous ‘boob lights’ that are seemingly everywhere, or bathroom lights that always leave your face in the shadows!
Upgrading your house’s lighting is a great way to breathe new life into your home, as well as increase its resale value. New home buyers will literally see your home in a new light – and be willing to pay a premium for it! Here are the 5 areas of your home which will benefit most from a professional lighting upgrade this year:
Lighting Upgrades For Increasing Home Value
Let’s take a look at the five best lighting improvements to instantly increase your house’s sale value:
1. Exterior Lighting
Upon hearing “home lighting upgrades”, many homeowners’ immediate thought is of an interior lighting renovation. However, the outside of your home is the first thing prospective buyers will see, and updated exterior lighting can vastly improve your curb appeal!
When done well, outdoor lighting highlights your landscaping, driveway, paths, fire pits, fountains, fencing, and other outdoor areas. If your home has an outdoor patio, deck, pool, or grill area, these can be decked out (pun intended) with beautiful light fixtures. These upgrades make the area look great even after the sun has gone down and ensure that these areas are still a pleasure to use all night long.
2. Kitchen Lighting
The kitchen is the heart of the home and with the right lighting upgrades you can make it beautiful, inviting, and functional!
For starters, a kitchen typically needs three different sets of lighting: general, task, and accent. Each one of these can be updated according to your preferences and budget to get a great new look. Does your kitchen lack one of these types of lighting? That’s a great place to begin!
An easy upgrade is replacing the recessed canister lighting over a kitchen island with hanging lights. To highlight a dramatic backsplash, add LED accent lighting under your cabinets. For the family chef, a few well-placed halogen task lights over your range and prep areas can make a world of difference.
Home buyers appreciate seeing a uniform level of updates to your kitchen. If you have nice new countertops and appliances, but the lighting looks like it came from the 80’s they will be less impressed with what they are seeing! Don’t let your kitchen upgrades languish in the dark – adding kitchen lighting is a great way to highlight your renovations!
3. Bathroom Lighting
For some reason, bathroom lighting is frequently overlooked. Often they are overlit or underlit, which is a shame because the right lighting can create a relaxing spa-like atmosphere or provide the perfect lighting for applying makeup and getting ready to start your day.
If your bathroom only has a wall mounted light or a ceiling mounted light, you are looking at a great candidate for an upgrade. Having both types of lighting, controlled by separate switches, lets you decide how you want your bathroom illuminated at any given time.
Another spot that’s often neglected is the bathroom mirror. Many homes’ bathroom mirrors benefit from side-lighting. This type of lighting helps to minimize shadows and adds a bit of glamor to the room at the same time.
To add to the spa feeling, consider opting for dimmer switches, or even placing a small lamp on the bathroom counter. These more subdued light sources can create an incredibly relaxing environment that’s bound to attract attention from homebuyers.
4. Entryway Lighting
They say first impressions are most important – and your home’s entryway is the first thing you and your guests will see when they arrive at your home. Entryways and foyers have a unique position in the home and can benefit from dramatic light fixtures. While some rooms in the house may not call for, or even support, eccentricity, the entryway is the exception.
Dramatic chandeliers or pieces that look more like modern art can transform what otherwise feels like a boring room into an exciting antechamber. The same is true of sconces and pendants with bolder fixture designs.
Given a little time and attention, the entryway can become one of your home’s most exciting features, and homebuyers, who will almost certainly enter via the front door, are very likely to take notice.
4. Entryway Lighting
They say first impressions are most important – and your home’s entryway is the first thing you and your guests will see when they arrive at your home. Entryways and foyers have a unique position in the home and can benefit from dramatic light fixtures. While some rooms in the house may not call for, or even support, eccentricity, the entryway is the exception.
Dramatic chandeliers or pieces that look more like modern art can transform what otherwise feels like a boring room into an exciting antechamber. The same is true of sconces and pendants with bolder fixture designs.
Given a little time and attention, the entryway can become one of your home’s most exciting features, and homebuyers, who will almost certainly enter via the front door, are very likely to take notice.
5. Living Room Lighting
Like the kitchen, living rooms are a space that benefit from multiple types of lighting. In addition to the task and accent lighting of the kitchen, they also make use of ambient lights to create an atmosphere of comfort, leisure, and relaxation.
If you’re looking to upgrade your living room light situation, a particularly helpful strategy is what’s known as “light layering.” With light layering, you first take into consideration the primary use of the room, and then you layer the lights in such a way to make these activities easier and more enjoyable.
For your family, you might use the living room mainly for watching TV together. Or perhaps you use the living room as a reading or study room. For the socialites among us, the living room is usually the best spot in the house to entertain guests. Whichever of these best describes your household, you can use that information to layer the lights accordingly. If you’re a TV-watching home (like many of us), then you can layer the lights with dimmable bulbs in the ceiling for customizable ambience and to reduce eye strain. You might add a few table lamps for extra task lighting at night, and perhaps some small accent lights near the baseboards. You’ll want to avoid anything too bright, which might be distracting from the television.
If hosting is more your style, then you’ll want to aim for a brighter effect. Remember, that lighting projecting down from the ceiling can feel harsh or overwhelming and so should be used in moderation. Instead, look for fixtures that create diffuse light, projecting upwards and creating a pleasant glow rather than a bright glare.
Whatever strategy best suits your needs, layered lighting in the living room can be a huge bonus for your family, as well as for those considering purchasing your home in the future.
Highlight Your Home with New Lighting
Whether you’re updating your home with the intention to sell, or looking for ideas for yourself, lighting upgrades are a great addition to any home. They can transform the look of a space, as well as make it more functional and pleasant to use.
From outdoor lighting that highlights your architecture and landscaping to interior lighting which matches the way you use your space, there are many good options to consider. Are you ready to upgrade your lighting? Contact your local lighting installation and upgrade experts and transform your home!