When you invest in home renovations, you are really making two types of investment. The first is in the long-term value of the house. Updating the kitchen or finishing the attic can do that. But your ROI (return on investment) is never 100% in financial value alone. You are also investing in your happiness; your joy in the house every day that you live there. Home renovations are often done to make the home more joyful, inspiring, comfortable, or convenient. 

Right now, luxurious home renovations are becoming more popular. The at-home lifestyle magnifies the impact of home design on your happiness, and we invest in home renovations that make at-home lifestyles more enjoyable. We invest in making more space for the entire family at home. We invest in home offices, hobby rooms, and turning our backyards into arboreal escapes. These investments may have mixed results in your home's market value, but they ROI many times over if each renovation increases your joy in the house for years and decades after you make the change.

Let's dive into the home renovations that are an investment of joy.

Change the Floorplan: A Whole New Home Experience

Some homeowners are going big, taking out entire walls, finishing basements and attics, and even building additions and guesthouses using available space on the lot. While buying a home may be nearly impossible in today's sellers’ market, you can turn your home into a completely new place by changing the floorplan and features.

You can modify a home for more bedrooms and guest capacity or simplify the design by opening up suites for larger spaces and fewer rooms. You can take an old, compartmentalized floorplan and - with a few pillars - turn it into an open-plan home instead. You can convert the garage, transform the attic, or renovate any room to a new purpose if you're willing to put in the time and funds for the transformation.

Bring In the Light: Windows and Light Fixtures

A change in lighting can make an enormous difference in how you experience each room of your home. A room that is too dim will often trend toward clutter and an enclosed feeling. Bringing in natural light and illuminating light fixtures can almost restore access to rooms that have been shrouded in darkness. Many people enlarge their windows and install new light fixtures when renovating to make the home more joyful to live in. When your kitchen is flooded with morning sunlight or your living room glows in golden afternoons, your entire home feels more inviting and energetic.

Interior lights brighten up the nighttime and modern smart lights give you maximum flexibility in both color and illumination with a simple voice command.

Remove Inconvenience: Open Up Spaces and Refresh Your Ergonomics

Many joy-based home renovations aim to remove inconveniences of the home's original design. You don't have to live with tight corners and annoyingly shallow sinks when a few quick changes could multiply your ability enjoy the home. Knock down walls you don't like. Change the direction of the hinges on your doors and cabinets. Rip out old carpets you've hated for years and put in a modern easy-to-clean floor like ceramic tile or composite wood boards. 

Many old homes have sinks that splash everywhere without any real space to wash. Replace a shallow kitchen sink with a deep copper or fireclay farmhouse and find elegant deep-cut sinks for each bathroom sporting the old 80s splash basin design.

Replace rattling windows and doorknobs, rebuild squeaky stairs, and completely redesign your laundry room for space, light, and convenient surfaces. You can even have weak plumbing redesigned and flickering wiring replaced.

There are so many little ways to increase joy in your home simply by renovating away those minor (and major) inconveniences.

A Dash of Luxury: Turn Your Home Into a Retreat

Luxury home renovations are all the rage right now. With so many professionals living at home and spending less of their income on travel and outings, luxurious time at home is much more important. Both soaking tubs and walk-in showers are at the top of the home renovation list this year, but luxury kitchen, bedroom, living room, and outdoor living renovations are also on the menu.

Home chefs are giving their kitchens the gourmet upgrade with new appliances, deep farmhouse sinks, and video-ready entertainer islands. Living rooms are getting the entertainment center and accent wall upgrades, and closet organizer sets are back in vogue. Considering a romantic double-sided fireplace in the master bed/bath? A fun option if your roof reinstallation is coming up to add the new chimney.  One big luxurious renovation is often worth the decades of sumptuous joy you will get in return.

Transforming the Outdoors: Enjoy Your Entire Space

Don’t forget the outdoor living movement. Popular even before the push for at-home lifestyles, enjoying your outdoors is now an important way to optimize your space. Covered decks and draped pergolas allow you to design your perfect outdoor kitchen, dining, and relaxation space. You can landscape arboreal hideaways for sun-dappled naps, create exploration paths for kids and pets, and frame an event space for cozy family gatherings.

The Renovation You're Dreaming of?

Are there a few specific home renovations that would drastically increase your happiness each time you walked through the living room, prepared a meal in the kitchen, or slept deeply in your bedroom? Are you dreaming of more natural light, accent architecture, or just to remove a few pain-points from your daily routine? These are the home renovations you will appreciate every day once they are complete.

Ask yourself: Is there one aspect of the house you are always quietly wishing you could change? Perhaps the living room is too dark, or the kitchen is just a little cramped. Maybe your foot scuffs on one specific doorsill and you just want to rip it out and put in a level piece. Do it.

Next, ask yourself what would uplift you to see or experience on a regular basis? Many people are happiest with more natural light or creating an accent wall with trim and paint that transforms the aesthetic of the family room completely. A little can go a long way, or you go big and rip out a wall to create a modern open floorplan that will lift your spirits each time you walk through the open space.

When planning a home renovation, you are investing in the joy you will experience for years because of your changes. From making your kitchen a joy to cook in to adding a soaking jacuzzi tub to the master suite, you deserve to experience joy every day in your home. Every year that a renovation brings you joy is another valuable return on your initial investment. Plus, luxury home features are often reflected well on your home's market price should you ever decide to move again after making this home perfect for you.

Ready to transform your kitchen with a sink that's a joy to wash and cook with? Contact us or explore the gorgeous Fossil Blue copper and fireclay Farmhouse collection today.