Get Spring Fever!

When spring rolls around you can get Spring Fever. You start cleaning up areas around your home that you've let go during the long winter. You've also started to notice a few things that could look better - things that need improvement. There are plenty of home remodeling projects that have been discussed to death in magazines and across the internet. So here are a few much-less talked about ideas to spruce up your home - and add value, should you choose to sell:

Add a Master Suite: There is typically a "master bedroom" in most homes and apartments, but a Master Suite can be something entirely different, depending upon interpretation. There is usually room to expand most bedrooms, knocking out part of a wall in a different room to make way. Adding even five feet to a bedroom can give it a much more open appearance. Also, expanding the bathroom, adding more luxury to its décor, can give you - or potential buyers - a total feel of comfort.

Upgrade Your Bathroom: Similar to the above idea, adding a real Master Bathroom can add elegance to your home. Even if the new bathroom is not a part of the master bedroom, it can be a viable option. Guest bathrooms that have been renovated to give comfort and relaxation to visitors can keep friends content at get-togethers.

Install a Gate: While outside some budgets, installing a gate at the outside of your residence can add much to both the scenery of your home and the security of it. Large gates with an intercom system can let you know when you have visitors as well as deter potential thieves from targeting your home.

Wine Cellar: Few home additions garner as much conversation as a wine cellar. Even if you're just starting out on your collection, a few bottles properly placed can add a sense of intellectualism to your home, even if you're only a mild to average collector. They're surprisingly easy to install, and most professional remodeling companies are seasoned in the different varieties.

Have You Thought About Renovating Your Basement?

                                                                                Before you spend thousands of dollars on a room addition, take a short trip downstairs and have a look at your basement. Remodeling a basement is one of the easiest, cheapest ways to add usable square footage to your house without a grade level room addition. Basement remodels take up no additional land area and don't take away from your home's existing architectural style.

Play Areas, Teen Hangouts, & Music Studios

Don't think of your basement simply as a place to store holiday decorations, place sports equipment that you think you will use someday, and send your kids when they are bad. If you maintain an open mind, your basement can be anything you want (well, almost). Take advantage of your basement's "faults" such as isolation and darkness. Since basements are separated from the rest of the house on a lower floor, and are partially or completely underground, the surrounding earth acts as a sound barrier. This makes the basement ideal for noisy activities.

Exercise Rooms & Recreation Room

You can take advantage of the large open space in your basement by turning it into an exercise room or recreation room. Since a basement sub-floor is almost always concrete, which doesn't transmit sound or vibration; you can go crazy on the treadmill without making the house shake like a 7.0 earthquake. You can carpet a portion of the room so that you will have a cushioned area for stretching, sit ups or running in place. If you are concerned about lugging your vacuum down the basement steps, you consider using interlocking rubber mats instead.