Redo Your Bedroom and Increase Your Home’s Value

Photo credit: istockphoto

Guest Blog by Kent Elliot

​How we set up our bedrooms is important. After all, we spend a third of our day in this area, so it deserves some attention. A big mistake many people make is adding too much to the room when the space should be free of clutter and distractions. The bedroom should be a sanctuary of rest where you can leave the stresses of the day at the door.

Doing even a minor remodel on the bedroom can be particularly rewarding when the time comes to sell your house. Not only does a bedroom upgrade boost your home’s aesthetic appeal so it stands out in the market to potential buyers, you can also expect a 40 to 80 percent return on investment for the project. The difference between that 40 and 80 percent has a lot to do with how much you can save when completing the project.

Rip Up Carpet

Out of all the rooms in the house, carpet makes the most sense to have in the bedroom. However, carpet looks outdated and may even be making you sick. Believe it or not, carpet can accumulate as much as 40 pounds of dirt and dust over the short span of a single year. Nasty dust mites live off that dirt, making their homes in your bedroom. Furthermore, the fibers of carpet provide more surface area and crevices to collect harmful bacteria and viruses.

Removing carpet in the bedroom is also a job you can do yourself. It takes minimal equipment—many of the tools you need are ones you probably have on hand already—and a weekend or so to complete, depending on the size of your room. After the carpet is ripped up, you have to decide what to do with the subfloor.

Consider the following:

• Plywood subfloors need to be re-covered with a more sturdy and attractive option, such as hardwood, laminates, or bamboo.
• If you have hardwood floors under there, clean and refinish them yourself. Putting carpet over them in the first place was a home-design sin.
• Staining concrete floors lends a cool, modern feel to the room. Add warmth with an area rug strategically placed beneath your bed so it’s the first thing your feet hit when you get up in the morning.

Add Storage

Clutter is a direct contributor to anxiety and can keep you up at night. Remove any furniture that has to do with work or activity—no desks or exercise equipment in the bedroom. Remove televisions and computers while you’re at it. These electronics emit excessive amounts of blue light that disrupt sleep. Once these items are moved out, you can focus on cutting back on the remaining clutter.

Reducing clutter in the bedroom isn’t just about adding storage—you likely need to go through your belongings and get rid of items that have served their purpose. However, some extra storage solutions can keep things out of sight so you don’t have to deal with so much visual noise.

• A wardrobe wall can be an attractive accent that hides clutter with discretion.
• Consider investing in a platform bed that has drawers for clothing or books.
• Double-duty furniture is your friend; try using small dressers as nightstands or an ottoman that opens up to hold blankets.
• Maximize your existing closet’s potential by taking advantage of vertical space.

​A bedroom remodel adds a breath of fresh air in an area where we conduct one of our most important healthy habits: sleep. If your bedroom has carpet, rip it up and replace with a more modern hard floor option. Clutter causes anxiety and can prevent you from being able to fall asleep. And while cleaning out belongings is a big part of reducing clutter, installing creative storage solutions can help ensure things stay organized—and be an appealing feature for potential buyers if you ever decide to sell your home.

For assistance with a bedroom remodel, please contact Fort Rock Construction at 541-767-1611. We've been helping Eugene and Springfield homeowners fall in love with their homes since 2001.