10 Ways To Upgrade Your Builder Grade Home

New construction homes are almost always built to a price point. Some of the fixtures and finishes may not meet your quality standards. This is where the phrase “builder grade” comes from. If you would like to upgrade your home, our list may help you replace some of those inexpensive finishes with higher quality options. When you are ready to redo the entire room, hiring a professional home remodeling contractor like LaBonte Construction will be necessary.

Paint Your Cabinets

Cabinets are the first thing most people see when they enter your kitchen. Painting your cabinets can have a huge impact, and help you avoid a costly kitchen remodeling project. Not all cabinets are good candidates for painting. Laminate or thermofoil doors, doors with loose or chipping veneer and cabinets with particle board carcasses are usually not worth saving. Dated cabinets with quality construction are the best candidates for refinishing. If your carcasses and doors are in good shape, but you want upgraded hinges, many stores sell quiet-close hinges that can be retrofitted to make your cabinets feel brand new.

Surface preparations are the most important part of painting your cabinets. We recommend stripping the cabinets and doors to bare wood. If that is not possible, washing the cabinets with TSP and scuffing them with sandpaper is the bare minimum. After the wood is prepared, make sure to use a high quality primer before you pick a topcoat.

We recommend oil based paints on cabinet doors because of it’s longevity. Unfortunately, oil based finishes can be harder to work with and give off noxious fumes. Make sure to follow the instructions on the can and wear PPE to ensure your safety. Spraying the cabinet doors will give you the most uniform finish, but brushing on the paint will give you old-world charm and be easier to touch up if there is a nick or scratch.

Add Crown Molding

Adding crown molding is inexpensive compared to other projects, but can have a huge impact. Installing crown molding is more advanced than some of the other upgrades on this list. It might be advisable to hire a qualified home remodeling contractor to assist with the project. Having the proper tools, ladders and insurance is important when working on the ceilings of your home.

Crown molding is the molding that transitions from the flat surface of a wall, to the horizontal surface of the ceiling. Most commonly, our home remodeling clients request crown molding in their master bedroom, on their kitchen cabinets, in their powder room and in their dining room. To achieve a custom look without the expense of a custom molding, consider stacking two stock moldings together to make the molding wider and more complex.

Replace Hardware

While brass has made a comeback in recent years, low quality lacquered brass hardware has not. Replacing the old cabinet hardware, door knobs and hinges can make a huge impact. This helps avoid replacing your homes doors or needing to remodel your kitchen. Popular replacement finishes include antique brass, oil rubbed bronze, chrome and brushed nickel.

When ordering new kitchen cabinet hardware, consider the spacing of the existing holes so you do not need to do any patching or refinishing. Entry door handles can feel more luxurious if you switch from a knob style to a handle style.

Create Accent Walls

Often, new construction home builders will paint all of the rooms one color to save money. Adding an accent wall can transform a room. An accent wall is a wall that is a different color, material or design than the other walls around it. The three most common types of accent walls are painted, wallpapered and paneled.

A painted accent wall is the least expensive. Generally, the first symmetrical wall that you see when you enter the room should be the accent wall. Avoiding walls with a lot of windows, doors, or other architectural details is best. Because paint is inexpensive and relatively fast, it can be low risk to try a bold color or even a pattern such as stripes or chevrons.

Wallpaper allows you to create an accent wall with a big impact. While most wallpapering is best left to the professionals, there are companies with peel and stick wallpaper that make installation more DIY friendly. Remember, wallpaper is only as smooth as the surface it is applied to. Make sure your wall is smooth and primed before installation.

Paneled walls are more permanent, but also can make your space feel luxurious. Using solid wood or MDF, you can mimic a classic design or create something new.

Upgrade Lighting

Often, new construction home builders put in the least expensive lighting and bath fans they can. Upgrading your light fixtures can have a huge impact on the aesthetic and even the energy efficiency of your home. Many new construction homes use flush mount bulk pack lights in the center of the room. Replacing these fixtures with a decorative LED light fixture will change the room drastically, for the better.

Converting old style, incandescent can light bulbs and trims to LED models can save energy and make the room feel more modern. Our favorite trims are adjustable for color temperature so that the user can pick the perfect warmth for the room. Consider priming and painting the trims the color of the ceiling, if you want the lights to disappear into the ceiling.

Upgrading your bath fan not only lessens the moisture and smell in your bathroom, but is also quieter and consumes less energy. Consulting a licensed electrical remodeling contractor for this replacement is strongly recommended.

Add Closet Organizers

According to Century 21 Real Estate, “If you’re looking for a way to increase the value of your home, consider looking not in the kitchen, but rather in the closets,”. Not only do closet organizers help with resale, but they also improve function and organization in your daily activities. Common trends in closet organization include adding a dresser in the closet, adding an island, creating his-and-her closets and adding accent lighting to show off a collection.

Closet makeovers can range from mild to wild. There are organization systems available at big box stores and at organization stores. You can also hire a home remodeling contractor to create custom cabinets for your clothes.

Paint Your Front Door

Painting your door can be a involved process, but it can change the look of your home and increase curb appeal. Make sure you prepare the door well, like you would with any painting project. Most people select gloss paint. Common colors include black, red and yellow. Using an oversized sample card from your local paint store will help you decide on the color before you take the door off the hinges and have the paint mixed. While you are painting the door, consider updating the hardware or adding a smart lock.

Replace Cheap Countertops

Builders often install laminate countertops to save money in areas like the basement and laundry room. Many builders commonly install low grade granite countertops in the kitchen. Upgrading these countertops to quartz or marble not only makes them more beautiful, but also more functional. This can make your home more valuable to buyers. When selecting new countertops, remember that you will most likely need a new sink. Additionally, you can use this opportunity to upgrade your faucet and food waste disposal.

Replace Flooring

Laminate flooring and cheap carpeting are hallmarks of budget new construction builds. Upgrading your carpeting and pad to something nicer can feel better on your feet, make your home quieter and improve the appearance of your space.

Hardwood or tile would be great replacements for laminate flooring. Hardwood gives you the option to have it refinished as it wears over time. No matter how realistic your vinyl is, tile looks much better in bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms.

Add A Stair Runner

If you were lucky enough to get hardwood stair treads in your new construction home, consider adding a stair runner. A runner is a bound piece of carpet that breaks up the monotony of the wood, and can provide a pop of color and texture marking the pathway upstairs. Stair runners can also help reduce the noise from going up and down the stairs. A runner makes the stairs safer by offering padding and traction over the hardwood.

Conclusion

Small upgrades may buy you some time before doing a major home remodel. Implementing some of the ideas we discussed can be inexpensive and be done in a weekend. When you are ready to fully renovate the space, call our experienced home remodeling contractors at LaBonte Construction.