Taste
Decorating for the sense of taste is all about implication—creating a space where food is enjoyed and celebrated. Make sure your house facilitates easy, communal eating by assessing your dining spaces. Is your table large enough for extra guests and durable enough to handle inevitable food and drink spills? Do sitting areas have handy spots for people to set drinks upon? Do you have room for an outdoor dining space? Other ideas: create a window sill garden with herbs, tiny hot peppers or tomatoes or a lettuce mix for cutting fresh mesclun. Plant a fruit tree that's visible from the kitchen or living room window. Set a warm pot of fragrant herbal tea on a guest's night table at bedtime. And don't forget the time-tested standby—a bowl full of seasonal fresh fruit.
Smell
When appealing to the sense of smell, subtlety is key. Try incorporating the outdoors by using the fresh scents of nature. Hang a eucalyptus cutting on a shower head to release a fresh, clean scent with every steamy shower. Plant a fragrant bush like honeysuckle, rose, or gardenia under a bedroom window to wake up the scent of flowers wafting in. Put a lavender plant in a bedroom or bathroom. Plant a rosemary shrub by the front door—whenever someone brushes by it, it will release its piney scent. Go seasonal with outdoor scents, bringing pine boughs in during December or fresh flowers in spring. Cedar blocks or shelves in a closet smell pleasantly old-fashioned and keep moths away too. Toss scented pine cones into the fire on wintry nights. Or just open a window and let a fresh breeze drift in.
Sight
Whether your taste is classic, mid-century modern or eclectic, there are certain visual rules that apply for all styles: Create a focal point in each space. Use harmonious colors for calm and high contrast for excitement. Group like things together and display objects in odd numbers. Allow for plenty of clear spaces on table tops and other surfaces for the eye to rest. Use a variety of light sources, including natural lighting and task lighting, and incorporate candlelight and light from a fireplace. For a cost-free makeover, walk through the room looking at everything as though seeing it for the first time. Purge art and objects that no longer suit you and rearrange furniture to engage with the space in a fresh way.
Touch
Engage the sense of touch with contrasts. Contrast crisp sheets with a soft warm comforter and big puffy pillows. Set off the smooth tiles of a bathroom with oversized fluffy towel or drape a luxe silky throw over a modernist chair. Add things that can be touched and look fun to touch, like a worn handmade wooden table, a curvy piece of sculpture, or a nubby throw pillow. Think about what flooring would feel best under your feet—the cool minimalist feel of tile or polished cement or the cushy warmth of carpet with thick padding underneath? When putting in new fixtures like door knobs, faucet handles and light switches, consider their feel. Do they move smoothly? Do they have a nice weight to them and feel good in your hand? Consider investing in luxurious items like heated towel racks, a premium showerhead, heated floors, or a quiet ceiling fan to bring in a cool breeze.
Sound
Appealing to the sense of sound is not only about emphasizing pleasant sounds but de-emphasizing or eliminating unpleasant sounds. The most obvious way to bring sound into a space is with music, but other ways include adding water feature, bamboo wind chimes or even just opening a window to bring in the sounds of the outdoors. Run a fan or white noise machine at night to create a peaceful sleeping space and install double-paned windows to mask traffic noises. Soften the sound of large open rooms with textiles and cork flooring. And don't forget ambient noise: oil squeaky doors, fix rattling appliances, knocking pipes, and creaky stairs.
“Any changes you make on your house now should increase your home value later,” says Kermit Baker, project director for the Remodeling Futures program at Harvard University. But which projects will yield the most bang for your buck? Take a look at this list, starting with the upgrades most likely to recoup your investment, and then enjoy that gleaming new kitchen.
1. Painting
Why it pays off: Paint provides dramatic results with little investment. If you decide to hire a professional to do the work, expect to pay $3,600 to $6,000 for the interior of an average American house (about 2,400 square feet). An exterior paint job will run $5,000 or more. Can’t decide on a color? Gerri Willis, the anchor of Open House on CNN, says that pale yellow homes tend to sell faster and for more money. Barbara Richardson, the director of color marketing for Glidden and a noted color-trend forecaster, explains, “Yellow is optimistic and inspirational. It gives people joy and the sense that brighter times are ahead.”2. Adding Siding
Why it pays off: According to the 2007 Cost vs. Value Report, a study conducted by Remodeling magazine, fiber-cement siding (which is made of sand, cement, and cellulose fibers and costs an average of $13,200) is estimated to recoup about 88 percent (or $11,635) of a home owner’s initial investment. While vinyl can crack, split, and warp and aluminum tends to dent and fade, easy-care fiber cement holds up well against the elements and is resistant to fire, rotting, and termites.3. Building a Deck
Why it pays off: A deck will provide you with more than a place to flip burgers and soak up the sun. “Buyers see a deck as offering a seamless transition from inside to out,” says Jerry Levine, president of the Levine Group, an architectural and construction firm in Silver Spring, Maryland. Experts suggest using natural, rustic wood. In 2007 wooden decks (as opposed to concrete or composite ones) reaped an impressive return on investment: Home owners who spent an average of $10,350 on lumber and labor could expect to recoup $8,840, or 85 percent of their costs.4. Updating the Kitchen
Why it pays off: You really can’t go wrong with remodeling your kitchen, which can net up to 83 percent of the cost. “People know that renovating can be a nightmare, and potential buyers will appreciate that you did the dirty work for them,” says Vern Yip, a designer and the host of HGTV’s Deserving Design. “But stick with high-quality fixtures, like stainless-steel appliances and granite counters, and don’t pair them with a cheaper material, like laminate.” A word of caution: If your house is a tiny two-bedroom bungalow, don’t bother splurging on, say, a high-end stove. “You’ll never get your money back by installing fancy appliances in a smaller home,” says Leslie Sellers, vice president of the Appraisal Institute, an association of real estate–appraisal professionals in Chicago. And if an appliance overhaul isn’t in the cards, “you can easily make cosmetic updates on a kitchen that’s in decent shape,” says Steven D. Bullock, a designer in New York City and a certified member of the National Kitchen & Bath Association, in Hackettstown, New Jersey. For example, if your existing appliances are in good working order, coat them with electrostatic paint to give them a metallic or enamel-type finish. And you don’t have to rip out your cabinets, either. 5. Replacing the Windows
Why it pays off: If you’re experiencing cool and blustery weather…in your living room, it’s time to buy new panes, pronto. Not only are you losing precious heat but your utility bill could also be skyrocketing. “Energy-efficient windows eliminate drafts, so your home feels warmer,” says Sellers. Last year home owners who spent $11,400 on 10 three-by-five-foot insulated vinyl or aluminum-clad windows got an 81 percent ($9,240) return.
