5 Small-Home Upgrades You’ll Regret Even Thinking About

The moment you walked into that adorable bungalow, you knew it was “The One.” It wrapped its cozy, snug-as-a-bug feeling around you and practically whispered, “Buy me.”

So you did!

Now you’re ready to make your dream-home Pins happen for real.

But, as a small-home owner, be cautious. Follow the wrong inspirational trend, and you could end up designing a too-teeny-to-be-comfy space.

Beware of any home project that calls for:

#1 Ceiling Lights

That’s because overhead lighting (including recessed lighting) illuminates the room — emphasizing its size. And when you don’t want to emphasize a room’s size (we’re looking at you, tiny living room), it’s better to break it up into individually lit areas that draw the eye to different spots.

So you may want to rethink that vintage mid-century light fixture you’ve been lusting after at the ReStore.

Think table and floor lamps, says Toni Sabatino, a Long Island interior designer, who reminds us to not forget about the function while transforming the form. Where will you sit to read? How much light do you need over the dining room table?

“Task lighting adds not only function,” she says, “it adds charm and visual interest.”

#2 Painting Every Room a Wildly Different Color

In large houses with large rooms, each room can be its own color universe. Yet, the same tactic will only make your smaller home look like a whole world of crazy.

The colors really should coordinate, since you usually can see into more than one room at a time in smaller homes, says Sabatino.

But that doesn’t mean you have to go with just one neutral color. (Could anything be more boring?)

Think one color palette with a few colors and stick with it, Sabatino says.

#3 Sliding-Glass Shower Doors

Glass doors on your tub have got to be better than that mold-growing shower curtain you’ve got now, right?

Plus, won’t glass (because it’s see-through) make the room feel bigger?

Not really.

While a traditional glass-door tub enclosure may seem like a good idea, it’s really more like putting up a permanent wall. It divides your already-cramped bath into two even tinier spaces. Never mind how to get all the soap scum off those yucky parts where the doors overlap. And when you blow-dry your hair? Hello, bruised elbow.

Instead, add a glass panel that goes one-third to halfway across the tub. They’re not that expensive (starting around $250), especially for the expansive feeling they’ll add to your bath without you actually having to knock down walls.

And cleaning? Super easy because a) some panels swing out a bit to make tough spots easier to reach, and b) there’s less to clean!

#4 Filled-Up Rooms

“I talked to a brilliant architect who designs tiny houses and he doesn’t look at square feet, he looks at cubic feet,” says Suzanne Felber, a designer in Dallas.

When you look at a room that way, you realize things like winged armchairs, sofas with overflowing cushions, ornate hutches, decorative what-nots (and clutter!) all have extra bulk that make a room feel overfull.

Minimalist furniture that maximizes function, not flair, and a clutter-free strategy will make the room feel spacious — and still be super comfy.

Sabatino suggests using streamlined sectional sofas and tables that can have pieces pulled out and moved around, making it easier to entertain larger groups, and then rearranged for a more intimate setting.

#5 The Stark, Dark Kitchen Look

You looooove the look of today’s modern, dark kitchens — especially their espresso-colored cabinets. So rich-looking. So statement-making. You also love Scarlett Johansson’s pixie cut, but that doesn’t mean you can pull it off.

There’s a reason designers use light-colored cabinets in small spaces. Light colors reflect light, making a room seem larger. And dark colors, well, they do the opposite.

Does that mean that you mustn’t even consider those espresso cabinets? Not necessarily.

If you incorporate them more as an accent or focal point, they can work. “If you have dark cabinetry, and [lots of] white walls it can really pop, says Felber.

But if your kitchen walls are all cabinets (lucky you, storage-wise!) with hardly any blank wall space, “you’re going to end up with a cave,” says Felber.

Please Don't Call

Preparing to Sell Your Home? The Best 5 Projects to Do Now

Planning on selling your home soon? Take an objective look around your home from a buyer’s perspective. What would stop you from making an offer? What do you need to do to put your home’s best face forward? Here are some projects to jump on now in order for your home to be in tip-top shape for a sale: Update Your Curb Appeal

“Curb appeal is important,” says Steve Modica, sales associate and property manager at HomeXpress Realty Inc. in Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla.

• Make sure the bushes are all trimmed.
• Re-mulch or replace stone walkways and paths
• Remove any dead plants and trees, and aerate your lawn so it will be lush.
• Pressure wash the driveway, the front walk, and the exterior of your home.
• If need be, have the exterior of the house painted.
• At the very least, apply a fresh coat of paint on the front door.

#2 Get a Home Inspection

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® says 77% of homebuyers have an inspection done before completing a home purchase. To avoid nasty surprises once you’re in the process of selling your home, have your own inspection done, and make any repairs before you list the home.

You should know that if the inspection does discover any flaws, even if you fix them, you will have to disclose them. But that’s still a much better strategy than letting the buyer find flaws, which gives them bargaining leverage.

#3 Replace Flooring and Paint Walls

Determine if your carpets need replacing or just a deep, professional cleaning. If they need to go, consider if hardwood or another flooring material might be more appealing to buyers.

You’ll also want to inspect interior rooms for dirty or scuffed walls that need a fresh coat of paint. “Paint the whole wall, don’t just do touch-up repair work, because it never looks as good,” says Modica. Also, if you have eccentric or loud wall colors, now is the perfect time to update to a more neutral palette. Stagers recommend beiges, light grays, and off-whites.

#4 Tackle the Basement, Attic, and Garage

Often overlooked, these storage meccas can become a catch-all for junk. Get down and dirty in these hot spots and organize them from top to bottom. Install shelving, pegboards for tools, and hanging brackets for bicycles and other large sporting equipment. Your goal is to pitch the junk, sell what you no longer need, and categorize the rest.

“Donate or recycle clothes and bedding you don’t use anymore in order to free up storage space in your closets, basement, and garage,” says Amy Bly, a home stager at Great Impressions Home Staging in Montville, N.J. These areas should look roomy, well-organized, and clean.

#5 Consult a Stager

Buyers need to picture themselves living in the house, and they may have trouble doing that if all your personal effects are on display. In order to accomplish that, a professional stager can create a plan for you.

Bly spends about two hours walking through a property assessing curb appeal, interior flow, closets, bookcases, media cabinets, flooring, and more.

“I give homeowners a multi-page, room-by-room form they can use to take notes on my recommendations,” says Bly. She typically recommends things like neutralizing out-of-date decor, removing old furnishings and carpeting, and updating light fixtures. She also suggests the type of shower curtains, towels, bedding, and pillows to display for an upscale look.

Getting a jump on these fall projects will give you a leg up on selling in the spring. Today’s buyers are savvier than ever before, so when you’re ready, have a friend or relative drop by for a tour and point out anything you may have overlooked.

Financial Priorities

8 Costly Missteps New Homeowners Make in Their First Year

The negotiations are over. Your mortgage is settled. The keys to your first home are in hand. Finally, you can install your dream patio. You can paint the walls without losing your security deposit.

Heck, you could knock out a wall. You’re soooo ready to be a homeowner.

So ready in fact, you’re about to make some costly mistakes.

Wait, whaaat?

“You have to rein it in and be smart,” says Daniel Kanter, a homeowner with five years under his belt. Especially in your first year, when your happiness, eagerness (and sometimes ignorance) might convince you to make one of these eight mistakes:

#1 Going With the Lowest Bid

The sounds your HVAC system is making clearly require the knowledge of a professional (or perhaps an exorcist?).

But you’ve been smart and gotten three contractor bids, so why not go with the lowest price?

You might want to check out this story from a Michigan couple. Rather than going with a remodeler who’d delivered good work in the past, they hired a contractor offering to complete the work for less than half the cost, in less time.

A year later, their house was still a construction zone. You don’t want to be in the same spot.

What to do: Double-check that all bids include the same project scope — sometimes one is cheaper because it doesn’t include all the actual costs and details of the project. The contractor may lack the experience to know of additional steps and costs.

#2 Submitting Small Insurance Claims

Insurance is there to cover damage to your property, so why not use it?

Because the maddening reality is that filing a claim or two, especially in a relatively short period, can trigger an increase in your premium. “As a consumer advocate, I hate telling people not to use something they paid for,” says Amy Bach, executive director of nonprofit United Policyholders, which works to empower consumers. But, it’s better to pay out of pocket than submit claims that are less than your deductible.

Save your insurance for the catastrophic stuff. “You want the cleanest record possible,” Bach says. “You want to be seen as the lowest risk. It’s like a driving record — the more tickets you have, the more your insurance.”

Some insurance groups, like the Insurance Information Institute and National Association of Insurance Commissioners, say it’s hard to generalize about premium increases because states’ and providers’ rules differ. But this stat from a report by UP and the Rutgers Center for Risk and Responsibility at Rutgers Law School is pretty sobering: Only two states — Rhode Island and Texas — got top marks for protecting consumers “from improper rate increases and non-renewals” just for making:

• An inquiry about a claim
• A claim that isn’t paid because it was less than the deductible
• A single claim

Your best protection? Maintaining your home so small claims don’t even materialize.

#3 Making Improvements Without Checking the ROI

Brandon Hedges, a REALTOR® in Minneapolis-St. Paul, recalls a couple who, though only planning to stay in their home for a few years, quickly replaced all their windows. When the time came to sell, he had to deliver the crushing news that they wouldn’t get back their full investment — more than $30,000.

New windows can be a great investment if you’re sticking around for awhile, especially if windows are beyond repair, and you want to save on energy bills.

Just because you might personally value an upgrade doesn’t mean the market will. “It’s easy to build yourself out of your neighborhood” and invest more than you can recoup at resale, says Linda Sowell, a REALTOR® in Memphis, Tenn.

What to do: Before you pick up a sledgehammer, check with an agent or appraiser, who usually are happy to share their knowledge about how much moola an improvement will eventually deliver.

#4 Going on a Furnishing Spree

When you enter homeownership with an apartment’s worth of furnishings, entire rooms in your new home are depressingly sparse. You want to feel settled. You want guests at your housewarming party to be able to sit on real furniture.

But try to exercise some retailing willpower. Investing in high-quality furniture over time is just smarter than blowing your budget on a whole house worth of particleboard discount items all at once.

What to do: Live in your home for a while, and you’ll get to know your space. Your living room may really need two full couches, not the love seat and a recliner you pictured there.

#5 Throwing Away Receipts and Paperwork

Shortly after moving in, your sump pump dies. You begrudgingly pay for a new one and try to forget about the cash you just dropped. But don’t! When it comes time to sell, improvements as small as this are like a resume-builder for your home that can boost its price. And, if problems arise down the road, warranty information for something like a new furnace could save you hundreds.

What to do: Stow paperwork like receipts, contracts, and manuals in a three-ring binder with clear plastic sleeves, or photograph your documents and upload them to cloud storage.

#6 Ignoring Small Items on Your Inspection Report

Use your inspection report as your very first home to-do list — even before you start perusing paint colors. Minor issues that helped take a chunk of change off the sale price can cause cumulative (and sometimes hazardous) damage. Over time, loose gutters could yield thousands in foundation damage. Uninsulated pipes? You could pay hundreds to a plumber when they crack in freezing temperatures. And a single faulty electric outlet could indicate dangerous ungrounded electricity.

What to do: Get the opinion and estimate of a contractor (usually at no charge), and then you can make an informed decision. But remember #1 above.

#7 Remodeling Without Doing the Research

No one wants to be a Negative Nancy, but there’s a benefit to knowing the worst-case scenario.

Homeowner Kanter tells the time he hired roofers to remove box gutters from his 1880s home. Little did he know, more often than not aged box gutters come with more extensive rot damage, which his roofers weren’t qualified to handle.

“We had to have four different contractors come in and close stuff up for the winter,” he says. Had he researched the problem, he could have saved money and anxiety by hiring a specialist from the start, he says.

What to do: Before beginning a project, thoroughly research it. Ask neighbors. Ask detailed questions of contractors so you can get your timing, budget, and expectations in line.

#8 Buying Cheap Tools

You need some basic tools for your first home — a hammer, screwdriver set, a ladder, maybe a mower.

But if you pick up a “novelty” kit (like those cute pink ones) or inexpensive off-brand items, don’t be surprised if they break right away, or if components like batteries have to be replaced frequently.

What to do: For a budget-friendly start, buy used tools from known quality brands (check online auctions or local estate sales) that the pros themselves use.

Opting For The Outdoors

The 7 Worst Habits Homeowners Need to Break Now

A date with a glass of wine and your favorite curry dish while watching the latest season of “Orange Is the New Black” may seem like the perfect way to spend your evening — until you hear something alive in that leaning tower of plates you’ve been ignoring all week.

Why, oh why, do you keep procrastinating dish cleanup night after night?!

Don’t beat yourself up too much. Bad habits are just way easier to maintain than good ones. They’re “the opposite of what makes you happy. They’re what make you miserable,” says M.J. Ryan, author of “Habit Changers: 81 Game-Changing Mantras to Mindfully Realize Your Goals.” Especially when they cost you money.

Here are 7 bad habits to break now for a happier you and a fatter bank account:

1. Showering Without Precautions

Spending 20 minutes in the steam may be good for your pores, but it’s also great for mold and mildew. Run the exhaust fan while you’re singing in the shower, squeegee the walls afterward, and scrub that grout every few months.

“Once you let the grout go, it gets worse and worse, and harder and harder to maintain,” says Mylène Merlo, a REALTOR® in San Diego. Grungy grout is a big turnoff for buyers. And redoing it is a pain and expensive to hire out.

Keeping Out the Sun

Shutting your shades on winter days might seem smart. More insulation from the chilly weather, right? Your energy bill disagrees. A sunny window can warm your home and lower your heating costs. And as a bonus, you could see a decrease in seasonal depression.

But your original idea wasn’t totally wrong. Closing those blinds at night can keep your home toasty.

Compulsively Buying Bargains

Finding a deal feels so good, but cheaper isn’t always better. In fact, budget buys might cost you more in the long run. For instance, dollar paintbrushes will leave annoying streaks, requiring a costly re-do.

And when it comes to appliances, permit a little splurge — especially if selling your home is on the horizon.

“I always err with going for high-quality appliances,” Merlo says. “There is a noticeable difference between the cheapest and next-cheapest models. And buyers want to see stainless steel.”

Running a Half-full Dishwasher

You get a gold star for always remembering to start your dishwasher before bed, right? Clean dishes every morning! Go you! Yeah, about that: Your dishwasher wastes water unless it’s completely full.

Dishwashers do save more water than washing by hand (just try telling that to your mom), but most machines use the same amount of water regardless of how many plates you’ve stuffed inside, making a half-empty cycle significantly less efficient. For a household of one or two, once a day can be overkill.

Mega-Mulching

A "tree volcano" might sound like a grand ol' time, but it's actually damaging your foliage. Too much mulch suffocates your tree, causing root rot and welcoming invasive insects. Protrect your previous trees by packing mulch loosely and letting water filter properly toward the trunk.

Going on a Remodeling Rampage

Don’t break out the sledgehammer for a demo three weeks after moving in unless your home needs serious, obvious work. Give yourself time to understand the home’s quirks before renovating.

“You don’t know what your needs are when you first move into a home,” says Merlo. “You should live there for at least six months to figure out the space you need. If you do too much too soon, you’ll regret it.”

For instance, you could dump $15,000 into a kitchen remodel — only to realize the original layout would have worked better for holiday parties. Or you paint a room your favorite color, Wild Plum, only to realize the natural light in the room makes it look more like Rotten Plum. Whoops.

Packratting

You know clutter is bad, but you just… can’t… help it. You had to put that unused exercise bike in the spare room instead of by the road as a freebie because what if? Plus, there’s so much in there already, and decluttering seems like such an insurmountable goal — even though every jam-packed square foot is space you can’t enjoy.

If the task seems impossible, Ryan recommends starting small.

“Do one small thing,” she says. “Clean out a drawer or reorganize your counter, and then you feel the satisfaction of having done it. It becomes easier to do the next small thing.”

Just remember: Breaking habits takes time and a lot of slip-ups. “It’s important to be kind to ourselves when we blow it,” Ryan says. “When we create new habits, we’re building new wiring, but it’s not like the old wiring disappears. Don’t turn goof-ups into give-ups.”