5 tips to improve your home whether you're selling or staying put

When homeowners prepare to sell their home, they make it look more welcoming and appealing. But sprucing up a home isn’t just for people moving on. For those staying put, here are some improvements that add value to your home and enjoyment to your life.

• Give new life to your rooms with a fresh coat of paint. If you’re not planning to sell in the future, dare to use bright colours on accent walls.
• A small splash of colour brings more depth to the space than all-neutral walls. When choosing the colour and type of paint, keep in mind both the size and purpose of the room. To create the illusion of a larger space, pick a cool tone or pale colour.
• In children's bedrooms, use an easy-to-wash paint. For bathrooms, use a mildew-resistant paint. Love wallpaper? Go ahead and spoil yourself — wallpaper is making a comeback.

• One of the golden rules of home staging is to ensure continuity and harmony between the different areas, especially in open-concept spaces.
• The easiest way to do this is to use colour as a unifying element. For example, you might choose an accent colour for a dining room wall.
• You can then bring pops of it to the living room with accessories such as scatter cushions, vases, curtains and area rugs.

• Has your carpet worn thin? Are the kitchen linoleum tiles outdated? It’s time to rejuvenate them, and there is no lack of flooring choices these days: hardwood, floating floors, ceramic tiles, cork and more.
• However, be sure to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each type before making a decision.
• Think about the level of durability you want, along with the care requirements and ease of installation.

• Improving your home’s energy efficiency reduces your cost of hot water, heating and air conditioning.
• There are a number of ways to upgrade your home on this front, starting with the installation of energy-efficient windows.
• You can also improve the insulation of exterior walls and the basement. Or upgrade your air conditioning and revamp your heating and hot water systems.

• A top-quality home heating and cooling system is essential if you want to breathe clean air.
• Fuel efficiency and good ventilation are also important to keep your home comfortable in summer and winter.
• If you replace the heating system, you can recover 50 to 80 per cent of your investment when you sell your home.

According to the latest reports from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the most popular renovations are the remodelling of rooms, painting and wallpapering.