In a perfect world, we could completely renovate our homes on a shoestring budget to maximise their resale potential. While that is an unrealistic expectation, it is still possible to make the most of your home’s value through simple changes.

Even the simple act of decluttering can improve your home’s appeal, so there are plenty of upgrades you can do to add value that don’t require major work or planning permission. From freshening up the aesthetics to increasing functionality and upgrading essentials, let’s look at the minor upgrades you can do to boost your home’s market appeal.

Refresh interiors with new paint or pretty wall art

Paint is perhaps one of the best weapons in your redecorating arsenal as it can freshen up the look of any room in just a few coats. Our walls are prone to scuff marks and dirt that we might not notice when we see them every day. However, grubby walls, ceilings, doors or even skirting boards can stick out like a sore thumb to buyers.

A new coat of paint on your walls not only freshens things up but it can give your rooms and decor an upgrade to a more contemporary colour. If you’re feeling especially creative, there are many artistic ways to jazz up bedroom walls using stretched canvases, inspiring gallery photos, or metal craft works. The best bit is that over a single weekend you can transform your interiors with the right art materials or stick to the brushes, rollers and a few tins of paint.

It’s not just the interiors that can often do with some updating. Freshening up your exterior walls with paint, or power washing away dirt and debris is a relatively low-maintenance job that makes a significant impression on your home’s first impression.

Showcase your home’s true potentialt

Buyers form an emotional bond when they are considering purchasing a house so it’s important to showcase how your home can suit people’s lifestyles. An empty house can be harder to sell than occupied or staged homes as buyers may find it difficult to visualise themselves living there. Given the increase in people working and spending more time at home, it’s important to highlight how your house can accommodate ‘the new normal.

From office space to a multifunctional hobby room, offering more opportunities to create new zones or adapt existing ones in your home helps viewers to form a better picture of how practical it can be. An empty home or one that is sparsely decorated doesn’t generate as strong of an emotional connection, meaning buyers are more likely to offer less and be prepared to miss out in favour of properties they feel more strongly about.

Perk up a shower zone or bathroom

Even if you live in a leasehold property, you are generally permitted to make minor upgrades such as painting, decorating and refitting your kitchen or bathroom. While a complete bathroom upgrade might seem like a lot of work, something smaller that can still make a huge difference is a new zero-threshold shower.

By eliminating barriers in your shower, your bathroom gets a fresh new look, particularly if your existing shower is dated. Large showers are a continued trend in bathroom design and by installing a modern piece of bathroom furniture your property will appeal to more buyers.

Renew kitchen countertops

Kitchens and bathrooms are commonly seen as the most important rooms for potential buyers, so any improvements you can make in these areas will go far. Countertops are a high-traffic area of your kitchen, which itself is a frequently populated area of your home.

They get scuffed and stained on a regular basis and can look worn out much faster than the rest of your kitchen cabinets and furniture. With quartz the most popular material and lighter colours in vogue for countertops, consider upgrading yours to increase your kitchen’s impact on potential buyers.

Landscape and clean your walkways

The power of curb appeal can impact your house price, with as many as 93% of people making a judgement on a home from the outside alone. In the UK we are blighted by rain when all we want is a bit of sunshine. Those damp conditions can cause havoc with our pathways, drives and even decking, leaving them with a layer of grime, mud and algae that can be slippery and visually unappealing.

However, one weekend with a power washer focused on these walkways can make a huge difference to how they appear. Not only does it make your home’s exterior look fresher but it also makes it safer while removing bacteria that grow in the algae and mould.

It’s not just your pathways that are important to upgrade, as the garden is a key selling point for many homebuyers. They want to see the garden’s potential so leaving it unkempt isn’t the best approach. Instead, consider some mild landscaping to remove weeds, tidy up the grass and zone your garden.

From adding a splash of colour with flowers to creating a simple garden bed with reclaimed wood, there are many projects to improve your outdoor space that can be completed in a weekend. Given that a garden can increase your home’s value by up to 10%, it’s a worthwhile venture to get your hands dirty and maximise its potential.

Invest in new appliances

Modern appliances are more energy-efficient than ever, and given the increased cost of living, any energy upgrades you can offer potential buyers will help add value. For just a few hundred pounds per item, you can systematically upgrade your kitchen’s white goods, from the dishwasher to a washing machine.

These can be included in your negotiations with your buyers and they typically require little installation expertise. You may also wish to consider some high-tech fitted appliances as these will have a positive impact on your home’s valuation. One of the most sought-after appliances is a dishwasher, so installing one can instantly make your kitchen and home more desirable.

Update your carpets

If your carpet is worn, stained or looking worse for wear, updating it to a new one will be positively received by any potential buyer. Think about your carpet objectively. Would you be put off by it if you were buying your home? If the answer is yes, or even a maybe, the chances are any would-be buyer will feel the same. Upgrading carpets makes a home feel fresher and like it has been looked after, while a stained and shabby carpet can have the opposite effect. A new carpet can have an immediate return on investment and boost your property’s value. Impressively, most homeowners find about a seventy per cent ROI on new floors when they go to sell their house.