Top 10 House Renovation Ideas In Kerala

If you own a house in Kerala and you’re toying with house renovation ideas in Kerala, then you should probably give it a shot; here’s why. A house property is a lifetime asset and its possession brings a feeling of accomplishment. Anything which is an asset deserves to get care. Hence, it stands inevitable that you take adequate care of your house that will make living pleasant and enjoyable.

House properties are different in its character from all the other assets that you can own. This is the only asset whose value rises with the passage of time; a reality of the real estate in Kerala. However, you have to take a few measures to ensure that the value of property gets retained and it rises with the passage of time. You can try your best ways to increase your home value.

In this context, it is especially relevant to state that the term “value” holds the reference to the financial as well as the aesthetic & emotional valuation. The paragraphs underneath will discuss top 10 old house renovation ideas in Kerala that will boost the value of your property in Kerala. These ideas are budget friendly too.

House Renovation Ideas in Kerala

1. Give a Makeover to the Front Yard

It gets said that the first impression is the lasting impression. With that said, the top home renovation ideas will include a suggestion for taking care of the appearance of the front yard. The front yard is the area between the main entrance to the property and the door of the building; an area very important to home in Kerala.

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Assume, you are about to sell the property, and a prospective buyer comes for the property inspection. The potential buyer will feel better if he/she sees the pavement is in the right condition and the plants are kept clean. In such instances, you can expect a better quote from the prospective buyer.

A well-maintained front yard gives a pleasant impression to the guests as well. Remember, the books always get judged by the appearance and the look of its covers. Thus, if you are planning for a house renovation, you cannot afford to forget the front yard of the property. Get some apartment balcony design ideas for your space.

2. Replace the HVAC/Furnace

HVAC/Furnace never gets equal attention as the other aspects of the property gets. However, once these mechanisms start to malfunction, living gets uncomfortable. Hence, if you are planning for a home improvement, keep an eye on the HVAC/Furnace as well. Get a thorough inspection conducted by experts and if they suggest, go for a replacement immediately. If you are using old Furnace or HVAC, go for an immediate change as an upgrade activity. The latest models are more effective, power-efficient and easier to handle. Hence, replacement of the outdated model will enable you to save a significant amount of money on operating costs.

You can expect for a higher valuation of your property when you keep the HVAC system and Furnace in the perfect running condition. Depending on the need, you might have to go for a partial or total replacement.

3. Add Attic Insulation to Your Property

In case the attic insulation is not kept in the perfect condition, more than 30% of the warm and comfortable air from the furnace will go out through the windows. This will significantly hamper the comfort and convenience of living on the property. Adding attic insulation is an upgrade activity, and you can accomplish the needful as DIY projects. The process requires minimum time and only a few inexpensive materials. However, it will be better to seek professional assistance to accomplish the task in flawless perfection. This is one of the important home renovation ideas that you should consider.Renovation

4. Light Up Your Space

It is evident that none would love to reside in a dark place. Hence, if you are looking for Home remodeling ideas, you need to check whether your space has the adequate lighting. This consideration will require detailing as the brightness and shade of the light will vary depending on each room.

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Starting with the courtyard, it must have necessary lighting arrangements, so that none finds difficulties in walking through the house. Moving inside, get bright lights for your living rooms. This is the place where you receive guests as well as spend the significant portion of the family time. Hence, your space should have a bright light that would enlighten your mood as well. For the bedrooms, you should go for soothing shades of light.

While picking the lights for the internal space, remember the shades of the walls influences the brightness of the light. Hence, you should balance between the intensity of the shade on the walls and that of the lights. In the ideal condition, these two should supplement and complement each other to make your space appear bright and appealing.

5. Keep the Plumbing Up to Date

So far the basic framework of your property is concerned; plumbing is one of the most important aspects. Especially in the older properties where the plumbing framework is not kept well maintained, you will see water leaking out of the pipelines. It results in wastage of water resources as well as creates damp and cracks on the walls. This way your property loses a significant count of its actual valuation.

On the other hand, if the plumbing framework includes older, rusted pipes, the flakes of metals will get into the matter and will contaminate it. This is unsafe from the health perspectives. If you are planning to dispose of your property and the prospective buyer sees that the plumbing is in a terrible state, he will hardly have any interest left to invest in your property. Even if the buyer still decides to go for your property, obviously you will get a much lesser quote.

Hence, it is inevitably necessary to keep the plumbing property well maintained. Go for a thorough cleaning or replace the pipes partially/fully as and when required. You can check out tips for selling your home fast.

6. Replace the Laminated Floors with Real-Wood or Engineered Floors

Especially if you are living in a place that features severe cold, wooden floors are obvious options. Wooden floors accentuate the elegance of the home.

However, you need to ensure that the flooring involves engineered or actual wood. Stay away from the laminated flooring that tends to swell up within a short while. Since Kerala receives ample rain during the monsoons, the increased moisture content can worsen the situation.

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The swelling of the laminated floor often triggers accidents. In addition, even if the laminated floors are cheaper than real wood, the durability of the former in much less. Hence, the money you invest on laminated flooring goes for a toss. Take a look about the laminated wooden flooring in Kerala.

Hence, if your floors are laminated, you need to upgrade it to real-wood flooring on war footing basis. Replacement of the laminated floors with real wood will elevate the aesthetic as well as the materialistic valuation of your property.

7. Eliminate the Wood Panels

Do you have wood panels in the walls or along the floors of your house? If so, you need to replace it immediately. Wood panels had turned outdated and hence, it brings down the valuation of your property.

8. Give a Makeover to the Bathroom

A stylish, well-ventilated and clean bathroom elevates the valuation of the property manifold. Likewise, get the smart and stylish accessories and fixtures that will raise the aesthetic value. Remember, in a modern day home design, bathrooms get equal importance as that given to the living room or the bedrooms. Checkout and implement some eco-friendly house construction methods.

9. Renovate the Basement if Necessary

You go on loading the extra household items in the basement but, you hardly give any attention to this place. In the majority of the cases, property owners neglect the insulation of the basements and end up paying a heavy price.

Likewise, they even ignore the shortcoming in the electrical wiring of the basements. Remember, the valuation of the property can reduce significantly in such instances. Hence, if your basement has any of these shortcomings or flaws of any other types, apply suitable remedial measures. If you are about to renovate your property, you should include the basement in the list as well. Also consider the things to check before buying a property in Kerala.

10. Take Care of the Kitchen Layout Rather than Just Stuffing the Latest Gadgets

The kitchen is not merely the place for cooking food. Rather, it is one of the major areas for the family to hang around. Hence, the kitchen has to be in perfect state.

Ensure that there is sufficient place that will allow easy movement. Likewise, see that the electrical wiring and insulation is in the perfect condition. You should always emphasize on the perfect layout rather than stuff your kitchen with the latest gadgets and accessories. You can also read things needed for new house

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If your kitchen is large, you can use the additional area as dining space. Alternatively, you can use the extra space as the alternative living area. Some householders use the additional kitchen space like a library. This way you can use the available space to the optimal extent. All these alternative arrangements appear classy and aesthetic.

The old home renovation ideas in Kerala produce a far-reaching outcome, enhancing the financial and aesthetic value of your property. Most importantly, these ideas are cost-effective and easy to implement. Hence, you can execute these ideas without hassles or have to incur extravagant expenses.

In addition to the old house renovation ideas suggested above, you can find more by conducting online research. These steps will enable you to get a property that will get you the appreciation of the guests, visiting your house.

 The Average Cost To Renovate a House in Kerala

Planning the renovation of your house without considering the budget will lead to a catastrophe without a doubt. However, since the total cost will depend on the house renovation ideas in Kerala, it is very important to plan the budget. In the following section, we will present you with the factors that affect the house renovation costs in Kerala.

Renovation Type

The first factor on which the total costs will depend is the type of renovation you are planning. For example, a simple kitchen renovation will cost you around INR 50,000, but a backyard renovation will cost about INR 35,000. So, based on which part of the house you want to renovate, you need to draw your budget plan.

Early Preparation Works

Since we are considering the renovation works, some preparations need to be done before the renovation can begin. For example, if you want to renovate the floors, it needs to be demolished and levelled for applying the new design. Similarly, if you want to extend your bedroom, the concerned walls need to be demolished.

Building Materials

House renovation is a type of construction involving several building materials. Starting from bricks to concrete, cement, aggregate, wooden boards, tiles, marbles, and others are required to complete the renovation. Based on the type of building materials you are choosing, the total budget will vary.

Contractor and Labor Charges

Next, you have to include the construction and labor costs since renovation works can’t be done independently. Yes, you can devise your plan, but you need to hire the contractors for the implementation of the same. The hiring cost will include the labor charges also on a per-day basis.

Unique Home Remodelling Ideas at Low Budget

Looking for budget-friendly Kerala home renovation ideas can be quite daunting since it’s a common fact that renovation and remodelling will never be cheap. It sounds almost impossible to wrap up the entire work within a few thousand instead of a six-digit number.

So, to help you out, here we have explained some tips that will cut down your home remodelling cost by a huge amount.

• Include efficient elements into the house like drawers under cushioned benches, closed cubby storage under the shoe racks, modular built-in wardrobes, folding tables and chairs, and so on.
• Make more provisions for openings that will allow natural sunlight and air to circulate in the rooms. This will reduce the cost of installing lights and other appliances.
• Grow plants and herbs in hand-designed pots and planters and use them as décor elements. These plants will add an ethereal natural beauty to the rooms and help make the ambience eco-friendly.
• Go for recycling old, worn-out elements and make them new. For example, if your old dresser has become unusable, remove the mirror frame and other extra elements from the furniture so that only the chest of drawers is left. Then, repaint the furniture and add some décor elements, and it will become completely new.
• If possible, do the work all by yourself which can be done like painting the walls, arranging the furniture decors, installing the lights, etc.
• Cover the walls with tiles as painting and levelling usually cost more. Wall tiles are available in packets having 12 pieces each. This will reduce your costs further.
• For furniture units, use laminated boards or plywood boards to reduce costs, as solid wood furniture units are quite costly. 

Which is the cheaper option- renovation or new constructions?

To be very honest, the entire cost of renovation or building a new house depends on several factors, including the designs, architecture, building materials, complexity, interior décor and so on. But if we go by the books, renovation is much cheaper as here. This is because you can recycle old things by making a few tweaks. Moreover, renovation means that only the outer appearance needs to be changed while the foundation will remain the same.

However, when you are building something new, you have to start from scratch, which requires time and effort and lots of money. That’s why most people prefer designing old house renovation ideas in Kerala rather than building a new one.

Old Home Renovation ideas That increase The Structure’s Value

When planning the Kerala old home renovation ideas, you need to include designs that will add value to your home and not decrease it. However, planning such a layout can prove to be quite challenging since you wouldn’t know whether the chosen plan is beneficial for your house’s market value or not. That’s why here we have explained some of the most important renovations that immediately increase the value and aesthetics simultaneously. Also, read ways to increase your home value.

• Front lawn or a backyard garden renovation
• Kitchen renovation with increased spaciousness and structural efficiency
• Bathroom renovations with more natural lights and room to move freely
• Living room having touches of warmth and homily in nature

Top Budget-Friendly Kerala Home Renovation Ideas to Follow in 2021

• One of Kerala’s best house renovation ideas within a friendly budget is going as natural as possible. Be it making rooms for more windows and outdoor openings or using the indoor garden to decorate. You can cut down the budget by huge amounts with natural renovation elements.
• Introducing space-effective elements in the house like nested drawers, folding chairs, ottomans with storage boxes, island kitchen sinks, freestanding bathtubs, and others will also help you reduce the renovation costs.
• Using photo frames, mirrors, and other artworks to decorate the walls rather than paint designs is quite costly.
• Using tiles instead of concrete or other flooring materials will also help you cut down the costs. Moreover, tiles are long-lasting, highly durable, and also help in beautifying the interiors.
• You can recycle old materials like furniture units or glass pieces by transforming their looks. For example, if you have a stained mirror that you don’t need anymore, you can break it into several pieces and use it to decorate a piece of wooden furniture. You can also check out low-cost house construction methods.

Step-By-Step house Renovation Process Explained

1. Removing every element from home and demolishing the present structure as per the architectural plan.
2. Building and levelling the prime structures of the house, i.e. the walls, ceiling, and floors.
3. Laying the plumbing lines and the electrical wiring systems.
4. Plastering the walls, applying primers and letting it dry naturally, along with laying the flooring materials.
5. Completing the exterior electrical and plumbing walls, including installing electric boards, taps, water faucets, and others.
6. Renovating the bathrooms and kitchens and installing all the built-in elements.
7. Decorating the interiors with furniture units, carpets, curtains, blinds, lights, and others.

Things you need to know about floor renovation in Kerala

If your floor has worn out completely or has developed cracks or chips, it’s time to renovate these floors and install a new one. In most of the old house renovation ideas in Kerala, flooring is one of the major steps that need to be done. Be it polishing the existing floor surface and using the epoxy coats or installing new tiles on the floors. But, first, you must choose the builder materials which are sturdy, robust and long-lasting.

If you feel confused regarding floor renovations, here we have discussed some of the relevant facts like the benefits of renovating your floors or making amazing old house renovation ideas in Kerala for the floors.

Floor Renovation Benefits For the Houses

• For sealing the cracks and removing the chipped tile ends, renovating the floors is essential. This will not only increase the floor’s durability but also make it look more appealing and attractive.
• If your home has unlevelled floors, the renovation will give you the chance to correct the slope and level it properly for the installation of the new drainage system.
• If you are not happy with how the floors look currently in your home or if the flooring materials don’t match the renovated interiors, the renovation will allow you to change the floor styling.
• Your home’s value will increase a lot with proper floor renovation plans, especially that of the bathrooms and the kitchens.
• You can even insulate your home by updating the floors. This will maintain the temperature at a constant value within the interiors and reduce the energy costs by a huge amount.

Top Floor Renovation Ideas in 2021

Since renovating the floor needs proper planning and choice of the ideal flooring materials, we have explained some of the trendy flooring ideas you can try in 2021.

Vinyl Tile Flooring

One of the most inexpensive flooring options in Kerala is vinyl tile flooring. Vinyl tiles are synthetic floor materials that replicate the original stones or hardwood floor materials. However, they are more durable and present in versatile colors and designs, which will help you enhance the aesthetics of the interior to huge levels.

Solid Hardwood Flooring

Another great flooring option you can look for is solid hardwood flooring. Here solid hardwood boards like oak boards, teak boards, sandalwood boards, and others cover the floors. The hardwood floors make the house look beautiful and appealing and induce natural vibes within the interiors.  

Stone Flooring

Another amazing flooring option that has become quite famous in 2021 is stone flooring. Be it monochromatic granite or grey-hued- marbles. Natural stones are used in most Indian houses. These slabs are highly durable and long-lasting. You can also apply epoxy floor coats which will make the surfaces shiny and water-resistant, and scratch-resistant.

Terrazzo Flooring

If you want something old-school yet charismatic and highly appealing, the Terrazzo flooring is the best option. Here, granite, marbles, and colored chips are mixed with concrete, forming an aggregate and then applied on the floors. In common terms, Terrazzo flooring is said to be equivalent to Mosaic flooring.

What Are the Advantages of Renovating a House?

Renovating a house is crucial for Kerala’s old homes, especially when the interiors are filled with clutters. But, unfortunately, living in such conditions is out of the question as not only a worn-out old house is unclean, but also it is quite clumsy and stuffed, which makes the interiors suffocative.

That’s where renovations come to the rescue. Renovating will allow you to redesign your home as per your likes and introduce several new features which will make your home more functional and space-efficient. In the below section, we have described how the house renovation ideas Kerala will help you.

Increase The House Valuation

If you draft an old and torn house valuation, you will never get a proper quoted amount that will meet your expectations. After all, every potential buyer of a resale property will always look for properties that are elegant in looks and are charming and highly functional. Hence, with proper renovation ideas, you can change the looks of your house and add a charming persona to the structures. This will help in increasing the overall resale valuation of your home.

Making the Interiors More Space-Efficient

Be it the kitchen or the outdoor backyard area, these areas are often filled with clutters and are highly disorganized. As a result, you will have very limited space for movement, making it difficult to workaround. If you want to increase the space and make the areas more breathable, renovating them is the only solution.

For example, you can demolish the kitchen counters and remove the freestanding cabinets to construct an integrated kitchen counter. This will increase the space, giving you enough room to move around. Similarly, you can remove old and torn-out objects from the backyard and build a small swimming pool or pan a garden with new pavers lining the boundaries. You can also check out  Low Cost Interior Design For Homes In Kerala

Enhances the Aesthetic Appeal

With interior designs becoming trendier, it has become crucial for every homeowner to evaluate the aesthetic appeal of their homes. But, considering the old, traditional designs, you wouldn’t find that appeal that can captivate the onlookers. However, if we see the Kerala old home renovation ideas, you will understand that you will be able to add more appeal to the aesthetics of your home with proper renovation plans. Be it by changing the couches in your living room or introducing neutral shades in your bedroom. The rooms can be made quite captivating and magnificent for the onlookers. You can also read tips for decorating a bedroom.

Helps in Removing The Clutters and Old Objects.

The first step of home renovation is to sort everything into two different groups- useful and non-useful. Once you are done sorting, you can eliminate all those elements you don’t need anymore in your home, like old and broken furniture units, dull lampshades, shredded and torn sheets and cushion covers, flattened carpets, etc. As you remove all these clutters, the interiors will automatically become more spacious and allow natural light and air to circulate in the rooms freely.

Improve the House’s Functionality

Another major advantage of renovating your home is the increase in functionality. For example, let’s say you have introduced a boxed centre table in your living room in place of the worn-out four-legged table. These boxed centre tables usually have storage cubbies that can help you keep several things in a more organized fashion. Similarly, you can discard the colossal three-door wardrobe from your bedroom and build a walk-in closet, improving the functionality to quite a high level.

How to Utilize Additional Kitchen Space in The House Renovation Ideas Kerala?

In most homes, there are many additional spaces in the kitchens, like behind your kitchen stovetop or surrounding the refrigerator. To come up with efficient kitchen renovation plans, you need to utilize these extra spaces so that the area can become more functional. Here we have described how you can use the additional kitchen space and transform it into something more useful. 

Building Storage Cabinets Around the Refrigerator

If you have enough space around the refrigerator which can’t be used otherwise, you can build cabinets to increase the storage space in your kitchen. For example, the space beside the refrigerator can be transformed into pull-out pantry storage with racks placed vertically. In addition, you can extend the wall-mounted cabinets on the top portion, which will make more room for storing all your belongings.

Introducing a Kitchen Island

If your kitchen space is quite big and more than half of the area remains unused, you can construct a kitchen island. It can be one-sided, connected to a wall or placed right at the centre. The island will serve as a dining top, kitchen top, and even as storage sections since, in most modular kitchen island designs, you can add drawers, cabinets, and other compartments beneath the island top.

Using the Backsplash for Hanging KitchenwareItems

The space right behind your cooktop usually remains unused, which can create a gap in the kitchen’s looks. That’s why transforming the backsplash into a more useful structure by introducing hooked liners and shelves for keeping your kitchenware essentials.

Installing Corner Shelves

Most times, the corners of your house remain unused, especially when it comes to the kitchen area. So, for this, you can use the corners to build L-shaped shelves, which will act as display and storage units simultaneously. Also get some house warming ideas.