Adding Bling: Lights, Faucets, Handles

Bright halogen lights in a kitchen can be aimed wherever you want a buyer's eye to go. 

Kitchen lighting is important, and not expensive.  On our daily swing through Lowe’s we picked up some halogen track lights to replace two kitchen ceiling fixtures.  They were less than $40 each.  The existing ones were not ugly, so we relocated them to the hallway, replacing builder grade fixtures. 

The bathrooms received their matching faucets last week.  I’m a firm believer in the value of pairs, as readers of my eBook DIY Home Staging Tips know.  Matched pairs of accessories or furniture add instant style to a room.  Although the bathrooms are in two separate areas of our condo, I still wanted them to have matching faucets.   I think it makes the place feel more like a newly constructed home rather than one remodeled whilly nilly over time. 

I also wanted the faucets to be single lever, not a spout and two separate handles.  It’s a cleaner look and a more user-friendly design.  Faucets can get very pricey but we were able to find one style that met my fussy criteria for under $50 each.   Although we could have spent a couple hundred dollars on a new la-di-dah kitchen faucet, we settled on a decent looking one for just $68.  

If you have patience and a faucet that you love, it is possible to change the finish from chrome or brass to a more trendy oil rubbed brass finish.  Here is a tutorial link from a woman who undertook this project.  http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/2009/11/bathroom-update-lovely-lighting-and.html

People who rehab and sell houses for profit know the importance of putting some money into these small but showy details, the home’s jewelry.  For less than $40 total we added an oversized chrome shower head to each bath.  You can’t miss them, and that’s exactly what I wanted. 

I love the vanity lights we chose.  They’re compact, bright, and edgy, and for $75 each, worth every penny.
 
Last but not least, and not exactly bling, we replaced the toilet seats.  All home buyers want to imagine their butts are the first to sit there.  I wanted the seats to look absolutely pristine.