What "upgrades" did you make after buying a house?
 

I was just wondering what "upgrades" did you make after
buying a house?
What were some of the items you did to make your new
home your own?

we didn't do all of these in this order
 

but I will try to prioritize what I think should have been the order, at least for us:

- customize closets (amazing difference)

- add attic storage and stairs (in garage)

- add cabinets and shelving (if extra room) in laundry room or over washer/dryer in garage

- figure out what works for you for garage storage system (we used Rubbermaid hanging system, a 6 ft storage locker, a narrow workbench in back of garage (where we keep one of our golf cart chargers), a 3 foot tool storage piece with perfect space on top for one of our golf cart chargers. Everyone has different stuff important to them - we needed to figure out how to hang a bike for retrieval without moving golf carts and the car - we have a 1-1/2 car garage, but it's quite deep and we have a small car and 2 golf carts we keep inside.

- outdoor rug on our lanai makes it feel like a room - we love it and have no plans to enclose the lanai as it's just too nice in spring and fall and much of the winter. We're not there in summer, might make a difference if we were.

- we added gutters right away, keeps rain from pouring down our lanai screens and pooling, and also enables us to hook up a rain barrel (I'm a gardener) for extra irrigation now and then.

- added landscaping, removed front yard grass (we have a CYV). Allows much lower maintenance costs when we're away. Have backyard mowed about monthly in summer (ask a co. that already does your neighbor's regularly to do it less often for you while they're in the neighborhood).

- tinted windows. We really noticed a difference on our south, east and west exposures. Think it has helped the a/c bills.

- painted interior. I like to paint, did this myself, but I think painting costs are reasonable in TV

- we added a 2nd fridge (some people barely use their only fridge, but we had a small, freezer on the top model that we disliked - moved it to the laundry room for beverage storage, and freezer usage, mostly.

- brought down a toaster/convection oven which we use all the time. Our oven (we have gas) has a blower that heats up the villa big-time so I avoid using the regular oven except in cooler weather.

Ours came with vertical blinds and aluminum mini-blinds, which we still have. Have added curtains, valances, etc. Haven't felt need to replace yet, might do so in future.

- added tile backsplash in kitchen and replaced original faucet with nicer one. Added some undercounter lighting, but not happy with our choice, could be better.

Eventually will replace some flooring, but our Armstrong vinyl is still in very good condition and the upgraded carpet still cleans nicely. Be sure you know what you want as people's choices vary widely. A tile person will tell you nothing better, same with wood and laminate people. I still like the feel of walking in my bare feet on carpet.

You will notice that storage is primary - I think almost everyone would agree.

Thought I would really want to replace our laminate counter tops with granite, but ours are still in very good condition and a nice color, so haven't yet and have no immediate plans to do so. The tile backsplash, which I did myself, made an immediate impact.

Wow! Thanks for the insightful post.
The things we've done so far is the attic stairs
and getting the MBR closet done (this Monday).

We're looking at lanai coverings this week.

Everything else will have to wait until we're there fulltime.

Thanks for the info!

The best ones we did was to stretch the front bedroom, master bedroom and garage 2 feet and the lanai 8 feet. Others were hard wood floors and granite but the stretches were the best decision.

Silly question alert!! Can you have an existing garage 'stretched'? :^)

riverrock on the lanai...feels so good on bare feet and people love the look

Depends on your lot or plot plan, look at the build-able lot lines, you can tell in one minute if you can

Should have read the question better.
 

Oops, I should have read the question better. It asked for information about after you already bought the house. My bad.

So we added gutters, landscaping, window treatments, closet organizer and attic stairs.

Has anyone added a garage door screen? We can't decide on flip up or roll up.

You can if your lot size allows for it.
Remember, you have to be 5' from your property line on either side of the home. It is 10' at the rear of the home.

Check with Ro-Mac, the door opener company to make sure which screen additions won't void the warranty on your garage door opener! Their serviceman Informed me of this yesterday.

I added a roll up garage door. I think it's probably my favorite and most useful upgrade. A roll up door does void the regular garage door warranty, however we used Thumper's for the install and they pick up the warranty for the regular garage door.

Roll up garage screen from RK Products. Within the garage door opening, but just outside the door itself. Does not affect the garage door installation, like Thumper design. I have a hobby workshop in the garage.

probably the Best decision we made was to Stretch all the rooms !! stretched front bedrooms and master bedroom. Upgraded garbage disposal and dishwasher. upgraded with recess lighting , even on lanai so at night you can sit outside and read!! The rest all could be done after moving in. We also added the radio/cd player and put speakers throughout the home. most important and best investment we bought a larger lot to put a pool in. Not one day goes by we regret that decision. Good luck and enjoy

Here's some things not yet mentioned. I did some of them myself so we could afford these super upgrades:

Pool with spa and birdcage; solar pool heat; hardwood floors; solar tubes; glass inserts in front door and sidelights; pergola; lightning rods and circuit protector system; tile on garage floor, lanai and front entrance; floor and wall tile and raised height commodes in baths; landscape curbing; lanai sliding glass windows; osmosis water purifier.