It’s a common theme: families tend to spend most of their time in only a few rooms of their homes, leaving the rest of the rooms hardly used. There’s a solution for wasted space: repurposing your rooms. Just because a specific room was originally meant for a certain purpose doesn’t mean is has to stay that way forever. Here are some ideas for revamping the most underused spaces in your home.

Breakfast Nook Can Now be a Desk Area

It sounds quaint and cute, but a breakfast nook really can be a waste of space. Many home owners may find that this area tends to be where mail and paperwork piles up, rather than where a nice meal in the morning can be enjoyed. If you find yourself in this situation, consider formally transforming this little area to what you’re already using it for. Optimize it as a desk area by installing storage units to help eliminate clutter and make working and organizing a lot more convenient.

Tiny Bedroom Can be a Walk-In Closet

An extra small bedroom is hardly useable. Rather than letting this space go to waste, consider converting it into an awesome walk-in closet. If you’re tired of cramming all your clothes and shoes into your current closet, a large walk-in closet equipped with closet organizers can be much more enjoyable and practical. Drawers, shelves, rods at various heights and shoe racks can make this closet something that rivals that of Carrie Bradshaw.

It’ll be a lot easier to find what you’re looking for when it’s neatly put away rather than stuffed behind other crumpled up garments. If the room is right beside your master bedroom, consider removing the adjoining wall to give you instant access without having to leave the room. 

Oversized Great Room Can be an Open Concept Living, Dining and Study Space

If you’re blessed with a ton of square footage in your home, that’s great. But sometimes spaces can be a little too big when it comes to making the area cozy and figuring out how to furnish it. If you’ve got a great room, try revamping it in such a way that aligns more closely with the way you and your family lives.

You can actually divide the space up to create more than one type of “room.” For instance, one section of the room can be the living area, while the section closest to the kitchen can be a dining area. This is especially useful if you don’t have a formal dining room. And if you’ve got no room for an office, you can set up a mock office area in one part of the room as well. The options are seemingly endless.

Dining Room Can Be a Playroom

Probably one of the most underused rooms in a home is the formal dining room. Especially in homes that feature an eat-in kitchen, there’s less of a reason to use the dining room. Odds are, you probably use your dining room (if you have one) once or twice a year, unless you’re an avid entertainer.

If you have children, and don’t really want them messing up their rooms with toys or throwing them in the basement by themselves to play, why not convert the dining room into a playroom? It won’t be a playroom forever – the kids will eventually grow up. But until then, keep the toys in one neat place and the kids near you by transforming your underused dining room into a space the kids can call their own. 

Mudroom Into a Large Laundry Room

Mudrooms can be pretty handy, but if you’re finding this space being used more as a trash bin, perhaps it’s time to come up with a better idea for the space. If your laundry machine is way down in the basement, consider converting your mudroom into a large main-floor laundry room. That way you’ll have more space to put some countertops and shelving to make it easier to fold laundry. And having it on the main floor instead of in the basement makes it a lot more convenient compared to lugging heavy laundry baskets up and down the stairs.

There’s no sense paying for square footage if it’s not even going to be used. Repurposing a room that’s hardly visited can add a level of practicality to your home life, and can possibly add a little extra value to your home. Ask a professional real estate agent what types of rooms add the most value to properties to really boost your ROI. 

There’s nothing wrong with hiring a professional home stager to prepare a home for the market. In fact, it’s encouraged. Presenting a home in the best light possible can help potential buyers picture themselves living in the space, and better the see the home’s best attributes.

When a home is properly decorated, proportionately furnished, and neutrally painted, it will attract more buyers. It’s an extremely helpful tool for sellers looking to gain the most attention on their home as possible.

As a buyer, there are certain questions you should ask yourself when you walk into a staged home. While staging is important to help sellers make their homes as attractive as possible, it can also distract buyers from certain issues they didn’t notice in their initial walk-through.

If you’re on the prowl for a new home, ask yourself the following questions about the staging of properties you look at:

Is the Home Overly Decorated?

If you notice that a home you view in person has somewhat of a ‘generic’ feel to it, it’s probably been professionally staged. Look for signs such as all of the pieces are coming from the same manufacturer, zero wear and tear, and even price stickers under vases. These are signs that the house has been decorated to appeal to the masses.

While some home owners might constantly be on top of the latest in home interior decor, many others don’t have this type of time nor inclination to achieve such perfection. While the decor might be impressive, make sure to look past it and scope out the bones of the house.

Is the Staging Functional and Practical?

Look at the way the furniture is arranged – does it make any sense to you? If the place was yours, would you have positioned the furniture pieces in the same manner? Would you have put your own chairs on each side of the fireplace, or a solitary armchair in front of the window?

While these types of arrangements are attractive and sensical to some, to others they may not be practical. If you think a certain furniture arrangement is a bit odd (albeit attractive), odds are a certain issue might be camouflaged. Look underneath furniture – including area rugs – to check for any problems with the flooring. And be sure to look behind every piece of furniture and object to determine if there are any unpleasant surprises lurking.

Do All the Furniture Pieces Fit Well in the Space?

Try to determine whether or not the furnishings are proportionate to the size of the rooms. Spaces that are low on square footage are often made to appear larger than they are by having smaller-scale pieces arranged within them.

If you sit at the couch and your knees are chest-height, or the dining room table feels like it was made for children, this may be a sign that the rooms are on the small side. This might be fine for some buyers, but not necessarily for others.

On the flip side, oversized furniture might suggest that the rooms are on the larger end of the size spectrum. In this case, it could mean more money out of your pocket will be needed to furnish such large spaces.

Are There Issues That Are Being Purposely Hidden?

Among the most expensive rooms in the home to repair and renovate are the kitchen and bathroom, which definitely make the top of the list. When it comes to staging, sellers might purposely place certain objects on top or in front of issues they might not necessarily want you to notice before an offer is on the table.

So the next time you’re penciled in for a home viewing, move the towels on the bathroom sink, and push aside the candles on the kitchen counter. Check to see if the caulking is fresh in the bathtub, and if there are any signs of water damage under the sinks.

You can’t fault sellers for professionally staging their homes. Their real estate agents encourage it, and so would yours if you were selling too. There’s a difference between showing buyers what the home could look like with the right decorating strategies, and simply hiding the property’s defects.

Luckily, your real estate agent will be able to help you point out any flaws with the home that the seller may have been trying to hide through strategic home staging efforts.

If you’ve built up a certain amount of equity in your home, you might be eligible to refinance your mortgage. Refinancing basically involves getting a new mortgage to replace the original one. The first loan is paid off, then a second loan is created, usually at a much lower interest rate.

Refinancing isn’t for everyone, nor can just anyone even be eligible for it. But for many homeowners, refinancing can be an ideal opportunity to save money and pay off debt faster.

Here are 6 reasons why you might want to consider refinancing your mortgage.

1. Take Advantage of a Lower Interest Rate

The main reason to refinance your mortgage – and the most obvious one – is to take advantage of a lower interest rate. It’s been years now that interest rates have been hovering at record lows, so now’s as good a time as ever to tap into these reduced rates to save a bundle by the end of your amortization period. You can get a 30-year mortgage at just over 3% right now, and an even lower rate with a 15-year loan.

If you locked in at a high rate when you first got approved for your mortgage, now might be a prime time to consider refinancing. You could literally be saving thousands upon thousands of dollars just by spending a few hours to fill out some paperwork and hand in the necessary documents to your lender.

2. Shorten Your Mortgage Loan Term

The longer your mortgage term and amortization period, the more money you’l be dishing out in interest at the end of the day. By refinancing at today’s low interest rates, you just might find that a 20-year loan is not that much more expensive than a 30-year loan.

Get in touch with a mortgage broker, or find an online mortgage calculator to plug in some numbers to see just what the difference would be. If the estimate you get is feasible for you, consider getting in touch with a mortgage specialist who can help you iron out all the details to get you refinanced, and shorten your loan period.

3. Cash Out Your Home Equity

Let’s face it – everyone’s got a huge expense that they face on occasion. Tuition fees, emergency medical expenses, home renovations, investment property purchases and starting a new business are all examples of expenses that require a huge stack of Benjamins up front. Not everyone has that kind of liquid cash laying around, but many do have the money in their home’s equity.

The longer your home has been appreciating in value and the more money you’ve been paying towards your principle will add to your home’s equity. It might make sense in certain scenarios to cash out on this equity to pay for some of life’s more costly expenses. It mainly depends on what you’re trying to do, and if you are the type of person who is able to manage debt responsibly.

4. Consolidate Your Debt

If you’re like most Americans, you’ve probably got a variety of bills to manage and pay every month. And some may not necessarily be due at the same time each month, making it more challenging to remember to pay your bills. Miss a payment, and not only will you be charged a late fee, but your credit score will also be affected. Not only that, but some of your bills are probably attached to a sky-high interest rate. Credit cards in particular are known to charge borrowers exorbitant rates, some as high as 20%.

By consolidating your debts and using your home equity to secure a loan, you can take advantage of a lower interest rate by using the equity you’ve built in your home as security. This will give you the convenience of having to only worry about one consolidated payment instead of several bills. You’ll also end up paying less in the long run thanks to the lower interest rate that typically comes with this set-up.

5. Cash Out to Purchase Investment Property

A trend that has been emerging among home owners lately is taking money out of home equity to buy investment properties. Refinancing your mortgage to buy other real estate can help you build wealth through investments you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford to make.

Of course, these types of endeavors require careful considerations, including tax or mortgage underwriting issues. Speaking with a mortgage broker or real estate agent will help you figure out if this is something you can swing without exposing yourself to a high amount of risk.

6. Ditch the Adjustable-Rate and Lock Into a Fixed One

If your current mortgage has an adjustable rate, you might want to consider refinancing to lock into a fixed one instead. Interest rates might be super low right now, but they won’t necessarily stay that way.

Locking into a fixed-rate mortgage at a low rate can help protect you from any crazy fluctuations in interest rates which will cost you dearly in the long run. Not only that, but it’s a lot easier to plan and budget for fixed payments compared to volatile ones.

Refinancing can be the ideal solution for you, but you definitely need to carefully consider all angles before you take the plunge. Weigh out the pros and cons of your specific financial position and make a decision that will address your best interests. Take the time to sit down with a mortgage specialist to iron out all the nitty gritty to see if refinancing is right for you.

The concept of the “front porch” seems to have vanished in favor of back yard Shangri-las. Instead of sipping lemonade in rocking chairs on a warm summer’s evening, homeowners now retire to back decks and patios, where they have privacy.

As a result, homebuilders have tossed aside the front porch concept in favor of stoops and landings designed for receiving packages and shooing away solicitors. These stoops are covered by overhangs to keep homeowners dry while they unlock their front doors. However, the end result is that many front entrances seem much more cold and uninviting than they once were. Here are a few tips to help you create a warmer, more welcoming environment around your front door.

Add Greenery

Even a small space can be spruced up by a few plants. You can choose from potted plants with flowers mixed in or a year-round wreath on the front door. Make sure you select flowers that don’t attract bees to avoid a nuisance each time you exit and enter your house. Some homeowners have permanent planters on either side of the front door and simply change the plants and flowers inside those planters to match changes in season or personal taste.

Get Creative with Your House Number

If you see your house number as merely a way to help visitors find you, you’re missing a great opportunity. You can get creative with your house number by using greenery, plates, and even birdhouses. Whether your number is displayed on a post, your front door, or the area beside your front door, there’s no limit to the different ways you can present it.

Boost the Lighting

If you’re dealing with a small space, you can jazz it up through the use of creative lighting. This serves the dual purpose of enhancing security while also making the area a little more attractive. You can accomplish quite a bit in a small space through the use of creative wall lights.

Redo the Landing

Whether your guests enter your front stoop includes steps or runs parallel to your front yard, you can change the look and revitalize your front entrance. Artistic use of stones and/or bricks can take your landing from boring concrete to a look that dramatically enhances your curb appeal.

Creative Front Doors

When you have limited space to work with, it’s more important than ever that your front door stand out. There are so many options available today, whether you prefer a windowless door or one that incorporates glass and lets in light. However, you can wow your guests with a custom-designed front door that leaves a lasting impression

If you find the small space surrounding your front door limits your design choices, these tips could help. You don’t have to feel limited by a lack of space. Consider it a challenge as you seek to renovate your house and make it more welcoming to guests. Whether you choose to change out your front door for something unique or work on the landscaping surrounding your front stoop, there are many different options available.