Green upgrades are an effective way to increase your beach home’s value, while still being considerate of environmental impact. Here are a few of Modernize’s favorite improvement ideas, aimed to overhaul your home, while protecting your checkbook and Mother Nature.
Alternative Flooring Options
Replacing old flooring is a popular and effective way to instantly boost your home value. Hardwood flooring can be costly and not gentle on the environment, but alternative flooring options—like cork flooring—are a great substitute. Cork flooring costs are competitive to hardwood flooring, and with several stain and grain options available to choose from, this flooring option can be paired with your beach home’s current décor style.
Metal Roof Options
Being in the Sunshine State, there is no escaping the sun and its heat. But changing to a roof that redirects the sun’s heat, instead of absorbing it, is a great way to lift a beach home’s value and reduce energy consumption. Metal roofing is a great material for redirecting heat. A metal roof can fit with the design scheme of any home, with different color options and styles to mimic tile and stone textures. With the heat being redirected, less will enter your home and the amount of energy used to cool your home will decrease, too.
Outdoor Gas Fireplaces
Installing an outdoor gas fireplace can keep you warm on the breezy Florida nights. By choosing gas-burning over traditional wood-burning fireplaces, outdoor pollution is greatly reduced. Several unit styles and hookup options are available, including freestanding, so a fireplace can fit with the current layout of your outdoor layout and be a great addition. Prices for gas-burning fireplaces vary, but when picking your unit, consider costs saved by eliminating the upkeep and accessories associated with wood-burning fireplaces.
Decks from Composite Material
Adding or replacing a deck at your beach home means you’ll get to comfortably enjoy all of the views and sounds that your sunny location has to offer. Like indoor flooring, several green-friendly options are available for decks, including repurposed wood or composite flooring. Composite flooring—a blend of wood and recycled plastic—is a smart choice. It’s aesthetically comparable to wood, but its material is more durable to heat and other harsh environmental factors.
Recycled Countertops
New countertops are a sure way to enhance the kitchen or bathroom of any beach home. Granite is the popular—and expensive—choice, but there are plenty of green-friendly options, too. Recycled paper countertops are a great choice, and despite being formed from paper, are they’re fairly durable and heat resistant. The only drawback of paper countertops is the style and coloring options are limited. More color options are available with recycled glass countertops, another granite alternative. The size of the recycled glass pieces in the countertops offer different design options. Larger glass pieces give a mosaic look and are rich with color to complement your beach home’s bright decorations, and smaller glass pieces give a granite-looking, more traditional look.
To explore additional home remodeling ideas visit modernize.com. To buy or sell real estate in Destin give Ocean Reef Real Estate Sales a call at 877.392.6085.
