Home improvements make our living spaces better, but if those improvements also mean that we’re going to spend more time taking care of our house instead of enjoying it, maybe it’s time to rethink the project.
Fortunately, there are a few home upgrades that actually make our homes lower maintenance.
4 Home Upgrades For Low Maintenance Living
1: Stain Resistant Countertops
Those marble and granite countertops sure do look pretty in the showroom, don’t they?
At home, though, taking care of granite countertops can be a pain. Especially with kids and pets, you don’t want to worry about chips, scratches, and stains on your beautiful kitchen counters.
Opt instead for countertops made of quartz, resin, or other engineered materials. These alternatives are tougher than stone or marble, and they resist staining, scratching, and chipping, which means they last longer and look nicer after years of use.
2: Choose Hard Flooring
Plush carpet under bare feet feels nice. Taking care of carpet, especially in high traffic areas, is not so nice.
You can resort to crude workarounds like placing small rugs on top of your carpet where people walk most frequently, but any way you look at it, wear and tear are going to take their toll.
Plus, cleaning carpets is much more involved than mopping a floor.
Choose hard flooring options like wood or tile instead. Hard floors are easier to clean, last far longer, and inexpensive flooring can still look gorgeous. If you still want the plush feeling under your toes, a simple area rug accomplishes the same thing, and it can be replaced or cleaned by taking it outside.
3: Metal Roofing
Asphalt shingle roofs last, on average, around 20 years.
Aluminum coating lasts between 3 and 7 years.
Coal and tar roofs are expected to last somewhere around 30 years before needing replacement, and so do wood roofs.
Metal roofs, on the other hand, are expected to last between 40 and 80 years, and you don’t need much maintenance to keep them nice.
With modern offerings, metal roofs don’t have to look industrial – multiple patterns and color choices are available to match your home, so you get a product that looks beautiful, lasts a long time, and helps keep your home insulated without much effort.
4: Washable Interior Paint
Especially with pets or children, choose the right interior paint to decorate your interior walls.
Painting with a durable, washable paint, perhaps with a built-in primer, makes it easy to take care of your walls, even in the wake of crayons, slobber, and scuffs.
Wallpaper, though stylish, is a pain to apply and remove, and bright colors come in and out of style every year. Select a neutral color that you’ve always loved, splurge a little on a durable paint brand, and enjoy a gorgeous interior for years to come.
