Additions when remodeling / extending to make a property feel high end

[JonSnowedUnder]

We are having an extension and full house refresh and just wondered if anyone had any good tips on what sort of additions make a home feel high end? I don't want my home to look like a show home, more just nice touches. Especially interested in tips that are not too expensive!

We have a decent budget, think good mid-range sort of finishes but I'm thinking that spending in certain areas may be more beneficial and then saving in others.

@09:14PresentingPercy ikea kitchens, fitted skillfully knock spots off genetic mid range kitchens.

Black mould! What the hell are you doing to it!

Near the sink and under the doormat are black. It's from the moisture from washing up and coming in and out the house with damp feet, it's the back door do we don't have a porch but it's used daily. My friends that have wood floors have the same issue. They are either sanding/ oiling/ varnishing annually or have scratches and mould. Ours had mould and looked dreadful when we moved in so we sanded/ stripped and treated it but 2 years later and it needs redoing.

@Geneticsbunny said what I was going to say.

I have an architect friend who has staircased up the housing market renovating as he goes.

Always puts in expensive kitchen worktop & taps. Often on ikea or other cheap units. M

His other tip is nice tiles in the bathroom. Suite can be cheap but tiles have to look ££. Decent taps in there too.

I personally am an appliance snob. Bosch or upwards only please.

No laminate flooring.

You can get decent window dressings without spending a fortune - just have to be careful with the fabrics you pick eg blinds2go much cheaper than other made to measure options.

Multi layered lighting, no grids of downlights.

Look at John Cullen for inspiration

White meral screwless switches are great.

Find a his local kitchen company and see what deal you can get. Composite worktop every time.

Downstairs toilet and utility and lots of storage for coats, shoes and crap.

Farrow and ball offer a styling service or find a local interior designer. We're often not as expensive as you might think and certainly not when the context is a refurb costing a couple of hundred thousand pounds

@Allthereindeersaregirls

Black mould! What the hell are you doing to it!

Near the sink and under the doormat are black. It's from the moisture from washing up and coming in and out the house with damp feet, it's the back door do we don't have a porch but it's used daily. My friends that have wood floors have the same issue. They are either sanding/ oiling/ varnishing annually or have scratches and mould. Ours had mould and looked dreadful when we moved in so we sanded/ stripped and treated it but 2 years later and it needs redoing.

I have wooden floors in most rooms including the kitchen and I’ve never had mould or black. What is your subfloor ? I’m wondering if they have been incorrectly laid.

We do have some scratches on the wood floor under the kitchen table where the chairs are pulled in and out so it needs redone about every 10 years.

The wood worktops are still looking good after 12 years.

We are in the middle of a big house renovation on what is already an expensive property.

I disagree about the blanket “no IKEA” rule. You just need to be very selective about what you have and make sure you mix it with other things. Their kitchen units are solid and I’ve used them in my pantry and in my boot room. I’ve also used the kitchen units in my dressing room. Most of my furniture is old and comes from eBay or Facebook and this creates a transitional style. You do have to have a bit of an eye for a good piece though and to keep it cohesive or you can end up with it just looking like junk.

I like calm, neutral colours, lots of texture and good flow from room to room. We are putting the same flooring throughout the whole of the ground floor to keep the space cohesive. I think window treatments are crucial. You need to think about how you hang your curtains. Floor to ceiling only- no short curtains. It’s never a high end look. Curtains also need to be able to be pulled right back so that they are not blocking the light.

Art on walls, photos on surfaces (unless it’s a well done large photo wall grouping but even then it can look cheap unless they’re very carefully chosen photos).

Large house plants look expensive (because they are!)

Lighting should be layered and thought about carefully. Downlights are fine in a utility, bathroom or kitchen but they’re not great elsewhere.

I also agree with the comments about avoiding trends. They’re in and out quickly - you want to aim for a look that feels like it’s been built up over time, not all bought last week in dunelm (not criticising dunelm, you can get some good bits in there)

Downlights are fine in a utility, bathroom or kitchen but they’re not great elsewhere.

The previous owners put downlighters in all our bathrooms and they are awful, at some point I'm going to put wall lights in next to the mirrors above the sinks because the downlighters create such harsh shadows. Ironically the lighting hey put in the kitchen is really nice, there is task lighting above the counters, lighting in the wall cabinets which have frosted glass doors and lights in the kickboards. I rarely use the ceiling lights because this lighting create such a nice ambience. In the dining part there are three ceiling lights in a row on a dimmer but there's also sufficient wall lighting that again that is my preferred option of an evening.

Don't get Amtico. It looks great new but doesn't wear well. If you have spotlights, make sure all the bulbs are modern and the same. We are about to replace 56 bulbs in the house we bought recently as they're all random, old fashioned

@Salome61

Thanks *@IONA* for the heads up about radiator covers, I don't want to 'date' the place, I'm 64 and when I was house hunting saw some horrors. I'll have a look at more modern attractive radiators :)

I have a couple of feature radiators but for the others I have very plain ones which are painted the same colour as the walls they are on. That way you don’t really notice them.

As we’ve done up each section of the house we’ve replaced the 1970s radiators with new white column radiators. They’re not expensive anymore and they go with any style.

I’d suggest porcelain for floor tiles rather than ceramic. Ceramic can chip or crack. Obviously porcelain can too but it’s far more hard wearing. Stone is a better bet for a truly authentic look but don’t underestimate the upkeep with sealing and you can get some really good porcelain imitation stone tiles nowadays. If you can go for the real thing though it does bring the wow factor.

Decor that is in keeping with and sympathetic to the style of the house. I consider myself a custodian of the properties I've owned, the house will be around a lot longer than me, and if buying somewhere older it already has been. For example high gloss handleless kitchen looks naff in a Grade II listed cottage and similarly a country style one looks ridiculous in a city centre flat. Downlights in old properties really get my goat too. But I agree with PP that "taste" can be subjective. I've seen some expensive high end renovations but I'd want to rip everything out and start again.

My penny’s worth...

Get the electrics right and the flooring right, and anything else that’s a pain to change.

Where will you plug your Christmas tree in?

Agree with others on taps etc. Get the best you can afford.

Other things

Doors - the heavier the better... and decent handles.

(Do not go for ridged chrome spherical ones. You’ll never get out of the loo with slightly damp hands or any kind of hand cream on)

Entrance hall - think of the kind of ‘arrival’ you want your guests to have.

Re Amtico/ Kardean - don’t discount laying their floors in a herringbone pattern etc.

Are Bifold doors still a thing? They’ve been done to death around here...

Oh and curtains...

You’re better off buying cheaper fabric and getting curtains lined, interlined and made beautifully... than buying expensive fabric and scrimping on the making up.

Add new skirting boards when you get new flooring- avoid that horrible beading that always looks a mess!

We have real wood throughout downstairs and it’s been brilliant, no mould or black marks. We are moving and will def have again. Good quality flooring, tiles, appliances and accessories. A separate utility room if possible, downstairs, and pay someone decent to fit the kitchen.

I think bifolds are still very popular. People like to be able to completely fold back a wall and actually they’re mainly glass and so unless you are looking carefully most people wouldn’t immediately know if a large expanse of glass was bifolds or sliders.

Crittal windows, however beautiful they can look in the right setting, look really odd when not in an authentic setting.

French doors are lovely but not when Upvc and so you need to be prepared for the upkeep. Wooden doors expand and contract.

Add new skirting boards when you get new flooring- avoid that horrible beading that always looks a mess!

Surely the best thing to do in an older property is to take off the old skirting boards, lay the (non-plastic) flooring then put the original skirting boards back. Or I think some (wood) parquet layers will cut the skirting board so the parquet goes under it.

For example high gloss handleless kitchen looks naff in a Grade II listed cottage and similarly a country style one looks ridiculous in a city centre flat.

While I'd agree a country style kitchen is very dated doesn't work in the city I have no issues with a very modern kitchen or bathroom in an old rural property. The contrast is very pleasing. And after all a 'country style' kitchen is a modern pastiche, no-one now wants to live with a real 16th century kitchen.

We’ve been replacing our skirting with taller boards, it makes a huge difference.

High end is so subjective. Lots of people mention LVT flooring for example, I didn't like how it looked at all and got it taken up halfway through fitting much to many peoples annoyance.
Sometimes you have to go with what suits the property my house would look ridiculous with crittal or wooden patio doors, the bifolds we put in look great.

I'm always amazed at the difference when internal doors are replaced. In our previous house we put oak doors in but even in our current home changing basic white doors for better quality white doors has made the overall look so much better.

I would add that I’ve had no mould issues with my kitchen wooden floor. Just need to be very vigilant with spillages etc and look after it the right way. It’s more work than other floor types in my opinion.

I would avoid plastic light fittings, but I think plastic light switches are fine, unless you have money to burn

A basic white switch costs £1.50. A brushed stainless steel or polished chrome one can cost about £6. The labour costs will be the same for both.

I’ve just fitted these in a budget kitchen renovation

www.screwfix.com/p/lap-20a-16ax-1-gang-2-way-light-switch-brushed-stainless-steel/997kj

The extra cost over white sockets and switches was about £50 in total for the whole kitchen.

Of course you can get designer switches and sockets that cost £40 or £50 each.

Change out any white plastic light switches or power points to metal (brushed chrome?) Or black

No! Brushed chrome is very dated!

I think different people notice different things.

For me it’s lighting. In reception rooms I expect overhead to be good quality pendants/chandeliers no lampshades over a single bulb and plenty of lamps.

In kitchen and bathrooms I expect good quality recessed spots, appropriately zoned, so overhead, but also under unit, in recesses and over mirrors in bathrooms. You should be able to combine lights in different ways so not all on/off.

The trick is to use the architectural language of the house. So yours is 1930s, be sympathetic to that, but with modern adornments.

Buying key pieces of decent furniture and working around those. Second hand is good. IKEA is also great if you are careful- there are lots of good IKEA hacks too.

Lighting, flooring and finishing is really important to get right.