If you live in a colder climate, I would put in heated flooring in the master bath. It's a luxury that you will enjoy and now is the time to do it. You can always upgrade your appliances down the road but harder to put in the heated flooring unless you take out the flooring. If funds allow, run it into the shower, too.

A truly luxurious master bedroom closet would be appreciated forever. What a nice gift.

This is interesting. All these ideas are lovely but not up our alley. We love carpet upstairs by choice. Have closet organizers in budget so don't need to add to that. Don't love heated floors in bathroom. Had it in our old house and rarely used. We live in Vancouver so it's damp and cool but not cold.

I would get a really nice, big bathtub, but I love taking baths. Other ideas are nicer/bigger windows, fancy sliding/bifold doors, nicer countertops/cabinets, custom cabinetry, statement light fixtures. Or maybe something outside? A nice big deck with built in grilling area or some soft/hardscaping. Not sure what your style is or what you like to do. You could also make all the hallways bigger in the house (adding to the square footage a bit. I like having nice big hallways, especially when moving things.

You seem to be leaning towards appliances so do that. Idk how much these things are but a fancy stove and/or fridge would be good.

One area that we hadn't planned to spend on that might be nicer to spend on is cement planters and stairs and patio stuff. We have three levels of tiers and had thought of keeping simple. Hmmm

Alison, I think the outside living areas would be a great place to spend it. Id' go for it..

I think it would really depend on your house and what it has, vs. what you value relative to your lifestyle. I would absolutely spend it on appliances, specifically a refrigerator! Buts that's because our house is 14 years old and that is the one place it shows.

That's a fun question to kick around. If the funds had to be spent on the house itself, I would probably upgrade the kitchen counters and backsplash. My other interior choice would be upgraded hardware - door knobs, cabinet pulls, hinges. If the perfect space was available, a custom bookcase or storage wall would be great but that requires the right empty space to fill.

My first choice would be outdoors - a pergola would be my main desire, or perhaps a water feature.

I say go for outdoor expenditures. They are so much more expensive than you would think and will give you so much pleasure. We rebricked our sidewalk and it makes me so happy to walk up to each time we come home. We also did some upgrades to our small city back patio/yard space. It is a joy to look out the kitchen window and really brings the beauty of the outdoor space into our home.

I would upgrade the roof to a standing seam metal one.

having help build 2 holmes, owned a new one and have had a fixer upper I enjoyed my kitchen upgrades, well worth the investment, but the custom closet was and is a destressing factor.

Depends; is this your forever home or will it go on the market eventually? If the future of the home includes selling it, I'd consider something that has proven to be a money making asset in your specific real estate market. Ask local realtors about the upgrades that bring in the most payback. If you don't already have all of them in the home then add one that you will enjoy in the meantime.

I would put it towards hardwoods in the upstairs bedrooms or a deck.....or a double sided fireplace in my ensuite!

I could go on forever.

$10,000 doesn't go very far ... just depends upon what is needed. I'm happy with my house in it's present state... I'd splurge on a few pieces of art from my favorite artist.

Build a nice deck? Van is pretty nice in the summer.

Closet organizer....Interior insulation, especially in the bathrooms....crown moulding....better lighting package....wider width hardwood flooring....oak stairs.

I'd put it towards landscaping. It's often an afterthought in new construction, yet it adds to your enjoyment of your home tremendously. Pay for a landscape plan then as much hardscape and trees as the budget allows. Do the rest over time.

Thanks everyone! Lots of great ideas many well beyond ten grand...anyhow we have a 250 square foot cedar deck already leading down to another tiered level of the same space so don't need the deck. We don't want hardwood upstairs. I appreciate the ideas

Also this is the forever house!

There's no such thing as a "forever house ", sorry, that's a rarity.

Bailey fair enough but to me I mean we aren't found anywhere for quite a long time! If that's ten years or twenty plus it's still a long term home. I'm hoping for twenty plus.

With all that decking, how about a nice outdoor kitchen (to be used on the four days when it isn't raining) along with some good deck furniture. And landscaping, definitely.

Deck is covered so luckily there will be far more than four days out there

I used to live in Vancouver. Covered decks are good.

I think an outdoor space would be an excellent addition. Vancouver's mild climate makes outdoor life much easier and much longer than most of Canada. Go ahead and bring in some landscaping that didn't make it to the final design because of budget.

It sounds like all your other bases are covered. Go ahead and get a landscaped space. It will add so much more than you can imagine.

I do like the idea of saving it for landscaping. It's true it is so easy to cut that or trim it down for later. My only concern is it isn't the spirit of the gift. We were told it was intended to be an upgrade. Something we really wanted but didn't budget for. I'll talk to hubby if he thinks the landscaping would fall into that. We do have some metal railings we could replace with cement planters which would look stunning. It's such a lovely gift, but as someone already mentioned it actually doesn't go all that far.

Cement planters would be really cool and I think that counts as an upgrade. Try to make it something that will make you smile when you see it so you can remember the generous gift whenever you see it.

Appliances could be a great idea, especially if it's something that would be harder to change later. Like getting an awesome sink or a counter-depth fridge or a big industrial stove (if any of those things appeal to you).

" Something we really wanted but didn't budget for." Are you quite far along purchasing things already and have an actual grasp of what your budget will buy or do you have a budget but haven't begun the process of seeing what you can get for the money?

I know builders will give an "allowance" and when the homeowner goes to purchase products they are surprised how that budget doesn't go to far when it comes to getting the quality, color, etc they thought they would be getting. And everything ends up being an "upgrade" if they want something different. So your gift may be easier to spend before you know it.

Everything in building is an upgrade! I get that. Hard decisions being made every single day and every single email from the builder or designer requires one. We aren't that far into it but the $10k is in a separate account for a specific upgrade. We just don't know what.

I would upgrade the lighting, especially since you live in Vancouver. And by upgrade, I mean get a lighting designer involved, utilize LED recessed lighting and install light of key walls to highlight art. Another idea is to make your house "smart." Lastly, improve the finish trim.

On the appliance line, if you have a two story home, consider putting a washer and dryer on each floor! What a huge time saver and no more going up and down stairs with laundry.

Not sure what it is called, but a whole house vacuum system. Or appliances, you will have them at least 10-15 years.

I believe you were asking about the pros and cons of a composite versus a cedar deck. Aside from aesthetic appeal, would a composite deck be an upgrade to consider? With beautiful cement planters? :)