In general, kitchen and bath remodels add the most value to a home, if that's your metric. But many people find that older homes don't have enough space so additions are also great. People are also building ADUs on their property for an aging parent or for rental income.

I think the answer to this is going to vary greatly from homeowner to homeowner, depending on their needs.

Agree. I just meant, for fun, is there anything that has made a big difference in your life? Like moving the laundry to the second floor, or adding or subtracting a window or door?

Opening up the kitchen to the dining room, during a first floor remodel. We eliminated the kitchen table, expanded seating around an island, and use the dining room table daily.

[ does chef's kiss ]

Great topic! A few years ago we renovated our whole house. My favorites are: new kitchen; new bathrooms; new front door that we painted with color: “Baby spinach, and new oak staircase. These favorites always put a smile on my face!

Rebuilt the back deck and added a roofed & screened section with a french door into the kitchen.

I haven't done a lot, but what I have done has been beneficial.

Redoing the kitchen, even though I didn't change the footprint and it is still small (by modern standards) is far and away the best - worth every penny. New cabinets, new layout, improved lighting, drawers!

Honorable mentions:

Replacing the metal framed windows with more energy efficient vinyl.

Adding insulation everywhere - walls, under addition floor, attic.

Removing the wall to wall carpet in most of the rooms - which included sanding off the old rubber padding which had melted to the hardwood! - and refinishing the original oak flooring.

I tore out a small cement patio that directed water toward the foundation, and replaced it with a much larger paver patio. This helped with water intrusion into the basement. Too bad this was done before that new interlocking paver sand was available. But still, it is now a nice space for my pot garden and projects.

I had to have the basement perimeter drains opened up and cleared, and a sump pump added. Obviously of immense benefit, but sort of a hidden one.

Replaced the standard small vanity/sink with a euro-style one (had to be a shallower cabinet because of the door swing) which allowed for a larger, more attractive sink with some rim space for items.

Petula67, I love how you mentioned a back screened porch! We had one in our former house and I’ve been missing it for 10 years in this house. This spring, we converted our shed into a screen house and I just wish I’d done it sooner!

We put a small addition on our last house - I can't remember exactly how many square feet it was, but it solved five problems with the house. We had a talented architect. I guess my favorite parts of it were adding sliders in the kitchen eating area (you used to have to go around the corner to the family room slider to get out to the patio), adding sliders in the home office (great view of the back yard - I worked at home before it was a thing), moved the laundry up to the second floor and added a nice master bath (was previously a small 6 X 6 space). When we went to sell the buyers specifically mentioned they appreciated everything that was changed.

We removed walls , redid all the electrical and plumbing , kitchen moved from the original all spot to have a much bigger kitchen .Those were all things we knew we needed to do when we bought . I guess all of those things were the best .So many things that were added during the first 2 yrs all to make this a home that we could love.

hmmm hard to choose between kitchen and adding half bath - we only had one bath so the extra toilet is pretty exciting! kitchen was original 1920s with wall between kitchen and kitchen nook so big time improvement opening that up and having space for a refridgerator and countertop next to stove (vs none prior and fridge in front of a door!). anyone else would call our house closed concept still as we have a seperate formal DR. they were really into doors in the 1920s!

Ooh this is fun! we did a reno to our old house that added a powder room and mud room to the first floor and are SO happy we did it

I have been happy (no, thrilled) with all of the renovations we have done, but probably the most impactful was going from this (ugliest) kitchen to the remodeled kitchen...it was 14 years ago, so many on Houzz will think even the new one is dated, but I love it. We changed the paint color and valances in 2020, so it doesn't look exactly like this anymore, but appliances and finishes still look like new and perform perfectly. Another favorite: about 8 years ago we added the Saltillo tiles to the walkway leading to our front door...it was light gray concrete before, but the tiles go with our Spanish tile roof.

We love absolutely everything about our very recent remodel of the kitchen and two bathrooms but the feature we love most is increasing to a 36” kitchen apron sink. It’s now a joy to wash dishes in this sleek, cavernous beauty!

New roof- on my flat roof row house the old tar built up caused anxiety every time it rained wondering if this was the storm that would produce a new leak. Ripped it all off and did a commercial rubber roof and it has been 8 years with nary a worry. Plus the new roof in white immediately knocked about $50 a month off my electric bill and my upstairs is noticeably cooler in the summer. It wasn’t a flashy kitchen remodel and it doesn’t add a lot of appeal to the house if I were to sell (even though it should) it’s made me like my house instead of dreading it.

Adding an attached garage, mudroom and main floor laundry.

I should have added a vote. What is the most life changing home reno?

- moving a door

- moving the laundry

- changing the kitchen

- adding a mudroom

- adding an addition

- outdoor upgrade (screened porch/patio/outdoor kitchen)

Moved laundry from basement to 1st floor

Added a shower to 1st floor 1/2 bath so now can live on 1st floor only if necessary

Making a laundry room space inside the house and moving it from the uncooled garage. Now I ALMOST don't mind doing laundry. Also, moving the garbage can to a space right beside the stove where I needed it most - it's in a recess, out of traffic pattern, but it's so convenient to throw away stuff while I'm cooking and not have to walk across the room.

This is not that exciting and is not a renovation but the best investment I made was to plant shade trees in my back yard. What a difference it made.

Adding a primary bedroom. taking our 2bed, 1 bath (870 sq ft)house to a 3/2 (1120 sq ft). i should mention when we did this we had a 16 yo, 2 yo and 2 adults full time.

We took off the popcorn ceiling, had hardwood floor put in, and painted everything before we moved in. We bumped 2 feet deep by 6 feet wide into the garage to make a buffet area in our too small dining room. Added windows because one whole side of the house had no windows for no reason. Finished the room over the garage, which probably made the biggest difference. Before that, pictures of the living room show it jam packed with baby toys. Now the kid toys are ALL in the bonus room and I am convinced a playroom is a must-have.

A simple fix we did was replace our laundry room and master bedroom closet doors with barn doors. They saved space in both areas.

"The most life changing" you ask? One my wife did more than 20 years ago literally turned our lives around. Without it I doubt we would still be togeather and if we were I know we would be much worse off financially. Click HERE for full explanation.

Added powder room to our first floor of our 170 year old house with very steep steps upstairs. Made it much easier for my parents to visit.

Just added a remote light switch with dimmer to the bedside of our guest bedroom and redesigned our guest bath to be more safe and reduce fall risks.

Adding a master bath, finishing the basement into extra living area and adding central air to my 1920 house are the three that vastly improved my living experience here. I already had a kitchen so although making it prettier and a bit more functional was really nice it over all changed little in reality.

Made lots changes in my former home but the two that had the biggest positive impact were: (1) Moved washer & dryer from detached garage to 2d floor.

(2) Removed large ”Roman” tub from master bath & replaced with large walk in shower.

How could I forget to mention the mini split!? Couldn't get by without it this summer.

We did splits last year and are loving them this summer!

Insulation and new windows. Best thing ever for 1930 house. Then probably mini splits and added a bathroom.