{"id":21366,"date":"2020-02-26T09:09:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T09:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/?guid=f5bfcc6343d9530ed60fbf0220e76447"},"modified":"2020-02-27T15:18:31","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T15:18:31","slug":"5-eye-catching-upgrades-for-your-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/5-eye-catching-upgrades-for-your-home\/","title":{"rendered":"5 eye-catching upgrades for your home"},"content":{"rendered":"

(BPT) – Who doesn’t want to upgrade the looks, value, functionality or comfort of their own home? From minor tweaks to major makeovers, renovating with hardwood is a sure way to achieve one or more of those home-improvement goals. “Beautifully milled and finished hardwood surfaces offer a variety of colors and textures that no other material truly matches,” says Linda Jovanovich, of the American Hardwood Information Center<\/a>. “But most American hardwoods — whether classics like oak and walnut, or less familiar species like sycamore or basswood — are also remarkably durable, easy to work with and sustainably grown.” Here are five hardwood upgrades well worth considering for your home.<\/p>\n

Refresh staircase banisters and balustrades<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Photo courtesy: Laura Moss Photography<\/em><\/div>\n

An outdated staircase balustrade — the collective name for the handrail, balusters and newel post — can be replaced entirely or in part with stylish new hardwood elements. DeGraw & DeHaan Architects show one crisp and elegant possibility: A red-oak newel post and handrail, stained to match existing treads and flooring, with balusters painted white to match risers and wainscoting.<\/p>\n

Lay solid hardwood flooring<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Photo courtesy: Peter J. Sieger Architectural Photography<\/em><\/div>\n

Solid-hardwood planks have always been the gold standard for residential flooring. But you can create an even bigger aesthetic statement by laying the boards in a sophisticated herringbone pattern — as AWH Architects does with natural-oil-finished oak in this Minneapolis master suite — a traditional style that’s looking very au courant once again.<\/p>\n

Install a beverage center<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Photo courtesy: AsterHouse Design<\/em><\/div>\n

If you entertain at home, a built-in wet bar or beverage center — dedicated hardwood cabinetry incorporating a countertop, sink and faucet, and maybe a small fridge — is an amenity worth its weight in gold. AsterHouse Design does it right with clean-lined wall and base cabinets, painted different colors and separated by a solid alder shelf.<\/p>\n

Turn a closet into a home office <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Photo courtesy: Alan Tansey<\/em><\/div>\n

With more people working from home, dedicated office space is increasingly a residential necessity. One way to achieve such a must-have amenity even in a small apartment is to transform a closet with hardwood built-ins. Michael K Chen Architecture shows how it’s done with this admirably compact yet surprisingly roomy example in a New York loft.<\/p>\n

Create a hardwood feature wall<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Photo courtesy: Allyson Lubow<\/em><\/div>\n

A feature wall clad in hardwood planks or panels is a wonderful way to create visual interest or bring warmth and texture to almost any interior. Neuhaus Design Architecture achieves a cocoon-like glow by using burnished walnut for the custom headboard and bed in this Brooklyn brownstone. Visit www.hardwoodinfo.com<\/a> for more about upgrading your home with American hardwoods.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(BPT) – Who doesn’t want to upgrade the looks, value, functionality or comfort of their own home? From minor tweaks to major makeovers, renovating with hardwood is a sure way to achieve one or more of those home-improvement goals. “Beautifu…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":21370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diy","category-home-improvement-blogs","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}