Time to Update, Part Two. By Dan Polimino.

Last month, I wrote a column about updating our home and how I realized that my home was out-of-date by looking at other homes in my neighborhood with clients.

I soon came to the conclusion that if I wanted to keep up with the times or sell my home anytime soon, I better update it and make sure that it presents itself as a good value. If you would like to re-read that column, you can find it at coloradodreamhouse.com and click on the "news" button. That column led to several people emailing me, asking exactly what I did to "create more value and update the house." What they really wanted to know was if there were some projects they could do that would not cost a fortune, but would add value. So here is what I did on a budget:

• I changed all the hardware in the house. I had that very popular late '90s brass throughout the whole house. I switched out every door handle, every towel bar, hinge, doorstop, and every lock. Since I hear constant disagreements about whether or not brushed nickel or silver is in, I went in the other direction and installed oil rubbed bronze. It matches better with my home and tends to be timeless.
• Next, I changed every light fixture inside and outside of the house. Again, matching the oil rubbed bronze theme. Together, between the hardware and the light fixtures, I kept the budget under $2,000.
• I painted. This is easy because paint is cheap and only requires some elbow grease. A fresh coat of paint inside makes a house really shine. Since I am not handy, I got a reasonable bid to paint the entire inside of my home for $3,000.
• If you have a little more money, start to look at your flooring. We have had it with carpeting! We have some hardwood floors in the house already, but are leaning toward going all hardwood upstairs and down. We got a bid for $10,000 on this project.
• Finally, the last project we'll do is update the kitchen and baths. So far, I have been able to ascertain that I can update the kitchen counter tops and back splash for about $4,000 and three bathrooms for about $8,000.

If you add it all up, it's about $27,000 depending on your taste. That may seem like a lot, but when you are done, the entire inside of your home is updated for 10-15 years. You could also do it like us, which is to tackle a few projects at a time. We plan on being finished before next spring, which spreads out the expense.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby's International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost