By Porter & Smurfit
Property experts Melissa Porter and Charlie Smurfit reveal one of their own personal projects - renovating a mezzanine floor in an apartment bought as an investment. They explain how to work to a budget and make any renovation worthwhile.
The apartment in question is an investment property and our decision was whether creating a second bedroom in the space would add the most value.
1. Do your research
Check out property prices on the Land Registry website . Note the price difference between a one and two-bedroom property in your area, then factor in the estimated cost of the refurbishment. If the objective is to increase the value of the property and to make money, do the sums work out? Look at online valuation services such as
Property Price Advice. This website gives you the option of viewing the selling price of your property in its current state and then the new valuation if works were carried out. This gives you the chance to then decide whether it’s worth going to the effort of carrying out the renovations.
The numbers stacked up for us – the apartment needed a fabulous second bedroom in order to achieve its maximum selling price.
· Upon deciding that a bedroom space needed to be created our question was whether to incorporate an ensuite bathroom or to just fit a bedroom suite.
2. Work out your budget
There’s a ceiling price to every property and whatever renovations and alterations you make, your property’s price will never go above this point. It’s important to establish what this price point is either by inviting estate agents into your home, utilising the resources available from the Land Registry, or using online valuation services. Once you’re clear on this figure you should then be able to work out how much money you have available to spend on your renovations before it starts to become a non-recoupable expense and you find yourself eating into your equity.
We worked out that an en suite bathroom would cost us approximately £20,000 to install including reinforcing the mezzanine floor to support the additional weight of the fittings. To create a bedroom suite would cost a fraction of the price - £3,000 - and this second option would achieve the same selling price as the first, more expensive renovation.
On the basis that the cheaper renovation of creating a second bedroom would achieve the same selling price as the more expensive ensuite project, it was decided to choose the former. This allowed maximum profit potential for the seller.
· Once the decision had been made to create a fabulous second bedroom it was then necessary to explore how best to utilise the space
3. Space planning
First of all we identified what pieces of furniture needed to be incorporated into the bedroom - the key pieces being a double bed and wardrobe. We created life-size paper templates of the furniture and moved them around the floor to decide where best they should be placed. The challenge with this space is that it’s rectangular, and generally a room is easier to work and live with if it’s a square. To achieve this effect it was decided to incorporate fitted wardrobes at either end of the rectangle and to then place the bed in front of one of the sets of cupboards, which would give the illusion that the room was squarer and less narrow than it actually is.
· The ceiling height was very low so we identified lighting as a tool to assist with creating the illusion of space within the room.
4. Lighting
The space featured recessed spotlights in the carpet that served to either burn holes in anything that was flung over them in error or to burn holes into your eye balls when manoeuvring ones self around this area. The general consensus was that they were ill-placed to serve the requirements of a guest relaxing in this room or a buyer looking to be wooed into making a purchase.
Aside from the floor, the options were to incorporate them into the ceiling which would have worked to clearly define the height of the walls and to display them in their full ‘short’ glory –which was not an option. Or to fit wall lights, which would achieve the same outcome – again not an option. We chose to recess spots just above the skirting boards, which cleverly avert the eyes to the floor as opposed to the ceiling. Perfect.
In terms of natural light, the newly created half balcony allowed light to flood into the bedroom from the 4m-high windows in the sitting room below. This, when coupled with a neon light to be fitted above the head of the bed over the fitted cupboard, will make the space fully functional and also aesthetically pleasing.
So, we decided on recessed spots placed above the skirting board on one side only to minimise costs, and a removable neon sign that will fit with the contemporary feel of the apartment, adding a splash of fashionable colour and a WOW! factor to the room.
About the authors
Charlie Smurfit has worked in interior design for eight years and has run her own business for three, whilst Melissa Porter has worked as a BBC television presenter on various property programmes for five years and renovated homes for nine.
Charlie and Melissa recently launched a property renovation and interior design company, Porter & Smurfit Ltd. For further information please contact Porter & Smurfit at info@porterandsmurfit.com or telephone: 08707 662 585.
Melissa Porter will appear in the next series of Escape to the Country on BBC Two, scheduled to begin this summer.