Whether you’re wondering which jobs to do before you put your home on the market or focused on gaining steady appreciation over the long haul, knowing what kinds of projects actually increase the value of your home can deliver a big payoff when you decide to sell. Here are four helpful tips to increase the value of your home with confidence.

OPEN UP YOUR SPACE

If you’ve watched HGTV or any home renovation show in the past decade, you know that open-concept layouts are the way to go. Though at first open concepts might have been considered a passing trend, the layout plan has consistently gained popularity and demand, cementing this modern style of homebuilding as the new norm. Open floor plans eliminate unnecessary walls and fixtures, making spaces flexible for different kinds of use and creating a relaxed and spacious vibe. In the era of working from home, a house with the ability to make an office space or study room without increasing the square footage is incredibly attractive to buyers.

According to Realtor, open floor plans currently appreciate the home’s value by an average of 7.4%. Yes, you heard that right. By simply knocking down a few walls, you could actually increase your home’s value. Part of what makes open floor plans so desirable is that they give the appearance of more space, making even small homes feel larger than they are. Moreover, remodeling or construction work in open concept homes typically costs less because these homes have fewer internal structures and require lower material costs.

MAKE LANDSCAPING A PRIORITY

You’ve probably seen it before: an attractive home sitting on an ugly lot. Whether it’s unruly, overgrown shrubs and plants or a total lack of green, the scenery surrounding a home completes the picture for a buyer.

Yard landscaping is the single most lucrative upgrade you can give your home recouping the cost of work and then some. Landscaping is so important to a home’s value that The American Society of Landscape Architects recommends investing 10% of your home’s value into landscaping. From planting perennials to keep blooms coming back year after year to the right bushes to make your outdoor spaces feel private, landscaping is a simple, and beautiful, way to increase the value of your home.

As you make your plans, however, keep in mind that some landscaping

projects are more reliable than others. Pools, for example, often do not recuperate their cost when selling, coming in at as low as a 7% return on the initial cost. The cost of upkeep and the potential loss of a yard make pools appeal to only a portion of buyers. When considering projects to increase the value of your home, stick to investments that appeal to a more universal population. Opt for mature landscaping, spaces to entertain, and a beautiful yard over the potential burden of highly specialized landscaping like a pool.

MAKE YOUR HOME MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT

Energy efficiency should be at the forefront of every homeowner’s mind. Though today, solar panels and electric cars are only beginning to gain traction, saving money on energy bills has always been in style. Many homeowners don’t realize that saving money every month is just a few projects away—and a sure-fire way to increase the value of your home when you do sell.

Start with your windows. Low-emissivity-coated windows are created to minimize infrared and ultraviolet light without impacting the visible light in a home. Everyone wants beautiful, natural light in their home, but we often don’t think about how the light entering our homes can impact our heating and cooling bills. To ensure that temperatures are maintained effectively, a professional can determine if a hard or soft coating is best, keeping you comfortable indoors no matter what the season.

Another great way to reduce your energy costs and increase the value and appearance of your home is to get a tankless water heater. Having an updated workhorse like your water heater not only saves you money today, it will also pay off in the long-term as buyers gravitate more and more toward energy-efficient homes and systems.

The other major system to update is your HVAC system, which, like a modern water heater, will pay dividends today and in the future. If your system is newer, regular maintenance is essential to ensure that your current system is functioning at its top level. HVAC systems should be replaced every 10-15 years, so if yours is at the end of its lifespan, take note of your energy bills and compare the difference when you replace the system. You can also have an energy assessment done to give you an idea of your home’s weak points in terms of energy consumption and to give you a clear picture of which HVAC system will be most efficient for your home.

REPAINT

Behold, the power of paint! Interior painting can be a relatively painless—even fun for some—project to tackle on your own. Though hiring a professional is always a safe route, if you want to make the most out of this massive return on investment, pick up your brush and choose a calming color.

With a reported return on investment of 107%, interior painting (that is done well) dramatically impacts the perceived value of the home. Perceived is a keyword here. Painting is all about first impressions, and making a potential buyer feel at home, relaxed, and like they won’t have to repaint the whole house in order to move in is the impression you want to make. To that end, avoiding dramatic colors is essential to appeal to a wide variety of home buyers. Think neutrals and muted colors.

But paint doesn’t just change the feel of interior spaces, it can also take an outdated home into the modern age when used wisely on the exterior. Though not quite as lucrative of an investment, exterior painting still brings in a solid return of about 55%. Whether it’s painting a 60s brick ranch or toning down a bold exterior, once again, paint has the power to make an enormous first impression on a buyer.