If you are a property developer or budding landlord, you may find yourself facing the costly endeavour that is renovation before market. In a troubled housing market, it is more important than ever to coax as much value out of a property as possible.
In order to show your properties in their best possible light, you’ll need to consider a number of key factors – one of which is privacy. Privacy is highly desirable both amongst potential tenants and potential buyers, a fact often reflected in property values themselves. What can you do to address privacy during property renovations?
Perimeter Privacy in your properties
Privacy concerns begin with boundary perimeters – particularly those of front and back gardens. Some might be concerned about how easy it is for passers-by to look through the garden and into the property in search of valuable items, while others might simply wish to enjoy their garden without fear of disturbance from the neighbours.
Potential tenants or future buyers might have their own specific ideas about what constitutes proportional privacy, but there are some generation renovations and alterations you can undertake that achieve a base level of privacy. For one, fitting six-foot fence panels around garden boundaries as standard is a relatively inexpensive way to prevent eye-level snooping into private spaces.
Alternatively, with a bit more time and budget you might seek to add foliage to boundary areas and fencing for a more natural break in eyeline. This might also prove more of a deterrent for potential trespassers, and a more pleasing first impression for viewers – but the cost and maintenance can be prohibitive, particularly for tenants.
Frosted Glass
Frosted glass windows are equivalent to standard double-glazed windows, but acid-etching or sandblasting processes are used to diffuse the light passing through them – allowing privacy and natural light at the same time.
Frosted glass is a common sight in already in properties, used as it is to preserve privacy in bathrooms and utility spaces – but might there be any additional ways in which frosted glass could be useful? If your property has an outhouse for use as an office or bedroom, frosted windows might make occupants feel a little more protected from goose necking.
Skylights
For loft conversions or ground-floor extensions, skylights can be an innovative way to deliver light and a sense of spaciousness without sacrificing privacy. While not a complete replacement for conventional windows in ground-floor scenarios, they can still minimise the number of windows needed to complete a space.
Blinds and Curtains
Not all privacy measures need to be enacted during the ‘construction’ stage of your property renovations, though. Aftermarket solutions are also highly effective, and can improve your tenants’ or buyers’ sense of security no end for relatively little upfront cost.
Weighted blackout curtains are at the cheaper end of the spectrum, and serve dual purposes in limiting visibility from outside in while also comprehensively blocking outside light from getting in – rendering them perfect for bedrooms. Horizontal blinds can also be used effectively in living spaces, to allow light in without creating a line of sight.
Photo by R ARCHITECTURE on Unsplash
