What's the Joy Score for Your Kitchen Renovation?

Consider the Joy Score For Your Next Kitchen Renovation

When it comes to renovations and real estate people are often very focused on ROI (return on investment) but is that the best metric to measure?

Our day to day lives are governed by more than just dollars and cents. In fact quite the opposite, the are mostly governed by emotions and how we feel.

What is a Joy Score?
In 2017 the National Association of Realtors created the Joy Score. It measures which renovations make people the happiest. Not too surprising is kitchen renovations and bathroom remodels top the list of those projects with the highest Joy Score.

• • Kitchen renovations Joy Score : 10 out of 10
• • Bathroom renovations Joy Score: 9.6 out of 10

Pet Renovations

One thing that was a little surprising was the Joy Score for renovations for pets. 

Some of the most popular pet renovations included:

• • Putting in a fence: 9.4 Joy Score 
• • Adding Luxury Vinyl floors: 9.3 
• • Building in a doggie door: 9.1 

ROI vs Joy Score

Remodeling is expensive. One of the more common things we hear from homeowners during budget meetings is that the cost is "More than the house is worth".

While this might be true there are some things to consider.

• 1. Could you buy a completely renovated house for less money ?
  2. Could you sell your house with an outdated kitchen or bath?
  3. Is an outdated home causing you stress and unhappiness?

Are you happy in your home?
It's that third one that most people need to consider more. We use our kitchens and bathrooms every day, often mutilple times a day.

Things like limited counter space, lack of storage or hard to clean surfaces can cause small daily frustrations that can really add up to big stressors over the months and years.

Why do we own homes?
Our homes are not just investments. We own homes so that we can enjoy time with our family and friends, so we an relax and recharge away from a chaotic world and so that we can customize them to our daily routines for our needs.

Your home should facilitate happiness in your life, not be a barrier to it.