What's the Cherry on Top?

[Nathan Grubb]

There's a lot of little "upgrades" you can do when renovating a rental property that are the "cherry on top" of an already well done job. Examples are things like:

-Granite countertops instead of formica
-5/8" drywall instead of 1/2" drywall
-ceramic tile instead of linoleum

What is your favorite upgrade that is most worth the money? 

[Geraldo Holter]

Kitchen backsplash and tile floors instead of linoleum. 
wont break the bank as stone counters. 

[Rob B.]

I'm a huge fan of a nice kitchen backsplash and great point about the granite countertops instead of Formica. I will say though, simply put, the one that tends to do it for a lot of people is wood flooring or vinyl vs carpet. I've never really been a fan of carpet, even in bedrooms; they're never as clean as the first day you put them down -- no matter how often you clean it; even without pets. Wood floors are fairly easy to keep clean. Other things *cherries on top* might be recessed lighting, big windows. 

[Steven Foster Wilson]

wood accent shelves, turns the whole place into a luxury house.

[Jon Reed]

Lighting.... One of the most under appreciated features of a home is nice quality and quantity of lighting. You can put in amazing counter tops, high end cabinets, tile floors but it will all look dingy if you flip the lights on and the room isn't properly lit. 

[Marlen Weber]

I'd have to second the kitchen backslash from @Rob B. Simple way to spruce up the kitchen and add value. 

[George W.]

As others have said lighting makes a huge difference. Another thing that I thinks make a huge difference besides the kitchen is the bathroom. 

Whenever i do a bathtub or shower, I get nice tile with a built in soap holder. Not the cheap ceramic soap dish, an acutal recessed soap area in the wall. It looks so much nicer. I usually throw a nice cast iron tub in instead of a acrylic. 

Another thing is I spend a few more dollars on fixtures and get nice kohler fixtures that still dont break the bank. Make sure that your toilets handle matches the trim of the faucet if it's not chrome. Also make the door handle match the trim color on all the fixtures. Small things like that are the cherry on the top.