Modernising a flat to appeal to professional couple or singelton.

elona

In the near future we will be faced with modernising a flat which we would like to rent out.

Tenant has to be 55 years or older and we would be aiming at professional retired - or still working couple or single person.

Rather than just do "a lick of paint " we would like to bring it up to date.

Considering new doors, drawer fronts in kitchen as carcass is sound.

Wood laminate flooring in kitchen and bathroom.
New tiles in kitchen and bathroom.

Bathroom suite is beigey colour - may not need replacing?

Considering replacing bath with a walk in shower.

Would the people who read this thread please give me their opinions.

I do not want to make the place aggressively modern and would rather not spend a fortune but would like to give the flat the "wow" factor.

Bogof_Babe

Well I personally wouldn't ditch the bath. You can always have a shower over the bath, with a screen if you don't like curtains. Many older people have aches and pains that are greatly relieved by a soak in a nice hot bath.

The rest sounds fine. I wouldn't put too much laminate flooring around the place as it won't absorb noise like carpet would. Which level is the flat on?

jenniferpa

On the other hand, many older people have aches and pains which mean they can't get in the bath! On the whole, though, I'd stick with the bath with a power shower over it. Laminate flooring can be dodgy, not only from a noise point of view, but from a safety point of view. In kitchens and baths it can get wet and slippery, and in living areas rugs on top of laminate can both slide and trip the unwary.

I think color can make a tremendous difference to how a person views living space, and also, if eyesight is a problem, it can make life much easier. Actually, adequate lighting can be good way to improve the appearance of any space.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Keep the bath, unless you're planning to let to the very inform in which case you need to install a ride in shower with a seat and think about moving all electrical sockets up the wall to low waist height. Beige suite sounds fine, if you go for beige or white tiles you can give it the wow factor with curtains and mirror and towels/plants (to be removed after viewing )
Laminate flooring can be slippery when wet, and some kinds turn into weetabix if they get wet. How about non-slip vynil? You can easily and cheaply replace it then if/when you need to.

Replacing kitchen unit doors/drawers will modernise and brighten, but whatever style you choose it will be unfashionable in 5 years, so you might want to pick from the cheaper end of ranges.

Light paintwork on walls/doors etc gives the renter a neutral background and won't clash with their style ideas, as will neutral carpeting.
Hope this helps.

cattie

I agree with the others here regarding the laminate floor. A decent ceramic tiled floor in both kitchen & bathroom would be a much better outlay & will give years of wear. Less dangerous too, as laminate is very slippery underfoot when wet & I've often nearly gone for a burton on mine.

Also agree about keeping the bath rather than installing a shower. I've only ever taken 2 baths in this house in the 4yrs I've lived here, preferring the overhead shower, but wouldn't like to live in a house without a bath just the same.

The beige bathroom suite would put me off as I've been a lifetime lover of white suites, but that's just me & I daresay many people would be quite happy with it being beige. However if you really want the wow factor for the flat you'd be as well to get a reasonably priced white suite installed in it's place.

Bogof_Babe

I know what you mean about being unable to get into a bath (my 91 year old mum really struggles, and has to use a board and all sorts of contraptions, as they don't have a shower), but I read Elona's original post to be aiming at more mid-to-late middle-aged tenants, rather than extremely old and incapable.

For one thing, I'd have thought old folk who weren't fit enough to get into a bath might be more likely to look for warden controlled or sheltered accommodation, rather than a privately rented flat where there is no official assistance for them.

To put it another way, I think more people might be put off by the lack of a bath than would be put off by the presence of one. Anyway these are only my thoughts, from personal experience, and I am one of those who thoroughly enjoys a good, bone-soothing soak in the bath every morning, and just uses the shower to rinse off afterwards!

I probably need a Tempur mattress, but that's another thread altogether .

Edit: as for the colour of the bathroom suite, it wouldn't bother me at all. It is only a fashion thing that they have to be white at the moment. I hate the way the house makeover programmes are so snooty about anything that isn't white. Give it another few years and sky blue pink will be in vogue again!

Edinburghlass_2

55 or over hardly qualifies someone for a walk in shower as yet :eek:

I wouldn't get rid of the bath either and beige is quite acceptable, if re-tiling I would keep the tiles a beige as well and do an accent colour on one wall and for viewing match up the towels and accessories with that one colour.

The friend that did some of my laminate flooring said his parents had fitted it throughout the house for ease of moving the furniture around as they got older but it some ways its not any easier to clean than carpet. In fact laminate for kitchens and bathrooms should be the most expensive because of water spills. Laminate does make a small space look much bigger though especially if you pick a light colour.

Kitchen too, I would go with plain light coloured door colours and perhaps renew the work top and keep the colour to the tiling or the wall colouring.

Are you going to be renting furnished or empty? Good old magnolia everywhere but if you have a small wall in a room you can always use a brighter colour there. I did my hall with white but painted the small wall facing the door in a burnt red colour which is very warming and put a red and gold curtain across the front door.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

55 or over hardly qualifies someone for a walk in shower as yet

Must confess it made me laugh too :rotfl:

I was mumble years over 55 when I moved into my HA bungalow, and the first thing I did was rip out the walk in shower and have a new bathroom suite installed with a power shower. As a woman, a shower only didn't appeal to me as in a shower you can't shave your legs, or drink a nice glass of wine, or relax and listen to the radio

If the OP puts up inexpensive plain curtains at all windows to match flooring it pulls the look together, and renters can swop them for their own if they want to.

elona

Thanks everybody.

May go for good deal on door fronts etc in kitchen and worktop.

Now considering ceramic tiles on kitchen and bathroom floor.

Will keep bath and install a shower overhead - possibly with a screen?

Nice fresh paint and maybe new carpet if I can get a good deal.

The flat is actually in what was ( and is still supposed to be ) private sheltered accomodation) warden left and has not been replaced.

Nice quiet area and overlooks countryside with good transport to Leeds, York or Harrogate.

Beginning to sound like an advert so better stop now;)

seven-day-weekend

We did our ground floor flat in laminate throughout, except bathroom where we had light coloured vinyl flooring, re-tiled kitchen and bathroom, did the walls in pastel colours and re-fronted the kitchen units. It had a shower over the bath.

Sold the same day it went on the market for slightly less than the asking price. I'm sure if we'd have hung around we'd have got the asking price.

seven-day-weekend

Sorry, you want to rent, don't you?....the flat also rented very quickly for a competitive rent before we decided to sell it.