Nowadays moving home may be out of the question

So why not upgrade and upsize your property instead? People are staying in their homes much longer, according to recent reports. A stagnant property market and punitive stamp duty mean that most householders live in their present homes for 29 years, compared to just 14 previously. The average first home buyer will now have to wait until they are over 42, before they can afford to buy their next house. Even retired couples are realising that downsizing to a smaller property is not always simple, stress-free and financially beneficial – and there’s also the emotional pain of scaling back.

Four of the main reasons people give for moving home are to enjoy more space, upgrade their surroundings, change their lifestyle and give themselves a property renovation project. Yet many are realising that these goals can be attained by upgrading and upsizing their current property, through selective home improvements and building extensions.

Home makeover specialists, Granite Transformations, offer a whole selection of top-class materials for refacing walls, floors, kitchen worktops, bathrooms and other tired surfaces and carry out all the work themselves, with minimal dust, debris and disruption. Here then are their top tips for upgrading and upsizing.

Cover up countertops – tough, slimline granite, quartz and recycled glass agglomerate surfaces will fit right over your existing kitchen worktops, bathroom countertops and vanity units, giving them a whole new lease of life in a choice of around 50 colours and bringing them up-to-date with stylish chunky edges and waterfall ends.

Ditch cabinet doors – kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors and drawer fronts take a lot of punishment, but they can be easily removed and upgraded with new made-to-measure replacement doors in wood effects, high gloss acrylics or cool metallic, instantly updating the décor.

Titivate those tiles – if you’re tired of those old ceramic or terracotta wall tiles, cover them up with beautiful, sparkling glass mosaics, mounted on a flexible polyethylene mattress that fits easily over tiled surfaces, ironing out imperfections and producing a classy finish.

Explore an extension – most kitchens are at the back of the home with an external wall, so if you have enough outside space, an extension is often financially viable; fit it out with hard flooring to bridge old and new areas, reface the existing kitchen units and install a breakfast bar or island unit to bring the whole look up to date.

Consider a kitchen-diner – few of us sit down to eat in a dining room anymore, so if the downstairs layout allows, create a spacious kitchen-diner by knocking two rooms together, creating an open space where cooking, informal eating, TV watching and socialising can all happen, with a makeover of your old kitchen layout and some new storage units to set the style.

Utilise a utility – a utility or laundry room needn’t be an untidy glory hole, but an extension of your kitchen décor, with matched hard flooring, a run of storage cabinets with good-looking countertops, a built-in microwave oven, appliances concealed behind cabinet doors, and a second sink unit, adding value to the property.

Do up the décor – colour fashion trends change about every five or six years, so redecorate with the hottest paint shades, soft furnishings and wallcoverings or splash out on glass mosaic wallpaper on a roll for a truly upscale light-reflective finish; explore your creativity too with paintable vinyl cabinet doors for hand or spray painting.

Walk-in wet room – convert a small shower or unwanted spare room into a super-stylish walk-in wet room, which dispenses with a shower screen and tray and features a fully lined wet area; use large granite, quartz or recycled glass slabs to create a virtually seamless floor-to-ceiling waterproof interior finish and an upscale appearance.

Boutique a bedroom – copy those fashionable boutique hotels by installing a boxed-in or rolltop bath prominently in a large bedroom, using minimalist agglomerate finishes or mosaic tiles for bath panels and backsplashes; perhaps you could complement this with luxurious his’n’hers wash basins in a converted en suite bathroom.

Chic up the shed – transform an old shed, faded summerhouse or new garden building into a home office, reading room or chill-out area, with custom-made desks, a smart fitted kitchen, bar area and cloakroom, using flexible, hardwearing agglomerate sheets, standard base units and click-together floor planks.

Granite Transformations deal direct with the public and have home improvement showrooms across the country, where their helpful design consultants will advise on many aspects of property upgrading, upscaling and upsizing. For the nearest showroom or a full colour brochure, visit granitetransformations.co.uk.