After more than 25 years in the home improvement industry, I’ve learned one universal truth: Your house knows exactly when company is coming.
That’s when the floors suddenly look dull, the bathroom gets stuffy, the water heater decides to hold a grudge, and every outdoor holiday light mysteriously stops working at the exact same time.
The good news? You don’t need a major renovation to give your home a refresh before the busy holiday season. Some of the smartest updates are surprisingly simple, and many focus on the things we use every day but rarely think about. Here are six of my favorite ways to make your home look better, work better, and feel ready for guests, gatherings, and everything the season throws your way.
Give Your Hardwood Floors Their Glow Back
Hardwood floors are one of the biggest investments in your home, and they’re often the first thing people notice when they walk through the door. Unfortunately, they’re also where life leaves its footprints: scratches from pets, fading from sunlight, dents from furniture, and years of everyday wear. Giving them a glow-up not only creates an amazing first impression, it also adds value and beauty to your home.
The good news is that refinishing can completely transform hardwood without replacing it.
One thing I always tell homeowners is this: How you refinish matters.
If you’re refinishing hardwood floors, look for waterborne finishing systems. Bona has been the hardwood flooring expert for more than 100 years and was actually the first company to innovate waterborne floor finishes back in the 1970s.
Benefits of Refinishing Floors with a Waterborne Finishing System
The Bona Waterborne System offers several advantages homeowners appreciate:
- Low odor
- Low VOCs
- Faster dry times
- Faster cure times
- Less disruption to everyday life
In many cases, homeowners can remain in the home during the refinishing process thanks to their no-dust sanding system.
And here’s what I love most: refinishing doesn’t just remove wear and tear. It lets you refresh the color and sheen of your floors while preserving the character of the original wood. Your floors have been supporting you for years. Maybe it’s time to return the favor.
Learn more: Bona Waterborne System,
Find a Bona Certified Craftsman: Find a Contractor
Your Water Heater Has a Dirty Secret
Here’s a question: What’s lurking at the bottom of your water heater? If your answer is “I don’t want to know,” you’re not alone. But the reality is that sediment and mineral buildup can accumulate over time completely out of sight. And out of sight doesn’t mean out of trouble. That hidden buildup can impact efficiency, water quality, and overall performance. Thankfully, flushing your water heater doesn’t have to be intimidating anymore, especially with tools like Sediment Buster designed to make the process a DIY project for homeowners.
Signs It’s Time to Flush Your Water Heater
- Reduced efficiency
- Lower hot-water pressure
- Cloudy hot water
- Corrosion
- Additional wear on appliances and fixtures
Sediment Buster uses controlled bursts of air to help break up clogs, stir settled sediment, and flush it out of the tank, making the process less intimidating for homeowners.
What I appreciate most is that it takes a maintenance task many homeowners avoid and makes it much more approachable.
As I like to say: We’re basically evicting tenants that have been living rent-free at the bottom of your tank.
And quality matters here. Sediment Buster® is UL Verified for heat and pressure performance, giving homeowners additional confidence when working with their water heater. Their slogan says it perfectly: “Everyone should flush their water heater… Now anyone can do it!”
Learn more: Sediment Buster
The Bathroom Upgrade Guests Actually Notice
The holidays mean one thing: Guest! Guess where they are going always? The bathroom!
I always encourage homeowners to give their guest bathrooms some attention before the entertaining season begins. One upgrade many people overlook is ventilation.
Smart Bathroom Ventilation Features
For more than 90 years, Broan-NuTone has been helping homeowners create healthier and more comfortable spaces, and their latest bathroom solutions are surprisingly fun; party in the potty!
The Broan-NuTone FlexAir Selectable Bathroom Exhaust Fan includes:
- A Sensonic Bluetooth speaker
- App-controlled LED lighting
- 24 customizable colors
- Selectable airflow settings
- ENERGY STAR certification
Your bathroom fan can now play your favorite playlist while helping manage moisture and odors. That’s multitasking I can get behind.
For smaller spaces, the FlexAir Lo-Profile Exhaust Fan fits ceiling or wall installations and quietly removes moisture and odors.
And for homeowners wanting a quick refresh, the Magnetic Universal CleanCover Replacement Grille may be my favorite five-minute upgrade. No wiring. No cutting. No tools. Just goodbye to your outdated bathroom fan cover.
Hosting season is here. Between football weekends, holiday gatherings, and overnight guests, your bathroom is about to get some serious mileage – make it a cool place to be!
Learn more: Broan-NuTone
Make Your Front Door Smarter
The holidays also mean more visitors, more deliveries, more package arrivals, and more people needing access to your home. That’s why smart locks continue to be one of my favorite upgrades.
For over a decade, ULTRALOQ has created connected home access solutions trusted by more than one million users.
Their new ULTRALOQ Bolt Pro is particularly impressive.
Why Your Home Needs a Smart Lock
Your phone becomes your key.
You can tap your compatible smartphone or smartwatch and unlock your door much like making a contactless payment. No digging through purses, gym bags, backpacks, or pockets.
It also offers:
- Fingerprint access
- PIN codes
- App control
- Physical key backup
- Smart home integration
One of my favorite real-life uses? Giving temporary PIN codes to dog walkers, cleaners, house sitters, or visiting relatives. No more keys hidden under flowerpots.
The Bolt Pro is also Matter-certified and works with major smart home ecosystems, allowing homeowners to create routines that can turn on lights or adjust temperatures when the door unlocks.
Learn more: ULTRALOQ Bolt Pro
Keep Holiday Lights Glowing All Season Long
Every neighborhood has one house. You know the one. The giant holiday display that’s visible from space. Then one rainy night, half the lights go dark. Usually right before guests arrive. And it’s usually my house!
One of my favorite inexpensive fixes is using Twist and Seal Cord Protect for outdoor extension cord connections. These weather-resistant protectors help keep electrical connections dry and protected from:
- Rain
- Sprinklers
- Snow melt
- Outdoor moisture
Whether you’re decorating trees, hanging lights, powering inflatables, or illuminating pathways, protecting those connections can help avoid frustration later. Let there be light!
Learn more: Twist and Seal Cord Protect
Make EV Charging Smarter at Home
If you own an EV or are thinking about buying one, this final upgrade is worth knowing about.
Many homeowners assume installing a Level 2 charger is a simple plug-and-play project. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it turns into a much larger electrical upgrade. That’s where the new Schneider Charge residential Level 2 EV charger comes in.
What makes the Schneider Charge interesting is its built-in SmartAmp dynamic load management technology. Essentially, the charger continuously monitors your home’s electricity usage and adjusts charging power based on what’s happening elsewhere in the house.
How SmartAmp Works
Imagine your air conditioner starts running, then the dryer turns on, and dinner is baking in the oven. Rather than overwhelming your home’s electrical capacity, Schneider Charge automatically adjusts its power usage accordingly. In this case, temporarily lowering the charge power to your EV and then increasing it once your home’s electrical demands go down.
My favorite way to explain it: Your car, dryer, oven, and air conditioner are basically having a polite family meeting behind the scenes and figuring things out without you. The way technology should work.
The charger also includes app-based monitoring so homeowners can track charging activity directly from their phones.
Learn more: Schneider Electric Global
The Best Home Upgrades for the Holidays
After 25 years of helping homeowners navigate improvements large and small, I’ve learned that the best upgrades aren’t always the flashiest. Sometimes they’re the ones that quietly make everyday life easier.
A refreshed floor. A healthier bathroom. A maintained water heater. Smarter home access. Protected holiday lights. Simpler EV charging.
When those systems work better, your whole home feels better. And when holiday guests arrive? You’ll be able to enjoy the season instead of running around trying to solve problems at the last minute. Trust me, that’s the best home improvement project of all.
For additional homeowner tips and product information, visit me on socials at @kathrynemerytv or at BeTheBestHome.com.
Leave a Reply