You've got the house, but it's time for a makeover. You want a big eat-in kitchen with a view, a bathroom that's a sanctuary, a home office in theattic,  home cinema in the den, floor-to-ceiling windows, a garden room or an outdoor diningroom, a new front door or at least, a brand new sofa. Fiona Tyrrell finds out where you should spend your money - and how much value it will add to your home when it comes to selling.

Gone are the days when a bit of re-wiring, an upgrade of the central heating system and a lick of paint were all that was required before a house went on the market.

Vendors keen to maximise the value of their home are taking on major home improvement projects to make sure their home is dramatic rather than drab and stands out from the crowd.

Be warned, ill thought-out alterations can be an expensive mistake and can actually lower the value of your property. Done well, however, home improvements can play a major role in increasing the value of a property, speeding up the sale as well as enticing a few more bidders into an auction.

Ronan O'Hara of Hamilton Osborne King cites a family home in Delgany, Co Wicklow, which was put on the market in 2003 in its original 1980s condition. No offers were made on the house. The vendors took it off the market and spent the next four months refurbishing. The out-of-date carpet became oak floors, the Formica kitchen was replaced with a smart minimalist maple and chrome kitchen, the chocolate and avocado bathroom was transformed into a crisp white affair with Philippe Starck furnishings and the 1980s Bush TV was substituted with a modern wall-mounted flat screen TV.

"They went through every room and made it noughties rather than eighties," he says, spending around €80,000. Having languished on the market in its original condition for eight months without even an offer, the house sold within a week for €1.2 million - €200,000 more than a similar house had made not long before.

At the top of the home improvement list for most agents is a smart modern kitchen. Pat Mullery of Douglas Newman Good says vendors will always get their money back on a good kitchen. If done well, it can add 5-10 per cent to the value of a property.

"Kitchens always add value to a home, and they always have done. A house worth €1 million with a very nice kitchen could get €1.1 million," he says.

When it comes to kitchen prices, the "sky's the limit", says agent Daphne Kaye, but the good news is that it won't go unnoticed. "You don't have to spend €70,000 or €80,000 for a kitchen, but people do appreciate a quality kitchen. Nowadays people are more familiar with the costings and will realise if a lot of money has been spent on it."

Rosie Shortt from Houseworks says that, while homeowners may not get 100 per cent of their money back on a top-of-the-range kitchen, it will give their home a definite edge over similar properties.

Buyers coming to Houseworks for a SieMatic kitchen "know that it will add value to their home. If you put €100,000 into a kitchen, you're not necessarily going to get €100,000 back. What we say to people is that it will add value and will make it far more attractive to buyers."

When it comes to kitchen styles, large kitchens and sleek lines are still very much the trend, she added. A big seller is a truffle brown pine kitchen with grooves rather than handles to maximise the super sleek look. To complete the look avoid the usual polished granite worktop and go for limestone, ceramic, slate, matt granite or mosaic worktops, says Shortt.

Bringing a modern look to a period home is big for people upgrading in advance of a sale, says Richard Fagan of McNally Kitchens in Ballsbridge.

The use of very sleek unadorned flat doors with lots of glass features will bring a sharp edge to a kitchen and will complement period high ceilings, he says. White, off-white, ivory and stone is the colour palette and marble or honed granite are used for the worktop.

There is quite a demand for period houses in a turn-key condition, says Fagan, and the kitchen is a big priority.

One client revamping a three-storey over basement period house in south Dublin mixed old and new by installing an Alno kitchen with sharp modern doors. This was topped off by a honed chocolate brown marble worktop, which had an almost antique look to it. When it came to the sale time, the house commanded a much higher price than a similar house in a similar location, he says.

However, you don't need to get a mortgage to get a nice kitchen, says Ronan O'Hara of Hamilton Osborne King. While some people spend between €30,000 and €100,000 for a "label" kitchen, €5,000 spent in the likes of B & Q and the Panelling Centre can be money well spent.

With over 20 different styles of kitchen to chose from and a kitchen design service, In-House at the Panelling Centre offers good value for people on lower budgets. Super modern glossy finishes in crisp white, cream or bright red with 4ft wide drawers - rather than doors - are the trend at the moment. Prices for a kitchen range between €3,000 and €10,000, with an average spend of around €6,000.

Then it's time to think of all the extras. A Gaggenau integrated wine cooler for 180 wine bottles with a cheese section and cigar humidor costing around €12,000 will certainly set your kitchen apart from the rest. Give you kitchen a real edge by making it one of the first kitchens in Ireland to have the new chocolate-brown Aga. An American-style fridge freezer is a common sight in a modern kitchen and who would say no to an integrated cappuccino maker?