If you own commercial property, the curb appeal of your facility drives customer traffic and determines what you can charge in rents. To maximize your profits, you need to maintain your building and grounds and keep them wowing tenants and guests alike. 

What aesthetic improvements impress today's generation the most? While millennials care about function, they also cherish their connections with the outdoors and prize environmental sustainability. They also expect a higher level of certain indoor amenities. Here are some aesthetic improvements that resonate with your client base.

1. Upgrade Restroom Facilities

Is the bathroom in your commercial building functional or fashionable? Few customers enjoy using a restroom that looks like it belongs in a truck stop. Improving the beauty of restroom facilities gives your property a more classy feel overall.

Both women and men place a high value on their appearance. Overhead fluorescent lights in restrooms make even well-nourished, youthful skin look anemic. Instead, upgrade the lighting fixtures in your bathroom by opting for traditional sconces or even funky chandeliers. To improve the environmental friendliness of your facility while saving money on utility bills, invest in motion detector sensors that automatically power lights off when guests leave.

Traditional bathroom stall doors leave gaps that lead to awkwardly exchanged glimpses between customers tending to their most personal needs. Instead, opt for stylish wooden stalls that minimize gaps. Install locks that indicate occupied status similar to airline restrooms. This way, you can install full-length doors but customers still know which doors they should avoid pressing.

Drab green paint screams cheap and industrial. Instead, opt for warmer tones that flatter every skin color and consider elegant borders or creating a distinct accent wall.

2. Improve Safety and Security

Whether you rent to private tenants or commercial retailers, your clients need to feel secure in their homes or shops. For properties such as shopping malls, installing walk-through metal detectors can increase customer perception of security and potentially halt incidents before they occur.

While metal detectors prove problematic in residential buildings, hiring a doorman or security staff increases the amount of rent you can charge while protecting residents.

3. Make it More Sustainable

Millennials make up the majority of the workforce and they list environmental sustainability as a top priority both when selecting office space and personal residences. Whether you own a residential rental building or an office or retail facility, making eco-friendly upgrades enables you to charge higher rents and attract this primary demographic.

Install low-flow faucets and showerheads and opt for energy-certified appliances like refrigerators. Exchange overhead fluorescent lights with more eco-friendly LEDs. For office complexes, include master switches that power down all equipment with the touch of one button at the end of the workday.

You can also make updates to the exterior of a commercial building to optimize its potential for energy savings. Window coverings like aluminum sunshade structures can help store owners and other tenants control how sunlight filters into the property while helping regulate internal temperatures. This can reduce their expense on utilities while making an impact on customer experience — a win-win for everyone involved.

4. Pressure Wash and Paint

If your building's exterior looks dingy and unkempt, customers will assume, no matter how falsely, items within are equally shabby. Pressure wash your exterior thoroughly every time the seasons change. Do the same after bad storms, especially if you live in an area with a lot of dust.

Perform regular inspections to quickly touch up any chipped or peeling paint. Paint costs little but increases your property value instantly. If you own residential rentals, give each unit a thorough paint job after each tenant moves out. Many landlords hastily apply a thin coat of neutral paint, but taking the time to select warm tones and touch up moldings, etc., wows new tenants and justifies higher rent prices.

5. Spruce Up Landscaping and the Exterior

Landscaping improves the overall curb appeal of your facility. Plus, many up-and-coming businesses seek office space surrounded by ample green places for employees to take breaks outdoors. Research indicates spending time outside boosts short-term memory and overall productivity.

When improving walkways, make them wide enough for wheelchair access and pave them to smooth the ride. Even if your jurisdiction doesn't require handicapped-accessible walkways, your nod to inclusivity brings in more traffic overall. Provide ample outdoor seating and consider concrete or stone tables and benches — they're more durable and don't heat up to skin-scorching levels in the summer months the way metal does.

Improving the Aesthetics of Your Commercial Building Increases Its Value

Improving the aesthetic appeal of your commercial building increases customer traffic and enables you to charge higher rents. When you care about your facility, you attract quality tenants and turn a profit year after year.