Home improvements are a great way to increase the value of your home. Having an extra bedroom added or putting in hardwood floors can not only make your home more visually appealing but significantly increase the value of your home.

However, the WRONG improvements can actually end up hurting your home value and make it that much harder to sell. Here's the top 5 home improvements that you should think twice about before doing:

1. The right color for your home
The right color can be a great way to freshen up a home before putting it on the market. A good color will also make sure that potential buyers spend more time looking at your house. On the other side, a not so great color is a sure way to drive away potential buyers. When picking a color to paint your home, stay away from strong colors such as Red, Yellow and Orange. Make sure not to use bright colors that may put off a buyer. The typical buyers wants to buy a home that they can move right in to and not worry about having to repaint the house to their own tastes. The same goes for the exterior of your home, try to stick with neutral colors.

2. A Kitchen for all tastes
Adding new cupboards or getting new appliances to match with your kitchen can add to the value of your home. But there is something called going to far. A kitchen that’s been reworked extremely to your taste may not be as appealing to a new buyer. For example, you may buy restaurant level appliances because your an avid cook, however a new buyer may not think of it as more of a nuisance. Also, even though not common, having carpeted floors in your kitchen is a big no-no.

3. Water is not everyone’s friend.
Having a backyard pool or a hot tub sounds like a great value to add to your home at the time, however when it comes time to sell. An in ground pool, water fall or pond can be seen as an extra cost every month that the home buyer may not be able to afford. The only exception to this rule is if the home is in a vacation or resort area where many renters or vacationers would value having a pool.

4. Home Improvements the Legal way
It's a pretty tedious task to get approval from your local town authorities every time you'd like to make a home improvement, however if you don't it may come back to haunt you later. You may have to correct the situation when it comes time to sell your home which may even include removing the improvements altogether.

5. You are not as good a handyman as you thought
Doing small jobs around the house is one thing, however a major repair job prior to putting your home up for sale should be handled by professionals. Many buyers would view shoddy or bad workmanship as something that’s going to cost them money later on. This could cause a buyer to lower their price or even skip on your home altogether.

These little tips should help you stay away from common home owner mistakes. In the very end you need to think if any of these improvements would improve the value of your home or are they just there to satisfy your own tastes? Answering these questions would help you avoid unnecessary mistakes that would end up decreasing your home value.

Thomas is the content manager for GetMyHomesValue.com, a home valuation company that connects Home Sellers with experts who can help them properly value their home.