Home Remodel to Accommodate Your Needs at All Ages
Heard the old cliche, “Change is the only constant in your life”? Well, as much as we would wish for that not to be true — it is. To make sure that the change in family dynamics or lifestyle doesn’t affect your family adversely, you need to make worthy investments for your home remodel too. Just as you would with other long-term investments.
Sure, with every change in your life, your needs will evolve too, but it doesn’t mean you have to buy a new house every single time. In fact, there are ways you can age-proof your house and make it friendly for every stage of your life.
It all starts with understanding where you currently are in terms of your needs. For instance, before you have kids, you will probably focus more on the master bathroom and the master room, and things like a powder room remodel won’t be on your priority list. As you have kids, their rooms will need to be updated to match their needs as well. Again, what may cater to young kids may not necessarily work for teens; so that’s another change you’ll eventually need to consider. And finally, when the kids move out, you will probably make changes to their room to use as a study or a guest room too.
So, it’s safe to say that what affects our family affects our home as well, and our home remodels need to take that into account. Depending on where you are in terms of your life, we have made a list of changes you should consider. These will help your transition into the new stage.
Buying Your First House
This is one of the biggest milestones in everyone’s life. The sheer pride and excitement of having a house that’s not anyone else’s but yours!
After years of staying in shared rented apartments, it can be quite a joy to welcome a domesticated life. But you need to renovate it to make it beautiful and functional. There are a few mandatory updates in this case:
1. Painting Your Interiors
Draw up a budget and decide accordingly if you will like to go for a DIY job or hire a contractor. After having set the budget, it’s time to take up the easy tasks. Your journey into your new home starts from your door.
Make up your mind whether you want to change it or repaint it. Move over to the interiors. If you’re on a budget, paint your interiors black and white for a monochromatic look.
2. Kitchen and Storage
In the kitchen, maximize your storage by either opting for prefabricated kitchen cabinets or buying the stuff from thrift shops. Incorporate drawers with trays for classified storage. Opt for a contemporary look that’s all about clean lines and minimalistic aesthetics. All the appliances should be concealed and blended into the wall for a seamless look. Add a backsplash to protect the wall above the counter from oil splashes.
3. Enhance Space in Your Room
Add space to your small room with mirrors. Mirrors reflect light, which makes the room look bigger than it actually is. Although an inexpensive technique, yet it is used as an essential architectural tool.
4. Renovating the Bedroom
Bedrooms are your personal sanctuary. They need to induce a sense of peace and make you feel relaxed as long as you are there. And a cluttered closet is the quickest way to lose the said peace.
Be sure to declutter by adding a closet spanning a wall fitted with diverse storage systems. These include pull-out shelves, in-built trouser pull-out, tie and belt pull-outs; drawers with pegs to demarcate your storage, and preserve relevant documents, jewelry, and other valuables. Incorporate an in-built shoe rack as well that will help you to locate your shoes comfortably and store your collection in one place.
Make sure to take care of the flooring while you are at it too. It will always have a profound physical and psychological impact on you as you’ll be exposed to it day in and out. For instance, some floors can be hard on your feet, while others are cushiony. Adding flooring is an important design decision where you can choose from a range of flooring materials like carpeting, hardwood, cork, bamboo, vinyl, and linoleum. Do explore the pros and cons of each before making the decision.
5. Bring in Light
Nothing can substitute natural light. It makes your place feel so much more pleasant. To receive a lot of it, be sure to install large windows in your house.
It’s okay if you don’t have the budget to change the windows, though. Simply paint them a lighter shade than the rest of the room to let more and more light enter through the windows.
6. Bathroom Renovation
Bathroom remodeling can be expensive, especially if you plan to change the layout. It will most definitely require permits and be labor-intensive.
If you can afford it, by all means, go ahead. There are plenty of updates you can opt for that range. You can change fixtures to enhance functionality, add a new floor, bring in a modern vanity, mirror, tub, and some lights.
But if you’re on a budget, cut the big show by going in for fundamental changes like painting the cabinets, going in for new faucets, adding artwork, painting the floor etc. These can be real cost savers while also transforming the bathroom into a statement of your personal style.
Renovating to Suit a Family with Children
When you plan to design a house with a growing family on your mind, take the opportunity to make sure that your home matches your needs.
While the kids are still young, you’ll need to be around them most of the time while being able to take up your daily chores simultaneously. And as they get a little older, ideally, you will need a spot from where you can keep an eye on them while you do other things.
What you can do at this point is to opt for an open plan kitchen that overlooks the living room and the dining space. Make sure that this ‘day space’ gets enough natural light, has enough storage space for toys and games, and exudes a comfy vibe.
Having said that, make sure that you have a built-in storage and utility room with access from outdoors to dump the dirty coats, boots, and everything else.
As the children enter their teens, you will need to provide them plenty of storage to accommodate their expanding wardrobe. Think of floor to ceiling wardrobe with provision for storing different items. Moreover, when the kids know the exact place to store their stuff, they’re more likely to put them away. Keeping things like these in mind, here are some more updates you can undertake to prepare for a growing family:
1. Add a Study Room
School children need a place to do their homework. When they’re younger, they don’t mind working at the kitchen table or the breakfast bar — which is great as you can help them with those.
However, as they grow up, they need to have a dedicated place for studying. A playroom connected to the day area can be converted into a study room as they grow up.
2. Designing the Bedroom
A bedroom will undergo transition with every successive stage in your life. While your kids are very young, children’s bedrooms should be located near the master bedroom for feed and supervision.
As they grow older, you may want to locate them a little further as they will need space for studies, playing music, night overs with friends, and other activities.
3. Designing the Bathroom
At this stage, you should aim for one bathroom to go with two bedrooms, though the master bedroom will have its ensuite. However, it is the family bathroom that we are interested in at this stage.
The space must include storage for bath toys and similar stuff. Make sure that the flooring is slip and water-resistant. Many families with small children prefer to have at least one tub in the bathroom. Underfloor heating for quick drying of the spills can be considered too.
However, as they get older, there will be a need for each room to have its own bathroom space. This part is essential and may be discussed at the early renovation stage to accommodate the space later.
In any case, older children often follow their own sense of time, and if you don’t have adequate bathroom facilities to serve a growing family, consider creating an ensuite bathroom to avoid the early morning clash.
Renovating Home When Children Move Out
Once the kids have grown up and moved out, this is the perfect time to take up those updates that you have been putting off for the past many years.
1. Your Needs Take the Front Seat
It’s up to you if you want to spruce up your space for your new lifestyle or make the space comfortable for visits from adult children.
You may be interested in entertaining more in terms of hosting cocktail parties or calling friends over for a movie night or simple get-togethers. Your lifestyle and the corresponding needs will decidedly fashion your space.
More than often, parents convert their children’s room into a personal space for relaxing. If you are a bookworm, consider changing one of the rooms into a library. Other than this, children’s bedrooms can be upgraded to an exercise space with a TV, treadmill, and free weights to complete the picture.
You can refashion the basement game room into a wine cellar or use the space to contain restored antique pool tables. Several people end up revamping their dated bathrooms in their later years. You can replace tubs with walk-in showers. Many go in for double sinks and extra storage too.
After having lived with the kids for years together, it’s reasonable to yearn for a more adult space. Especially after all those years of noise and chaos. The precise reason why many people change the design aesthetic to suit a quieter environment too.
2. Repair to Increase your Home’s Resale Value
Invest in repairs to increase your home’s resale value.
If you plan to move into a smaller apartment or simply move into a new place a few years, skip expensive repairs like flooring when you aren’t going to be around to enjoy it. Concentrate more on minor repairs like patching the roof or installing a new furnace that will add to your resale value.
Go for classic and timeless changes in your kitchen and bathrooms rather than going with fads. Lighter shades on the walls and enhanced storage will always be the winners in this regard.
Different life stages entail different design treatments for your home which, when done right, go a long way in helping you enjoy living each step gracefully and fully!