So, you’ve lived in your house for some time, and everything has become increasingly familiar. You know the creaky steps and the exact number of twists you need on the tap to ensure it doesn’t drip. You know that the upstairs bedroom is prone to getting absolutely freezing in winter and so fill the room with blankets. You could walk through the place with your eyes closed and find pretty much anything.
And as much as it has become so familiar and you are so used to everything having its place, the home is maybe starting to look a little worn. Over the years you have added a fresh coat of paint here, replaced the door handles there, and generally done a yearly (or almost yearly, it’s been very busy, you know) spring clean to get rid of all those old magazines crumbling away under your nightstand.
When your house starts to feel its age, it can be a mammoth task to get everything up to scratch. People typically decide to freshen up the home when they are planning to move and increase its value, but a lot of the time, they just want to make it more livable again.
But the house is so large; you just don’t know where to start. This can be an issue, sure and so you need to take the time to go around and identify the most necessary of upkeeps to ensure things don’t get any worse. From there, you can work your way up or down and give your house the makeover it so desperately needs.
Welcome Mat
When people come into your home, you want them to feel welcome as well as be able to get an idea of the type of family you and your loved ones are. The initial entrance to any home can add a massive spark of personality to a typically drab hallway or entrance way.
To achieve this, pictures and portraits hung on the wall will show off all of the things in your home that you are proud of. Furthermore, you can add shelves with trinkets from all your travels or even family heirlooms that you feel are particularly attractive.
Additionally, things such as the front door may be looking a little too worn. As this is the first thing people will see when stepping up your driveway, you want it to look as fresh as possible. Once inside, you might want to think about how the walls and such might appear to any new guest and then take steps towards making your home as welcoming as possible.
Sleep Easy
Everybody associates their bedroom with relaxation and dreamland. Some spend so much time in their room though that it can be a challenge to disassociate reading or playing games on your phone with the actual act of sleeping, which can have adverse effects on your sleeping habits.
Consider changing this by making your room solely a place for your sleep. It is advised to switch off the electronics at least half an hour before bed, and if you use your phone as an alarm, consider getting an alarm clock to replace it.
Regarding upkeep, think about changing your mattress and replacing the curtains with something that will make it easier to wake up in the morning. Furthermore, the colour of the walls can have a psychological effect on your sleeping pattern, so consider researching ways to improve your sleep through these little changes.
Maintain to Entertain
If you love having people over for dinner parties and the like, then you will be very proud when it comes to the presentation of your entertainment areas. However, the more people you meet and want to invite, the less space you will inevitably have.
When this occurs, it might be time to start thinking about rearranging. This can be as simple as swapping furniture around. However, it might also be that you want to open the space further and so updating your furniture is another option. Not only will this give you more space, but it will also make the room less claustrophobic for those times where the whole neighbourhood is round for dinner.
Additionally, adding stations for drinks, plates, and snacks can save you from running around like a headless chicken and worrying about spillages. If spilled drinks seem to be a frequent occurrence, perhaps it is time to replace the carpet with hardwood flooring.
Summer Vibes
Everybody loves to make the most of their garden during the summer. But as the years go on your trees and bushes get overgrown, the grass doesn’t look as green as it once did, and the soil seems to bog you down whenever you take a short stroll around.
Changing up your garden can be as easy as trimming hedges and cutting the grass. However, you can also make additions that range from the small, such as a bunch of new flowerbeds to something more substantial, like a small pond or a deck to relax on during those hot and lazy days.
Taking the opportunity to freshen up your garden, front and back, will make those times spent there much more enjoyable. The natural joy inspired by a beautiful gardenscape will help you relax and never want to leave. Furthermore, on days where you are out there all the time, such as a family barbeque, will have guests commenting on just how gorgeous the whole place is, and this is a type of pride that will keep you maintaining as much as you can.
Mutter about Declutter
Of everything that you might want to update in your home, clutter is perhaps the most essential. This may feel like something that will take up to and perhaps even more than a year to complete, what with all of that stuff you have shoved in a closet somewhere. But actually starting on the declutter train will do wonders for the ambiance of your home and your mind.
While it isn’t necessarily an update, per se, it can still have effects on your houses age as you will find places filled with junk that you had forgotten even existed. This stuff is typically old, really old and so presents your house as some sort of time capsule from decades we would all rather forget.
Getting rid of this excess junk, be it through charity donation or yard sales, can free up space in your home and allow you to use this space for aspects that you really care about. If you have a closet or spare bedroom filled the to ceiling with old toys and games and exercise bikes, then getting rid of everything will give you the opportunity to use this room for something more productive. Getting money for your old possessions, too, will give you a little bit of extra cash to put towards the more substantial updates required.
Garage Rocks
Your garage either is the place where you store your car or, more likely, the place where you keep everything that just won’t fit in the house. And while you might not spend a lot of time there, there are still things you can do to improve how it looks both inside and in.
Let’s start with your garage door. Years upon years of being battered by the elements has probably made it less than attractive. It might ring out the most banshee-esque screams when opened and there may be more rust than there is paint. If this sounds familiar, consider updating with roller doors that will bring your garage into the 21st century and make it easier to get in an out, whenever that may be.
Furthermore, your garage may be full of old tools, rusted bikes, and creaking bed frames. If there was ever a time to take these to the dump or look for recycling solutions, it is probably now. Who knows, you might even find yourself wanting to transform your garage from an external storage locker to something you or your family can relax in.
Cooking up a Storm
Your kitchen is the place where you create the most elegant of cakes and roast the most delicious of chicken, turkey, beef, or pork. Because of this, you want a modern kitchen with everything working properly.
Kitchen utilities are expensive though, and so people sometimes avoid updating because they simply can’t afford it. However, if you want to be able to entertain on those times of year where everyone is round, you need an oven and stove that will do the job.
Furthermore, you want to have the space to do everything. Replacing countertops and making the most of the space is essential as well as having sinks with decent water pressure to help wash off all of that pesky grease. You may have had these appliances for so long that you have just accepted this is how long things take to cook. But updating everything will change your culinary exploits for the better.
A Change is Coming
It would, of course, be irresponsible to claim that everything must go and you need to start from scratch. What you do need to do, is focus on the aspects of your home that as in desperate need of an update and over time you will be happy you did this.
As for everything else, they can surely wait a year or two, just make sure you don’t forget about them. A house will only survive on its initial factors for so long, a house that remains healthy is one that is taken care of regularly.