You can create and renovate your dream home regardless of your skill set. A lot of people shy away from creating the home of their dreams because they fear the process. The fact is, fear can be paralyzing and keep you from realizing the full potential of your home.
A few simple tips can help you create and renovate your dream home into something bigger and better. Put your fear to the side, roll up your sleeves, and grab your work gloves. These tips and tricks for how to create and renovate your dream home are going to help to transform your living space.
Good Bones, A Great Place to Start
While it is awesome to have a great-looking house, it is even better when a house looks great and functions. Before you create a dream house that you envision, you want to make sure that you have a highly functional home that is safe to live in.
The term “good bones” refers to the infrastructure of your home. Infrastructure is things like plumbing, electricity, heat, and more. Anything that affects your basic living needs in your home can beconsidered infrastructure or the “bones” (think skeleton).
For example, if your garage door is in disrepair, call in a company that specializes in garage door services, before you tackle the cement coating in your garage. Making sure that everything in your home works as it should is essential to creating that dream home vibe.
There are some basic things you need to focus on before you move to the fun stuff like painting, flooring, and décor:
Safety and security
Efficiency
Function
Your home should be a safe and secure place. You want to know that your family is safe in your home. Replacing all the locks on entry doors will give you a safe feeling. Call a locksmith company to install new locks (this is especially important right after you move in). A locksmith will have cutting edge locks that will heighten security for your home.
Another important factor is safety.Check things like the water quality in the home. If it is sub-par, you may want to consider connecting with water well drilling services to create a new water source for your home. Drilling a new well can also be savings for activities like lawn care, and garden care.
To create and renovate your dream home, it is always best to start with the function first. Once you have everything in the home functioning as it should, it will provide peace of mind, and give you a strong foundation to work with.
A Clean Slate
In many cases, when you buy a house that you are going to create and renovate a dream home from, there is a lot of junk that is left behind. Dealing with the clean-up can be really overwhelming and take you away from your focus. A junk removal company can step in and make lightweight of the cleanup work.
Getting rid of all the junk at once instead of in increments, means you can get started on the work faster. It is strongly recommended that you do not try to work around the junk. It will make each project harder to manage if there is leftover clutter from the previous owner.
Getting rid of all the trash will give you a nice clean slate to start your projects. It is worth the expense to hire professionals to come in and cart it all away.
Indoor Renovations
To make your projects more manageable, you want to split them into two categories. Indoor renovations and outdoor renovations. You may be tempted to start outside the home, but it is best to start indoors. After all, you will be living inside your home, not in the driveway.
Evaluate each room and decide what you want to create and renovate to make that room part of your vision. For example, bathrooms are big on the renovation list for other people that have created their dream spaces.
Bathrooms get a lot of attention from renovators because we all spend time in these rooms each day. They also add value to your home. Making some simple changes to your bathroom can really ramp up the value of your home and your lifestyle.
Changing the enclosure around your shower can instantly upgrade the room. Custom glass shower contractors can really add some pizzazz to a bathroom. Changing out the plumbing fixtures is another easy way to update the space.
When you are making decisions about each room, consider the following:
Trendy can be fun but may not stand the test of time. Be cautious when you are choosing design elements for any room in your home. You do not want to have to revisit the design in a couple of years because you went “too on-trend”, which can outdate the space quickly. Think about those avocado green appliances from the 1970s. By the early 80s, no one ever looked at them again.
Consider your budget. You may want to apply gold leaf to your dining room walls, but can you really afford it. When you create and renovate your dream home, you do not want to put yourself so deeply in debt that you have to take on a second job and never be home.
Get professional help when you need it. It is important that you recognize there are some jobs that are just better left to the pros. Taking on more than you can chew, like installing a ductless ac and heat system can end badly. Sometimes the DIY route is not the best route.
Here are some tips for making sure that every project you plan to create and renovate your dream home goes off without a hitch:
Finish each project before you start a new one. It can be tempting to have several projects going at once to get the house done faster. It is important if you are doing DIY projects, that you complete one before you start the new one. Slow and steady wins the race. Taking on too many projects at once can result in cutting corners where they should not be cut and low-quality results.
Plan, plan, and replan. It is very important that you have a plan and a schedule set up. Planning and scheduling can help to keep stress down.
Order all the materials you will need before you start a project. There is nothing worse than finding out you did not order enough flooring, and it is out of stock. A good rule of thumb is to order more material than you think you will need. You can always return what you did not use. It is far better to have excess materials than it is to not have enough.
Remember this is going to be your dream home. You want high-quality craftsmanship to go into space, even if you are doing it on your own. Take the time to learn about material options,and how they will affect the outcome of the project.
What Should You Do Outside?
If you are out to create and renovate a house into your dream home, you cannot stop with inside upgrades and renovations. You want the whole package deal, and that means you have to do some work on the exterior.</p>
We are going to follow the same “rules” for the outside. We want everything to be highly functional, and we want to make sure that we have a good foundation to work with. In other words, before you get to hanging that beautiful garden plaque welcoming guests, you are going to have to do some labor.
Get rid of any old junk that is lying around. Decluttering the outside spaces will give you a better idea of what you are working with and help you to plan your next step. Working on the exterior is not only about getting your lawn as green as can be, it is about function as well.
If your siding is outdated, connecting with one of the local residential siding companies can be one of the best things you do for the exterior of your home. New siding will improve energy efficiency, and add some wow to your curb appeal. The beauty of adding new siding to your home is that you get to personalize it to your own personal preference. You can choose colors, textures, and materials that envelope your home in style while providing top-notch protection.
There are two main outdoor areas to any home, the front of the house, and the back of the house. The front of the house is what people see first, the back of the house is typically where you will do all your outdoor living.
Let’s start in the front of the house because the front of your home really determines curb appeal. There are certain target areas in the front of the home that you want to consider rehabbing.
Here are some easy DIIY projects you can add to your list of things to do in the front of your house:
Pressure wash the driveway and walkways. A dirty driveway can really reduce the curb appeal of your home. Renting a pressure washer to clear away stains and debris is an easy way to revamp concrete surfaces and return them to like-new condition.
Trim back trees and shrubs. Overgrown trees and shrubs are an eyesore. Invest in good-quality hedge trimmers and pruners. Clear away the overgrowth and reveal the beauty of your home.
Planters add pop. Fill the planters near the door with colorful annual flowers to add a bit of color pop to the entranceway.
Making simple changes out front will not only improve the curb appeal every day, but it will make you really appreciate pulling up to your home every day.
The Backyard
Creating a great living space outdoors is an easy way to expand your indoor living space. With a little planning and a little work, you can create and renovate a terrible backyard into an oasis. First things first, hire a professional for fence installation. A fence serves three purposes. A fence can provide privacy. It can create designated spaces, and afence can enhance security.
A lot of people use a combination of fencing to achieve the optimal benefits of a fence. For example, you can use a privacy fence to create the boundary around your property, then use a chain link fence around the pool or to create a pet area.
Connecting with a fence company will help you to decide what type of fence is best for your backyard and what combination of fencing is best. Once you have the fence up you can move forward with your backyard projects.Here are some tips for creating that backyard oasis that should be a part of every dream house:
Designate space. A great backyard is well organized, including having designated spaces. Some ideas include designating a space for meals. Designating a space for lounging, for fun, for the pets, and to grow things.
Add natural design elements. Take advantage of the things that are already in your yard. For example, place a hammock under that big old oak tree, and you will have an instant shady spot to rest.
Don’t neglect the function. If you plan on having a garden out back, you will need a water supply to keep it watered. If you do not have a hose spigot it is going to make life tough. Hire a plumber to install a water supply.
Your backyard should be a great place to escape and gather with friends and family. With a little effort, you can easily createand renovate a backyard that you are proud to call your own.
Take the Plunge
Don’t let fear keep you from making changes to your house to make it into your dream home. Anyone can make changes. You just have to take that first step and decide that you will.
