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Home is where the heart is, it’s the backdrop of hundreds of family memories and the place where you feel most relaxed. Countless birthdays will be celebrated here, cosy nights will be enjoyed in front of the fire, numerous pieces of furniture will get wrecked by the dog and the children will play football in the living room, it’s all part of a functioning household.
Unfortunately, the design of a family home can sometimes work against you and layouts can feel outdated and impractical. If this is the case in your home, it might be time to make some changes and breath new life into the space where your family lives. Renovations can seem daunting to start off with but with thoughtful planning and project management in place, it should be an easy process.
Write Down Your Goals
The first step when embarking on home improvements is to write down what you want from the space. Jot down a pros and cons list about the features you already have. Highlight what works and what doesn’t, list the areas you’d like to keep or enhance and the areas you’d rather forget ever existed. From there you can begin to envision the space you’re going to create.
Most families wish for a sociable home where rooms are multifunctional and easy to maintain. Grab some interior design magazines and spend an afternoon getting lost in Ikea’s showrooms, you’re bound to find some inspiration there. Visit your nearest and dearest’s homes to see if their living space would work for you.
Open up Rooms
Modern builds are usually geared towards open-plan living and can make homes feel larger than they actually are. This type of design allows families to be sociable throughout the day and prevents parents from being cooped up in the kitchen alone for hours. You can keep an eye on the kid’s in an open-plan living space and help them with their homework whilst cooking up a delicious spaghetti bolognese.
Don’t feel limited if your house is currently divided into small rooms, walls can be removed quite easily as long as they’re not integral to the structural integrity of the house. Find a handyman near you with great building credentials who can turn your design ideas into a reality.
Designate Specific Areas
Creating a larger space at home can be wonderfully multi-functional but it is important to designate key areas before you start. Think about the activities that will take place in the room and where best to designate them. You may want a play area for your young children to enjoy that directly in sight from the kitchen. You can feel happy supervising your child whilst also clearing up the breakfast table.
Does your family run off to the television the minute they get home from school and lock themselves in there for the duration of the evening? You might want to create a sofa area in the space if you’re impartial to a little background noise. It’s a great way to stay connected to your kids and allow them to get their daily video game fix.
Work from home the majority of the time but don’t have a designated desk space? Incorporate this into your design now you’re home is open-plan, it can double up as a great space for your children to complete their homework.
Incorporate Storage Solutions
A golden design feature that you can never have too much of when you have a growing family is storage space and there are lots of clever ways to incorporate this into your new layout. Freestanding units and coffee table draws can be great for stowing toys away at the end of the day. Wicker baskets are also a great addition to any living space and can be used to bundle away any items laying around before guests arrive. Storage box benches are the best place for countless football boots and balls, and hooks on the back of doors are great for hanging blankets or coats.
Whichever route you decide to go down, your family will undoubtedly benefit from a multi-functional space. From celebrating Christmas with all the family, to turning the open-plan living room into a space for an egg hunt at Easter, your kids will have room to enjoy themselves and play whilst you get to enjoy their company and watch them grow. Bring your home into a modern way of living, you certainly won’t regret it and will probably wonder why you didn’t start the project sooner.
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