Every family is different, and one house that suits one family perfectly might not be ideal for another family. When you’re looking for a house to buy, you’re unlikely to find your perfect dream home right away. Someone else has decorated it, and time and wear and tear might have made the property a bit rough around the edges.
With this in mind, here are a few tips to turn a house into your family home, ideally without breaking the bank.
Buying a Fixer Upper
There’s a difference between a house that needs a bit of redecoration and a full fixer upper. Many older properties are absolutely beautiful, especially if they have period features, but they might also need a lot of work.
You should first check every home that you’re looking to buy to make sure that it’s structurally sound. While you can save money by buying a property that needs a bit of work, if you take on a project, it can quickly cost a lot more than you expected or can afford. Even worse, you might have to rent another house to live in or have to cope with a building site.
So, get a survey before you buy and plan your renovation as soon as possible. Set a budget and work with contractors to get a quote and a timeframe for the renovation. You can work on the whole house at once or work on a room-by-room basis, allowing you to still live in parts of the house while it’s being worked on.
In any case, let’s get renovating.
Structural Damage and Repairs
The first thing you should always tackle is any repairs. If an area is damaged that you’re going to remove and replace anyway, then you can leave it to start with, but any damages that impact the structure of the property or how useful it is should be sorted as soon as possible.
Prioritize more serious damage first. You don’t want to make the house look pretty, then have to rip it all out in a few months to access these areas anyway. This means any structural issues, like problems with the foundation, the roof, or the walls should be inspected and repaired as soon as possible. It might be impossible to live in your home at this time, so consider renting somewhere on a short term basis or staying with family.
Next, consider tackling big changes like the doors and windows. Changing the doors and windows of your home does more than update it, it can make your house cheaper to run on a long term basis. You can also use this opportunity to change the layout of your home, perhaps by adding more rooms, moving rooms around, or extending your property.
Bathrooms and Kitchens
While you might want to renovate all of the rooms in your house, you should concentrate on the bathrooms and kitchens first. These are the rooms that you need for your house to actually function.
If you’ve ever tried living in a house without any toilets or washing facilities, you know just how difficult it is. While you’re getting a bathroom remodel, it’s a good idea to either go away for a week or ask a neighbour if you can use their shower and toilet facilities for a short while. Of course, if you have another bathroom, be sure to renovate them one at a time to prevent this.
The kitchen can be an even bigger job than your bathroom renovations. You need a functional kitchen that can store food and where you can comfortably cook, but it’s also nice to have a pretty kitchen as well.
If you change the kitchen layout, you might need to get new electrical and plumbing outlets fitted, which generally means calling a professional. Otherwise, you should think about the best appliances for your needs and the amount of counter and storage space available in your kitchen.
The Other Rooms
Once you have the kitchen and bathrooms out of the way, you can move onto the other rooms in your home. Often, these don’t require as much work, but houses and circumstances can differ. For example, if you’re getting hard floors or carpets fitted in the living room, it might be a while before you can work on anything else.
Other than floor fittings, you can often do a lot of the decorations yourself. In fact, if your children are old enough and have a good level of maturity, it can be a good idea to give them a budget and let them control their bedroom decorations.
This allows them to create a bedroom that they feel really comfortable in, and it also helps them to learn how to be responsible with money and to develop their sense of style. Obviously, you can help with a lot of the work and teach them as you go so they’re happy with the end result, but your children will enjoy having a project to work on.
Generally, the living room is where you want your decor to be more harmonious with the rest of the house. Studies and work-rooms should be focused on functionality first, although the person who spends the most time in these rooms should have more of a say in the decor. Finally, the bedrooms can be more fun and personal to the owner.
Adding Your Personal Touch
Speaking of making your home more personal, once the hard work has all been finished, you can focus on the smaller features and decor ideas that will turn a house into a home. Things like soft furnishings like rugs, cushions, and throws add so much personality and depth to an otherwise sterile environment.
You can also use ornaments and wall art to put your stamp on your home. The best thing about these pieces is that they can be easily moved around, so you can make your house feel new and fresh whenever you like.
