Home renovations
Renovating your house can be a way to bring a breath of fresh air to your property, be it through remodelling the kitchen or bathroom or making more significant changes. Read on to find out more about how you can renovate your home.
There are different types of renovation that you can have carried out in order to create a custom home. One of the most common types of renovation carried out is to have the kitchen of the property refitted. A new kitchen gives the home a whole new centre, and can be the beating heart of a new and more vibrant family living situation. Other types of renovation work can include carrying out maintenance or repair work. You can also increase the size of your home interior spaces and can also be a way to add value to your home and make it feel more welcoming. Renovation can also include upgrading existing fixtures and appliances, particularly in the kitchen and bathroom. Renovation works are, in the current eco-friendly climate, moving more and more towards improving energy efficiency and reducing electricity consumption. This type of renovation in particular has numerous benefits: the resale value of the house increases, your energy bills decrease, and you can feel confident in knowing that you are reducing your environmental impact.
When carrying out a home renovation, there are many different aspects to take into consideration. Your remodeling plans should take into consideration your budgets, depending on your circumstances, a renovation loan may be available in order to take on larger-scale works on your home. In some cases, you may be eligible for a grant or loan from your local authority, depending on the type of work you are looking to have carried out. Spend plenty of time on the design phases; you may lose enthusiasm for an idea you had previously, or you may find yourself having a sudden burst of inspiration and see a potential improvement that you hadn’t already thought of.
It is generally better to take the advice of an interior designer in the first instance. A general contractor can also help you with larger renovation works which require the external plan of the house to be changed. In any event, consulting with a professional will significantly simplify the process, and help make sure that you don’t end up with any unexpected surprises once the works have started. You will also be required to apply for planning permission in some cases, for example if you are also carrying out an extension or otherwise altering the footprint of the house. If you choose to hire an architect (which is strongly recommended) they will be able to assist you with this.
Renovating your own living space can be one of the most rewarding and exciting aspects of carrying out work on your family home. An important tip is to plan out how the furniture and fittings will be placed within the space before you purchase them, this will allow you to maximise the interior space available. Otherwise, you may find that the piece of furniture you thought would be perfect doesn’t fit with the rest of the alterations you would like to make, preventing your space from being fully optimised. Renovating the inside of your home gives you a chance to let your creativity run wild; you can work with colours, decorations, light sources and more in order to make sure that the space is exactly what you had imagined. Certain aspects of this will, naturally, require the intervention of a professional. This is the case for anything to do with the house’s electrical or plumbing systems, as well as any changes to the property’s structure. When looking for a craftsman or other professional to help with this interior renovation, it is important to get references from their previous clients, ideally their three most recent clients. This will allow you to find out if their style and working practices live up to your expectations, as well as allowing you to get excited about what they might be able to create from your designs.
Renovation costs can depend on numerous different factors, including how big the space to be renovated is, the quality of the materials you would like to use and where the renovation is to take place geographically. For example if the renovation is to take place in London and the South-East, builders in that region will naturally charge more than in other areas of the country. There are different online tools available that you can use to estimate how much your conversion is liable to cost. However, these can not take into account the specific circumstances of your property. In order to have a more detailed cost estimate undertaken, speak to different remodelling contractors in your area to compare prices.
One important thing to consider is that renovating different parts of your home will have different effects on the property’s value. For example, carrying out a kitchen refit tends to be expensive, without significantly adding to the potential resale price. If the renovation has the goal of increasing the property’s overall value, consider garage conversions, changing the layout to open-plan, or having the loft converted, as these tend to be the most profitable renovations. Of course, if resale value isn’t a primary concern for you, change anything you like - all improvements will add some value to the property in the event you change your mind.
The results of the renovation can be spectacular. The old house is frequently totally unrecognisable compared to before. The resulting space is almost invariably more luminous and better optimised. Renovation will almost invariably pay off for you as the property owner: if you ever decide to move on from the property you will have dramatically increased its value, and if not then you will have dramatically increased your comfort and standard of living. One of the most common outcomes of a renovation is that the interior spaces of the property are made much more luminous - be it through the installation of new windows or optimisation of the interior light sources. The space also almost invariably ends up feeling more cozy and welcoming, as well being given a new, modern and stylish flair. If you’re looking for inspiration for your own home renovation, many spectacular renovations of homes can be found on the internet, and any good architect or interior designer you contact regarding a renovation should be able to show you some equally stunning examples of their own work.
Do you have your own renovation project? Get in touch with architects in your area on find-my-architect.com and get started with creating your dream home today!