Renovating Your Home Interior
Renovating the interior of your home can be a fantastic way of improving your quality of life and increasing your home’s retail value. Read on to find out more about different ways you can renovate the interior of your home.
Choosing a Colour Scheme
When renovating the interior of your home, one of the most important things to consider is the colour that you choose for each room. Different colours, as we all know, can create different effects, and the colour you go with can dramatically change the ambiance of the space. The choice really depends on the atmosphere you’re looking to create once the renovation work is finished. If you want the room to have a warm, cosy feeling (perhaps inspired by the Hygge movement from Scandinavia), then you can opt for rich, autumnal colours which will give the room a feeling of warmth and comfort. If you would like the space to have a more relaxing, soothing ambiance, go for a cooler colour such as a shade of blue or green.
It’s also important to consider whether a light colour or a darker colour would be best for the space. You can play with shades in order to create different effects in a room. For example, a lighter colour can give the impression of spaciousness, and can make the room look more voluminous and welcoming. Darker colours can give the impression that the room is a space to relax and unwind, which can make them appealing for a bedroom, for example. When choosing a colour scheme, bear in mind that it may be worthwhile to bring in a a professional interior designer, although it’s of course possible to do it yourself.
When choosing a colour, it is important to balance your own preferences with consideration for what a potential home buyer may be looking for. If the potential resale value of your property is an important consideration for you, it’s a good idea to choose neutral, pastel colours which are likely to be appreciated by a variety of different potential buyers. That said, homebuyers today are often less concerned with the colours in houses they purchase, instead choosing to personalise the property further once they have successfully purchased it. The choice ultimately rests with you. You can also bring colour into your rooms in other ways, for example by using differently coloured and textured wallpapers.
Spatial Layout
Interior renovations can also include altering the layout of the spaces in your property. As time goes on, and your family grows and changes, your needs for your home can evolve. In order to use the interior space of your home as efficiently as possible, it can sometimes be a good idea to alter the way the rooms are divided. For example, if there is an adult child in the family who is no longer often at home, it could be a good idea to turn their former bedroom into an extension for the master bedroom. If the wall separating the two spaces is not load-bearing, it can be worthwhile to knock it down and conjoin the two spaces. This can also be a chance to make other changes to the bedrooms, for example changing the furniture or colours of the walls, and having the electrics of the space brought up to date.
In a similar vein, there’s a current trend to convert a property’s spaces into an open-plan layout. Open-plan layouts are particularly desirable for kitchens, living, and dining areas. This spatial reconfiguration can make your living area seem more open and welcoming, facilitating discussion throughout the family. It also allows more light to enter the space, creating a more pleasant environment.
Kitchen Renovations
Redesigning spaces can also represent an opportunity to renovate your kitchen appliances and equipment as well. Houses with outdated, tired kitchens often have old and inefficient appliances, which are not only less agreeable to use and lead to higher energy bills through wasting energy. While kitchen renovations can potentially be expensive, it’s often highly worthwhile to have this work done - not only will you enjoy your kitchen more, a renovated kitchen can dramatically increase the property’s resale value. When looking for new kitchen fixtures, make sure to pick energy efficient appliances whenever possible, which will save you money in the long run on your energy bills and is also more environmentally friendly.
You may also decide to change the layout of your kitchen to give you more space to work, which is especially important if you are a keen cook. Again, in many cases this will significantly improve the property’s resale value. You can also take this opportunity to optimise the space in your kitchen by replacing old cabinets and kitchen storage with new units that allow you to store more vertically, as opposed to horizontally. This can also be a way for you to show off your crockery and silverware, by placing them in storage containers with transparent panels.
Bathroom Renovations
Renovating a bathroom can also represent an opportunity to increase your home’s value and economise resources. Especially in older homes, many bathrooms are inefficient in terms of water use, which has an adverse affect both on the environment and your energy bills. The shower is a particular bathroom fixture which can be advantageous to replace. Since this is a fixture of your home that you will use every day, it’s especially worth investing in a quality shower. Many showers can now be fitted with a low-flow, water efficient shower head, and despite using less water than a traditional shower head, many current models offer a high level of performance without sacrificing comfort.
When remodelling a bathroom, there’s a common question you may be asking yourself: “Is a bathtub necessary?” While ultimately it’s a matter of personal preference (a tub can be a plus if you have small children or pets, for example), more and more homeowners are choosing to skip installing a bathtub or to remove an existing bathtub when remodelling their bathroom. Bathtubs are often rarely used, and take up a lot of valuable space, in addition to using considerably more water than showers. Removing a bathtub or converting a tub into a shower can be a great way to make space in a cramped bathroom, allowing more room for organisation or storage.
The toilet can also be an area where water usage efficiency can be improved. A newer water efficient model will use significantly less water per flush than an older model, saving you money over the long term with your water bills. Together, these changes can make the bathroom significantly more efficient and pleasant at the same time.
Living Room Renovations
Finally, when renovating your living room there are a number of changes you can make to improve the space. Upgrading to a “smart” entertainment system can broaden the amount of entertainment available to you while offering ease of use. Renovating your living room is also an opportunity to make the space more comfortable and welcoming - new furniture can make the space seem completely new, and give your property a new lease of life. You can maximise the amount of space available choosing a wall-mounted TV: this way you will no longer need a TV stand, which can take up a surprising amount of room within your living space. When renovating your living room, aim for a warm and welcoming style, to create a pleasant space that you’ll enjoy coming home to every day - after all, this is where you will spend most of your time at home, so it’s worth it to create a living environment you’ll love.
Do you have an interior renovation project? Find an architect specialised in interior design at find-my-architect.com to start bringing your renovation project to life.