There’s a mixture of excitement and comfort when first moving into a newly built house. Many of the features are still enjoyable as there’s a sense of newness to everything. But eventually, your home layout and decor will change. Perhaps it’s out of necessity because there’s a lifestyle change, or you find a more convenient arrangement. Soon enough, you find yourself looking at interior design magazines, searching for ways to get that “feel good” atmosphere your house once had.
But don’t worry, this post can help you. While most home upgrades are done out of aesthetics, the advice given won’t just focus on that. You need to focus on improving your experience in your house, not just making do with what’s there. So here are ways you can upgrade your house to be more comfortable and appealing to you.
Good Lighting Can Change Everything
If you’ve seen enough interior design catalogs, you might have noticed one thing: most of their spaces have a dedicated source of light. This isn’t just for show, as good lighting can make a world of difference. Dark corners of the room can make the whole area feel gloomy and depressing. Try using standing lamps to put on drab corners.
You can also install led strips on your ceiling or wall molding. Using adjustable lights allows you to control the intensity of the light, making it easy not only to navigate your home but also to make it feel brighter or dimmer at a moment’s notice.
More Efficient Ventilation and Cooling
Musty, difficult to breathe in, inadequate ventilation — these are common complaints years after people live in their houses. But is this always the case? Often, it’s how the layout has changed throughout the years that affected the ventilation in the home. Rearrange your furniture to make sure that windows and exhausts aren’t blocked, restricting ventilation in the room.
If you have an adequately sized living room, think about installing a ceiling fan as it helps keep a room cool or warm, depending on the setting. It also keeps a light breeze going, ensuring that the ventilation and temperature in your house are appropriate.
Waterproof Your Outdoor Areas
If you have an outside area like a patio or a deck, you probably used it a lot when your property was new. However, you’ve probably used it less and less throughout the years, and it’s left beat up. This is relatively common among homeowners. They can be challenging to maintain, what with being out in the elements and requiring special care.
But that’s why you should put in preventive maintenance in the first place, to stop it from getting too difficult to handle. Consider using products to waterproof the deck, patio, or terrace, or whatever outdoor space you have. You’ll be thankful that you still have a very usable outdoor space after all these years.
Creating a Smart Home System
Technology that can automate many tasks at home is available. And you might not even be aware of it, but most modern houses have smart furniture and appliances integrated into them. Smart lights, thermostats, and even smart appliances like an oven, fridge, or rice cooker can be interfaced with a smartphone, removing the need for someone to use them manually.
Smart home automation also extends to security. Viewing CCTV feeds remotely, receiving regular updates, and having your smoke sensor and flood alarms send information to your phone are now very much possible, resulting in not just a smarter home but a safer one as well.
Accentuate Through Subtle Details
If you’re tired of how your home looks, you don’t have to overhaul everything. Of course, that’s the fastest and most convenient option, but it can take too much time and effort. Instead, consider changing subtle details that make your house feel more than what it was. You can achieve this through small additions, like adding the crown molding or changing the curtains and bedding to a different color or texture.
You can also use large cabinets to store away your clutter, giving your home a rather minimalist appearance. Again, the idea here is to create subtle changes that leave an impact. It all starts with minor improvements like decluttering, changing the dominant color in your space, or even using a particular make of furniture.
Whenever people go for home upgrades, it’s essential to understand how these changes can improve their living experience. Is it going to look good but feel uncomfortable? One’s comfort and experience should be a top priority, so it’s best to design with that in mind.
