Is It Finally Time for a Home Makeover?

There are many people in the world that would just love to have their homes completely remodelled from the ground up. Perhaps after a decade of living with the same furniture and wallpaper, you’ll finally get sick of seeing the same few things. Perhaps some life events have caused you to desire change in your surroundings, or maybe you just want to upgrade some old furniture.

Whatever the case, there are many reasons to remodel your home and actually many ways to do it. It’s not all about DIY work and you also don’t need to always resort to a contractor or tradesman to help you renovate your home. In this article, we’ll be giving you a complete guide on how to perform a home makeover and also give you plenty of reasons why you should do it.

Source: Pexels

Why Remodel Your Home?

First, let’s delve into a few reasons why you should remodel your home in the first place.

• • Go green and save money – Remodelling can be done because you want to replace some outdated appliances. This is more common if you’re in a fairly old home that was built a decade or more ago and you’ve yet to replace the appliances. Go green by replacing those outdated appliances and you’ll find that you can shave a considerable amount of money off your bills and you’ll get the added bonus of being more environmentally friendly.

 

• Make your home a home again – If you feel like your home has become stale or that it no longer feels like your home, then you don’t need to move just to get that fresh “new home” feeling. Instead, you can remodel your house and renovate the parts that you don’t like. Even if you just change the wallpaper or move furniture around, your home will feel completely new.

• Preparing for a family – If you bought your home because you wanted to start a family then it’s a good idea to remodel in preparation for a child. Get their bedroom ready, childproof your home and add some colourful decorations to give it a boost. You can also prepare for your family if your kids plan to move back in with you or if you’ve realised that your children don’t want to move out.

• Make a home you’re proud of – Many of us live in homes that we’re embarrassed by. If even the thought of relatives coming over causes you to clean your home in a panic, then you’re probably guilty of being embarrassed by your home. If you want to create a home that you’re proud of, then remodelling is a great way to go about it.

• Add some change to your life – Why not mix things up a bit? Change the colours in your home, get new furniture or add some smart appliances to your home so that you can transform it into a completely different property? There are plenty of logical and productive reasons to remodel your home, but sometimes it’s nice to just have some change in your life.

• Use empty space – If you feel like your basement, loft or garage are underutilized, then a remodel and renovation could give you some extra utility in your home. You can turn your loft into another bedroom, turn the garage into extra storage or a gym room and your basement can be transformed into virtually anything if you’re inspired.
• Add value to your home – And lastly, we can’t forget that renovating and remodelling your home can add value to it. If you plan to sell your home in the future then you’ll get some extra money by renovating your home now.

Now that we’ve discussed why you should give your home a makeover, let’s look at some steps on how you can get it done.

Source: Pexels

Step 1: Inspiration

The first thing to do is look for inspiration. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to search for inspiration on the internet thanks to websites like Pinterest. You simply type in a search term and you’ll be presented with thousands of images that relate to the things you searched. For instance, if you want a tranquil and modern home, type those words in and you’ll be presented with plenty of designs that could fit your needs.

If you don’t know where to begin, then take a look at an online or local furniture store to see what they have on offer. For even more complete ideas, take a peek at different interior design magazines. You can also get inspiration by speaking to friends and family members that would be more than happy to give you some advice and ideas especially if they’ve been through a remodelling or two.

Step 2: Design

Next, it’s time for design. The design of your new home is going to take a lot of planning and it might be worth hiring a designer for this if you’re not comfortable with it. The main things to focus on are colour usage, shapes and the overall theme of your remodelling project.

Use your inspiration to help you with the design process. You might find it easier to use online tools that are specifically designed to help you plan a room in three dimensions. You can then print off these plans and give them to your contractor or save them and refer to them in your DIY project.

Step 3: Contractors or DIY?

Speaking of contractors and DIY, you need to keep in mind how you plan to get the work done. The two main choices are asking a contractor for help and going the DIY route. If you have friends and family that can help you and plenty of time to spare, then going DIY could save you a lot of money in the long-run because you’ll pick up knowledge on how to repair different appliances and fix various things in the home.

However, if you don’t have time then it’s better to hire a contractor. They’ll handle everything from design to maintenance and all you need to do is give them an idea of what you want.

Source: Pexels

Step 4: Financial Considerations

Of course, we need to consider the financial side of renovating your home. It’s not cheap to add extra rooms or even replace your decor, and the prices are going to increase when you factor in labour costs and hiring a designer. Of course, you could save a lot of money by doing everything yourself, but then you need to consider the money you’re losing out on by taking time off work.

There’s a lot of think about when it comes to the financial side of getting your home remodelled, so keep it as a major consideration and determine if you need to take out a loan or not. You might find that it’s cheaper to perform your renovation in parts. Renovate important rooms first, then slowly work on the other rooms as you obtain the funds.

Step 5: Finding Contractors or Sourcing Equipment

Now that you’ve gained inspiration, settled on a design and thought about the financial considerations of everything, it’s time to start looking for contractors or sourcing equipment. If you’re looking for a contractor remember that they will all offer different rates. Some contractors will be more accepting of first-time projects where you have little knowledge of the process, and other contractors will be harder to work with due to all of the jargon they use. Some contractors offer all-inclusive services, and others will only perform the work and offer no follow-up. In short, it’s important to speak with them several times and also look for the best deal you can be approaching several contractors.

If you’re going the DIY route, then you’re probably limited to asking for help from DIY enthusiast friends or recruiting the assistance of friends and family members. If you’re lucky enough to have a neighbour or friends that are interested in DIY, then they might be willing to lend you power tools. However, even if they do, it’s not recommended that you undertake your own DIY renovations that require those expensive tools because you could damage your home, injure yourself or break the tools themselves. Always seek help for complicated DIY projects instead of gambling.

Step 6: Getting the Work Done

And lastly, it’s time to get the work done. If you’ve hired a contractor then there’s not much you can do but stay out of their way. You’ll be relying on them for pretty much everything, but make sure their work isn’t disrupting your life. For instance, if they’re doing work on your kitchen then you may want to schedule a few nights out with your friends to eat dinner or at least take the microwave out of the kitchen so you can use it.

If you’re doing the work on your own then good luck–you’ll need it. DIY work is tough especially if you’re working on your own, so try and recruit the help of some extra hands such as friends and family members. Remember to put safety as a priority and always look out for people who are climbing ladders or putting their health at risk for your house makeover.