Making your home work for you

I’m amazed at how many homes just don’t work for the families that live in them. Its quite common that the house you bought is pretty similar to the day you first bought it.

You probably inherited the previous owners carpets, wallpaper, bathroom suites and kitchens and haven’t really had the time to do something about it. Since you moved in you might now have kids and your family life has grown, but I often find that the house hasn’t grown with you.

This is when people make the mistake of wanting to move rather than looking at the potential of the house they already have. Why move and pay huge amounts of stamp duty, legal fees, estate agents fees and removal costs when, with a bit of creative thinking, you can invest this money to make your current house the HOME you have always dreamed of.

Space

Make a list of all the space and rooms that, for whatever reason, don’t work in the house. You know the ones I mean. The open plan living room that you just haven’t managed to get the layout to work properly for you, the family bathroom that is just too small, the kitchen that just isn’t the family space you want it to be, or that extra bedroom you have always wanted that would really make the house work for you for the first time.Think about the balance of the rooms, their size, how they are arranged and how they link together. If you list out all of the problem areas then you will naturally begin a list of possible solutions.

Consider adding sensible extensions or additional space to your home, such as ground floor rear extensions, loft conversions or a separate building in the garden to create a new study space or play room for the kids.

Look at changing the internal layout of the rooms, knocking through a wall for example to make your kitchen space connect with a dining area, or reconfiguring a bathroom space to make it bigger and more efficient.

I always try to make space work incredibly hard in a home and I can’t stand wasteful, unused spaces such as dark, dingy corridors or wasted loft spaces. Make every single square inch of space work for you and your inefficient house will be come a wonderful home.

Budget

But, be careful not to over-invest and over-renovate. Do what is right for you, your family, and your home but just as important is to do what is right for your budget. Don’t go borrowing money you can’t afford and making changes to your home that will break the bank or the dreaded credit crunch will come biting.