Is your home working for you? Maybe it was when you first moved in but as your life has changed, you’ve started to outgrow it. Or perhaps it never really worked for you, and you’ve just been muddling along ever since. If your home doesn’t meet your needs, you could choose to move if you wanted to. But if you like your current location and the bones of your home, there’s no reason you should have to leave it. Instead of finding somewhere else to live, you can find ways to make your current home work for you.
Changing the layout of your home gives you the chance to reclaim it and ensure it’s giving you what you really need. Whether it’s hard for you to move around, there isn’t enough storage, or the flow of the rooms just doesn’t make sense, you can redesign it to meet your needs.
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List the Problems with Your Home
Start by thinking about what’s not working in your home. Why isn’t it giving you what you need? There could be a number of reasons it’s not currently your perfect home. Maybe there isn’t enough space. Perhaps you’ve recently had some changes in your mobility, which means it’s now hard to get around your house. Or maybe you feel like the layout of your home splits up your family too much, making it hard for you to spend time together. If you start with a list of things that you want to fix, you can then start finding the right solutions.
Think About How You Want to Use Your Home
Now you know what’s wrong with your home, you can think about how to make it right. What do you want your home to do for you? How do you want to use it? Everyone has different requirements for their home and they can depend on a few different factors. A family home is likely to look different when compared to a home for a single person or couple. When you’re thinking about how you want to use your home, don’t feel you have to be constrained by the existing rooms. You could always reconfigure the internal layout completely, removing or moving walls as you see fit.
Consider the Path of Least Resistance
Although moving walls is an option, you might want to consider if you can get away with doing as little as possible first. Completely rearranging the layout of your home will take time, and there might be an easier option. Namely, it could be simpler to just move around some furniture and change how you use each room. You don’t have to be constrained by convention, either. All of your bedrooms don’t have to be upstairs, and your living spaces don’t have to be downstairs. Choose how to use each room based on shape, size, light and other factors relating to how you want to use each space.
Find the Right Contractors
If you want to do some renovations, including maybe taking out or moving walls, you’re going to need some professional help. The right contractors can help you with everything from extending your kitchen to moving where the kitchen is completely. You might also be looking for an architect or contractors who can help you with plans so you can plan your changes before any work goes ahead. If you’re looking for the best contractors, a service like Alpha Living can connect you with the people you need. It can be useful to work with a service like this if you’re not sure where to start with your renovations. A lot of steps can be involved, so it can be tough to even know where to start.
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Follow Building Codes
One thing you’re going to have to keep in mind when you’re planning the new layout for your home is the local building codes. It’s essential that you know what you can and can’t do, and what you might need permission for. Of course, if you work with professional contractors, they should know all the codes and make sure they follow them. But it’s something you will need to consider during the planning stages when you’re thinking about what can go where. For example, there may be rules about where you can put power outlets in relation to other features.
Get Accurate Measurements
Accurate measurements are always important when you’re renovating, and especially when you want to reconfigure the space you have. You don’t want to make a mistake about just how much space you have available. You can take your own measurements, but it’s always useful to have professional help if you want to make sure you’re really accurate. Taking measurements a couple of times will help you to get the best numbers and ensure you don’t make any big mistakes that could cost you later. It’s worth the time to get the measurements you need so you can accurately plan how you’re going to use the space.
Design Room By Room
Of course, it’s useful to think about how you’re going to split up your whole home. You might reconfigure the size of some rooms or which spaces you use for which purposes. But you also need to look at each room or space individually to decide how you’re going to use them. Something like a kitchen or bathroom, for example, could require some careful planning to get all of the fixtures and fittings in a layout that will work for you. But when you’re thinking about each room, don’t forget to consider how it all flows together too.
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Choose Functional Fixtures and Furniture
If you’re reconfiguring your home, it’s probably because the current layout just isn’t providing the functionality you need. It doesn’t have the features you require, whether that means there’s not enough space for everyone to sit down or you always end up with too much clutter. When you’re selecting new fixtures and furniture for your home, keep functionality in mind. You want everything to work for you and your family, hopefully without taking up too much space. Instead of just thinking about generic essentials for your home, consider what will specifically meet your needs and the unique way you live.
Mix Open and Closed Spaces
Some people start off with an open-plan layout in their home but soon realize it doesn’t work for them. Others feel that having too many separate spaces means their family is always spread across different rooms in the house. In reality, you probably want to have a mix of the two options. Some spaces should be for sharing and gathering, while others should offer more privacy and shelter. Mix both open and closed spaces to ensure there’s space for socializing but also that everyone has the option to retreat to a quieter space if they want to.
Think About the Future
Don’t forget to consider how your needs might change in the future, both near and far. You don’t want to find that your new layout doesn’t work for you in a few years. Think about how things could change for you, maybe as your children get older or as you get older yourself. You could have plans to expand your family, whether it’s with children or pets. You need to make sure your current home layout isn’t too focused on needs that could change at any moment.
Rethinking the layout of your home could make it a lot more functional. If it’s not working for you right now, a new design could turn things around.
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