Through the years, our lives, circumstances, and needs change, and so does what we want to get out of our homes. It’s not unusual for a family to outgrow their home, but there are times when the house outgrows you! Remodeling your home will allow it to stay well-suited to your life and let you fully enjoy the home that you love for much longer.
You may have bought your home while your children were small, or before you started a family. If you now find yourselves rattling around a house with empty rooms, those extra bedrooms and play areas can be turned into a home office, exercise room, or hobby room. Maybe now is the time to turn your home into the “grownup” space that you’d love to have now.
Here are some things to think about…
Universal Design
Making stylish living areas that are accessible to all – young, old, and in-between (the concept called Universal Design) is a smart idea if you plan on living in your house as long as possible. Consider having at least one no-step entry into your home, and wider doorways and halls.
In the kitchen, using pullout shelves, varying counter heights, and a wall-mounted oven make life easier. For the master suite, a large curbless, walk-in shower with a bench and a detachable hand-held showerhead are luxurious touches that are also practical.
Adequate task lighting, increased lighting on stairways, rocker-style light switches and more accessible electrical outlets are other important features to add throughout the home.
Low Maintenance
Unless fixing up the house is your favorite hobby, you would probably love the thought of a low-maintenance home.
In the kitchen, quartz countertops are taking the place of granite and marble because composites are just as sleek and shiny, but virtually maintenance-free. Add a high-quality faucet that won’t break or peel in a year’s time. For a low-maintenance bathroom solution, less grout and less glass are the way to go.
Decking materials have come a long way and there is no reason to have a deck that requires lots of maintenance. Composite and engineered materials such as TREX® Decking and AZEK® Deck Boards not only eliminate annual maintenance like staining, sealing and checking for loose nails, they also provide long-lasting freedom from warping, rotting, and splinters. Adding a sunroom you use throughout the year can reduce the time and money spent maintaining the yard by replacing some of that lawn with something you might enjoy more.
The Kitchen of Your Dreams
Maybe your kitchen is now a place for relaxing with your morning coffee or for casual entertaining rather than the hub for organizing car pools and soccer schedules. Pick the style you love and make the kitchen your own: sleek and sophisticated, farmhouse cozy, or as efficient as a commercial kitchen for gourmet cooking.
An open floor plan will allow kitchen traffic to flow, make it easier for more than one person to work at a time, and provide a flexible space for hosting family and friends for holiday gatherings.
About That Empty Room…
Unused rooms can be transformed into useful new spaces. Would you love a home office and library where you can shut the door and not worry about little ones getting into your books and papers? Maybe you can finally have a real exercise room instead of a treadmill in the corner of the bedroom. The basement can become the perfect spot for a wine cellar, cabinets for displaying a prized memorabilia collection, or a closet fitted for storing golf clubs, photography equipment or fishing gear.
Instead of uprooting yourselves and all your stuff, consider remodeling your home. It can be a great solution, allowing you to stay in the house and community that you love, while keeping your house up to date with your life. Contact us today and we can work with you to design the changes that will turn your half-empty house into a home that’s just right.