How To Get A New House Without Moving

Your house is one of if not the biggest things in your life; it isn’t just a house; it is a home. It is where you sleep, where you wake up every day, where you feel safe, where you raise your family, and where you make memories. Your home is somewhere you need to be happy and to feel at home, so all the signs are there that it’s time you got a new house, but you don’t want to move location, then you need to do something drastic. There are ways to solve this problem; you can stay where you are and have a brand new home by following these tips:

You need to get a new perspective, so go outside and come back into your home with a fresh pair of eyes. Pretend that you’re looking around your home for the first time, take a tour as if you are a potential buyer. Have a piece of paper with you and go into each room and write down your wish list for it. Be as adventurous as you want to be; this is your wishlist; you don’t have to be realistic at this stage. Pretend that both time and money are no issue but also remember to note down the little things too, if you need a new lightbulb then make sure you write it down; if the door handle is coming off, write it down. You may want to look into getting new windows.

Once you have done this, you will have to go through your list and prioritize it. It is generally a good idea to start with what is bothering you the most, or if you’re on a tight budget, then start with the problem that is the least expensive to fix. You should also prioritize the rooms so that you’re not trying to focus on too many things at once, and you can give your attention to one place. You should also pace yourself; you can’t do it all at once, so take your time and do it in stages.

If you need a lot of changes to be made, which makes you think you need a whole new house but you love your location, have you thought about knock down rebuilds? While your home may be old and of little value, the land it is on is valuable. In these circumstances, it makes financial sense to rebuild and change your home rather than move and change your address. The effect on families is always transformational. You get to retain a great established lifestyle and improve the value of your property.

If a whole new house is a little too much, then how about adding a conservatory? Or perhaps a patio, converting a garage, installing a whole new kitchen or bathroom, converting your loft or cellar? While this can be expensive, it can also add a lot of value to your home. You can start by looking into planning permission if you’re not able to do an extension now but intend to at a later date. Transforming a cellar into a living or storage space is particularly popular as it can boost a property’s value by up to 30 percent – so long as the build cost per square foot is less than the price per square foot of the area. It can be one of the least complex home improvements to make as it qualifies as a ‘change of use’ for planning purposes – which means you don’t need planning permission.

Consider These 5 Things Before Renovating Your Home

Could your house do with some improvements? If you’re dreaming of some major changes or trying to get your home market ready, you are probably considering renovating. But renovating your house can seem like a pain. It’s a big project, with some costs involved. Don’t put it off though. Creating the home of your dreams will add so much to your life. Here are five things to consider before you get started.

Your budget

Most people want to renovate their home in the most economical way possible. But how will you know if it’s economical unless you set a budget? It can be hard to know how much things will cost before you get started, but try to have a good idea of what your limit would be. It’s easy to get carried away, but if you know a particular product or service is out of your budget, it’ll be easier to turn it down.

Calling in the experts

Before you call in the experts, you might want to stop and think about where your skills lie. If you’re confident you can handle a paintbrush like a pro, there’s no need to hire a decorator. Whereas for dangerous or complicated things, like plumbing and wiring, you need to call the professionals. Think about who you know, too. You can mention to friends and colleagues that you’re looking to do some work on your house. They might have a friend or relative who is an electrician, for example, who might be willing to do you a deal.

Modeling your plans

You might know that you want a change, but it can be hard to settle on what that means. Plans might be swirling around in your head. How can you show them to contractors, or see if your partner approves? One good way is to use a home visualizer. Use this tool to upload an image of your home and see what it would look like with specific changes or additions. Find a visualizer at this website.

Maximizing what you have already

Some rooms in the house might need a total refurbishment, particularly if your hardware is outdated. For example, you might need a completely new toilet in your bathroom. But if it’s just cosmetic changes, consider if smaller changes would work, like fitting a new flush handle. Sometimes there’s no need to replace the whole thing. You can also consider if painting the walls or retiling the floors would give you the change you’re looking for. Particularly in smaller rooms, changing the color scheme can really open up the room and make it appear brand new. Find some color decoration inspiration at https://www.housebeautiful.com/.

Creating something new

Are you looking for an even bigger project? Some people renovating their homes knock a wall down to create one large room where there once was two. Or you might be thinking of doing an attic or garage conversion, or even extending your house to create additional bedrooms. For these big jobs, you might need to get official planning permission. Speak to the relevant department in your area who can help with this. You’ll also want to think about the best time of year to make such significant changes since the weather can affect a project like this.

How to Make Your Home Infinitely More Relaxing

Sometimes, it can feel like people spend too much of their time trying to make their home look good, and not enough time on trying to make their home feel good. While it’s enjoyable to have a well-presented home, it’s much more enjoyable to have a house that allows you to fully relax and unwind; a home that offers a reprieve from the madness of the outside world. If your property is currently lacking in this department, then take a read below, where we outline some essential tips for upping your home’s relaxation qualities. Make them part of your property — you won’t regret it!

In the Yard

It’s easy to get wrapped up in focusing only on what’s happening in the inside of your home, but it’s important to keep in mind that the best potential for relaxation lies in your outdoor area. If you incorporate a few smart ideas into your yard, you’ll have an area that offers many hours of fun and relaxation, at least during the warmer months of the year. All you need is a table, chairs, and sun-lounger, and you’ll be all ready to go — but for the height of relaxation, look at adding a hammock. No-one puts a hammock in their yard and ends up thinking “that was a mistake.”

Relaxing Infrastructure

You can do everything to create a comfortable and relaxing ambiance in your home, but if the infrastructure isn’t quite right, then you won’t be as relaxed as you could be. So take a look at what you’ve got in the home, especially in your bedroom and living room, two areas where it makes the biggest difference. In your living room, look at adding plenty of soft pillows and throws, and also an adult size bean bag, which will take your home’s comfort credentials to another level. In your bedroom, it’s about investing in the best quality bedding that you can afford, and incorporating soft side-lighting.

Tech-Free Spaces

There’s no getting around that technology has been good for us, but we’d be kidding ourselves if we called it relaxing. While it has the potential to relax us — who doesn’t love sinking into the couch and watching a movie? — if we don’t get a break, and most of us naturally don’t, then our minds won’t be as relaxed as they could be. As such, why not look at designating one room in your home as ‘tech-free’? This’ll be the space where you light a candle, curl up with a book, and sink into several hours of peace. You’ll feel much more blissed out than you would if you were scrolling through your phone for the same amount of time.

A Touch of Luxury

Finally, look at adding a few touches of luxury: it’ll make your house feel more relaxing. Things like scent diffusers, candles, atmospheric lighting, and spaciousness — especially in your bathroom and living room — will all make your house feel that little bit extra relaxing, and will also improve the overall look, too.

Can’t Afford A Vacay? Make Your Home Feel Like A Hotel 100%

Vacations are expensive, and something that unless you save up for a while, many people can’t afford. But, this doesn’t mean that you can’t feel like you are on vacation by turning your home into a hotel! There are some simple ways to do this, and some of these might be easier than you think. We have come up with a list of things that you can do to make your home feel like a hotel, so that you can enjoy a vacation at home!

Go Shopping For Some Deluxe Dinners

The first thing that you should think about doing is going shopping for some luxury dinners. What we mean by this is think of some of the meals that you wouldn’t normally have, be that because they are expensive or because they aren’t great for you, and get them for the next couple of days. It will feel as though you are truly in a hotel with a luxury meal right at your fingertips. Make sure that it is something that doesn’t take much prep time so that you get the most out of the experience!

Get The Best Bed You Can

Have you ever laid down on a hotel bed and just thought, this is what heaven feels like? It’s all to do with the mattress. Hotels have the comfiest mattresses and that is why you have such a good night of sleep when you are there. So, if you want to make your bed feel like this, you need to shop around in mattress stores to find the right quality that you need. Once you get this home and on your bed, you are going to feel like you are on the comfiest bed in the world! This is one of the best parts of vacations that you can have right in your own home!

Add Some Hotel Comforts To Your Bedroom

Something else that you can do is add some of the comforts of a hotel room to your bedroom. When you think of a hotel, what is the first thing that you think of? Big TV? Mini fridge? Fluffy robes? Any of these can be purchased for your bedroom. It doesn’t have to cost you a fortune to buy a mini-fridge for your bedroom, and if you love the fluffy robes that make you feel as though you are wrapped in a cloud, you can get these online! The TV is going to be the most expensive item on this list, but even then, you can think of it as an investment that is going to last you for years.

Take A Weekend Away From The Chore Wheel  

You might not be able to afford to go abroad, but you can still act like you are. Take a break from doing the regular tasks of washing, doing the dishes, vacuuming and so on and hire a maid to do these things for you. It is only going to be for a couple of days so you don’t need to worry about spending too much cash on this, and it will give you a break that you deserve.

Hopefully, you have found these suggestions useful and will put some of them into place to make your home feel like a hotel!

Simple Home Renovations You Can Do On A Budget

Most people at some point will want to make some changes in their house, and although these can often be bigger changes that require a bit more planning, not all renovations will be requiring you to start knocking down walls and living without plumbing for a week – there are actually many simple things you can do in your house if you’re looking for a bit of a change, but either don’t require a big renovation project or simply don’t have it in the budget at the moment.

So, in this post, we’re going to share with you what those things are so you can start implementing them for yourself and get the changes you want.

Fix up your garden:

Although not inside your house, the garden is still part of your house, and it should be maintained and looked after as much as the rest of it. It can be easy to let the garden be somewhat neglected – especially if you’re not living in a country where you have a great climate that allows you to use your garden like you wanted. However, if you have a garden and add the right kinds of things to it, then you can actually get the benefit of it all year round.

For example, if you get snow in the winter, then building a snowman with the kids is a great way to have fun and get some fresh air, and even things like a hot tub can be enjoyed all year round – in fact they’re actually more enjoyable when the air is cold since the water offers a very enjoyable contrast.

Of course, you don’t need to go overboard when it comes to using your garden, but simple things like keeping the grass cut so that it’s neat and tidy, and even adding some simple furniture that can be enjoyed during the warmer months and not using your garden as an outside junk storage area are all simple things that can make a big positive difference.

Repurpose furniture:

If your furniture is starting to look a bit worn, then you don’t have to be so hasty and just get rid of it – if you’re in any way creative, then you could repurpose the furniture and use it in different ways – not only is this better for your wallet, but also allows you to create a new piece of furniture and it’s better for the environment since this furniture won’t just end up in a landfill somewhere. If you’ve never looked into repurposing furniture before, then it’s really not that scary or difficult, and with plenty of ideas and tutorials available on places like YouTube and Pinterest, then you’re really going to find it pretty easy to create something great.

Give your basement a purpose:

If you have a basement in your house that’s basically just sitting there doing nothing and maybe being used to store junk, then maybe it’s time to come up with a creative way to use that space. Nowadays, basement conversions and renovations are really gaining in popularity, and you can actually do this for surprisingly little money. Although you can find lots of ideas online for creative ways to use your basement, some simple ideas you could get started with include a game room, a cinema room, a study, or even a bar where you could entertain guests. You can pick up affordable things like Reclaimed Wood Tables if you wanted to go for a stylish bar theme, or even leather recliner chairs for a cinema, so have a look around and see what ideas you can come up with.

Add some colour:

If you want to brighten your place up and you’re on a budget, then one of the very best ways to go about it is by painting. Paint is something that’s very cheap and easily accessible pretty much everywhere, so even if you’ve never picked up a paint brush in your life, it’s pretty hard to mess this up. You can totally transform any room with a few coats of paint, which really is why it’s probably one of the best choices for doing some home renovations on a budget. If you’re not sure which colour scheme to go with, then you can have a look online or even in home and living magazines to get some great inspiration and ideas.

Replace the bathroom and kitchen doors:

If you really want to renovate some of the main rooms in your house like the bathroom and kitchen, but don’t have a big renovation in the budget, then you can still create a beautiful and highly professional renovation simply by replacing things like cupboard doors without actually having to rip out the main units. Even things like countertops can easily and affordably be replaced to give your room a brand new look.

Change your accessories:

Accessories are so simple to get a hold of these days, and since they’re mostly affordable, then you can easily pick up some great things that will give your room a completely new look without having to carry out massive renovations or anything complicated. You could change the colour scheme of your couch throw cushions, lamps and candles and feel like you’ve walked into a whole new room – especially if you combine your new accessories with some paint.

Declutter:

Although decluttering isn’t technically a renovation, it’s still worth mentioning because it’s really something that can make a huge positive difference in your home – plus if you clear out all the old junk that you’re keeping lying around for no good reason, then you’re going to have more space available to actually make the simple changes listed above stand out more.

Add some storage:

Once you’ve decluttered everything you don’t need, then the best way to keep yourself organized and on top of things is to give everything its own place, and you can do this by adding simple storage solutions. Things like drawers, units and shelves are all things you can pick up easily and for little money.